'Should I be worried?' Pedri asked me laughing.
'Why would you?' I asked confused, as he pulled into the parking lot of the airport.
'Well, we kissed and then you did those interviews for Barça and now you're going to Paris.' he smiled.
'I haven't seen Luca in ages and I want to surprise him.' I smiled softly. 'You have nothing to worry about.' I leaned in and planted a kiss on his lips. 'Take care of my baby.' I said touching my car's dashboard.
'She's in great hands.' he chuckled.
'He's.' I corrected him.
'Your car is a boy?' he laughed.
'Yes.' I nodded my head. 'The best.'
I got out the car and took my suitcase out of the booth. Before leaving, I quickly climbed back into the car and planted another kiss on Pedri's lips. 'Don't miss me too much.'
'Oh, I'll be forgetting about you as soon as I pull out of the parking lot.' he laughed, making me roll my eyes with a smile on my face.
I waved at him and walked straight into the airport.
***
After a two hour flight, I finally touched down in Paris. Stepping outside, I inhaled the Parisian air I missed so much. My mum used to say that every place we go to, we tend to leave a piece of us. And she was right. I left, but a piece of me stayed here. And I was finally reunited with it.
I took a taxi to Parc de Princes, a sensation of excitement and nervousness taking over.
***
'Mademoiselle Irina?' Mrs. Lemaire said as soon as she saw me entering the reception of the training centre.
'Bonjour.' I smiled, approaching her.
She quickly sat up from her desk and came around to give me a warm hug. 'Oh, how good it's seeing you.' she said with her thick accent.
'It's really great seeing you too.' I smiled softly.
'You look really good.' she said softly, her eyes gentle.
I knew exactly what she was referring to. I nodded my head in response.
'I'm sure everyone is excited to see you, so I'll let you go.' she chuckled. 'You already know your way around here.'
'Thank you.' I smiled, walking away from her and towards the hallway.
As I was walking down the hallway I stopped for a second in my tracks, trying to pull myself together. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath in and exhaling it a few seconds after.
Maybe being here wasn't the best idea. I wanted to cry, to laugh, to scream...
So many emotions we're trying to take over but I managed to brush them off.
I returned to my walking, Luca's office being my destination. I left the suitcase on the side, knocking once and opening the door. 'Can I come in?' I said softly.
Luca's eyes instantly looked at me. He was accompanied by a man and they looked like they were having quite of an important conversation. However, Luca didn't care. He instantly stood up and rushed towards me.
'No...' he said, his eyes widened in surprise. 'No!' he wrapped his arms around me, lifting me off the ground.
'It's good seeing you too love.' I chuckled.
He kept on hugging me, almost squishing the life out of me.
'Luca, I low-key can't breath anymore.' I laughed.
'Sorry, sorry.' he put me down, a massive smile on his face. 'What are you doing here?' he placed his arms on my shoulders. 'Did something happen? Are you okay?' he asked, his tone a bit worried now. 'I can't believe you're here. Why didn't you tell me?'
'That wouldn't of been much of a surprise.' I said mockingly, a smile on my face.
All we did was look at eachother.
'Oh, I missed you so much...' I said quietly, my eyes turning glossy.
'Not as close as I missed you.' he said softly.
The man he was previously talking to cleared his throat, both of us finally remembering that he was still there. We turned our attention to him.
'Aiden, this is-' Luca started off but the man interrupted him.
'Irina.' he smirked, shaking a picture he lifted from Luca's desk. 'He always talks about you.'
'Of course he does.' I shook my head smiling. 'And you are?' I asked, my eyebrows raised.
'Aiden Laurent.' he put the picture of me and Luca back on the desk. 'The social media manager.'
'The man who stole my job.' I smiled, but all I wanted to do was push him out that window.
To my surprise, Aiden wasn't the old man I pictured in my head. He was probably a bit older than me and Luca, his hair black as ebony, his skin white as snow and his eyes were a shade of dark brown that could easily be mistaken with the colour black. He was as tall as Luca and he was wearing a pair of black trousers and a black t-shirt, his hair messy but somehow fashionable.
'I hope you're not holding a grudge against me.' he smirked smugly, taking a closer step towards us.
His tone was full of authority and his presence quite intimidating. He didn't have a thick french accent, making me wonder why not.
'I'll try not to.' I winked.
'Okay, well...' Luca said grabbing my arm. 'Aiden, we'll continue our conversation later.' he looked at the young man. 'I'm busy now.' he smiled and dragged me out the office and towards the football pitch.
