The Captain's Armband

45. Reunited - Part 1

I walk through the hallway to get to the reception, still need to pick up my room key.
I see Russo standing at the reception desk, having a chat with Alice. I decide to just stand next to her, she looks to the side and I can see she wasn't expecting me.
"Hi." She says with a soft smile on her face.
"Hi mate, Hi Alice. I'm here to pick up my room key."
Alice turns her back towards us and gets a key from the wall behind her. Russo is looking straight forward.
"Here you go, Room 114." Alice hands me the key.
"Thank you so much. My bag is already there, right?"
Alice smiles. "I took care of your bag myself."
"Great, thank you so much."
"Not a problem." Alice says while giggling a bit.
I look at Russo, who is still staring straight forward.
"Russo?"
She sighs and looks to the side so she can see me. She doesn't say anything.
"You got a minute?" I ask her.
"Sure."
"Let's go outside, get some privacy."
Russo nods. "You go ahead, I'll be right there."
I smile and walk outside. I lean against the railing. I see Leah and Georgia heading my way, they are talking softly and stop talking as soon as they come near me. Leah gives me a wink as she walks by. I can't help but smile. Georgia stops and stands in front of me. Oh boy, here we go.
"I owe you an apology." She says while looking straight at me. I wasn't expecting this.
"It's okay G, you don't owe me anything."
"No, I do. I just want you to understand that I saw my best friend falling into pieces when she just got herself back together from a previous heartbreak."
I sigh, just another reminder that I truly hurt her.
"I understand, trust me. I respect the fact that you stand up for her."
"Just to be clear, If you hurt her again.. I will break every bone in your body." She sounds fearless. "Noted."
She walks up to me and gives me a hug. "Are we good?"
"Yes, we are." I say.
She nods and smiles at me. "See you later." She says as she walks inside.
I'm glad Georgia isn't that angry with me anymore, Leah must have talked to her.
Russo walks out the door. She sees me and she takes a deep breath.
"Russo, I want to tell you I'm truly sorry. I'm so sorry for how I handled the whole situation. I should have done it all differently. I tried to be supportive and I fucked up in the worst way possible."
She smiles at me. "It's all just a big misunderstanding."
I look at her and all of a sudden tears come falling down. What's up with me?
"I'm sorry, don't know what's going on with me." I say as I try and wipe away the tears.
Russo comes closer and holds me. "It's okay."
She sighs deeply when I put my arms around her.
"God, sorry." I say as I step back.
"It's okay, really Dani. Don't worry. I had a lot of time to think about the whole situation.. I just hope that we can stay friends because I do appreciate the time we spend together."
I nod to let her know I agree with her.
"I just have to find a way to deal with all the feelings I had or have or whatever it is. I want you to know that I don't want to come between Leah and you."
I smile at her, she truly is such a sweet girl.
"You deserve the best, Russo."
She smiles back at me. "I'll just focus on football for now and I will see what the future holds." 
"Let me know when you struggle or having a hard time."
"I will. You sure you are okay?" She asks me.
"Yes, mate. Must have been everything that happened today, the nerves I felt and the traveling I did, I'm tired and I get more emotional when I'm tired."
"Ok. Go to your room and rest, maybe I'll see you later."
"Talk later, bye mate." I say as I enter the building.

I walk through the hallway, looking for the right room number. Here it is. Room 114.
I open my room and enter, it's a king-size room which I have all to myself since there are only a few of us here. I look around the room, searching for my bag, but I can't find it anywhere. Am I blind? I take a deep breath and look around again. Where can it be? I walk to the bathroom but my bag isn't there either. I check under the bed one more time, nothing. I should get back to the reception to see what went wrong.
  I leave the room and walk over to the reception desk, luckily Alice is still there.
"Dani." She says with a smile.
"Hi Alice, I can't find my bag."
"Room 114, right?"
"Yes."
She looks at me with a cheeky smile on her face.
"You should go to the last room in your hallway."
"The last room? What are you talking about? You left my bag there?"
"Just go there and you will get your bag." She gives me a wink.
All of a sudden it hits me. Leah! She did this. I smile. "Ok. Thanks."
While I try to keep my nerves under control I walk to the end of the hall.
I stand in front of the last door in this hallway. This is it, this must be Leah's room.
I sigh and knock on the door. Seconds feel like minutes.
The door opens and Leah is standing in the doorway, a big smile on her face.
"I believe there has been a mix-up with my bag?"
She starts laughing. "Get in here."
I smile at her and enter her room. She closes the door behind me.
I look inside her room and I see my bag standing on the floor.
Leah looks at the bag and back at me.
"I needed insurance so that you wouldn't bail on me again without talking to me first."
I look into her eyes. I'm not sure if she says this as a joke or if she really means it.
"I wouldn't make that mistake twice."
"You better not." She whispers. Our eyes still locked.
Her eyes are brimming with emotion, telling me how much she has missed me. I can't look away, I want to hear everything they got to say to me.
Her eyes move to my lips, staring at them for a few seconds before looking back into my eyes. She licks her lips, I can feel my breathing getting faster. Every little thing she does affects me.
"W-w-e should talk." I stutter.
Leah nods her head slowly. "We should."
She is still looking straight into my eyes. She smiles at me with a twinkle in her eyes.
"God, I've missed your smile." I whisper.
She takes a step closer and she grabs my hand, still looking at me. I feel her thumb rubbing the back of my hand softly, I can feel her touch through my entire body. She looks at my lips again and I can't hold back, I take a step forward and I press my lips against hers.
She exhales deeply the moment our lips touch, like she is releasing some of the tension she feels.
We spread our lips at the same time and our tongues gently meet again, feeling so familiar. There is no hesitation with either of us. Kissing her was all I wanted in this moment and by the way she is kissing me, she felt exactly the same.
Her hand still holding mine, our fingers interlocked. Her other hand explores my body, moving from my hip to my neck. Her body moving closer, she pushes me softly so my back hits the wall, while I'm pulling her with me. She leans in, letting our bodies feel each other entirely. My hands hold her ass firmly, making sure she doesn't step away from me. It feels like a spark is reignited.
She stops the kiss to catch her breath and she looks me into my eyes, no words are shared.
She puts her forehead against my chin and exhales deeply. I put my arms around her and hold her.
We stay like this for a few minutes, nothing said, only sighs escaping our mouths, both totally in the moment and accepting every feeling that comes back to the surface.
"I have missed you so damn much." I whisper while giving her a soft kiss on the top of her head.
She steps back so she can look at me. "You have no idea how much I've missed you. Everything you did and said on that distance date made me realize that I need to apologize too. I should have talked to you sooner, I shouldn't have let you figure all the feelings out by yourself. I shouldn't have let you wander on unknown territory by yourself, I blame myself for not being there enough."
"No Leah, please don't. This is not your fault, you can't rush how you feel and you can't rush when you are ready to talk."
She smiles at me. "I think every single one of us had a part in this situation, some smaller parts than others, some good and some bad. This isn't just your fault Dani, we created this all together."
"The situation itself was created by all of us, how I handled the situation is my fault only."
She shakes her head softly and smiles at me, her soft look changes into worry. Her hand gently touching my cheek. "You look so tired."
"I am tired, all the emotions and the traveling got me worn out."
"Come, take a nap." She says as she grabs my hand and guides me towards her bed.
I look at the bed and then at Leah. I get a cheeky smile on my face.
"Oh no, you naughty girl. You need some rest." She says with a big smile on her face.
"I didn't say anything..."
"Your eyes did."
My cheeks start to blush and I smile at her. Leah jumps onto the bed, adjusting her pillow so she can sit against it.
"Come over here." She says as she spread her arms. I take off my shoes and vest and do as she asks.
I crawl up next to her, my face against her side and her arm around me.
"Oh my god, this feels so good." I say as I exhale deeply.
"It sure does." She says as she starts playing with my hair. "You just close your eyes, I will wake you before dinner." She gives me a kiss on the top of my head. I close my eyes and before I know it I fall asleep, feeling safe in Leah's arms.

I wake up because I feel Leah moving and I hear a phone buzzing, Leah is grabbing something but fails and swears softly. I open my eyes and smile at her panicking and trying to be quiet.
"Hi." I say with a sleepy voice.
"Shit. Sorry. Did I wake you?"
"Yes but I don't mind, I've slept like a baby."
She leans in to grab her phone from her nightstand.
"You just sat here without your phone? What did you do all this time?" I ask confused.
"All this time? It's only been like an hour. I just sat here, listening to you breathing and snoring." She gives me a smile.
"Did I snore?"
"Very softly, it was actually pretty cute."
I rub my hands over my face and sigh. "Glad I could entertain you."
She starts laughing. "It was Keira who called me. Do you mind if I call her back right now?"
"Of course not."
Leah FaceTime's Keira, it takes a few seconds before she answers.
"Hi mate, how are you? Did you see Dani? How did it go?" Keira starts rambling.
Leah is laughing, that little shy laugh of hers is so cute. She turns the camera so it faces me.
"DANI! HI!" Keira shouts.
I smile. "Hi mate."
"I'm so glad to see you two together!" Keira says, still shouting.
"Shhht." Leah says. "Don't want the whole building to hear you."
Keira starts laughing. "Sorry. I'm just glad to see that you two are doing okay. Wait. Are you two doing okay?"
Leah looks me into my eyes. "I think so. We still need to talk about a few things but so far so good."
I grab Leah's hand and give a soft kiss on the back of it.
"Since my bag is already here, do you mind if I take a quick shower?" I ask her.
"Go ahead." She says with a smile.
I hear her and Keira talking like they haven't talked to each other for ages.
I step into the shower, warm water rinsing away my tiredness. I can hear Leah laughing from the room, which is putting a smile on my face. The warm water on my skin feels so good. I get out of the shower, I feel refreshed and hungry. I put on some jeans and a simple white T-shirt, my hair in a messy bun. I get out of the bathroom and Leah stops talking and is tilting her head so she can see me better.
"How do you feel?" She asks me.
"Refreshed." I answer. She smiles at me and turns her head so she faces her phone again.
"Keira mate, I got to go. It's almost dinner time. I will talk to you later, thanks for checking in."
"Bye my darlings." Keira shouts a little, making sure I hear her as well.
"Bye mate." I say as Leah turns the phone towards me.
Leah gives a kiss to the camera and hangs up.
"Ready for dinner?"
I nod. "Can we go together? Or shall I go first?"
I can see something shifting in her eyes.
"We go together." She says as she reaches out her hand. I grab her hand and pull her closer.
Our lips touch immediately and we share an intimate but gentle kiss.
"I don't think I will ever get tired of kissing you." I say with a smile.
"I will put you to the test as long as I can."
My heart skipped a beat when I hear those words coming from her mouth. 
She gives me a wink and walks to the bathroom to quickly freshen up.
"Ok. Let's go." She says while opening the door.
I step out and look to see if there is anyone in the hallway, the coast is clear.

To be continued...