The journalist's footballer (Rúben Dias)

Chapter Five

Rúben

She doesn't have a boyfriend. Then who the fuck is that Matty guy? I went to his profile (sue me) and it's like a Christina fan page. Maybe they are friends with benefits but he is just very intense about it? Or wants to be more than that?

Whatever it is, I just hope he isn't the friend that she brings to the match.

I tell her the offer still stands and that I just assumed she would have a boyfriend. Now she'll think I just mentioned that to find out if she had a boyfriend without asking directly. Great.

When I go back to my homepage, I see that she has posted a new story. It's just a photo of her covering the lower half of her face with the book she's reading. Cute.

I stop my Christina obsession for today and turn off all devices so I can go to bed. Big match tomorrow.

**

When we make it to the Emirates, I can't help but look around at the fans, waiting to find Christina. Even though I know she's too far away for me to see her.

Joao overheard me asking to leave some tickets under her name and interrogated me about who she was. Surprisingly, the "just a friend" line didn't work. Even though she is just that. Well, not even a friend. At least not yet.

"Looking for your friend?", he says, laughing at me.

I shake my head.

The match couldn't go better. We are already 3-0 up by halftime, completely dominating the game. And then in the second half, I somehow find myself in the opposition's box with the ball on my feet. Normally, I'd find an attacking player to pass the ball to, but since we have such a big advantage already, I take my chance and shoot...and I score!

It always feels good to score as a defender, but today it somehow feels more special. Could it be because there is someone in the stands I want to impress?

The team isn't done, however, and Kevin scores a fifth goal. I can see the Arsenal fans leaving early while our fans keep on celebrating.

Once the match is over, I finish shaking hands with the opposition players and head to where our away fans are to thank them for their support. I can't lie. I'm squinting to look at the higher seats, where I know Christina must be. But I can't see her. So I just make my way back to the dressing room, annoyed that I won't be able to get a glimpse of her today.

I guess the IG stories will have to do.

Christina

My friend Jess and I get to the Emirates with plenty of time to take some pre-match photos. I post one on my feed. Just the two of us outside the stadium with the caption "C'mon City!".

We get some food and go find our seats. We have all the away fans with us. Good. Don't want any Gunners near me.

Jess keeps posting stories of us being silly, and I just repost them all on my IG.

Matty texts me asking how I got tickets for the match and I lie to him saying that Jess got them and invited me. I hate doing this but I don't want to tell him Rúben invited me. I'm not stupid, I know Matty likes me and having to friendzone him all the time is painful enough. I always avoid telling him about any guys I hook up with because what he doesn't know, won't hurt him.

Not that I think Rúben and I will hook up but he's a man, and a footballer. I just don't want Matty to be jealous of something stupid like this.

City completely annihilate Arsenal in the first half. And then in the second half, Rúben scores.

Jess leans down to whisper in my ear. "Is that the one that got us the tickets?"

"Yes", I say, with a big smile on my face.

"You have two reasons to thank him now, then", she says with a wink.

I shake my head amused by her comment.

After the final whistle, Jess and I make our way out to the toilets before leaving to go home. While I wait for her, I decide to send a quick message to Rúben.

"Hey, great win today. And a great goal. Thanks for the tickets. It's always nice to see Arsenal losing like that. Have a safe trip home. Xx"

I answer a couple more messages and when I'm going to put my phone away, it buzzes with another notification.

"Glad you had a good time. Maybe you can come to the Etihad next? Xx"

I reread the message a couple of times without knowing what to answer. I don't want to just leave him on read, so I like his message and lock my phone.

Jess is finally ready and we head home.

I'm tired after a long day but all I can think about is Rúben's message. I think he's totally misread the situation.