Helping out her best friend by playing the lead in that music video project for university had seemed like an easy enough feat for art student Lorelai García. Only, it wasn't. Especially since not only Lorelai, but the whole first team of the FC Bar...
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»Papai!« Davi called for his father's attention. »Papai, look!«
Neymar turned around to see his little boy playing with Poker, the puppy. Davi rolled a football across the lawn and the dog chased after it, never quite able to catch the ball with his small paws and teeth, which was much to the amusement of Davi, who was laughing and clapping his hands in excitement.
»Amazing, filho,« he said, a soft smile forming on his lips. Yes, Neymar thought, that puppy certainly had turned out to be a good idea. Davi absolutely loved the dog, now also known as his new favourite pastime companion.
It was Sunday late afternoon and the past weekend had been spent enjoying time with his friends, who yet again had come to visit him in Barcelona, and his boy, who would be staying for a couple of days before returning to his mother in Brazil. Just thinking about departing again made Neymar sad, so he shook his head to forget about the moment he had to get his son to the airport again. He took a drink of his light beer (a rare enjoyment of his) and watched the scenery around him — his friends and family, all roaming about the terrace and lawn, laughing, talking, having a good time.
»Why the gloomy face?« Rafaella asked as she sat down next to Neymar on the garden furniture.
She looked cold even in that Nike hoodie sweater that was a bit too big for her — again, she was wearing his stuff. Not that he minded too much; for Barcelonian circumstances, the start of November was rather cold, so he preferred to have Rafaella wear his clothes over her freezing and getting sick. Not that it got that cold on a late sunny afternoon anyways.
»You look all sad and pensive,« his sister elaborated after having received no reply from her brother. She grinned. »Did Lorelai forget to send her daily update?«
»That's not it,« Neymar negated. »It's nothing.«
He really didn't want to talk about Davi leaving sooner than he would have liked. But despite that, a smile grew on his face, for a completely different reason. Ever since he had gotten her that smartphone, he and Lorelai had exchanged pictures and text messages on a daily basis. Sometimes several times a day. No, he had to be honest — it was pretty much constantly that they contacted each other ever since her birthday a week ago. And he loved it.
»Okay...,« Rafaella said slowly, but didn't ask further questions.
They sat in silence, watching the group of friends and family around them talk, have fun, prepare stuff for the fondue they would have later tonight. Davi was still playing with Poker, with Neymar Sr encouraging him to throw the ball this way or that, the grandfather all the while looking out for his grandson so that neither boy nor dog got too close to the pool.
Neymar smiled. Guess the dog will sleep somewhere else tonight, he thought. A part of him was glad to be rid of the smell of dog in his bedroom. Another part was sad upon realising that he would be sleeping alone tonight, with not even a puppy to keep him company in that little basket next to the bed.
