Best Mistake ︱Pedri González

73

Pedri's POV

As I walked through the hallways of the training center, I was lost in my thoughts about the upcoming match and the intense training session earlier in the day. My mind had been scattered ever since I saw Luciana's race on my phone. I knew I shouldn't have been watching it, but I couldn't help myself. The way she crossed the finish line, that look of determination in her eyes... it reminded me of why I'd fallen for her in the first place.

I turned a corner, not paying attention, and before I knew it, I bumped straight into someone.

"Woah!" she exclaimed, catching her balance.

It was Luciana.

For a second, time stopped. Her eyes met mine, and I froze. All the air left my lungs. She looked just as surprised as I was, clutching her bag against her chest.

"Luciana," I breathed out, awkwardly stepping back, trying to regain my composure. My heart started racing, but not in the way it did during a game. This was different.

"Pedri..." She sounded just as uncertain, her voice soft, and it felt like a punch to my gut. It had been too long since I'd heard her say my name.

We stood there for a moment, neither of us knowing what to say. My mind was going a million miles an hour, but my mouth couldn't form the right words. Everything felt... awkward. Like I wanted to say something meaningful, something that would fix everything, but nothing seemed right.

"Are you, uh... here for media?" I asked, trying to sound casual, like I wasn't dying inside just standing there in front of her.

She nodded. "Yeah, Valeria and I are filming something."

"Right." I stuffed my hands into my pockets, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. "How... how's it going?"

She raised her eyebrows, as if she couldn't believe that was what I came up with to say. "It's fine. Busy, you know?"

Silence. Again. I cursed myself internally. What do I even say to her? Sorry for pushing you away even though I didn't want to? That'll just make things worse.

"So, um, how's training going?" she asked, clearly trying to keep the conversation going, but we both knew it was forced.

"Good," I replied, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly. "You know, preparing for Seville."

"Yeah, it should be a good game."

More silence. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Every time we talked before, it felt easy. Now, it was like every word was a hurdle we had to jump over.

I could feel the tension between us, the unspoken things we both wanted to say but didn't. There was this electricity, this... pull, that I thought I could ignore, but standing here in front of her, it was impossible to deny. She looked good—better than good—and seeing her reminded me of everything I'd been trying to forget.

I glanced away, trying to gather my thoughts. Maybe I should apologize. Maybe now was the time to fix things. But what would I even say?

"Hey, I'm sorry for walking away, even though it was the last thing I wanted to do." 

No, that wouldn't work. It would just open old wounds, make everything worse. Maybe she's moved on, doing better without me. Maybe I should just leave it alone.

"You... uh... raced well," I said finally, feeling like an idiot the second the words left my mouth. "I mean, the qualifying rounds. I saw the video."

Her eyes softened a bit, and she nodded. "Thanks. I wasn't expecting to see you watching that."