ON HOLD! to the top! | élisa de almeida.

chapter eleven.

the two ended up at a hotpot restaurant near elisa's house - jia staring at the raw meat in confusion as she had never been to a restaurant where they grill/cook the food themselves.

"are you not going to eat?" elisa asked as she picked up the provided chopsticks and cooked her meat, "didn't you say you were hungry?"

"how do i eat?"

"what do you mean how? grab the meat and cook it."

jia laughed nervously, "well... i don't know how long it takes to cook."

elisa's tongue poked through her cheek, "princess syndrome?"

"what?"

"don't act, it cooks in about 3 minutes."

"what? act?"

the footballer ate a spoonful of her white rice and continued after she swallowed it, "do you like me? otherwise, why would you be acting like this in front of me?"

jia glared at the latter as she grabbed her chopsticks and cooked the meat, munching on it when it was done. elisa stared at the younger's surprised expression and smirked when she saw her going in for more.

"it's good right?" elisa asked with a hopeful expression.

the agent cleared her throat, "it's not bad. but i have something to say. i'm not interested in elisa de almeida. what your past was or what your relationships with others are, i'm not interested."

the older's hopeful expression dropped, "so?"

jia thought for a bit before speaking, "i'm only interested in one thing. just score or defend goals," she continued eating after that.

"everything is okay if i score or defend goals," elisa repeated, "that means i'm a machine."

jia smirked whilst cooking the meat, "bingo!"

elisa's eyebrows furrowed, "a machine? not a human?"

jia's smirk dropped after a few seconds: "ah, no that's not what i meant. well, i can't say you're a machine but you're someone who's good at football."

the taller tilted her head, "you really are bad."

"what?"

"you're good at telling lies and torturing people. you're saying that it's fine if i don't have a conscience as long as i score or defend."

"no that's not what i-"

"you really are like camila's girlfriend, perfect for each other."

"hey!"

elisa pulled her drink away from her lips, "it's scary, there's still a year left of the contract."

jia scoffed.

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the two walked home as a cool breeze floated in the air. jia walked on the pavement as elisa walked on the road, still right next to each other.

jia sneezed loudly, her eyes widening after as she just crossed her arms to keep herself warm.

elisa side-eyed the shorter and sighed as she took her jacket off, leaving her in her sleeveless top as she just put the jacket in jia's arms.

the agent smiled brightly as she wrapped the jacket around herself - elisa smiling softly and trying to hide it.

"people will misunderstand if they see us," the footballer said.

"about what?"

elisa changed the topic, "doesn't that jacket smell?"

jia furrowed her eyebrows and sniffed it, "smells of nothing but perfume."

"where's your car?"

"over there," jia pointed to it and the two reached it after a couple of minutes.

"go in," jia said as she took off the jacket.

"wear it and go." the footballer replied, "machines don't feel cold."

"what?" jia asked, surprised.

elisa looked her up and down: "go." she opened the gates to her house after that and walked in with her hands dug in her pockets.