Count on Me

Chapter Seven: Lunch Date

Returning home from training, Mesut sighed in relief and couldn't help but look forward to the fact that he would get to spend the evening with Katrina; things were still a little intense and he wasn't sure when it would ever calm down. 

The couple had found themselves enjoying their living arrangements and Mesut was going to miss sharing his home with Katrina when she returned to her apartment in a couple of months. 

Mesut hadn't really spoken with his parents since he had found out that his father had been the one to tell the press about him and Katrina; it was tense right now especially with Katrina not really speaking with hers either. 

However, the couple were focusing on themselves right now, they wanted to enjoy their relationship and make things work before they truly started to worry about anything else. 

"How was training?" Katrina asked smiling up at Mesut when she spotted him, she was curled up on the couch with Balboa and Capone watching some film that was on the television. 

Things had been a little boring being stuck at home with little to do, Katrina didn't know what to do with herself and she sort of missed not being at work. 

"It was good," Mesut replied plopping down on the couch next to her, he eyed the film curiously for a moment; he was a little excited for the moment that things calmed down so he could invite Katrina to one of his matches. 

It would mean the world to him for her to be there, Mesut wanted to show off a little and he knew that a lot of his team-mates were curious about his soul-mate; he was just holding off on her meeting them right now. 

"We should go out for lunch," Mesut suggested peeking at Katrina, it would be good for her to get out and he was starving after the tough training session that he had just completed.

***

"What do you do in Greek school?" Mesut asked curiously, he was thrilled in hearing more about how Katrina grew up and it fascinated him how different their lives had been before they had met. 

It seemed so strange for him and they were certainly going to have to find some middle ground for when they had children; Mesut couldn't help but smile whenever he thought about his future with Katrina. 

"I learned valuable lessons such as, if Nick has one goat and Maria has nine, how soon will they marry?" Katrina said with a smile, she still didn't know how all of this worked out in modern times and she couldn't remember a useful thing that she had learnt in Greek school. 

It seemed crazy that people were still getting taught stuff like that, Katrina was just glad that she had done her time and could now focus on other things. 

"Seriously," Mesut asked choking on his food, he stared across the table at surprised that they were teaching children that sort of thing. 

It seemed so out of date and Mesut was sure that it wouldn't have come in handy now, he sipped on his water watching Katrina knowing that it was such a strange old way of thinking. 

Katrina nodded her head, she was pleased that he had insisted that they go out; she was starting to get a little crazy from being stuck in the house all the time, she didn't feel comfortable going out on her own with all the paparazzi waiting for her. 

"What did you study after school?" Mesut asked changing the subject, he wanted to know everything about Katrina and he wanted nothing more than to make things easier for them. 

It still felt strange that he had really only known Katrina for three weeks and Mesut knew that things were slowly moving forward for them even if they were now living together.

Messing with her food, Katrina chewed on her lip not sure what to say, she peeked at Mesut doubting that he would judge her on what she had done in the past; it had never really come up when it came to her going to college. 

"You didn't go to college?" Mesut said realising why Katrina was being so silent, he had been so sure that it was something that she would have done. 

Of course, Mesut didn't think any different of his girlfriend for not going to college and he hoped that she wouldn't think that he was trying to say anything horrible about the fact that she hadn't been to college. 

"Nice Greek girls who don't find a husband, work in the family restaurant," Katrina muttered picking at a loose string on her V-neck tunic, she didn't mean to sound so bitter but her life didn't ever seem to go like everyone else's. 

It hadn't been the plan for her to never go to college, it had just sort of happened and Katrina wanted nothing more than to work out what her next step was now. 

"I took a gap year after I finished school and my dad guilt-tripped me into not going at all," Katrina explained carefully, she had never really noticed that her father tended to do that a lot; he was stuck in his old ways and it was sort of the main problem of the family. 

Gently taking Katrina's hand, Mesut nodded for her to continue feeling bad that she had missed out on that experience; he was sure that her father had a reason for what he did. 

"You should have seen the grief he caused when Toula wanted to go to college a couple of years ago," Katrina continued remembering how much arguing had gone on when Toula had gone on to study some computer course a couple of years ago. 

It had been a nightmare and Kostas still moaned about it now, he didn't seem to understand how much the world had changed since he was a child and that things had evened out a lot since then.

***

Climbing out of the car, Mesut sighed peeking at Katrina knowing that he would find a way to make it up to her; it might not have been his doing but he wanted her to have the experiences that she had missed out on. 

Mesut was becoming more and more nervous about actually getting to know Katrina's father the more he heard about him; it was clear that Kostas was stuck in his ways and that it would take a long time for them to ever get along. 

"Thank you for lunch," Katrina murmured looking that she had ranted a little bit about her father during lunch, she had gotten a little annoyed and she hoped that she hadn't freaked him out. 

There were times that her father really got under her skin with the way that he thought but at the end of the day, Katrina knew that he still loved her; she just wanted things to be simpler for them. 

Mesut smiled and wrapped an arm around Katrina, he held her close while fishing out his keys to open the front door; he was just glad that she could confide in him about all of this. 

Just before he slipped his key into the slot, Mesut blinked surprised as the door was ripped open and a woman launched herself into his arms. 

Katrina stared at the brunette that had somehow let herself into the house and she wondered who she was, she felt a little uneasy especially if this woman had a key to Mesut's house. 

Pushing her away from him, Mesut swallowed as he realised who it was and he wondered what she was doing back here; from what he had heard she had found her own soul-mate. 

"Baby your home," Mandy Capristo gushed with a smile, she had been waiting ages for him to get back.