Play like a culé: A Cristian Tello Fan Fic

Chapter 2

The next morning, a loud bang on the door wakes me up. I jump up instinctively and find myself wrapped in Cristian Tello’s arms, who is fast asleep. I push on his shoulder: “Cristian, someone’s knocking on the door. Cristian, wake up.” He starts muttering something under his breath and moves around. I wriggle away from him and take my heels to hide in the balcony. “Go answer the door!” I whisper so whoever’s outside doesn’t hear me. “Cristian, this is your wake-up call. Be ready and downstairs in 20 minutes.” Whoever it is moves on from his door after giving his message. I breathe out in relief as I look at him and he’s smiling at me. “Why did you get so worked up? We’re not checked on. He never comes into our rooms.” “How am I supposed to know that? I just don’t want to get you into any trouble.” “You’re not going to.” He stands up from his bed and comes toward me. He pulls me to him and kisses me. This is weird. Usually one-night stands don’t include morning niceness. You’re usually kicked out the door. It’s obviously a welcome surprise though. He has to bend down a lot because I’m barefoot and he’s one foot taller than me. I stand on tip-toe to help him out, throw my heels back on the floor and wrap my arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. He responds by wrapping his arms around my waist and lifting me from the ground. I can’t help but smile and our kiss breaks. He makes our foreheads touch and I’m absolutely lost in the moment. I can’t help but feel like there’s something more. But it wouldn’t be the first time this has happened to me. I’ve always fallen deeply in love but never been corresponded. It’s the most horrible feeling in the world. And I can’t help but hope that this time, with this amazing man, it might be different.

Who am I kidding? Need I remind myself that he has a girlfriend. The smile disappears from my lips as I loosen my grip on his neck and stand back on the floor. He lets go of me and I keep my head down as I make my way toward the door. “I had fun last night.” He says after me. “So did I.” I answer as I try to hold back tears because it’s just as I suspected. Just as every compromised man would do. Have fun. I reach the doorknob and take it in my hand. I’ve been so lost in my own thoughts that I didn’t hear him approaching. I gasp as his hand covers mine over the doorknob. “I might never see you again.” He whispers. “I’m aware of that.” I try to respond as coldly as possible. “I might also not be ok with that.” As his hand caresses my own and starts going up my arm, his nose nuzzles my ear. “Cristian, you have a life back in Barcelona. Before you know it, I’ll only be the girl you had sex with in Israel and a distant memory.” I stand on tip-toe to give him a quick peck on the lips. Probably the last kiss I’ll ever give him. “Have a nice life.” I open the door and let myself out, not letting him answer and making it impossible to come after me because everyone is already awake and buzzing. I hear his door close and try my best not to burst into tears before going in the elevator.

Cristian's P.O.V.

She left so quickly. I didn’t even have time to react before she disappeared into the hallway. I’d had my fair share of women, not to mention one-night stands. But this was different. She was different. She was so fun to be around, such a fan of sports in general. I could talk to her freely about the things I loved and know that she understood. I wasn’t ready to let her go. But I couldn’t go after her right now. First of all, everyone would see me. And second, I had to get ready for the final game of the European Championship. The coach had already told me that I’d be on the starting eleven and I was a bit nervous. Right now, the only person I wanted in the players’ box, the only one that could calm me down was her. I needed her. Not my girlfriend back home. Her. I had no way of contacting her and I was leaving this hotel today to never come back so I got ready and decided to write her a letter and leave it at the reception desk. I took the hotel notepad and wrote: “Hello, I hope this isn’t too much to ask but I need you. I need you to come to the game and cheer me on. I want to look up at that player’s box and see you there, smiling at me. Because I know you understand. You understand the game, you understand how much this means to me. To us. Please say you’ll come.” I wrote down my number so she could text me and added: “Much love, he who plays like a culé.” I slipped one of the courtesy tickets I got as a player and licked the envelope. I didn’t want anyone to know about this so I hid the letter in my bag and went downstairs before everyone else.

I ran to the reception and looked around every so often to make sure no one was watching. “Hi. I need a huge favor.” I said to the receptionist, sounding every bit as desperate as I was. “There’s this girl named María. She’s about one foot shorter than me, has long brown hair and tan skin. I need you to give this to her when she comes over to check out. Please, don’t let her check out until she’s read it.” I plead to her. She seems a bit sad at my request and I know why. The guys have been teasing me since we got here that she liked me. I felt bad for her. Here I was giving her a note so she would give it to another girl. “Your wish is my command.” She says softly as she looks down and hides the letter on a cubicle in the front desk. I think of one last thing. I reach over and take her hands in mine. “Please. If you actually feel any affection towards me, you’ll give that girl this letter. All my hopes rely on you. I’m begging you.” She trembled the second I touched her and I knew I had her. She’d give her the letter. She looked directly into my eyes and seemed like she was about to cry. I now felt even worse for using her but I didn’t care. As long as she went to the game. “I’ll give it to her.” she said, sounding defeated. I threw her a half-smile and she returned it.

I let go of her hands and headed towards the lounge to have breakfast. “Hey! Did you finally give that receptionist the time of day?” Marc Bartra is teasing me, his arm around my shoulders. “No. This isn’t about her.” “Who’s it about, then?” he keeps pressing me and I roll my eyes. “Another girl.” “Another girl? When did you meet her?” I don’t want to tell him all this but he’s one of my best friends. He’d never tell on me even if someone threatened to kill him. “Last night.” “Did you bang her?” he asks while laughing. “It’s not like that, man.” I remove his arm from my shoulder and walk towards the buffet, my appetite completely lost. “Oh, come on, Cristian. You sleep with girls all the time. You’ll get over it.” I turn to face him. “See, that’s the problem. I don’t think I will.” Marc is taken aback by my reaction and has a serious face. “Yes, we had sex but… She’s different. We almost stayed up all night talking about football, tennis, golf…all kinds of sports. She knows a lot. She’s so fun to be with. And I feel like I know her, you know? I know this sounds crazy but I just can’t get her out of my mind.” “Do you know anything about her?” “Just her name and where she’s from. I left her a letter at the front desk. I need her to come to the game. I just…I can’t concentrate.” “Wow. I’ve never seen you this stuck on a girl. Not even your girlfriend.” My girlfriend. Oh my God. I must have like a thousand messages. I take my phone out and confirm my suspicions. Five texts and three missed calls. One of them says good morning, another one asks how I’m doing and the other ones just express her annoyance about my not answering her. I can’t deal with this right now so I text back that I’m fine and about to leave for a small morning training-session and some strategy talk. I put my phone away and tried to eat some fruit while I turned everything around in my head: “What if she never contacts me? What will I do if I never see her again?” I was about to go knocking on every door of the hotel when we’re called to the bus. I put my headphones on and try to get my head in the game. Almost impossible when my heart isn’t and I can only hear her infectious laugh.