Forbidden Urge

A Friend in Need...

Philipp was deranged. He forced himself to sleep, but had to do so with pills. He was repeating to himself that he had to separate his love problems from job, otherwise both spheres would suffer instead of one. He had extremely important games in the Champions League coming and couldn't risk losing them due to the lack of his inner peace.

Thankfully, he had all the guys' support. Luka and Gerard knew all the details, but to others they said only as much as was needed for them to show understanding and compassion. Philipp didn't want any of his players to see him as a failed, fragile man. He still had to give them experience, advice and encouragement they needed in order to remain the best team in Germany, and win as many games as possible on the European stage.

He had never been so lost over a woman, he realised one evening when he returned to, again, empty apartment. Even when he broke up with Marcella, the one he had thought he loved most, the trainings helped him get over her.

Not this time.

The first few days he smelt jasmine in every corner of his apartment, and when it started fading, he got desperate and even stopped by a drugstore to buy the perfume. He would have only if the lady who worked there had managed to find the exact note Heidi used.

The nights were equally bad as days, since he didn't care any more, and slept whenever he managed to close his eyes and drift away. He'd spend hours in the gym, trying to get exhausted so as to be able to sleep at least five hours without dreams, but it was in vain.

He wasn't aware how terrible he looked until he met Nicola. He had been trying to avoid her but she was persistent, so they met in a small bar close to his place.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked before even greeting him properly. "You look like an anorexic guy on steroids."

He tried to hide it, to persuade her it was just a phase, but she wasn't tricked easily. She was an excellent journalist and read people well.

"Either your parents are unwell, you are sick, you're about to get sacked from the club or it's a woman," she said. "The first one you'd tell me, the second one I doubt because you've always been as healthy as a horse, the third one would not happen even if your worst enemy became the president of the club, so I am pretty confident it's about a woman."

He wanted to smile but couldn't. His face muscles seemed to have forgotten how its done. It'd been two weeks already since he had last seen Heidi. There was no reason to laugh. Even the team's victories couldn't compensate for the loss.

He was reluctant at the beginning, but seeing that she was persistent and showed true compassion, he opened up and poured out everything from the first day Heidi and he met, until what happened two weeks ago in her parents' house.

"You idiot," she laughed when he finished. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

He was confused. "Why? So that you could laugh how miserable I am."

"No, you dummy. Your girl has disappeared, her father is one of the biggest suppliers of air conditioning equipment in the world, and your friend is among the top journalists in the country. I haven't gotten there because of my eyes."

"I'm still not sure I understand you," he said, though his face slightly lit up with hope.

"You will understand tonight. I have to finish few more things in the office. You call Luka and Gerard and tell them to bring their laptops along. We'll meet at your place at eight tonight. Prepare some good wine to pay me."

Although he didn't have a clue what she had in mind, he listened. He phoned Luka and Gerard as soon as Nicola left, and headed home, finally with something to look forward to.