Cause and Effect

Fourteen

A/N: LEROOOOOOOY JENKINS. (I mean Sané...)

Training over the next few days was better. Mesut and Alexis were slowly fixing their friendship, but that didn't mean attacking practice was back to normal, as Neymar now joined us, which inevitably changed the dynamic of everything. He had never apologised to me for his words the other day, but nothing worse happened. Mesut was civil with him. Alexis ignored him. In fact, we were all focussed seriously on our football. At least, we were, until Neymar caught me alone for a moment.

"I'm sorry for the other day, Nia," he said. "I guess I'm still jealous."

I was surprised, but said nothing.

"What, you're not talking to me now?" He scoffed.

"You can't expect me to just forgive you like that," I said. "Words mean nothing."

"What do you want then?" He wondered.

"To be treated with respect," I stated, eyeing him, before taking the ball, and running off with it.

He said no more, and practice seemed more awkward than ever. Once I'd thought about it, I was happy he'd confessed he was sorry - I could see hidden in his eyes genuine regret, although it was clouded by his pride, and I knew that to even receive an apology from him was rare. He was that kind of person.

Practice ended, however, and Mesut and Alexis were requested to help take the gear to the shed, leaving Neymar and I alone again. I headed for the change rooms with him, hoping he'd be quiet, and leave me alone. I should have known better than to hope for anything of the kind. As I took my stuff from my locker, I felt his presence directly behind me, and I stiffened suddenly.

"I can't help thinking of what happened last time we were alone together," he mused, as I turned around to face him.

I felt my cheeks heat up, unable to deny that my thoughts had taken a similar direction. He raised an eyebrow, and chuckled knowingly.

"Yeah," I breathed, meeting his eyes, which were laughing at me mischievously.

He moved closer, and I stepped back until I was pressed against the locker behind me. He placed a hand on either side of my head, looking down at me.

"Ney, stop, you know I'm with..."

"I know, I know," he murmured, "You're with him now. But I see that as temporary. I will wait for you, Nia. I know there is something here that is too strong to throw away."

As he spoke, his lips inched closer and closer to my own, and I did nothing, feeling lost in his hazel eyes, which were flickering over my face, waiting for a reaction. Then he pressed his lips gently to my neck, just below my ear.

"But I won't, make you cheat," he said. "You'll come to me on your own."

Then he pulled away, and returned to his own locker, throwing me a cheeky wink, and leaving me feeling breathless. I said nothing, but continued to get changed, even when Mesut and Alexis entered the room. I sat on the bench once I was done to wait for them, and took out my phone. I had a text from Anya.

'You up for a friendly double date this evening? Leroy and I are going for dinner in Manchester, let me know.'

Anya didn't know I was dating Lex yet, as we'd planned to hang out in the next week or so, and I wanted to tell her in person.

"Hey Lex, you wanna go out for dinner with Anya and Leroy?" I asked him.

"Oh, are they together?" He asked excitedly.