Never Let Go (Of Me) • Ferran Torres

Chapter 5: It's A Match

🎶 Miss You — Oliver Tree, Robin Schulz 🎶

When I came home from my shift, Dan and Sara were already in the kitchen, cooking.
"I had the worst day" I sighed when I joined them.
"Oh no, what happened? Crazy fangirl overload?" Dan chuckled.
"Ferran came to... visit me" I replied and both their eyes widened when they turned around to look at me.
"Alone? What did he say? What did he want?" they both immediately bombarded me with questions, and I told them everything about our encounter from start to finish.

Dan and Sara exchanged a glance when I stopped talking and I raised my arms.
"What?" I asked.
"Um..." Dan mumbled, looking at his girlfriend for help.
"You explain, you're a guy" she snickered and stirred in a pot.
"Thanks for your help" her boyfriend shot at her and looked at me, who was still waiting for an answer. "Ok! Let's just say that I'm in a happy relationship and it wouldn't cross my mind to go to the workplace of a random chick I met years ago at a club, no offence to you" he explained and I just raised my eyebrows.

"I bet he likes youuuuu" Sara sing-sang and I scoffed.
"He probably just wanted to find out if I was still a virgin to try and shoot his shot" I huffed. "Footballers only play, not only on the pitch but also in real life" I added.
"Oh, what would you know? You've worked two weeks in a store, it's not like you know everything about football now" my best friend teased me.
"But I know a lot about guys" I tried to clap back, but it was a miserable attempt.
"Says the one that is still pining after a crush from ages ago" Dan chuckled and pinched my cheek in a loving gesture.

We were now sat around the table, eating the pasta with tomato sauce, when Dan spoke up.
"Lina, can you pick up my car from the repair shop tomorrow before collecting me at the training center? Sara can't do it because she has an exam..." he asked and batted with his eyelashes.
"Are you... I'll pick you up three corners away, just in case" I replied, putting down my fork.
"Oh, don't be so dramatic, the players don't really mind the staff" he said and waved his hand but I couldn't say no to him, after everything they had done for me.

"I've started looking into apartments by the way, and... they usually want a month's rent as a deposit, which I'm trying to put away as best as I can..." I mumbled.
"You can stay one or two more months, it's really no fuss" Dan said and I shut him a thankful smile.
"Yeah, I want to know all about the Ferran love drama" Sara said excitedly and clapped her hands, which earned her a glare from me and her boyfriend.
"No drama. I'll try and get over my crush, I think I'll get on Tinder" I told them and nodded decidedly.

———————————————

Getting on Tinder was such a stupid idea. I was currently waiting to pick up Dan at this Barca training center and was leaned against the car in the parking lot while swiping away on the dating app, mostly to the left. Hmm, Francisco, 21, 0.6km away, kinda looks cute, fine, to the right this time. The "It's A Match" sound dinged loudly and I quickly put my phone on silent mode.

"Well, it's a match" I heard someone chuckle behind me and I turned around to see two guys, Pedri and Gavi, who could ever mistake them. Not me anyways, since I saw their faces at my workplace every day. I didn't know what to say so I just laughed nervously.
"You're Manchester girl" Pedri said and Gavi was eyeing me as if he had never seen a woman before, it was kinda creepy.
"Sorry, what?" I asked confusedly and hoped that this was all a misunderstanding.

"Hey!" I heard the voice. Dan where the hell are you?! Move your stupid ass now!
"Ohhhhh, did you get promoted? Are you working here now?" another guy asked. If my basic Wikipedia knowledge wasn't wrong, this must be Eric Garcia. He was standing next to a very confused-looking Ferran.
"How do you all know me?!" I asked, very weirded out by four football players around me who apparently all knew about my existence.

"Gavi saw you at the party and told us he thought you were very pretty" Pedri explained, but Gavi didn't seem amused at all about this revelation, just like Ferran.
"Ah" I just said, not really knowing what else to comment. "Do you guys know if Dan is still inside?" I quickly changed the topic.
"Not our kit guy" Ferran shrugged.
"Unfortunately, I wish Bruno had pretty friends like Dan" Eric chuckled which earned him death glares from Ferran again, and also from me this time.
"Stop talking bullshit, you're embarrassing yourself" Ferran said and hit his friend's head.

"He's a real gentleman" Pedri said and leaned closer to me, pointing at Ferran.
"You're an idiot too" Ferran growled and plunged at him, pushing him onto the hood of Dan's car, which made me gasp and jump a bit closer to Gavi.
"Oh, um... sorry" I mumbled when I saw that I grabbed his arm out of a reflex. He just blushed and turned dark red.
"N-no prob-b-lem" he stammered. Oh boy, how did this guy pick up girls?

"Well, this is a gathering..." I heard Dan now behind me, which gave me a shock again. I turned to him before turning to our scene again. Pedri laying on the hood of his car with Ferran leant over him, grabbing his collar, 18-year-old Gavi trying to protect me and looking clueless how to do that and Eric snickering, kneeled to the ground.
"I swear I did nothing, I was all alone on Tinder and they all came up to me. Never ask me to pick you up again." I blabbered quickly.
"Now if y'all could move, that would be great." I said before getting inside the car, still seeing Ferran bent over his friend on the hood. We held eye contact until Pedri managed to wriggle himself free, pointing at his friend and laughing. At least someone thought this was amusing, because I certainly didn't.

Ferran POV

"Dude, you didn't have to go all gorilla on me... Unless you wanted to impress her by defending her honour" Pedri swooned at me and I was close to strangling him.
"I just want to remind you that I'm the only one with a girlfriend here, while the three of you are all yapping nonsense" I shot back as we walked to our cars.
"Yeah, maybe soon you'll even have two" Eric snickered and I swear that if Xavi hadn't bumped into us right now, I would have taped him to the ground and run him over 56 times with my car.

"At least Gavi was finally touched by a woman" Eric chuckled when Xavi had climbed into his car and shut the door, us standing a few feet away now.
"Yeah. Thank you very much for embarrassing me by the way. Who needs enemies with friends like you" Gavi scoffed.
"I have to agree with you this time" I mumbled.
"Come on, you know we'll only continue if you react this way - it's just too funny to miss out on that" Pedri chuckled before quickly getting into his car to not get beaten up by me.

This girl was going to be the death of me. I had a girlfriend whom I loved and I didn't want to disappoint her. Sira was a jealous person and if she got word of this (which wasn't unlikely given how indiscreet all of my friends were being), this could cost Cata her job. And maybe also Dan. So I needed to stay away from her to protect her, she didn't deserve to be in the middle of a mess just because I couldn't sort out my feelings.