A Place for My Heart

chapter 8

Rose

Mesut’s house was nice. It wasn’t as big as Cristiano’s, but it was more inviting and it just seemed…warmer. Cristiano rang the door bell, and then turned to look at me.

“So Mesut knows he’s supposed to act like your friend when Irina’s around, but I didn’t tell him everything. That’s up to you.”

“Thanks,” I was so nervous. I was about to meet Mesut Ozil, the gorgeous German footballer who had made me want to do very dirty things every time I saw him kick the ball on the pitch. My life had gone to crap to amazing literally overnight.

When Mesut opened the door he pulled Cristiano in a bro-hug, and then shook my hand.

“Hey, I’m Mesut.”

“Rose, it’s nice to meet you.”

Mesut

She was gorgeous. I had dated models before, but they were always cold and demanding. Rose was warm, and normal. She was not too skinny, and her clothes weren’t slutty at all. I had never been attracted to a normal girl, but there was something about her. She was…strong.

“Come on in you guys, my mother went overboard with the food as always. You won’t leave here without gaining at least a few pounds.”

Rose laughed. She had a beautiful smile. I didn’t know what it was about this woman, but I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I led her and Cristiano to the dining room where my mother was laying out the food.

“Cristiano, it’s so good to see you!” She hugged him, and then turned to Rose. “And who is this beautiful young lady?”

“Mom, this is Rose, a friend of mine.” I told her.

“Oh, well. It’s very nice to meet you Rose.” She smiled and gave her a hug too. “You three have a seat, I’ll go fetch Mesut’s brother and sister.”

I pulled out a chair for Rose, she thanked me as she sat down. Cristiano and I sat on either side of her.

“So…Rose, you’re staying at Cristiano’s house?”

“Yeah, but only for one more night. I’m moving in with my co-worker tomorrow.”

“Oh. Well, we have to be friends for Irina, so tell me a little about you?”

“Well, I’m from Sydney, I’m twenty three, and I have a Masters in Science.” She said. “Your turn.”

Well, she was smart. “I play football.” I smiled. “I’m really not that interesting.”

“I bet you are, you just need to open up.”

That’s when Cris finally said something. “Oh, he may seem like he’s shy when you first meet him, but believe me this man is loud.”

She smiled at Cristiano. There it was again, that smile. Only when she smiled at Cristiano her entire face lit up, she idolized him. You could tell she thought the world of Cristiano. What chance did I have against that?

My mother came back with my brother and my youngest sister with her, and Rose introduced herself to everyone. We started eating, and my mother began interrogating her like she always does when she meets one of my friends for the first time.

“So, Rose, how long have you and Mesut known each other?” My mom asked her.

Rose looked at me nervously. “A couple months,” I answered for her. “I met her in a coffee shop, she was reading one of my favourite books.”

“Oh, that’s nice. Have you met much of the team, Rose?”

“No, just Cristiano.” She answered, smiling at my mom. She was very good at pleasantries.

“Mesut! I’m surprised you haven’t introduced her to Sami, aren’t you two very close?”

“Yeah, we are mom, but Rose has been so busy and Sami and I have got games and training, our schedules just never line up.”

“Well, Mesut, I’m glad you made more friends outside the team. I was beginning to worry about you being lonely.”

I groaned. “Mom, I’m never lonely. I’m surrounded by my teammates all the time.”

“Yes, but you’ll eventually get sick of them and need somebody else to talk to.”

I sighed, picking at my food. I looked over at Rose again, she was talking to Cristiano about something. I wanted her to grab her attention, but I had no idea how. I was not exactly a master at talking to women, they usually just came to me because I was ‘like, the Mesut Ozil, and like, oh my god so rich’.

Cristiano

Mesut really liked her. I could see it when he looked at her, he was desperate for her attention, but she kept turning to me. Mesut rarely ever had to actually talk to women, all he had to say was ‘Hola, I’m Mesut.’ and they jumped all over him. It gave me some weird sort of satisfaction knowing that she was paying more attention to me than Mesut. I mentally slapped myself; the whole reason for this dinner was so she could get to know Mesut.

“Mesut, you should go give Rose a tour of your house, I’ll help youf mother clean up.” I told them. Rose looked at me with panic in her eyes, but I smiled at her and nodded, and she relaxed a little bit.

“Would you? Oh thank you Cristiano, you’re such a sweet boy.” Mesut’s mother told me as they walked out of the room.