First love (Pedri & Eric García)

Chapter 2

By the time Pedri got home from the club, his brother was already sleeping. But Pedri didn't feel sleepy at all so he went to the kitchen to make a little snack.

He was trying to think about the whole night, to make sense of it. It was the last time he was going out until the end of next season. He knew some people were lying about him partying too much when that night out was an exception. But there was some truth in their worry. Players who partied too much didn't have good seasons. And he needed that season to be really good.

And then there was Laia. He didn't know what to make of her. When he was looking around to see if there was anyone that caught his eye, Pedri noticed her immediately. What was surprising was that no one else did first. Laia was the prettiest girl in the room, by a lot. She also looked like she didn't want to be there and the way she looked at the guy by the door said it all.

Pedri knew how those clubs worked. They usually moved around the normal area picking girls they thought would interest the rich guys of the VIP area but why did anyone pick Laia? She was gorgeous but was also nothing like the girls he usually saw there. Maybe that was what made him feel so curious about her.

"If I was just Pedro from Tenerife and not Pedri the Barça player, she could have come home with me", he said, remembering the fear in her eyes when Laia told him she knew who he was.

Yes, she was different. And he needed to get to know her. Pedri needed to prove to her he was worth knowing. But how could he do that?

Checking the contact on his phone, he noticed she didn't just write Laia but Laia Rovira. Maybe she was used to saying her last name too, since Laia was such a common name in Catalonia. But it gave him an idea.

It took a while because the last name was fairly common too, but he ended up finding her Instagram. No sign of a boyfriend, which was good. She did kiss him so he assumed she was single. But one never knew.

Pedri learnt Laia was a dentist's assistant, so not only pretty but also smart. She had posted a lot during her time in uni and he smiled seeing all the different hairstyles she had gone through.

"Cute", he said, seeing one of the oldest photos where she seemed to be on holiday with her family.

Pedri knew he couldn't follow her and show he had basically been stalking her. That usually didn't make a good impression. She didn't have that many followers either and...there was someone he followed that followed her. Eric?

It took him a couple of seconds to start laughing. Well, of course. Eric followed every pretty girl that had an Instagram account. Or maybe they knew each other? They were both from Barcelona and seemed to come from a similar background. But no, Laia didn't follow him so Pedri just guessed Eric found her account randomly and just pressed follow because Laia was hot. He was such a cliché sometimes. Probably hoping she would notice a verified account following her and she would follow him back. If only Eric knew...

Falling asleep wasn't that easy but he finally managed. Pedri didn't dream about Laia, unfortunately. But woke up thinking about her. When would it be appropriate to text her?

Pedri didn't want to look desperate but...he had also stalked her Instagram the previous night so maybe that ship had sailed.

"I thought you didn't have training this morning", said Fer, his brother, when he saw the gym bag Pedri was carrying.

"I'm not tired so I thought I could go to a Pilates class".

"You're really enjoying that, right?"

"Yes", he said, smiling at his big brother. "You should try it one day".