Never Let Go (Of Me) • Ferran Torres

Chapter 63: Valencian Birthday Boy

🎶 Until I Found You — Stephen Sanchez 🎶

As soon as I saw the town sign with Foios written on it, my heart warmed. I guess the saying "Home is where the heart is" is really true, because for me, it was wherever Ferran was. And Foios. Ari was already waiting outside their house when we pulled up and Ferran quickly climbed out, thinking she was going for a hug with him, but instead she ran over to the passenger side and hugged me first.

"I'm just playing with him, but I'm so happy to see you too!" she squealed as we hugged, making me laugh.
"Fuck off, you know!" Ferran shouted at his sister and walked inside their house after taking our two duffle bags for the weekend out of the trunk.
"He's such a drama queen" Ari huffed.
"He really is" I chuckled as we made our way inside too.

"Hi Cata!" their mum greeted me and I hugged her tightly while I saw Ferran looking at us smiling. He really looked happy - much happier than a year ago when we met again, but maybe I was just biased. "So... I've made the guest bed in Ari's room for you... Just... You know, I don't feel really comfortable with Ferran having a girl in his room..." she said when we loosened the embrace and my face fell a bit in surprise.

"Oh, ok-" I started, but my boyfriend cut me off.
"WHAT?" he shouted and Maria and Ari burst out in laughter. "Very funny you two" he scoffed and walked away.
"So...?" I asked, unsure of what was happening.
"My gosh, you're old enough to know what you're doing, you're free to sleep in his room" Maria chuckled and patted my arm.
"Although I could totally understand if you'd rather do a girls' sleepover in my room" Ari joked and hugged me sideways.

"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!" I heard Ferran shout from upstairs and laughed.
"Sorry, Ari" I excused myself and walked upstairs to get settled in.
"Good choice" Ferran said when I entered his room and closed the door behind me.
"I would never want to miss out on time we can have together" I said and hugged him from behind, leaning my head on his back, before pressing a kiss onto his hoodie.

He turned around and kissed me, one of his hands wandering into my hair and the other, to my waist.
"POPCORN AND DISGUSTING PROTEIN BARS FOR MY BROTHER ARE READY!" we heard Ari shout from downstairs and Ferran groaned, seemingly annoyed that our moment was interrupted by the pending family movie night.
"Come on, I'll even let you grope my boobs under a blanket when we cuddle" I teased him and he just shot me a glare.

We joined the others downstairs and I sat down in front of the TV, next to Ari, with some space on my left free for Ferran, who was currently helping his mum with the drinks and snacks.
"What movie are we watching?" I asked Ari.
"Gladiator, it's his favourite movie" she replied.
"Hey! You always told me The Wolf of Wall Street was your favourite movie!" I accused Ferran when he sat down next to me.
"I just said that because I know you like DiCaprio and I wanted to make you happy and find an excuse for you to watch him" he chuckled and while I turned dark red, his sister faked to vomit next to me.

"This lovesick version of you I just discovered is giving me the ick, Ferri" Ari groaned.
"Hey, it's not my fault I'm a romantic and Juan isn't! Where is he by the way?" he replied.
"Night shift" she just said before Maria started the movie. Ferran's face fell a bit when he heard that - Ari's boyfriend was a firefighter and I think Ferran was more concerned when he worked his shifts than his sister. He just didn't want her to hurt in case anything happened to him.

The movie was brutal but very well done, the shots, the plot and the actors were amazing and I could understand why it was his favourite - it might become mine too now.
"Whoa, it always gets me every time" Ferran said when the credits started rolling.
"Yeah, it's a really good one. They don't make movies like this anymore" Maria sighed.
"I'll go upstairs now and pretend that my brother doesn't have a girl over" Ari chirped as she stood up. "I swear if I hear one noise-" she hissed into her brother's ear, but he slapped her away lightly and she just laughed, going upstairs.

"We should do the same. We know nothing" Maria chuckled and waved as her and Laye followed Ari.
"Why are they making such a big deal out of this?" I asked Ferran.
"Because it's the first time I'm having a girl over" he replied grinning.
"Are you serious?" I asked surprisedly and he nodded.
"Mum had rules and... then I moved away to Manchester, so... Sira and I usually visited during the day, we never stayed overnight" he explained and I still felt a pang of jealousy at the mention of her name. I couldn't help it, she was pretty, had money and came from a football family - on paper, a perfect girl for someone like Ferran.

"You always freeze when I say her name" he commented.
"I... can't help it, she's... perfect" I sighed and fiddled with my fingers nervously.
"Well, not for me" he replied and stood up, extending his hand for me to take. I grabbed it and he pulled me up from the sofa into a hug. "I love you and only you. The past stays in the past, I'm only focused on the future and you, preferably those two things combined." he said and I smiled.

"I love you too, Ferran. I'm sorry if I'm annoying at times but... this is my first relationship and-" I blabbered.
"Hey, don't apologise for something that's completely normal. I have doubts and second thoughts every day but - I look at you or a photo of us if you're not around and feel ok again. You should do the same: look at me and know everything's going to be alright" he said and my heart fluttered as I nodded and smiled at him.

The next day, we were celebrating Ferran's birthday with his whole family and friends that had been invited to come over from lunchtime onwards - it was going to be one hell of a long day with tons of food involved. Lidia and Alba also arrived and squeezed me out about everything that had happened between me and Ferran since Christmas - especially the whole promise ring episode was incredibly funny to them.

"Hello Cata" I heard a familiar voice say and turned around to see Joan.
"Hi" I replied and Alba rolled her eyes before walking away, seemingly in no mood to stand within a ten metre-radius from her ex.
"You and Ferri seem to be doing well" he said and I nodded with an awkward smile on my face.
"We are. I haven't raided his bank account... yet" I replied.
"Yeah, I'm... really sorry about everything, I just wanted to be protective. Sira really broke his heart" he said and I rolled my eyes.
"Sira here, Sira there, whatever. Now it's me. And I'm not going anywhere" I told him sternly before I turned around confidently to walk back inside, but really, I just had to pee so badly - I hoped that I had looked cool while making everything clear to him but in reality, I had just wanted to cut the conversation short because of the pressure in my bladder.

Maria had baked a huge cake that tasted ten times better than mine - even though Ferran kept insisting that it really didn't - and we celebrated the birthday kid until late in the evening. He was so happy about the day spent with his family and friends and seeing him that way made me happy too. I guess love really is that condition in which the other person's happiness has become essential to your own.