Not enough (Fermín López)

Chapter 3

Once class was over for the day, Lorena made her way out. There was a lot to do for homework but...there was also a lot of rain falling from the sky. And she had no umbrella. Great.

She planned to wait until the rain stopped at least a little. But it didn't seem like it was happening anytime soon.

"Observing the rain? Some people find it relaxing".

She turned to see Fermín standing next to her. "Waiting for the clouds to be done more like".

Fermín laughed and took a little umbrella out of his bag. "Ok, I'll give you two options. Either you take the umbrella with you or you let me drive you home".

"How did you know to bring one? It hasn't rained in weeks".

"My dad is obsessed with weather apps and gave me one this morning", he shrugged. "So what is it?"

"It's fine. I'll just wait. Can you call your dad to ask when it'll stop raining?"

"I could. He would love that, actually. But I can also drive you home. Let's go".

Fermín didn't really give her a chance to say no again, opening the umbrella and covering both of them with it.

"You really don't have to bother".

"Lorena, you've done so much for me since the classes started. The least I can do is save you from the rain one day".

She smiled at him. "I might get used to it and ask you to be my chauffeur all the time".

"I'm Gavi's already. I'm used to it. And it's an upgrade to drive a pretty girl instead of him".

Lorena chuckled and Fermín felt stupid. It would sound like he's flirting and she was probably not interested. She didn't do anything to make him feel like she was trying to flirt with him, so he felt he had messed up.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable by saying you're pretty. It was just a joke".

"So you don't think I'm pretty?"

When he looked at her, he saw Lorena was trying not to laugh and Fermín relaxed. "I do think you're pretty. But I was trying to joke about Gavi not being pretty".

"He's pretty though".

"I know", he snorted.

"But I'm prettier?"

"Of course".

The car wasn't far and when they were inside, Fermín asked for Lorena's address.

"I'm in one of the dorms. It isn't far".

"That's ok. Do you like it there?"

"I guess", she sighed. "It's just a small room but it feels nice to be away from home".

"You're from Barcelona, right? So not that far away".

"Yes, but it's a 40-minute drive from my parent's house to uni. So the dorm makes more sense".

"And you want to be away from them".

Fermín was just joking but seeing Lorena's reaction, he realised that was the moment he messed up.

"Did I say the wrong thing?"

"No, you can't say the wrong thing when you don't know what the right or wrong thing is. But...yeah, I don't have the best relationship with my parents. So it's a plus to have them far away from Monday to Friday. I can't avoid seeing them on the weekends".

"Sorry to hear that".

He really was sorry. His relationship with his family couldn't be better so Fermín didn't fully understand how someone could not be in the same situation. But got that it was the case for many. And he hated it was the case for Lorena. However, this piece of information was another little clue as to why Lorena acted the way she did. He was collecting those pieces to try and finish the puzzle that she was.

"It's whatever", she shrugged. "So...season going well, then?"

The way she wanted to avoid the topic was another clue. But Fermín wasn't going to force her to say more. Not yet.

"Yes, the group is pretty good. And I was already good friends with Gavi so that helps. But it's exciting to be a part of the first team".

"That's good. Do you get teased for being a nerd that goes to uni?"

"Not really", he laughed. "There is a lot of teasing and joking so they might do that soon...and we got to the dorm".

"Thank you. I prefer taking showers in the actual shower, not in the middle of the street".

"Yes, I get that. I hate playing in the rain".

"How do you even do that? I feel like the water getting inside my eyes won't allow me to see well and none of you get sick after it".

Fermín shrugged. "I don't know. Footballer's superpower, I guess".

Lorena smiled and opened the car's door. It had stopped raining so she didn't have to worry about running to the door to stay dry. "Thanks again. I'll see you tomorrow".

"You will".

Fermín kept looking at Lorena until she was safely inside the building. He felt good about driving her home and not just because of the rain. He had seen her looking around when she left the uni, probably making sure Adrián wasn't following her. Maybe he could find other excuses to drive her home often.

The dorm wasn't on his way home but she didn't know that. It wasn't on his way to training either, which meant he now had to hurry to make it there on time. The classes didn't end so late that he could tell her it was too dark for a girl to walk home alone. But he would find an excuse. He would find a way to keep protecting her.