Let Me Love You | Toni Kroos

Chapter 36 - Don't let go

Gabi's POV

I stood outside waiting for Toni as he prepared for his drive to the Säbener Straße to meet up with the team for the flight to Bochum. I watched as he put his things into the car, and then went back and fetched Julius and Lennox before coming and standing beside me with a smile.

"Enjoy yourself in London," he said as I bent down to kiss the beagles on their heads.

"Thank you," I smiled back at him. "I'll call you...okay? I mean, if that's fine."

"Yeah, of course."

"All the best for the cup match," I said, standing up. "Score another one, like the one you did on Friday."

He laughed. "I'll try," he said. And then there was a short period of silence before he suddenly turned and wrapped his arms tightly around me. "I'll miss you so much, Gabi."

"Awww," I gave him a tight hug as well. "I'll miss you too."

"I'm sorry I've been so rude."

"It's okay," I cleared my throat as a lump suddenly appeared in it. "Thank you for always being here."

"Are you going to cry again?" he asked. Without any warning, he tightened his grip on me and lifted me off the ground, swinging me from side to side. "Don't cry, crybaby."

"Hey, stop it!" I giggled, but he didn't put me down. "Okay, okay, I won't cry."

He finally let go of me and put me down on the ground. He put his hands on my shoulders and smiled at me wistfully, a slight hint of sadness in his eyes.

"You have to take care of yourself, okay?" he asked, running his hand down the side of my hair. "I won't be there to wipe your tears, or climb in your window, or tell you to be strong. You've got to do it yourself. I believe in you, Gabi. I won't be there physically, but I'll always be just a phone call away if you need me, okay?"

"Thank you so much," I whispered, tears brimming in my eyes. "You know, I can't not cry if you're trying to make me cry, Toni."

He laughed. "Okay, okay...also, don't try to rape people again," he teased.

"Toni!" I started laughing loudly, and he joined in. I reached into my pocket and took out a photograph, the one of the both of us at my graduation ceremony. "This is for you."

"Awwww," he stared at it, seemingly mesmerised for a few moments. "Thank you, Gabi."

"Yeah, it's okay," I said softly, not wanting this last conversation to end. I knelt down again and grabbed Julius and Lennox. "Bye, babies. I'll miss you guys. Be good, okay?"

"Hold on," Toni said suddenly, running back into his house and reappearing in front of me a few minutes later with a red jersey in his hands. "Here, I'll give you this. It's from Friday."

"Really?" I asked, and he nodded. "Thank you."

They'd played Köln on Friday, and Toni had scored the last goal in the 3-0 win. He didn't say it, but I knew we were both thinking the same thing – about Cologne, about the fun we both had together, and about the pleasant coincidence that he'd scored against that city's club.

I smiled and handed the dogs' leashes back to him. He put them back inside, and then he came back out and stood beside me again, staring dreamily at me.

"You have to go now, right?" I asked.

"Yeah," he reached over and gave me another hug. "Goodbye, Gabriele."

"Goodbye, Toni," I whispered.

We held on to each other for a long, long time without saying a word. Eventually, he pulled away, giving me one last, longing look, as if he wanted to memorize my face, my hair, every single detail of me before I left. And then he leaned over and gave me a kiss on my head, turned around, got into his car, gave me one last wave and one last smile, and drove away.