No way I was going to be treated like that by a guy. If he wasn't ready, I wasn't going to stick around waiting while giving him all of me. Letting him take my virginity was already enough, but if I started to let men treat me this way, I was going to end up like my parents sooner or later. Yeah, no thanks.
"Are you alright?" my colleague Emma asked me. "What?" I snapped back. "Whoa... You've been stuffing those jerseys into piles a bit... aggressively" she commented and pointed at my pretty disheveled-looking pile of yellow fourth kits that I was trying to put together. "Sorry... The guy I was seeing doesn't want to get into something serious apparently" I huffed, wanting to let out my frustration. "Oh shit... I'm sorry girl... I've had a share of guys like that too - if I can give you a piece of advice: run" she chuckled.
"Yeah, those are my thoughts too" I replied angrily. "It's a shame because I really thought he liked me. But I guess he still has some issues with his previous relationship, maybe it was me moving too fast, maybe-" I rambled, but she interrupted me. "It's not your fault. And I mean, look at you - you're a model! Don't let some loser diminish your self-worth... It's not like he's... I don't know... Pedri!" she laughed and I just sent her a nervous smile. Close enough, Emma.
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I was currently on a train to Madrid as I had gotten a modeling gig there - tennis apparel. I had played tennis for over ten years so this got me a bit excited again, but no way I could afford a club membership these days. I really needed to get my finances sorted. Now that Ferran hadn't even bothered to send me one single text while away with the national team, I could put in my efforts in getting a second job instead of drooling after him, maybe as a waitress. I could ask Sara if they needed help at the place she worked at from time to time.
After an Odyssey, which included two broken metro trains and a bus that took 37 minutes to arrive, I finally made it to the shooting location just on time - thank God I always planned some extra time into my travels in case something went wrong. I was quickly indicated where hair & make-up was, so I made my way there. However, I found someone already sitting on the chair there, with no one of the artists around. "Oh, sorry, I was just... hiding here" the guy startled when I got inside and I immediately recognised him, my eyes growing wide. "What are you doing here?" I blurted out, completely star-struck by seeing Carlos fricking Alcaraz, who just won Wimbledon a month ago, standing in front of me.
"The producer wants me to do another hundred shots of me swinging my racket back and forth, but I said I needed a break" he groaned and chuckled nervously. "Um, ok...? Do you know where the hair and make-up people are? I should be getting ready..." I asked, trying to remain professional and not fangirl over him. He must get that a lot. "I think they went to take a coffee break, hence why I thought this was the perfect place to hide" he chuckled and I nodded, smiling.
"Oh... I'm Carlos by the way" he said and extended his hand. "Cat-... I'm Lina, I was... cast for this shoot" I quickly mumbled, almost going by Ferran's nickname for me, but thankfully I caught myself in time - almost. "Yeah, I figured, they told me there was a female model too but they didn't tell me that you were so beautiful" he replied and I could feel my cheeks heating up. Carlos Alcaraz, the Nadal of our generation, thinking that I was beautiful? No way!
"Oh thanks... Sorry about the US Open by the way..." I said and shot him a sympathetic smile as I put my bag on the ground. He had just lost in a semi-final after a brave fight against Medvedev. "Oh thanks! There's always next year... You... follow tennis?" he asked curiously. "Yeah, I played for ten plus years... Obviously not at your level, but I think I was pretty decent... Didn't have much time to play lately..." I mumbled. "You live here in Madrid?" he asked and I shook my head. "Barcelona now... I used to live close to here when I was younger" I told him.
"Well, when I'm around in Barcelona we could... play sometime?" he asked and my heart started beating faster, but my eyes caught his hand that was falling down next to his thigh. "Why are you crossing your fingers so tightly that there's almost no blood circulating?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows. "Oh!" he laughed nervously. "Sorry, I... am just hoping that you won't tell me you have a boyfriend now" he admitted, scratching his neck.
"Here you are! Carlitos, we need you on Set 4 now!" a man hastily said as he barged into the room. "Oh... are you the girl from Fifth Models?" he asked and I nodded. "Where the hell is hair & make-up?! Why does nothing work here! My gosh!" he shouted and I was somehow terrified. "Um- just a-" Carlos started, but the man cut him off. "No! You're coming now! You can't imagine how hard it was to find a few-hours-slot in your calendar so follow me now!!" the man shouted and Carlos threw me a terrified glare before following him out.
"Oh!" I exclaimed and he turned around. "No boyfriend by the way" I said and smiled shyly, which made his lips curl upwards happily too. "CARLOS! STOP FLIRTING!" the man shouted and Carlos quickly hurried after him. The make-up people finally showed up and started to get me ready, all while I was still blushing, reminiscing my encounter with this top-class athlete.
My mind obviously started drawing comparisons to Ferran. We did meet under different circumstances, but I will never forget how he just wanted sex from me that night we met - he probably hadn't changed until today. Carlos here, had not even shied away from inviting me to play tennis - in Barcelona, where I lived. I mean, I couldn't say how serious he was being but I just knew that he was charming and sweet, from what I had seen until now. And the offer to play tennis with a pro? Hard to say no to that.
The shoot was ok, we went through twenty and more outfits, which was quite intense, but I couldn't complain - the people were nice and treated me well. I hadn't seen Carlitos anymore as he was probably on another set, but when I was finally walking back to my changing room after I was done, I saw him leaning against the doorframe. "Please don't tell me you were waiting here for me" I chuckled as I opened the door. "Would that be a crime? You look fantastic in tennis wear by the way - when you'll play with me I'll definitely lose because I'll be too distracted by-" he blabbered, but I cut him off.
"Do you do this with every model you meet at a shoot?" I asked and raised an eyebrow. "Before you- only one time, about a year ago I guess, and she had a boyfriend, hence my..." he said and showed me his crossed fingers. "I couldn't imagine the woman turning you down" I chuckled and grabbed my dress I had word upon my arrival to set. "Bwoah, trust me... She was an ork compared to you" he replied and I laughed. "Ok what do you want?" I asked and crossed my arms in front of my chest.
"Your number? Or your Instagram?" he asked and showed me his crossed fingers once again while gritting his teeth together in a nervous smile. "You can have my number. You can put in some work yourself to find my Instagram" I replied and grinned while he made a victorious fist gesture at which I could only shake my head.
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Not even an hour later, when I was on the train back to Barcelona, my phone dinged and I turned it around immediately, hoping that it would be a text from Ferran. But it wasn't.
+34xxxxxxxx Hola Lina, it's Carlitos 🎾🏆 How about a match next week in Barcelona?
Lina Ferrero Well, that was quick 😄
I bit my lip, the chat still open, but something in my heart was tearing me away from replying yes. That something being the image in my head of Ferran's face looking into my eyes adoringly.
