Never Let Go (Of Me) • Ferran Torres

Chapter 4: Customers

🎶 About You Now — Sugababes 🎶

A few days had passed since the party, and I was currently at work, folding some new merch, when I saw a girl, probably my age, looking at jerseys.
"Hello, may I help you?" I asked friendly.
"Oh, hi! Yeah, I'm looking for the away jersey with Ferran's number" she replied, looking through a rack. The name made me shiver.
"Ferran?" I asked again.
"Yeah, he's my favourite player" she replied and nodded eagerly.
"Oh really?" I asked, somehow sarcastically. "I don't have his number out here, but I can print it at the checkout for you, if that's fine?" I told her and she nodded.

We both moved to the checkout and I positioned the shirt in the printing machine before typing in the name and his number 11.
"Here we go. Shirt number 11" I said and held up the shirt in front of my face for her to see.
"Good choice" I heard a deep voice say. And even though I hadn't heard that voice in almost one and a half years, I immediately recognised it.
"OH MY GOSH!" the girl squealed and I quickly pulled down the shirt from in front of my face to check if my ears weren't playing me a choice.
"I LOVE YOU" the girl said and hugged Ferran while I just stood there frozen as we looked at each other.

"Maybe you could sign the shirt" I said calmly and bent down to pull out a sharpie from one of the drawers.
"Sure" he replied calmly and stepped closer to the counter while the girl was filming the scene with her phone. I stepped away, making sure that she wouldn't grab me on her camera but she didn't really care about me. Still, I was being paranoid, for good reasons.
"Could you take a picture of us too?" the girl asked me agitatedly and I nodded, taking her phone from her hands. Ferran put his arm around her and they held up the signed jersey. My heart melted when he smiled, I remembered that smile as if it had been yesterday that it was directed at me, laughing together in that club in Manchester. Oh, how our lives had changed since then.

"This is the best day ever! Thank you so, so much!" the girl said and, oh my, was she crying? I quickly pulled out a tissue from somewhere on the desk to give to her.
"Thanks. You're really nice" she told me and I pressed my lips into a smile. "Bye Ferran! Please score the next game!" she told him brightly.
"I'll try" he chuckled and with a last wave, the girl was gone and I crossed my arms in front of my chest.

"Now what are you doing here?" I asked.
"I could ask the same thing. I thought you were a med student in Manchester, or are you one of those girls who invent personalities when going out?" he asked back, tilting his head.
"Oh that's rich coming from you, Fernando" I hissed back, checking our surroundings if there was anyone around us who could be eavesdropping. But it was early afternoon, a time where most Spaniards were occupied with lunch or a siesta, so it was rather calm in the store.

"It's just Catalan for Fernando! And I told you I worked in football, if that's the next thing you want to accuse me of" he replied sternly.
"Oh, can you imagine my surprise when I was here at my job interview and walked in to find your huge face plastered on the wall!" I shot back, pointing at his poster in this season's jersey. "How did you even know that I work here?!" I asked.
"Everyone in the locker room was talking about Dan's beautiful friend who now works at the Barca store. And... I figured we should talk since we didn't... at the party" he replied and I rolled my eyes in disbelief.

"Does your girlfriend know you're here?" I asked. "You know, the one you got yourself after you told me you weren't looking for a relationship" I specified and now it was his turn to roll his eyes.
"She doesn't" he just answered.
"Then why are you even here?" I asked.
"I... Because... Things were left unsaid" he stammered.
"No. Everything was said that night, and it's in the past anyways" I clarified.

"So you won't tell my what you're doing here in Barcelona?" he asked, his expression softer now.
"Hell no, we'll never be close enough for me to tell you anything more about my private life. Now if you could please leave me alone, I need to work. Imagine if I walked onto the pitch while you're playing a game and tried to chat you up with nonsense" I hissed.
"Ouch. Harsh" he commented and put his hand on his heart.
"You deserve it" I shot back and crossed my arms again, waiting for him to finally make an exit.

"Wow, I came here trying to do a nice gesture but I'm greeted with this hostile front" he scoffed. I wanted to reply something but the more I talked, the more he would talk back and the later he would leave. And I didn't want to see his handsome face anymore, because it was stirring up my feelings that had to be crushed because this was not ok, he had a girlfriend. A very influential one. If she got to know that her boyfriend paid visits to a female store employee, I'm pretty sure she could get me fired with one call. At least that's what I would do if my boyfriend would go around and chat up random girls he met at a club years ago, if I had the chance.

"Got it. Friendliness only for customers then, I see. Well, I'll take this, so you'll have to be nice to me at least for the minute you serve me" he said with a fake smile and put a pair of socks on the counter.
"Are you serious?" I asked incredulously.
"What? You wouldn't want me to tell your manager that you treated a player unfriendly" he replied in a challenging tone.
"Unbelievable..." I muttered under my breath angrily.

"Only the socks?" I asked in a fake friendly tone, pressing my lips into a smile.
"Yes, please. A guy can never have enough socks" he replied and chuckled amusedly. Inappropriate as hell, but I had to let it slide.
"It's 14.99€ then, will you pay with cash or card?" I asked.
"Card" he replied and flexed his black AmEx.
"Here you go" I said as I turned the credit card terminal to him. After he held the card on it, it made its usual beep and the purchase was done. I packed up his socks in a bag and concentrated on that, not looking at him.

"This is for you, receipt is in the bag. Have a wonderful day" I said, hoping to sound sarcastic. Really, I wished him to be hit by a car as soon as he left. Not a serious injury though, I could never wish someone that, but some bruises and cuts would suffice.
"Goodbye, Cata" he said, faking to read my name card, but he didn't need to do that. I got some goosebumps when he called me a nickname, no one else beside him had ever called me. For my friends and family, I was Lina. I was Cata only for him. We held some more eye contact, until he broke it when he turned around and walked away, sending me a small smile.