therapy » isco

8

Isco sipped carefully at his coffee mug, his honey eyes darting from Gareth to Esperanza, who were sitting awfully close to each other. He noticed that every five seconds or so, the Welshman's fingers would brush as discreetly as possible against the Spaniard's exposed knee, her pale skin gleaming against the Madrid skies in her tight-fitting pencil skirt.

She was completely oblivious the first few times he did so, but by the fifth time, she turned a red color that contrasted against her pale complexion, and Gareth took that as a sign to stop since his message had come across clear.

Isco eyed them with what seemed like disgust; he had no respect for Gareth's doings that had been going on for almost two weeks since their first appointment. It was painfully clear that he was just getting closer to her as a rebound from Emma and simply using her for his own health. What it seemed like was simply that Bale needed to get laid since he had gone woman-less for a while. It was pathetic, really, how no one else seemed to take notice. All of their teammates, even Sergio, were convinced that it was just a harmless attraction that may lead to a thriving relationship.

However, Isco was no fool. The 24 year-old could read the older man's actions like a book; they were too bold for him to ignore. How he shifted positions whenever she wore tight clothes, how he eyed her up and down as if he was practically eye-raping her, how he would try his best to have any physical contact with her whenever, wherever. It was utterly disrespectful, and had Isco been a much braver person, he would've ripped off the man from Cardiff off the black-haired beauty.

Practice was over, and they had been sitting there on the substitute benches for an hour, while Isco had been silently on the watch since then. One more wrong move from Gareth and he was going to be interrupting. He had no tolerance for disrespecting women.

Indeed, a few moments later, when Isco's mug was drained and currently being squeezed with anger, he saw Gareth laughing heartily, the lines by his eyes crinkling as Isco got up. But really, that wasn't what made Isco jump off from his seat and walk over their way in a very silent and collected way.

No; what had really set him off was that Gareth had placed his hand tentatively on her thigh, and Esperanza was too busy laughing melodically to even notice.

"Ahem."

Gareth's hand shot back to his lap, fiddling with the hem of his shorts.

Isco smirked internally while he kept up his peaceful front facing those glazed grey eyes he had grown fond of since their arrival, "Señorita Esperanza, may I have a word?"

Esperanza grinned at him, ever so serenading, "Isco, I have already made it clear that I am to be called simply Esperanza. I should get no more recognition than you, to be frank."

The corners of his mouth twitched a little as Gareth seemed to be upset at the fact that he was dragging her away. He gave it only three days, tops, until the larger man was to ask her out.

Esperanza excused herself by holding up a finger to a pissed off Gareth, oblivious to said fact. She pulled down her skirt a little before heading over to Isco, who walked her further off out of earshot.

"Esperanza," she shivered a little at the way her name rolled off his tongue, enunciating each syllable carefully, as if tasting the way they felt upon his lips.

Her eyes bore into his, "Yes?" she smiled lazily.

He thought frantically for a moment; he hadn't actually thought that he would have to start a conversation; all he had wanted at the spur of the moment was to get her away from the man that had been trying to catch her attention in a not-so-subtle.

She arched her perfectly stenciled eyebrows, waiting for an answer.

He racked his brain nervously, blurting out the first thing that came to his mind.