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"Hey Ney, are you having fun?" Smiled Carol when Lucas and Thiago--Silva--left him to get drinks, laughing.
"Hey, I actually am," he said, "are you?"
"I am. I love spending time with you guys and your wives and girlfriend. Well, not yours," she laughed, and he raised an eyebrow.
"No need to remind me that I don't have a girlfriend."
That's your fault if you don't, though.
"Well, I'm just stating the truth. What is it like to be single?"
Right now? Awful, thank you very much.
"You know that, it happened to you before," Neymar rolled his eyes, "but how it is to be married and to have a baby?"
"I'm tired. But in a good way. And happy. So, so, so happy."
"I noticed," Neymar smiled, "and Marcos as well."
Carol nodded.
"You need to find your other half asap."
"You know what they say...I'm not looking for my other half because I'm not a half."
"Wow Ney, where did you read that? Tumblr, Weheartit?" Marquinhos laughed.
"Is she still asleep?" Carol looked at him, worried, and he nodded.
"Yep. Don't worry about her."
A buzzer interrupted them, and Neymar frowned, realizing that it was coming from his phone. He looked even more puzzled when he saw the name of the caller.
"Cassie? Are you okay?" he said, and Carol and Marquinhos looked at each other, lost.
"Neyyy!"
"Are you drunk?"
"Yes," she laughed. "I am so drunk and I feel dead."
"What? Where are you? Is Liss with you? Or Copain, Comain or whatever his name is."
"Liss is with her future girlfriend and I don't know I don't have a boyfriend," she said very slowly.
"I mean this guy, I don't remember his name, it looks like Domain."
"Romain!" she exclaimed. "Romain is somewhere with a girl, I don't know. I just wanna go home. And see you."
She is drunk, talking nonsense and his best friends are nowhere near her.
"Where are you?"
"Well, at Romain!" she said as if it was common knowledge, which wasn't the case.
"Do you know where he lives?"
"In his apartment," Cassie laughed, and Neymar sighed before laughing as well. He didn't know if he was pissed off or if it was just funny. Probably both.
"Where is his apartment, Cassie?"
"In...I'm trying to remember. Yes, I know, Romain lives in Noisy-le-Roi."
"Okay, wait a minute," he checked Google Maps quickly: it was at 20mn from here. "I'm coming to get you."
"Really? Are you?" she asked, and he could almost hear her smile.
"Yes. You stay at Romain, okay? I'm coming."
"I'm not moving at all. Staying on the stairs."
On the stairs? How drunk is she exactly?
"Perfect," he said even though he was kind of worried. He got up and was about to hang up when she spoke.
"Wait!" she said, and he frowned.
Please don't change your mind, I really want to see you.
"Yes?"
"Don't hang up," she said in a small voice, as if, even drunk, she was ashamed to ask him that, and he smiled.
"I'm not hanging up."
"Thank you."
_
Neymar had left the party without saying goodbye to anyone. It was 11:43, and he was in his car, almost there. And honestly, he didn't care about passing in 2018 in his car.
If Cassie was asking for him, he was coming.
"Mytummyhurts," she mumbled on the other side of the line, and Neymar could almost picture her slouched in the stairs.
"I'm almost there, baby girl."
"But how long?"
He looked at his GPS--Cassie had managed to find Romain's address thanks to the position on her phone, which really helped him.
"I'm parking my car. Are you okay?"
Silence.
"No. I'm not okay."
"At what floor does Romain live?"
"Second floor. Are you really there?" she asked, and it broke his heart to hear that she doubted it.
"I am." he said, entering the building, and he heard steps in the stairs before seeing Cassie running into her arms.
"You're really here..." she said like she couldn't believe it.
"Yes," he laughed, hugging her. "Are you okay?"
"I told you. I'm not."
"Do you want to throw up or--"
"Not particularly because of the alcohol."
"I'm not gonna apologize for everything that I did now because there a high chance that you won't remember any of it once you'll be sober. Did you tell anyone that you were leaving?"
"Eeeveryone is drunk," she slurred.
"Do you feel like texting either Liss or Robin to tell them that you're leaving?"
"It's Romain," she said.
"I know," he smiled.
Cassie closed her eyes.
"Text Liss, I think she's sober," she gave him her phone, and he nodded.
"No let's get to my car."
"But it's cold outside," she pouted.
"You need some fresh hair. You can sleep in my car, okay?"
"I'm really happy to see you," she smiled, and he smiled back.
"You're just saying that because you're drunk and you'll be sooo mad at me tomorrow and even at you for calling me like that in the middle of the night."
"Are you speaking Russian right now?" she asked very seriously, sitting on the passenger seat, and he laughed, turning on the engine.
00:03.
"Hey, it's midnight already. Happy New Year, Stubborn."
