Never Let Go (Of Me) • Ferran Torres

Chapter 24: Sweet Farewell

🎶 Kiss Me — Farce 🎶

Ferran POV

"So let me recap your whole holiday: You didn't kiss her, she begged you to finger her on your last evening, you did, she came, then she fell asleep and the next day she acted like nothing happened?" Pedri asked bewildered after our first training session back after the holidays. I wiped away some sweat with the towel as I was standing in front of my locker and gathered my stuff for showering. I turned around to check that Dan wasn't around and then nodded at my friend.
"How was the flight back?" Pedri asked and I shrugged.
"Pretty normal... We played UNO and watched some Netflix... She laid her head on my shoulder and we joked and laughed just like we did before" I muttered.

"Do you think she remembers or...?" I asked.
"I think she does, but she's just embarrassed. She doesn't want to lose you" he replied.
"Just like I don't want to lose her..." I sighed and we walked into the showers. I turned it to ice cold, and as always, I jumped a bit at first but then I got over it quickly, and my muscles thanked me for the regeneration. When I was done, I walked back to my locker again and pulled out my phone to check if there were any texts from Cata. There were a bunch of unnecessary notifications but her name didn't pop up on my screen.

My new shark mentality however, didn't allow me to back down. I wasn't going to shy away from this or from her. Under no circumstances I wanted to lose her, but not aiming for something more than a friendship seemed like a loss to me too.

Ferri 🦈
How was your first day back?
You up to hang out sometime this week?

Cata 👸🏻
Ouf, I'm still at the store, we got hundreds of packages with new kits and merch to unpack and put on display 🤯
This week is tricky, I've got some shoots
Maybe next week?

Ferri 🦈
Yeah I'm leaving on Thursday though...

Cata 👸🏻
We'll manage! ☺️

However, as the week passed, we didn't seem to manage because both our schedules always seemed to collide. We hadn't even managed to call each other, barely texted and it was starting to drive me crazy. On Wednesday morning, the day before leaving for Barca's US summer tour, we only had some light training and after that, I showered and got dressed again to go home and pack for the weeks away. I was frustrated and Pedri noticed when that when I threw my deodorant angrily into my sports bag.

"Still haven't talked to her?" he asked and sat down next to me as I shook my head.
"Did she stall or...?" he asked.
"No, not at all! It was just... whenever she was free I was busy and then vice versa. We leave tomorrow and when we come back I won't have seen her for over a month" I sighed. It was even crazy to me how attached I had gotten to her over such a short amount of time. But with her... it just clicked, it was right. I never had to worry about her not laughing at one of my jokes, because she always got them. I never had to worry about her not understanding that training was my number one priority, because she understood that results only followed with sacrifices. There was a mutual understanding that didn't require explanations and I enjoyed every second of it.

"Just bring her some lunch to work, I'm sure she'd appreciate that" my friend suggested and for the first time, he was actually not being stupid.
"You're the best" I said and kissed his head before storming out of the changing room to my car. I drove to a McDonald's' drive-thru and ordered her favourite meal - a chicken wrap with fries and Coke Zero, which I placed on my passenger seat before driving through the streets of Barcelona like a madman. When I finally arrived in the city center, I tried to find a parking spot as close to the store as possible, which was surprisingly easier than thought, maybe because many left with their cars for lunch break.

Ferri 🦈
Come outside, corner to Carrer del Duc

The arrows on my message turned blue but there was no response so my leg started bouncing up and down nervously, while I was starting to bite my nail, which I stopped in time though when I saw what I was doing. A knock on the passenger window startled me but when I turned around to see Cata's beautiful face, the whole tension left my body and I felt at ease again, quickly unlocking the doors from inside.

"Hi" she squealed and wanted to sit down, but her food was there, so I quickly took it into my hands for her to sit down. When she had done that and closed the door behind her, I placed the paper bag on her lap.
"Special delivery" I said and smiled while her face lit up.
"You don't know how long I've been craving this!" she said with a deep voice and I laughed at how cute she was.

"I just wanted to spend some time with you before I leave" I told her as she bit into her wrap and threw her head back as she chewed it down. I envied her, I wanted to eat that stuff too.
"I've been an awful friend, I also could have thought to bring you food sometime" she mumbled and I chuckled.
"No, we both were just busy, and everything is good between us, right?" I asked, crossing my fingers under my seat.

She looked at me for a second, as if she had been caught, but she quickly snapped out of it and nodded her head.
"Of course" she replied and pressed her lips into a smile. Gosh, Ferran, you need to step up! We chatted a bit about our past weeks, and I told her about training as well as the upcoming tour, our matches, our opponents, but I also knew that our time together was coming to an end soon, she couldn't be on lunch break forever.

"I come back on the 2nd... You want to do something that evening? I'll be pretty knackered but maybe you can pamper me..." I said and batted my eyelashes at her, which made her laugh.
"Sure, I can come to yours and try to cook something for you...?" she offered and I eagerly nodded.
"I'll make sure to bring something back from the US for you" I told her and she blushed a bit. Gosh, she really was the prettiest girl on this planet.
"You don't have to" she mumbled, looking at her nails on her lap.

Her phone dinged and she sighed when she looked at it.
"I have to get back..." she said and turned around to look at me with a sad face. Come on, Ferran.
"Mhm... I'll see you in two weeks" I said and leaned closer to her, but still leaving a bit of space. She leaned in closer to, to say goodbye probably, but she surprised me when after some short eye contact, she pressed a kiss on my lips. They tasted salty from the fries she had just eaten and I smiled as I felt them on mine.

"Goodbye, Ferri" she said as she pulled back, biting her lower lip, which was forming a smile. She had left me speechless and I could only grin widely as she climbed out of the car again and closed the door behind her. She ducked down to wave her hand at me and I waved back, the grin growing wider and wider on my face now. I followed her with my eyes until she turned the corner again and then I clapped my hands onto my steering wheel.
"YES!" I shouted before starting the car again and driving back home, my heart still beating uncontrollably after that sweet, innocent, perfect kiss.