Oblivion {James Rodriguez} {Book ONE}

the plane ride

James' POV

"Salome, say bye-bye to papa!" Urged Daniela as she gingerly waved my two-year old's chubby hands. Salome released her wrist from her mother's grip and buried her upset face into Daniela's neck.

"I won't be gone long, amor. I'll be back soon!" I tried to reassure a crying Salome. "Come on, sweetheart. Don't be like that."

Daniela gave me a helpless look. "She'll be okay later. Make sure to Skype when you land so that she can make sure it's not the end of the world."

What was that supposed to mean?

"James, let's go!" Toni yelled from the waiting area. "The flight's going to board without you, man."

Salome lifted her head to see where the loud shout was coming from, and I took that chance to give her a sneaky good-bye kiss on the cheek. Embarrassed, she quickly hid her face again.

"Have a safe flight." Daniela told me softly as she cradled our daughter.

I gave her one last smile before hurrying after my gate.

___________________________

"So, you still remember that deal we had?" Carlo turned over to address me. I sighed and removed my headphones. Of course, I remembered. It was the only thing that was itching in the back of my brain. But I hoped by not shedding light to it, it would somehow disappear. Wrong.

Once Carlo noticed my hesitancy, he continued: "James, I was serious. We've got an entire list of beautiful, young females that fit the part." He informed me like relationships or marriage was not a big deal at all.

"If I don't feel a personal connection, I'll mess everything up. Trust me." I spoke truthfully.

Carlo looked worried, but still persistent. "Give it a try, yes? Just this once."

I nervously fiddled with the wire of my headphones, contemplating his offer.

"How so?" I asked.

"I'll hook you up with a gorgeous one. Go out on a date for one night. Make sure to be seen by the public. It'll be fun." Carlo held a confident smile.

"Can I tell you tomorrow night, after training?" I pushed my luck further.

He looked disappointed, and simply nodded before going back to reading his L.A Times newspaper.

The team were flying back to the U.S.A mainly for publicity stunts, photo shoots and training. I didn't exactly know why we had to fly back when we could have done all that and more here in Madrid itself. Still, it meant that I had another chance to meet up with Mia again.

We ended on horrible terms. I was determined to go back there and fix everything. But with Carlo's new deal in the way, I was aware that things were going to get really complicated.

It was a long, six-hour flight. The team occupied the entire first class of the plane; perks of being in the best football team in Europe.

Ronaldo and Pepe were having a very loud debate in Portuguese, to which Carvajal keept on popping up from his seat to scold them for their loudness as he was trying to sleep.

Benzema and Varane were having a quiet conversation in French about God knows what, but they looked very serious and professional.

Marcelo and Sergio were fooling around with each other, as usual. Marcelo was peacefully texting someone (perhaps his wife) when Sergio grabbed the phone and started typing furiously, all while laughing like a maniac. He pressed send and Marcelo was grumpy ever since then.

Iker was sat alone, eyes closed and listening to music. He was never a social man, Iker. Always preferred the company of himself, or his family. No one dared to disturb him as everyone was slightly intimidated by their captain.

And I was sat next to my coach with my headphones plugged in listening to Robin Schulz and thinking about Mia. Even though L.A made me feel extremely homesick, I was still looking forward to the new opportunity to reconcile with Mia. That is, IF I can get a hold of her.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we will be starting our descend towards Los Angeles International Airport shortly." The captain spoke into the speakers.

Simultaneously, conversation halted and the sounds of belts buckling up were only heard. Slowly by slowly, the altitude of the plane started to drop which caused my ears to pain. Carlo kindly offered me some gum to ease off and I thanked him.

I looked outside the window and the sight of Los Angeles at night time was overwhelming. Skyscrapers with their neon lighting, busy roads crammed with cars the size of ants, orange street lights stretched out like veins... Beautiful.

"You see what you've done? She texted me back now!" I heard Marcelo angrily scold Ramos. He shrugged his shoulders with a smug smile and went back to looking out the window. I chuckled to myself and turned towards the magnificent view.

After a few minutes of total silence, with the plane's humming engine being the only sound heard, we landed safely on the run way.

When I was young, I was absolutely terrified of landing. I thought that it was an attempt from the pilot to deliberately crash the plane. I loved take-off's, though. It was as if I was embarking on a new journey, a new beginning, with endless possibilities. I trusted it would take me somewhere better.

But it wasn't until later that I realized that the pilot landed the plane, not to crash it, but to drop you off to that better destination that you took off for, no matter how terrifying the landing is.

And that better place was going to be here. With Mia. Again.