-Better

13- K i l a ' s e n c o u n t e r

Barcelona, Spain- 25 and 26 years old

The rest of her day at work was just as boring as before, if not more, and she took joy in clocking out for the day. Hanging her apron on the rack behind the counter, Jade jumped over the divider (she could've just went around, but this was more fun and much faster) and landed with a light thud.

She thought about waiting outside for her new friend to pick her up, but it was hot outside and she decided against it. She needed a few minutes to think and sort things out before she left and she couldn't think in the heat.

A few minutes had turned into many and Jade hadn't even noticed. Her ride home had bursted through the door in a hurry, a panicked expression taking over his normally nonchalant features.

"Sorry I'm late. Practice lasted a bit longer than expected. I thought you would've left by now." His apology was accepted by her with a wave of her hand and a chuckle.

"I wasn't even paying attention to the time anyway." She dismissed his guilt and he sighed visibly.

"Ok, vamos!" He clapped and led her out to his car. The passenger side door was opened for her and she stepped in with a chuckle.

It only took a few minutes to reach her place of residence, Jade only having to explain where to turn to him a few times. The car ride had been a little awkward at first, but as soon as music was thrown into play, they both had a blast, laughing and joking around.

Jade was always very playful and loved to dance and sing along to songs, even when her singing voice wasn't quite up-to-par. Leo, on the other hand, had grown up hating dancing. He never wanted to take part in it at all and thought it was useless, and it was rare Jade ever got him to do it with her.

On the opposite side of the car, Neymar was always up for dancing. Every time he had stepped into the locker rooms with a speaker, everyone knew it was going to take him a while to get ready. He loved shuffling around the room and mouthing lyrics to some of the other jugadores, and some even took part in it with him.

When Jade had walked up to her apartment door, she quickly realized that Neymar wasn't following her and turned around to gesture him into her home. Even though she had shared it with Kila, Jade was pretty certain that her best friend and roommate wouldn't mind if she brought him inside. She might even scold her for not doing so.

"Is it alright if I just take a really quick shower before we go? You can hang out in here and watch tv while I'm in there," Jade offered. She really felt she needed a shower to wash of the scent of coffee and bagels that seemingly stuck to her clothes. Some people would love it, but it reminded her of working there, and that she didn't like at all.

"Yeah, that's fine." He nodded his head and watched her disappear into the hallway. Seconds later, a new figure entered the living room and this one was significantly taller than the previous one.

Kila nearly hopped through the ceiling when she saw a person sitting on their couch that wasn't her best friend. With wide eyes and an even wider mouth, Kila turned to look at this stranger in her home, only to realize that she was standing there, staring and looking like an idiot.

"Did Jade bring you here?" She whispered. She wasn't stupid, though, she knew that he wasn't a complete stranger. Kila wasn't a very big sports fan in general, but she did communicate with people often enough to hear about him and know what he looked like.

Neymar nodded his head, a little shocked that there was another human being in this apartment other than him and AJ. Not only that shocked him, but the fact that she was standing there in her underwear like a deer in headlights also did a bit of damage.

He quickly turned his head upon noticing this and Kila had to do a once-over at her attire before realizing the reason why. If it was even possible, her eyes widened even more and she quickly ran back through the hallway and to her room to prevent the situation from being more awkward than it already was.

A few minutes later, both Kila and Jade had come out fully dressed, one in a pair of adidas shorts, a plain white tank top and socks, and the other in jeans and a t-shirt.

"You ready?" The question was directed towards Jade and he hadn't even let his eyes wander over to Kila in fear of what had happened just minutes ago. The image stuck in his mind like he stared at the sun too long and he couldn't escape it whenever he closed his eyes.

Jade nodded and grabbed a bag filled with a few essential items and walked over to Neymar's side. Before they left completely, she stopped and turned to face Kila, a playful smirk accenting her features,

"Are you sure you don't want to tag along? I mean, I know how much you hate exercise, but it could be fun..."

Kila wasted no time shaking her head as a no and it had Jade wondering why she was so flustered and panicky all of the sudden. She set it aside, though, as she exited their shared apartment and shut the door behind her, ready to embark on a new adventure with her newfound friend.

Neymar was equally as excited to be spending time with someone new, and he quite liked Jade for some reason. Her personality stuck out to him and she wouldn't leave his mind. But on the other hand, neither would the image of Kila's panty-clad body and he wasn't sure he wanted it to.

Although, it did surprise him that he would encounter something like that in his efforts to sway another woman.