Not enough (Fermín López)

Chapter 6

"Really? And do you believe this?", Lorena grabbed Fermín's face and kissed him.

To say he was shocked would be an understatement but he was happy to kiss her back, his hands going to her waist immediately to hold her close to him. Lorena didn't even know what got her to do that but just let herself enjoy the kiss and forget about everything. She hadn't been kissed like that in a long while. When she moved away from Fermín, she saw her ex glaring at them before leaving. Yeah, he believed that.

"Well, that's one way to do it".

"I'm so sorry".
"What for?"

"Kissing you without telling you first. I don't know why I did it. I'm sorry. I...".

"No need to apologise".

Lorena closed her eyes and sighed. There was no turning back now. Adrián was going to tell her parents she was kissing someone else, so she might as well say that's her boyfriend and not just a random guy she made out with. They would punish her enough for not being back with Adrián.

"So, we're doing this?", asked Fermín.

"This is the stupidest idea you've probably had, Fermín. You know that, right?"

"Doesn't feel that bad after that kiss, to be fair".

"Well, that's not happening again so don't use it as a way to decide to do this or not".

"We'll have to pretend".

"No need to make out in front of people for them to believe us".

"We'll see...we won't do anything the other isn't comfortable with, ok?"

Lorena nodded. "Ok, we're doing this. You're officially my fake boyfriend. How does it feel?"

"It's alright", he laughed and Lorena joined him. "Let's go home, girlfriend".

He now had an excuse to always drive her to her dorm. So that was another plus for the situation. They didn't talk much on the way to her dorm but Lorena felt a sense of relief. It was hard to explain. She thought the plan was absolutely ridiculous and didn't know how they were going to make it work but...it was just that whole thing about how safe she felt when she was with Fermín. She liked how it felt. And she trusted him when he said he wouldn't make her feel uncomfortable.

But that good feeling left when Friday afternoon arrived and she went back to her parents for the weekend. She knew what was going to happen. She knew Adrián talked to them often.

"Hi", she said, taking her shoes off and trying to go to her room.

"Hi? Is that all we get, Lorena?"

She didn't answer so her dad talked too. "Adrián told us about your boyfriend. What are you thinking dating a football player? For God's sake, Lorena. We raised you better than that".

She kept looking down, not saying anything. Of course, they hated Fermín being a football player. They had a reputation. And they only wanted good boys for her...as good as their dear Adrián. They clearly didn't know him as well as they thought they did.

"Not only do you waste the opportunity of being with someone like Adrián but now you also get close to a footballer?"

"You say it like he's a disease. He looks pretty clean, you know?", she finally said, tired of their accusations and the way they spoke about Fermín.

"Lorena, don't use that tone with your mother".

"He might as well be a disease", hissed her mum. "We know the type of people they are. The lives they live. Look at how you talk after being with him".

"I'm old enough to do what I want".

"Yes. But don't expect us to help you when he dumps you and then Adrián gets tired of courting you. Who would want the leftovers of a football player? They all know what type of women they go after".

"God knows what he'll make her do".

Lorena could feel the tears burning inside her eyes. She wanted to fight back. To tell them about the things Adrián made her do...but there was no point. They wouldn't listen. They never did.

"At least Fermín cares about me. So that makes him better than you and Adrián", she said, meaning every word.

"Lorena!"

She didn't bother listening to them any longer and locked herself in her room to cry. She could spend the whole weekend there. It wouldn't be the first time. She was just so tired.

The only peace she found during those two days was seeing the Barça match. Fermín only played the last 20 minutes but seeing him living his dream made her smile. The match was being watched by millions around the world and they all knew who Fermín was now. He could have so many friends in class just because of who he was. And he could date a different girl every day if he wanted to. But he chose to fake date Lorena to help her. To protect her. It made no sense.

Lorena paused the image when the camera was pointing at a smiley Fermín celebrating the win with his teammates. She took a screenshot and sent it to him.

[Lorena]: well played, boyfriend 😛

She didn't expect an answer anytime soon. He was celebrating with his friends, as he should. But she noticed he had posted an Instagram story and when she opened it, she saw it was the screenshot she took. Fermín didn't write anything in the story, just added the same 😛 emoji she used for her text. That was her message to her that only Lorena would understand.

[Fermín]: thank you, girlfriend. That's a good photo. I'll have to hire you to take more. Is that included in the dating contract or do I have to pay you for the service somehow?

[Lorena]: included. But I might keep the bad ones to blackmail you in the future.

[Fermín]: I'll take the risk 😂 gotta go back with the boys. See you tomorrow!