Love Will Find A Way

Part One - Chapter Eight: Being Asked Out

The next few weeks went by quickly for Nicole, who was adamant she was going to continue living in her apartment no matter what everyone thought.

Her family had tried to talk to her about living with one of them but she simply refused since she wanted to stay as independent as possible.

It was the brunette’s first day of chemotherapy and she was a little nervous since she would be meeting her new doctor for the first time.

Sergio had talked her into attending a couple of support group sessions and he was glad that he had since it opened their eyes to how Nicole’s life was going to be for the next few months.

Nicole sighed as she got herself comfortable on the hospital bed; she was dressed in a black kimono top in crepe and ripped raw hem skinny jeans paired with oxblood leather ankle boots, as her father sat next to her reading a magazine as they waited for Dr. David Silva to appear.

Thankfully they didn’t have to wait long before a dark haired man entered the room wearing a lab coat; he smiled softly at Nicole and her father.

“You must be Nicole, I am Dr. Silva,” he said making Nicole nod as a nurse brought in the intravenous drip making Nicole take a deep breath.

She didn’t like being poked with needles and she knew that she was going to have to get used to it since for the next couple of months that was how her life was going to be.

As the nurse took Nicole’s left arm, Dr. Silva went over the schedule of when Nicole would have to come into the hospital for her chemo and what they should expect from here on out.

“So do you have any questions?” Dr. Silva asked making the brunette sigh as the intravenous drip was finally attached to her.

He knew that this could all be daunting for anyone especially when it came to treatment, the last that he wanted was for the person to be uninformed about what was going to happen to them.

“I was wondering, when I would start to lose my hair?” Nicole asked softly as her right hand played with the strands of hair that rested on her shoulders.

It was stupid really but she wasn’t looking forward to losing her hair, she knew that it was going to happen and it only seemed a reminder that she was ill.

Dr. Silva smiled at Nicole’s question as he set Nicole’s chart onto her bed, a lot of people got sad when their hair all started to fall out but there were ways around it and he knew that most usually went for wearing a wig or a hat to cover the baldness that appeared because of their treatment.

“It could be anytime between the third treatment and the seventh,” he said making Nicole nod sadly causing Lorenzo to squeeze her hand and smile at the doctor; he knew that this wasn’t easy on his daughter and he wished that there was some way for him to take this from her.

***

Nicole’s treatment went well and she was able to return to work at the library the next day without delay other than feeling slightly sick the next morning; she had taken the tablets that the hospital had given her in an attempt to combat it.

Arthur and Marisol had decided that it would be best if they limited the amount of heavy lifting Nicole did and confined her to staying at the reception desk; however what didn’t surprise them was who appeared around lunch time.

Over the last few weeks Cristiano had become a frequent visitor to the library; where he visited most days in hopes of seeing Nicole and talking to her, he had become a regular and it made the couple smile that maybe this could be something good for the brunette even if she was ill right now.

“Buenas tardes,” Cristiano greeted as he leant against the counter were Nicole was working; the brunette smiled up at him as she closed the book that she had been working on.

With all of the footballer’s visits, Nicole had found herself warming to him over time and now she looked forward to his visits when he had finished training.

“Buenas tardes,” she replied setting the book down and turning her full attention to the smiling Portuguese.

Arthur rolled his eyes at the pair before he stood up and left them alone, he was surprised that they hadn’t started dating with the looks that they shared.

Nicole rolled her eyes while Cristiano chuckled, they both knew how Arthur felt about their strange friendship and he had often told them both that they needed to kiss or something before it all went bad.

“So I came by yesterday… you weren’t here,” Cristiano said sadly, he knew that it was stupid but he had been looking forward to seeing her and she hadn’t been in.

The brunette nibbled on her lip since she hadn’t told anyone yet that wasn’t family or close friends about her illness.

She wanted to keep it as quiet as possible before it got out since she didn’t want people treating her different and she knew that Cristiano wouldn’t come by anymore when she told him that she could be dying right now.

“It was my day off and I had a doctor’s appointment,” she lied with a shrug making Cristiano nodded.

Nicole looked at him curiously still not entirely sure why he spent most of his afternoons in the library talking to her; she knew that he had to have better things to do in his life than spend hours just talking to her.

“So what are you doing after work?” Cristiano asked trying to sound calm with what he was about to do.

Nicole raised an eyebrow and looked at him carefully; he swallowed hoping that she would say yes to what he was about to ask her.

“Nothing why?” Nicole replied making Cristiano smile and rub the back of his head, he knew that there was a chance that she could still say no but he hoped that she would say yes; he had wanted to ask her out for ages and now was his chance.

“I was wondering if you’d like to have dinner with me tonight?” he asked making Nicole smile at him softly and shake her head;  she should have known that that’s what he was after, his reputation did precede him and she wasn’t sure what he would get out of dating her in anyway.

“Wouldn’t Irma be upset with you having dinner with another woman?” Nicole asked innocently knowing perfectly well she was getting Irina’s name wrong.

Cristiano grinned as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously making Nicole roll her eyes, she found it amusing that she was making him nervous.

“Actually me and Irina broke up a while back… so will you?” he asked, Nicole sat quietly looking Cristiano over, trying to figure out what Cristiano was up to.

She stared at him for a moment as she thought about what he was asking of her, she knew it only complicated things for her but she couldn’t find it in her to say no.

“Okay I’ll have dinner with you,” she said still suspicious of Cristiano; who grinned at her response then he started to make his way out of the library, he was relieved that she had said yes since he was so sure that Sergio had told her to stay away from him. 

“Great so I’ll pick you up at your place at seven,” he called over his shoulder leaving Nicole behind looking confused; Marisol laughed at the brunette’s expression knowing that she hadn’t been expecting the footballer to react like that.

“So he finally asked you out,” she said making Nicole nod, not sure if she had made the right decision about going out with Cristiano.