Foolish one

Chapter 43

That fall season took far too long. We got through to the quarterfinals in the champions league and in la Copa de la Reina. I had moved in with Alexia. It took us a week for the move to be done. I had a lot of stuff that I wanted to bring with me. It was our apartment now, and not just hers.

I was a bit nervous about Christmas. Alexia and I would be celebrating separately. I would be with my family, and she would be with hers. The fact that I still have not met Alexia's family worried me a bit. She said that we could do it whenever I wanted, and that she understood if I wanted to take my time. "I have a proposal, how about I invite my family to your birthday party? It would only be my sister and my mom. There would also be a lot of other people there, like your family and our friends" Alexia asked. She was still incredibly shy when it came to things like this. "That sounds great" I said and wrapped my arms around her neck, placing a kiss on her lips.

"I was also thinking that we could have a small Christmas celebration, just the three of us" she continued with a smile. "That also sounds lovely" I said. My arms were still around her, craving some physical contact. "Great" Alexia said and kissed me again. I had bought her gifts, they were already sitting under our bed, neatly wrapped. Having a small celebration was way better than just giving then in the morning before I went to see my family.

Christmas was there soon enough. Alexia and I had agreed to celebrate two days before, just so we would have enough time together and time to spend with family. I had worked hard to find the perfect gift for her, after some time I had settled for matching pyjamas for the three of us. Finding that was very difficult, not a lot of stores had pyjamas for dogs, so I had to place a custom order for that. I got her a necklace with a pressed flower inside, a Dyson airwrap, which she had been talking about for ages, and a few other things. I was happy about my gifts, I thought they were perfect for her.

We cooked dinner together, some insanely complicated dish that Alexia wanted to make. I just laughed along and chopped the vegetables, the only thing I was allowed to do when she cooked. However, I was very good at that. The tiny pieces impressed everyone who ate our food, and Alexia was always a bit sour about that. It took us over two hours to get the dinner finished. I complained the last hour and sat with my phone instead. I made a few TikToks with Nala and Alexia. She didn't know that, and she was opposed to the whole TikTok thing. I posted one of them, one where Alexia was barely visible.

Our relationship was something we kept private, even after almost half a year. Friends and family knew, but it was not something that fans were sure of. People speculated and had done that for ages, but nothing was confirmed. Just the way we both liked it. We were not secret about it, we went on tips together and made a few appearances on each other's Instagram, and Alexia was on my TikTok a lot.

I set the table while Alexia was still cooking, that meal took way too long for my liking. We had napkins, live candles, and flowers on the table. It looked incredibly good and was perfect for our small Christmas celebration. Maybe next year we would celebrate together. Am I even allowed to think about this? What if we break up? Better touch some wood. Just how you are supposed to do when you don't want to ruin things.

"You didn't have to get me this" I called out as I opened the first gift. We were all wearing the pyjamas I had bought, and we looked very good. It was a necklace, with her initial on it and a note below.

Not because I own you, but 'cause I really know you

"Should I put it on?" she asked in that small voice I had come to love. "You should absolutely do that" I answered with a smile. When it was on, I kissed her. It was a very caring gift. I had been talking about that for long, whenever we listened to that song it was the topic that left my mouth. The next thing I got from her was a pair of sunglasses. I never remembered to bring mine, I seemed to always lose every pair of sunglasses that I owned. She also got me a Luis Vuitton toiletry bag, matching with the one she had. "This is way too expensive Ale" I said. It was thoughtful and everything, but very expensive. I admired the one she had, I talked about how pretty it was and how I would want one, that doesn't mean she should get me one.

"Don't worry about it, it wasn't too expensive. I know how much you like mine, so I got you one" she said with a smile. It was impossible to be mad at her for long. It was thoughtful, and she was very cute. The same thing repeated when she opened her gifts. She said that the Dyson was way too expensive. I told her how much she had talked about it, and that I couldn't return it.

We continued to open the rest of us gifts. Nala was with us, playing with the ribbons and the wrappings. I had gotten Nala some gifts, like her own jersey, with both our names on it as well as the number 13. You got the number by adding both of ours, which I found very cheesy. I also got her some toys, and some more accessories. She was a spoiled dog. Alexia got her a new, bigger, dog-bed and even more toys. Maybe we should have coordinated on that one. Nala was very happy about all her gifts, she ran around the apartment and played with everything.

Whenever she came back with a toy in her mouth, she wanted us to throw it for her. Being the good dog parents we were, we always did. Her happiness was clear, and I sat there in Alexia's embrace looking at that little ball of fluff running around. "Happy?" Alexia asked and placed a kiss on my neck. "How could I be unhappy here, together with you and with Nala running around?" I responded with a smile. "I am also very happy, but I think next year we should celebrate together. Don't you?" she asked cheekily. I thought we should, if we lasted that long. "I think so too" I answered and turned my head around, so I could face her. She placed a kiss on my lips, and we returned to watching Nala play. It was calming.

Thirty minutes later I was her personal mannequin. She did my hair with it, cooing over how beautiful it looked. Nala was asleep in my lap, and sitting on the floor wasn't particularly comfortable. But I did it for her, she looked so happy when I offered my hair for her to practice on. That face made it all worth it.

I left in the morning. "You can't leave without saying goodbye" Alexia complained from the bed. I was just grabbing my bag and was planning on letting her sleep in. "You looked like you needed the sleep" I answered with a smile. "What I need is a goodbye kiss" she said and looked up. I went over and kissed her softly. "Go back to sleep, I will text you when I have made it" I whispered to her. She nodded back at me, signalling that she was going to do so, and that she found it okay for me to text.

My bag was packed, and I sat alone in my car to make the drive. I used the drive to prepare myself. My dad was always there for Christmas, cooing with Sofia, playing with Alicia and Maria, and laughing with my siblings. He ruined it a bit for me, not enough to make me hate Christmas, but enough to make me dread seeing him. I love being able to celebrate with my family, and Christmas is the perfect time for that.

My car was full of presents for my nieces, a few for my siblings, and some for my grandparents. Everyone was there for Christmas, and I always made sure to get every person something. Well, except for my dad, he made it clear when I came out to him that he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. I didn't get him a gift. My siblings did, because he loved them in a way, he never loved me. The pressure he put on me was never good. After every game he sat and analysed every mistake I made. We talked about why it was wrong and worked on getting better. In the beginning it was amazing, but when he forced me to run laps until I fainted and threw up, it was no longer good.

Me
I have arrived

Ale<3
Te amo

Me
Te amo

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I find them way too cute, and I also want someone to love me in the way Alexia loves Isa.

I need to be honest with you all and say that I am having a bit of a touch time mentally. This means slower updates with this story just so you know. 

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