It Had to Be You (A Christian Yelich Story)

Chapter 14: Glass of Water

Two chapters in one night?

***

Anna's doorbell rang. She considered not answering it, but her conscience got the best of her and she slowly opened the door.

Eric stood on the other side of it, and the first thing Anna felt was relief. Relief that it wasn't Christian. Relief that she wouldn't have to battle her feelings for him for now.

"Hey," Eric said with a big smile. "I was feeling a little down, and I figured you could help. Sorry, I know it's late."

"No, it's totally fine. It's actually really good to see you." She tried to push Christian out of her mind, even though he could potentially show up at any minute. She threw her arms around her friend and Eric lifted her up and off the ground into a big, warm hug. "Come in," she cheerfully instructed him as soon as she was firmly back on her feet.

"Mind if I order some pizza?" Eric asked her. "I'm starving."

"Go ahead. I also have leftover Thai in the fridge. You're welcome to it."

Eric ordered pizza and heated up the Thai. Anna forgot how much the man ate, and she couldn't help but smile at how excited he was about "crushing some leftovers."

"What do you want to play?" Eric asked as they both sat on Anna's living room couch.

Anna smiled at him. She missed this. They had a few nights like this one in Korea. Video games and junk food. "How about I watch you start a new game in Breath of the Wild? I haven't had a chance to watch you play it."

Eric nodded and set up the unopened game on Anna's Nintendo Switch. "You're such a weirdo. Always buying games and never playing them."

"It always sounds fun, and then I don't have time. It's why I'm never going to be able to beat you at anything."

Eric chuckled. "You can beat me at Mario Kart every now and then."

"And it feels so, so good when I do," Anna replied before cuddling into Eric's side and resting her head on his shoulder. She felt safe and comfortable. Christian was almost completely off her mind.

She watched Eric intently as he skillfully played his way through the beginning of the game. She then watched him throw off his shirt and scarf down an ungodly amount of pizza. Some things never change.

"I'm going to bed. Join me when you're ready?" Now that he was with her, she didn't want him to leave. "Also, I'm stealing this," she muttered, picking up his discarded shirt. "You smell better than me."

Eric laughed. "Sweet dreams, Anna Banana. I'll be there in an hour or so." He stood up and pulled her into a hug. Before they separated, he kissed her forehead. "Thanks for spending some time with me."

"You're the best," she said and then disappeared into her bedroom to change into Eric's soft, roomy t-shirt. The night hadn't been so bad after all. She felt happy; she felt good.

***

It was three in the morning when Eric heard someone pounding on Anna's door. "What the fuck?" he muttered out loud to himself.

He opened the door a bit nervously in nothing but a pair of sweats.

"Yelich?" he asked in surprise when he saw his tall, lanky teammate standing there. "Are you okay? It's 3:00 am. Anna's asleep, man." Eric didn't even consider what Christian was thinking when he answered the door shirtless in the middle of the night. His mind just didn't work that way. He always assumed people thought the best of him.

"What are you doing here?" Christian asked Eric, and Eric could hear the anger in his friend's voice. Christian pushed past him and made his way into the house. "Where is she?"

"I told you she's asleep, man. Just let her sleep. She needs it."

"So you're an expert in her needs?" Christian asked, his temper flaring.

"Yeah, dude, humans need sleep," Eric said calmly. "Seriously, let's both just go. She had a bad week; let's not make it worse."

"So she's sleeping with you too, huh?" Christian asked, waving his hand at Eric's shirtless torso.

"No, man. I don't have a shirt on because Anna keeps her house at 80 degrees. It's hot in here. No sex, nothing of the sort. Friends. We're best friends. We play video games and eat food. That's about it."

Christian was about to reply when Anna walked out of her room in nothing but Eric's shirt and a pair of panties. "Christian?" she asked softly. "What are you doing here?"

Christian was about to lose it. "I told you I was on my way," he muttered through gritted teeth.

"That was three hours ago," Anna said. "I figured you found something better to do."

"What's going on with him, Anna? You ignore me all week because you're afraid to fuck me due to the irrational fear you'll lose your job, but he's fair game?"

"I'm not sleeping with Eric." Anna's voice was quiet. "But I'm happy to hear all I am to you is just some girl you fuck."

"Sure you're not. Prancing around in your panties and his shirt like you just took a pounding. Quite a look, Anna." Christian completely ignored the second part of her thought.

That was all it took to break her, and she sat down on the sofa and started shaking and sobbing.

"You're so fucking daft, Christian," Eric shouted at his teammate. "You need to go. NOW!"

"I want to hear Anna tell me to leave," Christian shouted back.

At this point, Anna was crying even harder and struggling to breathe. "Please stop," she choked out, her whole body shaking.

When he noticed how worked up she was, Eric immediately sat down at her side and started to calmly rub her back.

"Either go, Christian, or do something useful like get Anna a glass of water," Eric instructed his teammate. His voice was calm again. Not because he wasn't pissed, but because he needed to be calm to help his panicked friend.

Christian finally took note of Anna's state and rushed to get her some water. "Here," he said to Anna, handing her the glass. His voice was still gruff, but he took it down a notch. It was his small attempt at trying.

"Thanks," Eric said, taking the glass for Anna, who was still focused on getting her breathing under control.

"Take a seat, Christian. Let's talk this over like adults," Eric said sternly. "No shouting. No berating."

Christian nodded and sat down next to his coworker — feeling a bit like a scolded child.

This is not what he had planned out in his head on his drive over here.