GRAVITY | R. DIAS

• 19 •

January 6, 2024

After a great New Year, spent with her sister and Martin, Martha's back home in Manchester, enjoying her last days of the winter break. She had loads of fun meeting her brother-in-law's teammates and totally forgot about Rúben's text.

Anna had told Martin about her pregnancy on New Year's Day in the presence of Martha. She was still a bit scared Martin would be disappointed and wouldn't want the baby. Luckily his reaction was the complete opposite. He was so happy, he was even crying and when it was time for Martha to leave she noticed he was already searching for baby stuff and books.

This memory makes Martha smile. Martin's going to be a great dad and her sister a great mum.

Martha's now at the dog park letting Dante out. Even though she's got a small garden at home, she likes to come here because there's much more space for her dog to run around. It's extremely cold outside, so she's wrapped in a big coat and scarf.

Dante's chasing a ball Martha had thrown, when she suddenly hears a voice, with a familiar accent. "Why did you want to come here to walk our dogs, Rúben?" The blonde girl turns around and sees two Portuguese footballers walking towards her. What are they doing here? She's never seen them here before.

Rúben's eyes immediately lock onto the blonde girl and a smile appears around his lips. Even if she doesn't want to Martha feels the corners of her mouth curl up as well. Why does this man have such an effect on her?

"I see," Bernardo whispers when he sees his teammate's gaze.

They reach the girl, greeting her friendly, while she calls her dog closer. "Hello Martha. Happy New Year," Bernardo greets her. "You live here?"

"Happy New Year to you too," Martha says with a smile. "I live just around the corner. And you Bernardo I didn't know you have  dogs," she looks down at Dante who's curiously sniffing the four dogs in front of him. Martha's always been proud of the fact that her dog is well-behaved and rather loves playing with other dogs, than fight with them. Seems like Bernardo's and Rúben's dogs share the same sentiment.

"Yes these are John and Charles,"

This answer makes the girl laugh. "John? As in your teammate John?" the smaller of the two men nods. "That's crazy, but I like it," Martha crouches down so she can greet the dogs, aswell as Rúben's dogs.

When she gets back up, she looks straight at Rúben. His brown eyes looking straight at her and Martha's breath gets stuck in her throat. He looks way too good with that beanie on his head. Martha shakes her head, she really needs to stop thinking like this about him. He has a girlfriend for god's sake!

Now that he's standing in front of her, she can no longer ignore the fact that he send her a dm. "I'm sorry I didn't answer your message, but it's been quite busy,"

"No problem," he smiles, making the corners of his eyes wrinkle adorably. It takes every bit of willpower inside Martha to not melt there and then agaim. "I told you to let me know when you were free, didn't I?"

The trio keep talking while keeping a close eye on their respective dogs. Well it's more Martha and Bernardo talking and Rúben keeping his intense gaze fixed on the blonde girl, making her feel a bit uncomfortable. He should seriously stop doing that? Martha doesn't know how long she'll be strong enough to withstand this tension.

When she has had enough of it, she calls over Dante and says she's got to get home. She says her goodbyes, quickly walking away.

"You're playing a dangerous game, my friend," Bernardo says once the blonde girl is out of their sight.

Rúben looks at his teammate, confusion written all over his face. "What do you mean?"

"I have eyes, Rúben. And I know that what I'm seeing isn't going to end well," the smaller man says.

But Rúben still doesn't seem to understand. "What are you seeing?" he furrows his eyebrows.

"I see the change in you whenever Martha's around," Bernardo explains. "And now you suddenly want to go for a walk in the area she lives. How exactly did you know where she lives?"

"It's just a coincidence Bernardo," Rúben answers.

"I'm not stupid Rúben," Bernardo sighs. "But just be careful. I don't want any of you to get hurt. Not you, not Martha and not Emma,"

"I'm not going to hurt Emma. Ever. I love her," the taller says.

Bernardo shakes his head, but decides to not push any further. If his teammate says there's nothing going on he'll better believe it. Still there's a small feeling that someone is going to get hurt. He's been a witness of the tension between the two and let's say it is pretty obvious.