OFFSIDE

71

❝ It's probably better off this way. ❞
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Pedri's POV
"Elena?" I say softly. I don't want to startle her.

She turns around and looks at me. "Pedri?! What are you doing here?" Her voice isn't happy, but not entirely irritated either. "Shouldn't you be with your perfect new girlfriend?"

I sigh. Is this really necessary? She is very drunk, but still.

"She's inside with Julieta, but I wanted to check if you're okay," I say gently.

I know she's not okay, so it's really a stupid question. People say 'there are no stupid questions,' but there definitely are. There are plenty of stupid questions, and this was one of them.

"That was intense," sighs Emma as she pulls her dress back down. I look at her and nod.

It's the first time we've been intimate since we broke up. Is the best place for that the guest room of Alejandro Balde's house during his birthday party? Probably not.

I put my pants back on and give Emma a kiss on her hand. "Come on. We need to get back. Otherwise, people will notice we're gone." Emma nods, and we leave the room.

The hallway leads us to the kitchen where Lamine is standing. He looks at us and starts laughing. Then he walks towards the living room, laughing and shaking his head.

Emma and I exchange a look, and she shrugs. We walk together to the living room where everyone is except Elena. They're playing a card game.

When we enter, it goes quiet for a moment. I see Ferran looking at me with a big grin on his face. He glances at Fermín, who is trying to hold back his laughter but fails. Everyone bursts out laughing, and Emma and I look at each other. Her face turns red, and she takes a step back but then decides to stay.

"What's so funny?" I ask, looking at the guys. Fermín wants to speak, but he's struggling to control his laughter. Tears are rolling down his cheeks.

"Did you have fun?" Pablo asks. "In MY guest room," Alejandro whines. Emma and I look at each other in shock.

"What?!" I exclaim, surprised. "Could you hear us?" I panic and look at Emma.

"Yes, we heard almost everything," Koundé mumbles. I look at him, shocked, and then Fermín starts laughing again.

"You lasted longer than we expected," Ansu chuckles, and I give him a death glare.

"This is so awkward," says Emma, covering her face with her hands. "Don't worry. It happens to the best of us," Julieta smiles and gets up to hug Emma.

"Very funny," I sigh and sit down next to Ansu on the couch, giving him a shove. "Everyone has sex."

"Except for one person," Fermín chuckles, and everyone looks at Lamine, who has wide eyes.

"That's mean," Julieta scolds her brother and gives him a smack on the back of his head.

I stand up again and walk over to Emma, giving her a hug. "They're just jealous. Let them laugh," I say, kissing her on the cheek.

"I know," she smiles, regaining her confidence. "I mean, you're having sex with the Pedri González," I joke.

I wanted to say, 'not many can say that,' but unfortunately, that's not true.

"That's true," she giggles. "Do you want a drink? I'll get it for you," I offer.

"Just a cola, I'm going to stop drinking alcohol for now," she says. I nod and walk to the kitchen.

When I enter the kitchen, my eyes immediately fall on the half-full bottle of cola on the counter. Someone forgot to put it back in the fridge. I touch the bottle, and surprisingly, it still feels cold.

I turn to the stack of red plastic cups and pour a cup full of cola.

As I screw the cap back on the bottle, I look outside and see a shadow. Elena?

I leave the bottle and walk to the sliding door, which is slightly ajar, leading to the balcony. I step outside and see Elena leaning over the railing, staring into Alejandro's garden.

"It's fine," she replies nonchalantly, but her eyes tell a different story. She clutches the railing tightly. "And you?"

"You're not fine, Elena. I don't want you to lie," I say, stepping closer. To my surprise, she stays put.

"No, maybe I'm not okay," her eyes fill with tears, and her voice is almost inaudible.

"Don't cry," I say softly. I really don't want to see her cry anymore. It hurts too much.

"I'm not crying," she says hoarsely. Even though it's dark, I can see a tear rolling down her cheek in the moonlight. And this tear isn't from laughing like Fermín's.

"I'm really sorry," I apologize.

"You don't need to apologize. In the end, it never would have worked out. I belong with Pablo, and you only made me realize that more. Thank you," Elena says, wiping her tears away.

I look at her. Does she mean this? Generally, drunk people are honest. But does she really think that her and Pablo are the endgame?

"I didn't want to hurt you," I say, stepping even closer.

"It's okay," Elena says, taking a deep breath. "It was just sex. Our feelings were just confusing. Nothing more than that."

Her words cut me like a knife. I know this isn't true. The feelings were real. But just a right person, wrong time kind of thing.

Well maybe a right person, but never the right time.

"I think it's better for everyone," I say, standing right in front of her.

"I think so too," Elena says, and we look into each other's eyes.

"Better, yeah," I say aloud, more to convince myself.

"Yeah," Elena says, and then I wrap my arms around her. She stiffens for a moment but then hugs me back.

It feels good to have her in my arms and to breathe in her scent.