Love Will Find A Way

Part One - Chapter Two: Meeting the Team

Nicole sighed as she ran a hand through her brown hair as she leant against her white Hyundai I30 as she waited for William return with tickets so that they could head inside for the match.

The brunette was wearing a cream embellished shoulder jumper and dark wash skinny jeans paired with black strapped heeled ankle boots for the match; she knew that her cousin would want to introduce her to his team-mates after the game.

Jessica was sat next to her looking at her curiously, she could see that there was something off with her friend and she couldn’t help but worry for her; it was the middle of August and the cool evening air was settling on the city.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked making Nicole nod quietly, she honestly felt a little sick; she hadn’t been feeling herself for a while now and she had already made an appointment to see her doctor next week to see what was going on.

“I’m fine… just a little tired from work,” Nicole lied as she watched Jessica, the last thing that she wanted to do was worry anyone if everything was okay; she’d been keeping an eye on herself for years after what had happened to her mother.

The blonde looked at her friend suspiciously as William returned, she nodded her head knowing to let it go now; she wasn’t going to completely forget about this until she knew what was going on.

***

The trio headed inside and went to their seats with William and Jessica teasing Nicole all the way there; the two women were surprised to see how close to the pitch they were seated.

“Will, how did you get these seats?” Jessica asked wondering how he could afford to be sat so close to the pitch.

William smiled at his girlfriend before glancing at Nicole, he knew that she had already figured out how he had gotten these seats especially since her cousin had been begging her for months to come.

“Oh My God… you asked her cousin,” Jessica squeaked in surprise making William wince at the pitch of her voice; Nicole rolled her eyes at her friends, she had known since Monday that William had spoken to her cousin about coming to one of the home games.

Sergio was determined for her to meet him after the match in the players’ lounge with her friends so he could introduce Nicole to his team mates after years of talking about her.

“It’s not that surprising Jess, Sergio’s been trying to get me to come to one of his games for months now,” the brunette said making Jessica laugh and nod in agreement.

It wasn’t long before the first half of the game was under way meaning William became intensely involved in watching the game in front of them.

Nicole watched the game quietly, she wasn’t paying much attention until she spotted a footballer racing down the pitch trying to stay ahead of the defenders.

William quickly grasped Jessica’s hand making her jump in surprised as he waited for the forward to score, Nicole sighed as she pushed herself up from her seat.

William glanced at her wondering what she was doing as if her moving would distract the players; he didn’t want Real Madrid to lose the first leg of the Supercopa de España, it would be a great way for the team to start the season if they won.

“I’m going the bathroom,” she told him making William nod before he turned his attention back to the match; without another word Nicole made her way back up the steps to and into the corridor, which was completely empty.

Nicole sighed as she quickly slipped into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror, she didn’t want to admit something was wrong.

Lately she was just so tired and she had a bruise from when she walked into the door at work last week; shaking her head, Nicole splashed some water onto her face, she didn’t want anyone to worry until she had seen her doctor.

Taking one last look at herself in the mirror, she took a deep breath wondering what was wrong with her; only time would tell what was wrong with her.

***

Real Madrid went on to draw 2:2 against Barcelona and they would have to focus when they went to Camp Nou for the second leg of the match; the mood in the player’s lounge was cheerful when Nicole and her friends arrived.

Sergio Ramos jumped out of his seat and pulled the brunette into a hug, happy to finally see her; he had worried that she would attempt to avoid coming to see him.

“It’s been too long Coli,” he whispered in her ear making Nicole smile, she hadn’t heard her nickname for months since he had been busy with the national team and with friendlies for his club; it was her only regret about not wanting to be recognized as his cousin, she didn’t get to see him a lot.

Sergio pulled away and looked back at his confused team mates and their spouses, he knew that they were curious about who she was especially since they all knew that the Sevillian didn’t have a girlfriend.

“Everyone this is my cousin Nicole,” Sergio said throwing an arm over the brunette’s shoulder, he loved showing her off when he got the chance; she was his favourite cousin and he got on better with her than anyone else in his family.

“Nicole, these are my team mates,” Sergio continued making several of the players laugh at his general introduction to them before Iker Casillas moved forward to shake her hand with his girlfriend, Sara Carbonero.

“It’s nice to finally meet you Nicole… Sergio hasn’t shut up about you since you agreed to come,” he said making the brunette smile; one by one the players introduced themselves along with their wives and girlfriends, all of who seemed a lot nicer than Nicole thought they would be.

Sergio watched as Nicole talked with Sara and Caroline Celico from across the room with Iker and Kaka standing next to him.

“She’s really nice Sergio,” Iker said taking a sip of his drink as the three women continued to talk; William was moving about getting as many autographs as he could while Jessica tried to calm her boyfriend down.

“Just keep Ronaldo away from her,” he said making the two men look at him surprised; Kaka was one of Cristiano’s closest friends so they were surprised to hear that from him because of how close he was with the Portuguese.

“A nice woman like that doesn’t need a man like him hovering about her,” Kaka continued making the two men nod understandingly,.

He may have been their team mate but Cristiano did have a way with women and it didn’t matter that he was currently dating some Russian model if he took a liking to Nicole then there would be trouble.

“That’s true, Cris maybe one of my closest friends but I wouldn’t trust him to keep my Goldfish alive,” Iker said jokingly making the other two chuckle knowing that he was right.

Sergio watched his cousin carefully knowing something was off, he hoped it was just a fluke but looking back he could remember his Aunt looking that pale when she was in the early stages of Chronic Leukaemia.

Sergio shook his head trying to shake the thought from his head; he hoped that he was just over reacting.