Unexpected (bayern munich)

Chapter 19

The second week of January, Natalia found herself phone to shoulder, way past midnight on the phone with Cat discussing what they were bringing to Doha. Neither had ever been to Qatar, but they were warned by Natalia that skimpy outfits were not in their best interest. Despite being a seemingly equatorial country, they were assured the temperatures would be mild, and brisk at night. Regardless—Natalia was excited to get away from the chilly Munich temperatures and into a warmer climate.

"So you're just wearing whatever on the plane?" Cat asked as they settled on bringing only one pair of heels. They didn't anticipate going out, but knowing the team, there would be some kind of unplanned club night.

"Yeah, probably just leggings and a sweatshirt," Natalia said, "I'm not trying to impress anyone," she said loftily, throwing another pair of yoga pants into her suitcase, which was mostly lounge clothes.

"Have you packed office clothes yet?" Cat asked, Natalia heard shuffling on her end of the line.

"Oh no," Natalia said staring at her closet, "I didn't even think about that."

"I think I'll bring two skirts and I'll rotate blouses," Cat reasoned, as Natalia stifled a yawn. The girls gabbed a bit longer as they finished packing, but morning came much too soon for Natalia. She met the team at the airport—they had a separate waiting area because of their high profile, and Natalia was ushered through security quickly. She entered the holding area, and bid everyone a quick good morning before settling into one of the uncomfortable chairs to await boarding.

Natalia noticed Cat stumble in, looking flawless despite the early hour, her hair freshly washed and styled, wearing an adorable jeans and boots combination.

Natalia stared down at her own outfit—leggings, boots, and funnel neck sweatshirt that Tanya had given her for Christmas, meant for workouts, that Natalia had yet to christen with sweat.

"Leave it to you to look gorgeous before the sun is up," Natalia said greeting her friend, who gave her a pout.

"You have that relaxed chic thing going on," Cat brushed off, as Natalia pulled her headphones from her bag and secured them around her neck.

After boarding, Natalia promptly fell asleep much to the amusement of the rest of the team, who discovered she could sleep through just about everything, including ear plugs up her nose. They arrived at the hotel with no hiccups, this time there were no paparazzi to strike Natalia down. There was no training scheduled for the rest of the day, a few of the boys had some press conferences to tend to, but the day was mainly for exploration. They wouldn't be taken to the training grounds until the following day, but the hotel grounds were also large enough to accommodate the now 40 or so Bayern Munich players and staff roaming. Cat convinced Natalia that they had done enough sitting for their Holiday break, and was dragging her out for a run.

Natalia was not an athletic girl, she never had been. The most she exercised since starting at her new job was running to the bus stop in the morning, which had been happening increasingly rarer since Thomas drove them wherever they needed to go.

Cat on the other hand, ran almost every day, so after about only 10 minutes in the unusually warm conditions, Natalia slowed to a walk, urging Cat to run ahead and meet her later. There was a significant amount of acreage behind the hotel—a large green pasture filled with a walking path, palm trees, and every so often a villa, presumably for the millionaires. Natalia noticed in one of these clearings, a few Germans yelling indiscernible words.

Turning to look around for Cat briefly and not finding her, Natalia walked over to a rather sweaty Bastian, Thomas, Arjen, Manuel, Jerome, and Robert, who didn't notice her approaching form, until she was standing next to them.