Oblivion {James Rodriguez} {Book ONE}

"I don't like him."

"I still can't believe you," I muttered under my breath.

Carter and I were both speed walking from the parking lot to the gym entrance. He had no trouble catching up with my extremely fast pace, and I marveled at his metabolism.

"What even is the point of you coming along?" I asked for the billionth time that afternoon. I was in no way looking forward to him witnessing me gape at James.

"Because I can't just leave y-" Carter was cut off mid sentence by a tall, muscular man bumping into his shoulder by accident.

"Hey, watch where you're going." Carter spat angrily as he straightened his shirt.

It didn't take me long to realize that the man Carter bumped into was James.

"Excuse me?" James asked, his eyes stern.

"You heard me," Carter said to him. I didn't understand why he wasn't fazed.

"What exactly is your problem?" James asked as he inched closer to Carter threateningly. I could see that this was not going to end smoothly. I grabbed Carter's arm and pulled him back a bit.

James' eyes widened when he saw me and his expression changed from hostile to welcoming. "Hey, it's you again."

Carter eyed us both dubiously.

"Yeah, it's me," I replied nervously, not really knowing what to say. I could feel Carter glaring at him next to me.

"I'm sorry we had to meet again under these circumstances," He shot Carter a dirty glare and Carter gave him one right back. I cleared my throat to ease a little bit of the tension.

"It's alright, really. I was just going to pick up my friend from the gym." I replied. As if on cue, Melissa appeared behind James, waving her arms wildly in the air and doing a small victory dance. Her joy was ceased when she saw a furious Carter standing next to me.

"Tell you what," He started, pulling out his phone. "How about you tell me your phone number this time? Because I really want to figure out from where I know you."

Oh, I thought. You'd be surprised.

"Sure." I said without a second's hesitation. I didn't want the next time we meet to be coincidental, like this one. I wanted it to be purposeful.

I told him my phone number and he saved it, before giving me a quick missed call so I can save his in return. Carter was growing impatient beside me, and Melissa made suggestive facial expressions instead. Thank God James' didn't turn around, otherwise Melissa would have probably canceled her gym membership forever.

"So I'll see you soon?" He gave me a breathtaking smile that made my stomach tingle a little.

"Definitely." I assured him. I can't believe this finally happened!

James shot Carter one more glare before he made his way to the parking lot.

Melissa watched him disappear completely before rushing to us.

"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" She exclaimed happily, holding up her palm for a high-five.

"You're silly," I laughed but high-fived her back.

Carter clutched his jaw. "Are you ladies done yet?"

"No, we just have four shopping malls and a tea party to attend." I gave him my most sarcastic smile.

He wasn't amused. "Whatever. Let's go."

He started to walk to his car and I followed him without further argument.

"Have fun, you two." Melissa called out before driving away in her own car.

"You didn't have to be so rude back there." I told him once we were on the highway. He kept his eyes straight and both hands clutched tightly on the steering wheel.

"I don't like him at all." He said.

"You don't even know him."

"Oh, do you?" He asked sarcastically as he tore his eyes from the road to glance at me for a second.

"He was my client, Carter." I told him quietly.

"So?"

"And he's a footballer." I reminded him.

"I know."

"How?" Carter really wasn't a big football fan. Something that confused me.

"Andrew's house. When you looked like you just saw a ghost when he scored a goal."

"You noticed that?" I gasped.

"How could I not? You were sitting right next to me, and you wouldn't talk to anyone the entire night." He swerved into the parking of his office building.

I sank back in my seat as my face turned red. I can't believe his caught me slipping.

We quickly made our way back to the glum office.

I was growing impatient. I just wanted to finish Kerensky and go home. Maybe by that time, James would have called... But wouldn't that be too soon? Ugh, I didn't know! This man was driving me insane, and I could slowly feel myself getting lost in his everything. I don't know how I'll handle it if he actually calls and asks to hang out.

"What now?" I sighed, flopping into that same depressing chair.

"We wait."

_________________________

James

I swear, I knew this woman. From the moment I laid eyes on her, her features immediately recited in my head, like hearing a really old song and slowly recalling the lyrics, piece by piece.

She was stunning. Not in an extremely precious way, but in her own kind of way. Her face was soft and oval, seemingly symmetrical. She had the prettiest brown eyes and the softest nose. Her smile could melt glaciers; especially when she's shy.

I was super determined to call her up as soon as possible and figure out what this is all about. If I called her straight away, I would seem creepy and clingy. But if I called her, let's say, four days later, she would think I'm rude and passive. I didn't want to give off either of these impressions.

I think she doesn't know that I notice the way she gapes at me. It's actually cute, to be honest. It's nothing new, I don't know why but I usually do get these kinds of reactions from females, but coming from her it actually carried a meaning to me. Like an honor.

"What's wrong? You look distracted." Casillas, my teammate, shook his hand in front of my face.

"Nothing, I'm not." I replied a bit too fast.

I invited him over to my house to chill and play some FIFA. He was one of my closest friends on the team, and always my go-to person whenever I needed help or advice. His long years of experience is one of the main reasons I have a lot of respect for him.

"Shut up," he laughed. "It's a girl, isn't it?"

"Why would you say that?" I asked.

"Come on. I have a fifteen year old nephew. I know when he's thinking about girls." He smirked as he literally abused the controller trying to score a goal.

"Are you comparing me to a fifteen year old?" I asked, re-connecting my controller.

"I mean, look at your baby face." He cooed.

I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn't see. I've been teased by a lot of people about my baby face, but I've also been told it's what makes me special. So I embraced it.

"Shoot," Iker said, looking at his watch. "I need to go."

"I'll see you at training then." I didn't bother to walk him outside. He's been to my house so many times that he wasn't considered a guest anymore.

"See you!" He called out before closing the door behind him.

The quietness of the house swallowed me.

I picked up my phone, my fingers hovering over her name.

To call, or not to call?