Gypsy: An Álvaro Morata Fan Fic

Chapter 4

The next day, she was a bit flat when we started talking but after a while, it was just like before. She knew nothing about football so I explained some rules to her as best I could, remembering what it'd been like to do it with my mom and sister who had been just as lost. We laughed a lot and I felt even closer to her because I had no more secrets. All was out in the open for her to see and nothing between us had changed.

Except the fact that we liked each other. We liked each other too much to ignore and the spark was always there. In every sideways glance we shared, in every accidental touch.

...

She was finally up there. About to start singing after all that practice. The small stage was dark but I knew she was the figure sitting on that barstool, guitar in hand. They announced her and said she'd be singing Pablo Alborán's, 'Cuando Te Alejas'. She'd said she wouldn't tell me what she was gonna sing. That it would be a surprise. And, boy, was it a surprise. It was the song that made me lose it. It was the song that brought all my feelings to the surface.

Carla had come by this weekend to be with me so right now in our booth, I had my arm around her shoulder as we waited for the lights to come on in the stage. They slowly turned on and there she was in a short, silk red dress and some black pumps. Her hair was swept to the side and she had red lipstick on. I'd never seen her so dressed up and she looked beautiful. My jaw had been hanging open so I closed it as the first notes began.

She was doing perfectly, as if she's been up on the stage her whole life. As she sang the same verse that reminded me of my feelings toward her, she looked straight at me. I tensed and Carla noticed. She pulled my arm around her shoulders a little tighter and moved closer to me. I smiled down at her, more like smirked, and she smiled back. Quite frankly, that sole gesture of hers had even made me nauseous. She was pulling me as if saying: you belong to me. Don't even think about it.

She doesn't own me. I can love whoever I want. I pushed her away and got up from the stool. "Álvaro, where are you going?" I heard her whisper but I ignored her completely. I'd lost it again and I didn't care. Everyone was staring at Alicia, including me, as I tried to make my way around the crowd. She had her eyes closed so she didn't suspect anything. I was right beside the stage to her left and she hadn't noticed me yet as she opened her eyes again and looked at the crowd. She looked over at where I'd been sitting but obviously didn't see me and looked taken aback. I waited for my cue: "Creo que empiezo a notarlo, acaricias mis labios, calmas mi sed." [I think I'm starting to notice, you brush my lips, quench my thirst].

I stepped on the stage and people started gasping. I walked slowly toward her, smiling. Before singing the last line, she saw me. I thought she'd freeze but she kept the guitar going. I was inches away from her as she sang: "Apaga la luz, que te bese otra vez." [Turn off the light, I'll kiss you again] She was looking at me, entranced, as I bent my head. She tilted her head upward, her neck craning, and we kissed very softly as the whole crowd started cheering and clapping loudly while the lights dimmed. Everything was totally dark as the cheering kept going and I kept kissing her, taking her face in my hands. I hadn't known how much I'd wanted to do this until now. I separated from her and, even though we couldn't see each other, I could feel the smile on her lips.

My lips also formed a smile as our eyes got used to the low light and I helped her down the barstool. We were standing by the stairs at the foot of the stage as a member of the crew took the guitar from her. She jumped on me and wrapped her arms around my neck. I smiled and held her close, lifting her petite body from the ground a little. "Thank you. That was so perfect." She kissed my cheek and put her feet back on the ground. I still wasn't sure what I'd just done and the repercussions it might have. I had a slight idea when I saw an angry Carla coming right at us.

I really wasn't ready to tell her what I was feeling because I wasn't sure about it myself. It had just been a spur-of-the-moment thing. When she was within hearing range, I started to explain: "Carla, I..." "It was all a plan. Álvaro agreed to help me and it worked out perfectly." She had interrupted me with a perfectly good excuse for my actions in Carla's eyes. I could see she was reconsidering her position, her gaze softening. "Oh. It was staged? You'd planned this?" "Yeah. I thought he'd told you. Anyway, you have nothing to worry about. It meant nothing." Wow. Lying really was second-nature to her.

Carla looked over at me and I thought on my feet. "Yeah. She's just always loved that song and we thought it'd be perfect if the actions matched the words." "Ok. I guess that's fine then 'cause it looked so cute from the crowd." Carla said as she slipped her hand around my waist. I did the same with her as I looked at Alicia. I noticed her expression had changed completely. She'd looked so happy when I took her in my arms, when I kissed her... Now she had a fake smile on her face and she seemed to grimace when Carla stood on tip-toe and kissed my cheek.

If she felt that way about me, why had she lied to Carla? Maybe I was imagining things. Maybe she just wanted to be friends. But that's not what my gut told me. It wasn't what my observations told me, either. And I take pride in being a good observer. She excused herself saying she had something to take care of with the club administration before heading home and just waved goodbye. As I swayed in the dance floor with Carla in my arms, I couldn't stop thinking about her. The way she had smiled at me after I kissed her, when I took her in my arms and felt whole, when she deviated from every possible reaction by lying to Carla but at the same seeming to cringe every time she saw her touch me... What could it all mean?