Never Let Go (Of Me) • Ferran Torres

Chapter 39: Somewhere in the Middle

🎶 Happier — Ed Sheeran 🎶

Going out with Carlos was great. He was funny, handsome and well-mannered and even though I hadn't really developed any feelings for him yet (mainly because my mind was still occupied by Ferran 24/7), it was a nice pastime from time to time. A few days after our first match he had started training again for tournaments in China and I even went to one of his public trainings at his academy near Alicante.

Some pictures of us had popped up online but it surprisingly didn't bother me that much - probably because I wasn't getting any death threats. There were some people commenting that he should focus on tennis instead of girls, but they weren't insults directed at me so I fairly didn't care a lot about it.

"So, how's it going with Carlitos?" Sara asked as we were sitting at a restaurant in the city centre having dinner, and she really tried making an effort to sound interested. She wasn't a great fan of me dating or seeing (however you want to call it) Alcaraz - she rather wanted me to talk things out with Ferran as she was sure that he was the love of my life and we should be riding off into the sunset instead of bickering like idiots.

But I was just too proud to take the first step, he had already disappointed me twice, once in Manchester and once again here, so I thought it should be his turn to try and straighten things out. But I hadn't heard from or seen him since that day he came to the store. I had even been desperate enough to send in questions as to if he was dating or seeing someone to those football gossip pages on Instagram, but it was demented, which kind of made me feel calm, however asking myself if what I was doing was right.

"Good, he's in China now, he has a tournament in Beijing first and then in Shanghai before he flies back... to Barcelona" I replied, a small smile playing on my face and I bit my lip shyly.
"Wow, he really likes you... Is it turning into something serious?" she asked and raised an eyebrow but I shook my head.
"Not yet. He's a great guy but... I haven't really caught feelings. And he seems to just like to go out with a girl too, who's nice company, nothing more..." I replied. "But I'm leaving the door open, maybe it could turn into something more" I quickly added. Always good to have some options.

"Did you do... it?" she asked.
"No, we... make out. It does get quite heated sometimes but... I guess we're both not serious enough about it yet" I replied and she nodded.
"Have you heard from Ferran?" she asked and I shook my head. "Well I- we... wanted to ask if you're ok with us inviting him to our wedding... Dan is inviting the midfielders as he works with them but... Ferran's always around with Pedri so... But if you feel uncomfortable we won't invite him" she quickly rambled.
"Nah, it's fine. The wedding's next summer anyways, we'll both be over it by then" I sighed and she just raised her eyebrows. Yeah, I'm not sure about that either, Sara.

————————————————

Time was passing and summer was over now, very much to my dismay. Sara and Dan had tried to persuade me to come watch the Clasico but I had declined, as I had flown to Paris for the weekend, as Carlitos was playing a tournament there and he had been nice enough to fly me out to spend some time with me. However, a few days later, I was back at work, when my phone rang. I pulled it out and... oh shit.

Ferri 🦈
Incoming call...

"What?" I snapped after sliding my finger to accept the call. Of course I'd accept, there was no part in me that could resist him - and I knew that very well. Another reason I tried to stay clear of him and everything Barca-related as much as that was possible for someone working at the club's store every day for hours.
"Hey... I... How are you doing?" he asked with his usual soft, genuinely concerned voice.
"Cut the crap, why are you calling?" I asked and I could feel him breathe heavily on the other side of the line.

"Ferri... Are you ok?" I whispered, knowing how fragile his mental health could be. Maybe this was a call for help? I started shaking myself now.
"Yeah... I... I'm ok. I just... I know that I'm probably in no position to do this, but... Can you do me a favour?" he asked and my previous concern from before fell off, now getting replaced by a bit of anger and a whole lot of annoyance.
"Are you serious?" I almost shouted into the phone.
"I'm sorry, I know! But... Listen, we're flying out to play Real Sociedad and... could you look after Milo? Please?" he almost begged.

Ugh, that darn dog. Of course I couldn't say no to this. I loved Milo. And I loved Ferran.
"Yeah... Fine. From when to when?" I asked annoyedly.
"Um... Today? Until the day after tomorrow?" he asked nervously and I rolled my eyes.
"You're lucky I only have a date with Netflix tonight" I hissed and hung up.

When I returned home, the anticipation of seeing him again, was rising. I meant Milo obviously, duh. That's why I spent a good hour after showering to choose an outfit that looked good, but not like I put too much effort into it - which I definitely did though. In the end, I settled for a pair of straight blue jeans and a simple white blouse. My hands were sweating, until he finally rang the bell - which I opened after sprinting to the buzzer in less than a nanosecond.

And when he showed up getting out of the elevator, my heart stopped. He was handsome as ever and my eyes inevitably wandered down from his face to his hands - those hands that had worked and made me feel wonders.
"Hey" he said softly, making me snap out of my daydreams.
"Hi" I replied curtly and stepped aside to let him and Milo in. After closing the door, I crouched down and patted the dog, who snuggled up to me. "Hey you! We're going to have so much fun while daddy is away, right?" I piped in a high-pitched voice and scrunched my nose at him.

"You going away anytime soon?" Ferran asked confusedly when he saw my suitcase next to my bed, still half-unpacked from my weekend trip.
"No, I just came back" I sighed as I stood up again and he nodded. "... from Paris" I added, to rub it in his face. He deserved it.
"Oh... He played there, right?" he mumbled, looking at the ground.
"He did. Lost already unfortunately, he's been having problems with his left foot and muscle issues in his lower back for some weeks now" I brabbled like an expert. Every word seemed to hit him like a knife and it hurt me to see him like that on the one hand, but I was getting my revenge on the other.

"He makes you happy?" he asked quietly. Not as happy as I would have been with you, Ferri.
"He does. Treats me right, we go out, we travel..." I mumbled and he nodded.
"You deserve it" he said and managed to form a small smile on his lips.
"You're right, I do" I replied with a stern look on my face. He sighed and rubbed his eyes before slapping his hands on his sides.
"Well then... I'll leave you to it. I'll... see you in two days" he mumbled before walking himself out again.

"Your daddy is an idiot" I mumbled to Milo, who barked back once, as if he was agreeing with me.