Gina's emo David's trilogy

He looked over at the sleeping girl in the bed next to him, feeling the guilt wash over him. Her long brown hair was splayed out over the pillow and she had a soft smile of her face, obviously having a pleasant dream. She looked like an angel sleeping, and it made him feel like a complete bastard for what he was doing to her. He knew he would never be able to commit to her fully, not while his wife and child were waiting for him at home. He knew very well what would happen if this ever got out, yet he couldn’t seem to stop himself. Every time she called him up, he’d find the excuses shot out of his head and he was at her front door minutes later. It was only after, when she fell asleep and the guilt eating away at him prevented him from doing the same he realised that this couldn’t go on. Sighing heavily as his phone vibrated, he picked up and held it to his ear.

“Hello?”
“Where are you?”
“I’m on my way home right now, I crashed at Iker’s last night. I’ll be there soon.”
There was a noise in the background, and then another voice was heard down the line.
“Papa!”
He bit his lip hearing his daughter’s excitement, looking over at the sleeping girl next to him again. She rolled over in her sleep, her arm sprawling across his lap and he took a sharp intake of breath.
“I’ll be home soon Zaida. I love you.”
He heard the excited giggle as his wife pulled the phone out of the little girl’s hand, holding back to her own ear.
“Hurry back, ok? We haven’t seen you since yesterday afternoon.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can. Give Zaida a kiss from me.”
He hung up, slotting his phone back into the pocket of his jeans before standing up and pulling them on. The sleeping girl opened one eye at the movement, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and looking up at him, her hazel eyes still not focussing properly. He kissed her on the forehead, brushing her hair out of her face.
“I have to go.”
She nodded, a brief flash of disappointment showing on her face before she replaced it with a smile. It wasn’t brief enough though, and he caught it. The guilt was back tenfold, knowing that he was hurting her by doing this. He couldn’t give her what she wanted; yet he was too selfish to let her go. Did he love her? Was it even possible to love two people at the same time?
“I’m sorry, I promised Zaida I’d spend some time with her today.”
“It’s fine, I understand. She’s your daughter, she always comes first. I’d be the same in your position.”
“I hate leaving you like this.”
She nodded again, trying hard to keep the tears at bay. She always picked the wrong guys, always ended up getting hurt. She let him kiss her, not having the energy or the heart to pull back. She looked away as he slid his wedding ring back onto his finger, not wanting to be reminded of what they were doing.
“I’ll call you later.”
And with that, he was walking out of the door, leaving her sat in bed with the sheets wrapped tightly around her and the hot tears already flowing steadily.

He opened the front door to his house and was instantly greeting by his daughter, who ran at him from the living room, grabbing onto his left leg and squeezing tightly. He laughed and picked her up, giving her a kiss on the cheek. She wrapped her arms around his neck, snuggling against his chest as he walked through the house trying to find his wife. Zaida was struggling against him, so he put her back down and she reached for his hand, pulling him towards the kitchen. He followed his daughter, watching as she thrust a piece of paper at him proudly. He looked down at it, smiling as he saw what she had drawn. In the messy scrawl of a three year old was a picture of four stick people, all holding hands and smiling. He recognised three of the people instantly, but the fourth baffled him. Looking down at his daughter, ha asked her who the fourth person was. With a beaming smile, she replied.
“Gina. She’s pretty, I like her.”
Biting his lip as the smile on his face faded, he started panicking. If Zaida had picked up on it, would his wife have done the same? It was too much of a risk, and it wasn’t one he was willing to take. Giving his daughter another kiss and telling her it was a beautiful picture before excusing himself, he left her in the kitchen. Pulling his phone out of his back pocket, he dialled the number he knew off by heart, waiting several seconds before she picked up.
“That was quick! Zaida bored of you already?”
“No. And that’s not why I’m calling. This thing…whatever it is. It has to stop.”
Her face fell and she struggled to hide the sadness in her voice as she replied.
“David, I know your family comes first and I understand that. I would never try to come between you and them.”
“The thing is, you already are. I am missing the best years of my daughter’s life when I’m with you, and I can’t do it anymore. She drew a picture of the family the other day and showed it to me just now. You’re in it!”
Her face paled as he said those words, knowing that this was where it ended. This was his way of saying it’s over between them.
“She’s three years old, I’m not going to break everything she ever knew.”
“I’m not asking you to. I may be a lot of things David, but I’m not a home wrecker. If you’re sure that this is what you want, then it’s fine with me. I knew when we started this that it wasn’t going to be forever and I thought it wasn’t going to be serious. I just didn’t think that somewhere down the line, I’d fall in love with you.”
He hesitated for a second, knowing that once he’d said the words, he couldn’t take them back. It would change everything. Taking a deep breath, he finally spoke.
“I love you too. But I love my daughter more, and I can’t do this anymore. I’m sorry.”
He didn’t wait for a reply, hanging up before he heard the broken sob escape her. She’d known it was coming, but that didn’t make it hurt any less. He tucked the phone back into his pocket, walking back into the house and greeting his wife with a kiss. He’d made his decision, and only the guilt eating away at him inside told him that it had been the wrong one. He’d broken two hearts with those few sentences, and watching his daughter drawing yet another picture, her tongue poking out in concentration, he hoped that it would all be worth it in the long run. He told himself that he was doing this for her. That had to be enough.
_________________________________________________________

It had been six months since he’d last seen her face to face. She’d done her best to avoid him since then, and he’d accepted that she needed to move on with her life. He wanted to focus on his family, wasn’t that the reason he had done all this anyway? The reason he had sacrificed his own happiness. He watched the pair from a distance, a scowl on his face. She had a beaming smile on her face – a smile that had once been reserved for him. Tearing his eyes away, he thought back to that conversation six months ago. The one that had brought all of this to an end. He knew he’d made the right decision and he’d known it back then too, but there were times when he couldn’t help but think he’d gladly sacrifice his daughter’s happiness for his own. It had been an excruciating six months, having had no contact with Gina, but now she was back in his life and the dull ache he’d managed to push to the back of his mind was back with a vengeance. The pair walked past him, almost oblivious to his presence, and he reached out, grabbing her arm. She gasped lightly and met his eyes before turning to the other man and telling him she’d meet him outside. As soon as he was far enough, she turned to face David.
“David, I…how have you been?”
He ignored the question, staring at her intently, trying to memorise every detail. Eventually, he cracked under the silence, scowling once more.
“Oh, I’ve been just fine. Looking after Zaida. You know, the usual.”
“How is she?”
“She misses you. Won’t stop talking about you.”
A soft smile spread across her face as she replied. “I miss her too.”
“Yeah, she’s clearly the only one you miss!” His tone was sharp, and her smile was instantly replaced with a frown.
“What are you talking about?”
“What the hell do you think you’re playing at?! It’s bad enough that I have to see you again, but with him? Did you think I wouldn’t care?”
“No. I just didn’t think you’d care this much. You’re the one that ended it, not me. You cannot do this to me now. I’m trying to move on with my life.”
“Do you love him?”
She ignored the question, sighing heavily as she stalked off, shaking her head. Her heart was beating faster than usual, and her hands were shaking, but then, David had always had that effect on her. She hadn’t meant for any of this to happen. She’d have been quite happy never seeing David again, reminding her of what she’d lost. What she’d been forced to give up. It was hardly her fault Silva had decided to ask her out and that she’d had a good time. She knew it was nothing more than a rebound relationship, it couldn’t be. It was still too soon and her scars were still healing, but being with someone else had taken her mind off it briefly. Sighing again as she turned the corner, she plastered a smile on her face, ignoring the dull ache in the place she thought her heart was meant to be.
If Silva noticed a change in her after talking to David, he didn’t show it. He knew about their past, no matter how hard they’d tried to hide it, but he didn’t care. He was just glad that she was his now. He loved her, and he hoped that she felt the same way, or his plans for that evening weren’t going to go to plan.

It was much later that day when the knock on her door startled her out of her daydream. Silva had left earlier, saying he had something to take care of and that he’d call her later. She opened the door to find David standing there, car keys in one hand and phone in the other. She stepped aside to let him in just as her own phone sounded from somewhere in the living room. She shut the door and rushed in, managing to get to the phone and pick up mere seconds before the line went dead. She motioned to David to sit down as she walked out into the landing to have her conversation in private. Minutes later, she returned with a smile on her face.
“Who was that?”
“Silva.”
“Oh.” Before he’d even had a chance to open his mouth and say something else, she cut him off.
“Look, I don’t mean to be rude but I’m kind of pressed for time. He just called to tell me he wants me to meet him at that cottage not too far from here in two hours and I need to get ready.”
He stood up and cleared his throat, trying to steady his voice before replying.
“Yeah, of course. I’ll talk to you later…unless you want a lift up there?”
“Are you sure? I can drive up myself if it’s going to be a problem.”
“No, it’s fine. You go and get ready, I’ll figure out how to get there. Do you have a map?”
She pointed over at the far corner of the room, flashing him a smile before turning to go upstairs. He walked over, looking through the pile of books before picking up a map and flicking through it, a look of concentration on his face. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, looking over at him once again.
“David?”
“Hmm?”
“I don’t love him. Not like I loved you.”
He put the map back in its place and looked up at her slowly.
“So why are you with him?”
“He can give me something you couldn’t.”
He took a few steps towards her, keeping his eyes fixed on hers.
“And what’s that?”
“All of his time and love.”
He bit his lip as he took the final few steps, closing the gap between them to mere inches. He wasn’t sure if he was about to cross the line here, but he couldn’t stop now. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly to his body and kissing the top of her head while running his fingers through her hair. She shivered involuntarily at his touch.
“I’m sorry. I loved you, I still do. Don’t doubt that for a second. I just…Zaida’s a little girl, she needs me more than you do. I wish there was another way.”
“There’s no point dwelling on the past, what’s done is done. I need to get ready.”
She’d hoped that by him being here, it was a chance to go back to how things used to be, but now she knew. She was only ever going to be second best in his life and that wasn’t something she was prepared to do, no matter how much the alternative hurt. She pushed him away, ignoring the pain in her heart, the hurt look on his face, but unable to ignore the steady stream of tears already rolling down her own.
___________________________________________________

Although it was a clear night, the temperature outside was below freezing. The stars glittered in the sky, their warmth a million light years away. There was a neat white blanket of snow surrounding the car, covering the ground completely. It was the middle of winter and the weather was unforgiving, the air crisp and the temperatures sharp. The wind whistled through the car window as the pair sat in silence. She had her arms crossed over her chest and she was looking out of the window, completely ignoring her companion. He tried to get her attention, placing a hand softly on her arm but she shrugged him off angrily, shooting him a glare before returning her gaze to the woodland to her right.

“Gina…”

“Don’t you dare start this right now!”

“I’m sorry. I really am. I thought this was the right way, I didn’t realise it was a dead end.”

She spun round to face him, meeting his gaze, sparks of fury emitting from the depths of her hazel eyes. Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears, but she bit them back, determined not to let him see her cry. She was far too angry right now, and she wanted him to know that.

“It’s a bit late for apologies! I’m stuck in the middle of nowhere in a car with a broken window in the middle of winter. It is minus seven degrees outside, I am freezing my backside off and the car has died on us because it’s too cold! As if that wasn’t enough, my boyfriend is sat in a cottage somewhere five miles east of here waiting for me, and I’m stuck in this bloody car with you!! Excuse me if polite conversation is not top on my list of priorities right now.” With that, she turned back to the other side, determined to keep ignoring him.

Only seconds later, and as if to prove her point about how cold it was, she shivered, the evening gown she was wearing not doing much to keep her warm. He sighed and shrugged his jacket off, holding it out to her. The movement caught her eye and she turned around, unfolding her arms and taking it from him silently. She wrapped it around her shoulders, the heat from the garment, which had just been removed from him warming her instantly. He bit his lip as he watched her hair fall into her face, longing to reach out and brush it away, but it wasn’t his place. She wasn’t his anymore. As if she could sense his eyes on her, she looked up, their eyes meeting and they smiled at each other.

“I am sorry, I know that tonight was important to you. Can’t you call him and let him know you’re going to be a bit late?”

“A bit late? I was meant to be there half an hour ago, I’m pretty sure he knows I’m running late. There’s no network coverage anyway.”

“I saw a pay phone a couple of meters back.”

“I’m not going out there! It’s freezing!”

“I’ll call him. I won’t be long.”

Before she had a chance to say anything, he was opening the car door and stepping out into the road. She watched him run across the road towards the pay phone, noting how the t-shirt he was wearing clung to him. She bit her lip, shaking those thoughts out of her head. They’d been there before, it hadn’t worked out. Tearing her eyes away, she turned her attention back to the woodland to her right, barely even noticing the chill anymore. A few minutes later, she heard the car door slam shut again and turned to look at him.

“Well?”

“He’s ok, just worried about you. He thought you’d stood him up at first, but don’t worry, I put him straight.”

“Good. Thank you.”

A silence fell upon them again, and he brought his hands to his face, blowing on them to try and bring some life into the frozen digits. She reached across the handbrake, taking his hands in her own.

“You’re frozen.”

“It’s minus seven out there, of course I’m frozen.”

She frowned at the sharp biting tone, but said nothing, concentrating on warming his hands up before they turned blue and dropped off. He noticed the look on her face and pulled one of his hands out of her grasp, tapping her on the nose lightly.

“Hey.”

She looked up, still struggling to hold back all the emotions that were threatening to break loose. She’d had a nightmare day, a trip to the countryside in the middle of winter had been the last thing she needed, and now she was stuck out here until dawn, if not later. The road the car had broken down on was one of those quiet, winding countryside roads, and few cars passed through.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap. I know this isn’t exactly your perfect scenario, and I’m sorry for messing up.”

“It’s fine. The day I was having, I’d be surprised if this had gone to plan.”

“He’ll wait for you, you know that.”

“He shouldn’t have to. I should have been there on time. If I’d looked at the map properly…”

“Don’t blame yourself, ok? This isn’t your fault. Someone will find us tomorrow and it’ll all be over, you can go to the cottage and speak to him.”

“What if it’s too late by then? He said it was important.”

“He will wait for you. Stop stressing, that face is too pretty for a frown.”

She couldn’t help but smile at that. He’d always known how to cheer her up, even through a small, well placed comment. She looked down at their interlinked hands, thinking how right it looked. How well they fit together…like it was meant to be. Shaking her head again, she pulled her hand away from him sharply. He looked over at her, noting how she had suddenly tensed up. He hated seeing her like this, so distraught and emotional. It still tugged on his heartstrings when she was upset.

“Gina…”

“Don’t. Please just don’t.”

He placed a hand on her arm again, but she didn’t shrug him off this time. Instead, she looked up at him, their eyes meeting again. He leaned in, his head screaming at him to stop, but his heart telling him to continue. She flinched back slightly, but it was like there was an invisible force between them, drawing them together. She gasped softly as she felt his lips press against hers, but she didn’t pull away. He reached for her hand, entwining their fingers as the kiss intensified. She knew this was wrong, they both did, but they couldn’t seem to stop. Her heart was screaming at her to stay put, but her head told her to pull away, so she did, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and shuffling as far away from him as possible. Looking through the glove compartment of the car, she pulled a piece of paper out, scanning over it quickly in the moonlight. Seconds later, she was clambering out of the car, limbs flailing as she slipped on a patch of ice. He was out of the car and by her side in seconds, checking for any damage. She swatted his hands away when he offered to help her up, using the car door as leverage. When she had brushed herself off, she handed him his jacket and started walking across the road to the woodland.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to make it to that cottage to see him if it’s the last thing I do.”

“You’re not going on your own. It’s cold and it’s dark, and you don’t know the way. If we get lost, we’re getting lost together.”

She let out a low growl and grit her teeth but nodded. He was by her side before she could blink, and they walked through the trees in complete silence, neither wanting to be the first to bring up their moment in the car. That ship had sailed a long time ago, it was best all round if they didn’t go back there.

It was nearly four hours later when they finally emerged from the woods, frozen and tired, but spurred on by the thought that soon, they’d be in a nice warm cottage, sat by the fire and waiting for the heat to bring their limbs back to life. She let out a shriek of delight as she spotted a small building in the distance and set off running towards it. He followed her, just as happy that they had finally reached civilisation. As they approached the cottage, they slowed their pace to a walk, trying desperately to get their breathing and heart rates back to normal. She could hear the blood rushing around in her ears as her heart worked overtime to pump oxygenated blood around her body.

She was just about to knock on the door when it swung open to reveal David Silva wearing a smart black suit and a worried look on his face. She fell into his open arms, and he ushered the pair in, shutting the door behind them.

“I was so worried about you two out there in this weather, they said there’s a storm building.”

“It’s just as well your girlfriend is so stubborn, she just took off without warning. She was that determined to get here.”

“Thank you for looking out for her David, I don’t know what I would have done if anything had happened to her.”

The taller guy clapped his friend on the back, smiling at him before making his way over to the fireplace. He sat down on the rug, crossing his legs and closing his eyes as he felt the heat wash over him, soothing his aching body. He tried his best to block out the couple behind him, not wanting to intrude on their private conversation. He felt incredibly guilty about the kiss he’d shared with Gina in the car, but he knew now that he was making the right decision in letting her go. He could picture the way her face had lit up when the door opened to reveal Silva standing there. It was a look he’d grown to know and love when they were together, but it was no longer a look that belonged to him. He heard their footsteps retreating to the other room and he lay back, thinking back to a happier time when he’d had it all, only to throw it away. He knew that if there was anyone who deserved to be happy, it was the couple stood in the other room. He couldn’t stand in the way of that, no matter how much his heart broke to see them together.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Gina was stood by the door, staring at the scene before her in complete and utter shock. There were a number of candles set out on the table and as she stepped closer, she realised they spelled something out. She brought her hands up to her face as she read the message, a gasp escaping her as her brain processed the words. Turning back to the door, she bit her lip to stop the smile from spreading as she saw her boyfriend down on one knee, holding a box containing a simple diamond ring out to her. He swallowed nervously before speaking, his voice still slightly hoarse.

“Will you marry me?”

She could barely hold back the squeal of excitement as she knelt down on the ground in front of him and pressed her lips against his. She whispered only four words, but they were exactly the words he had been hoping to hear.

“Yes. I love you.”

With a smile on his face as he slid the ring onto her finger, he whispered them back, before pulling her in for another kiss.

Tissues at the ready for a story by Villa*baby

“But… I love you! I loved you all along!” the man was saying to the woman sitting next to him, while trying to focus on car driving.

“Please, don’t say that! When it comes out of your mouth, those words sound so paintful and I know you aren’t honest! You know, I wonder were you ever honest with me!”, almost crying, woman answered while turning on the radio and trying not to listen to him anymore.

“You have to trust me! She didn’t mean nothing to me! It was just…”

“What? Go on! A one night stand? An unimportant affair? Just a way for you to have some fun while I wasn’t here?”

“No, don’t say it like that! Please, don’t say it like that!” A man was trying to calm her down, but aware that he had no excuses.

She was angry because she had to find out in newspapers that her boyfriend cheated on her. It was the worst possible way.

“And that… woman, I can’t even tell her name, you think she won’t made things much worse than they are? This is just a beginning! And that, Sergio, is something I don’t want to experience!” It was the first time she called him by name and in that very moment she understood why she didn’t do that before. A blade of pain was breaking her heart apart. Until that moment she thought everything will dissapear, like a bubble of soap, and they’ll be happy again! But, it was impossible. She knew they were that couple all over the front pages in papers. He cheated on her and everyone knew that but he was trying to make everything right.

He tryied to take her hand in his, to kiss her in hope everything will be like before. He wanted to believe that, but he knew that she won’t made that step. She pulled her hand away to wipe a tear that started slipping over her cheek. He tried to touch her face, to feel her skin once again.

“Please, listen to me”, he said, while trying to stay strong. “I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want to throw away everything we had!”

“But, you already did that! I loved you with every inch of my body, I was ready to give you everything. I loved you, Sergio, and I still do. But I can’t forgive you.”

“How many times do I have to say I’m sorry? What do I have to do to believe me?”

“Nothing! You did enough. More than enough. Please, stop the car! I can’t stand being next to you anymore. Stop!” She couldn’t stand his closeness, a sound of his voice… She fell in love with him first time they met. She used to be suspicious in the beginning, but he showed her that she’s the one and that he’ll love her forever. At least it seemed.

After insisting, he finally stopped the car. She went out and stood on the rain. It helped her hide the tears. He stayed in the car with his face burried in hands. She knew that it was hard for him also, but didn’t want to forgive him. He abused her trust, left her heart bleeding. How could he say he love her after he threw away everything they had and spent night in the arms of another woman. She knew she won’t be able to delete that image from her memory, but at least he won’t be there to remind her of that.

He went out from the car, but wasn’t strong enough to come closer. She looked at him and saw his teary eyes.

“Why are you crying? Tell me!”

“Because I don’t know how I will go on without you by my side! You mean a world to me! Your love is the most valiuable thing I’ve ever had.”

“You should think about that earlier. And please don’t call me. I don’t want to hear from you ever more. This is the end.”

She was wearing a neklace he bought her for their second anniversary. It had a little letter “S” on it. She took it off and gave him.

“Is this all that is left from us? But know this, I won’t stop fighting for your love. I don’t want this to be the end.” He told while standing on the rain and squeezing a neklace in his hands.

She sighed heavily, trying to find right words to say before she leave. But she couldn’t think of anything.

“Goodbye, Sergio!” She said, while tears were filling her eyes again. She made one step forward walking into a new life without him…

MG's Scenario game results. Part 8 *Updated 23.7.08*

MG- Iker, candyfloss and a gay bar!
Edit: The description in this story is based on the only gay club I’ve ever been in so I apologise if it offends anyone!
‘Wow you look hot!’ he commented, coming up behind me and nuzzling my neck.
I smiled at him in the mirror and put a hand up to stroke his head.
‘You don’t look too shabby yourself’ I winked, ‘are you ready?’
He nodded and with a final kiss we set off to the engagement party.
‘I’m so excited about this!’ I exclaimed as we queued to get into the town’s hottest new club La pina rosada ‘Have you got the supplies?’
‘Right here’ he nodded holding up a plastic bag, ‘Do you think we’ll have enough?’
‘Oh I’m sure there’ll be someone to buy from inside’ I reassured him, ‘I’ve never been in a gay bar where there wasn’t’
Inside was a paradise of pure decadence: white leather booths lined the silver and diamond encrusted walls, while pink helium balloons hung suspended above the dance floor ready to be released later in the evening.
‘Come on lets dance’ I yelled over the sound of Abba and dragged him onto the floor to shake his fabulous booty to Dancing Queen.
As the night wore on the party got wilder and wilder and soon the dance floor was jammed with over excited couples gyrating suggestively against each other. The heat was stifling and catching his eye I indicated my need to go and get some air.
We made our way out of the club’s back door into the dimly lit alley behind it. Sighing with relief I leant against the nearest wall letting the gentle night breeze calm my feverish skin. Opening my eyes I found he was standing in front of me his face a mere breath away from mine,
‘We’re supposed to be cooling off!’ I laughed lifting my mouth to meet his, ‘not raising the temperature further!’
Suddenly I caught sight of something over his shoulder and screamed loudly.
‘What is it?’ he exclaimed ‘I haven’t touched you yet!’
‘There’ I stammered, ‘In the corner - it’s a body!’
‘Don’t be……’ he began, then following my gaze gasped,
‘Oh my God you’re right!’
Cautiously we walked across to where the person was laid and as we got closer I realised it was a man. Bending down I felt for a pulse.
‘They’re alive’ I sighed with relief ‘but totally out of it’
‘Maybe this explains why!’ he said picking up several empty clear, plastic bags from the floor at the side of the unconscious figure.
‘Oh my God!’ I exclaimed, ‘What’s wrong with these people? Don’t they understand how dangerous this stuff is taken in these kind of quantities??’
And reaching for my mobile I began dialling the emergency services.
*A few days later*
‘Good evening and welcome to Sky Sports news - In an exclusive interview today the Spanish football association announced that, unfortunately, due to his recent admission to the Madrid Priory, where he will receive specialist treatment for his life threatening addiction to candy floss Iker Casillas will not be available for the upcoming World cup.
In a statement from the club the President has maintained they are 100% behind their keeper, who had been floss free for almost ten years before being exposed to its potent charms on a night out with team mates last week, and club captain, Raul, whose own problems with sugar addiction are well documented, has vowed to support him in his fight. to get clean.

‘Oh that’s awful news about Iker’ I sighed walking into the bedroom where my husband was packing his suitcase and running my hand over his bent, shaven head.
‘I know its terrible’ he agreed, ‘Now could you pass me my gloves please - I think im going to be needing them quite a bit over the next few weeks!’

MG's from last week- which was suposed to be about Silva but as I know nothing about him I just wandered down my own path!

The Job Interview


‘Ive got to find a more fulfilling career’ I sighed, wiping tomato ketchup off the kitchen walls for the twentieth time that week ‘Im just not cut out for childminding anymore!’
‘Well why don’t you go for this?’ Emma suggested, picking up a nearby newspaper and pointing to the Situations Vacant column.
‘Body oiler required for Sky’s Gladiators show?’ I read aloud.
‘No the one below it’ she laughed, ‘for the live in cook’
Reading the ad a smile spread across my face, ‘That’s perfect’ I grinned ‘I love cooking and its only for a single bloke so its hardly going to be hard work’


A week later I found myself sitting in the hallway of a beautifully furnished flat in North London.
‘Miss Brookes’ a soft voice said and I glanced up to see a tall, slightly nervous looking man standing in a nearby doorway. ‘Would you like to come in?’
Smoothing down my skirt and tucking a wayward curl behind my ear I followed him into a room painted in the most delicate duck egg blue. The soft furnishings were the colour of clotted cream and right in the centre of the floor was a huge, baby soft, sheepskin rug.
‘Please sit down’ he said indicating a huge sofa, before taking a seat on the chair opposite.
‘Ok!’ he smiled ‘so maybe you could start by telling me what qualities you have that suit this position?’
A rather embarrassing silence fell in the room.
‘Sorry!’ I apologised, quickly pulling myself together ‘I was just……’
And then I stopped realising how stupid I would sound, telling him I’d just been rendered speechless by his gorgeous dimples when he smiled at me!
‘Its ok’ he reassured me ‘There’s plenty of time - would a drink help?’
‘That would be lovely’ I nodded ‘Do you have tea?’
‘I do’ he told me, then blushing added ‘but I’m not completely sure how to make it properly - not being English.’
‘That’s ok’ I smiled, ‘I’ll do it - I’m an expert!’

Following him into the spotlessly clean kitchen I admired the gleaming equipment and felt a jolt of excitement at the thought of all the fantastic dishes I could create in there. He noticed me looking and sheepishly confessed he’d never used any of it himself.
‘Really?’ I asked astounded ‘Can’t you cook anything?’
‘Oh yes!’ he replied proudly ‘I make fantastic fruit kebabs!’
For some reason I found this highly amusing and burst into a fit of giggles.
‘Oh! I’m sorry’ I said stopping abruptly as I saw the look of hurt on his face ‘I didn’t mean to mock you’ and in a unconscious movement I put my hand on his arm to appease him.
As soon as I placed it there everything seemed to change. A strange stillness descended as we both stared at it for several seconds before simultaneously raising our eyes and locking them together. I felt I should say something but was unable to speak as slowly he brought a long finger to my face and ran it sensuously along my jaw.
Feeling my knees buckle slightly I leant back against the kitchen units to steady myself as he moved closer and placed his other hand at the base of my spine.
I wanted him to kiss me, needed him to kiss me but at the same time I was lost in this sublime moment where, standing inches apart, mouths almost touching, we breathed the same air and saw nothing but each other.
I could smell his unique scent, a mix of grass and vanilla and it made me dizzy with desire. Unable to stop myself I reached up and traced the curve of the little scar above his right eyebrow.
Removing his finger from my chin he carefully cupped it in his hands and never breaking eye contact gently brushed my lips with his, before increasing the pressure until they parted far enough to allow his tongue to pass.
He kissed me with a mixture of intensity and an undisguised naivety which both thrilled and soothed me at the same time.

Finally he broke away and taking my hand led me back to the lounge.
‘I’m not very good at this’ he whispered shyly.
‘Shhh!’ I put a finger to his lips, ‘ just relax and enjoy it’ and kneeling on the sheepskin rug I pulled him down beside me.
‘Kiss me again’ I murmured into his chest ‘Please just kiss me again’
He needed no further invitation and pushing me back onto the soft floor he resumed the pressure on my mouth with his own. I moaned softly as he moved his lips to my neck, sucking softly on the hollow of my throat before leaving tiny butterfly kisses along my collarbone.
Wriggling slightly I adjusted my position so that despite the height difference our bodies touched in as many places as was possible. I could feel the heat he was generating seep through my clothes and inflame my soul until unable to wait any longer I tugged his shirt open with feverish hands. Feeling him shiver beneath my fingers only served to increase my desire and replacing my hands on his chest with my tongue, I moved them to his belt.
In what seemed like seconds our clothes had vanished and I found myself arching my body towards him desperate for any contact, however small.
‘I want you so much,’ he sighed twisting one of my curls around his beautiful long fingers.
‘I want you too’ I breathed, then let out a whimper as his mouth began a spine tingling journey down my body.
‘Please Philippe!’ I begged burying my nails deep into the pile of the rug, ‘I can’t stand it any longer’
Slowly, teasingly he travelled back over my burning skin until we were once more facing each other, before gently parting my thighs.

Afterwards as I lay in his arms I was conscious of a change within me. Id always felt I was missing something, a small part of me that I could never quite locate but now I knew Id found it - the thing Id spent my whole life searching for was sleeping peacefully by my side.
‘I love you’ he murmured rousing slightly.
‘I love you too’ I replied stroking his wrinkled brow ‘and I think I always have’

Blue- Pepe, park, superglue
Sorry if I missed some SBAers - a bit hard to squeeze everyone + their ballers in

On one sunny morning in Madrid, I was rushing to go to El Parque del Retiro (Retiro Park) to help out in a charity football workshop organised by Iker. In a hurry, I shoved all the decoration supplies – pen, scissors, superglue, ribbons, balloon, etc - into a big bag.

“You’re going already? It’s a bit early, isn’t it?” Metze asked with a sleepy voice.
I leaned and kissed him – “Morning to you too… yeah, I want to finish the decorating the stage before the crowd gathers. How are you feeling today?”
“Hmph… not worse but not better either,” he sulked – and was looking very moody - he had grown his beard back since he got injured in the last international game.
I sat on the bed and stroked his thick beard, “Hey – you’ll get better soon, OK? The doctor said that your rehabilitation is going very well. And we could always go to Australia next year.”

He held my hand tightly and pulled me in for a passionate kiss.
“Can’t you stay home today?” he whispered while giving butterfly kisses on my neck.
“Mmmhhhh… no... I’ve promised to help out and the girls will be there. Chris… please stop …
Why don’t you come with me? It’s a really nice day outside, and you usually love charity events.”

He looked at me and said, “And get reminded by the Spanish Team that I can’t play soccer for the next weeks?”
“Ayyy… enough with the sulking! And they won’t do that to you.” I got a bit annoyed – he’d been acting like this for the last weeks.
“You’re coming with me - maybe some fresh air will do you good. Come on!” I pulled his arm to get him to stand up.
“You’ll be late waiting for me to get ready. Weren’t you in a hurry?” he jeered.
I pushed him to the bathroom and said, “No excuse. I’ll help you in the shower if I need to.”
Then he smiled and I saw a glint of cheekiness in his eyes - I’d better call Iker to let him know that we’ll be late.

*

By the time we got to the park, the SBA girls were already buzzing to get the workshop underway.
Ali , Sergio, Steph, Bojan, Malin and Nando were helping Callie and Iker setting up the goal posts.
Minty, MG, Cesc and Lucy were dragging bags of soccer balls to the different sections of the park while telling Cesc that waxing his arms was not a good idea at all.

I could see Laura, Venice, MXA and Xabi inspecting Raul’s bag to check if he smuggled some cookies / yoghurt – good on them!
Raul was talking to Victor Valdez about getting called up by the Spanish team – it seemed that Vicente was impressed with their performance in the last season.

Gina , VB and Villa ran towards us.
VB said, “There you are!!! Quick give us the balloon… David – could you start with the red one, please?”
Gina looked at Metze – “And Metze – could you help Pavi, Lynx, Pau and Silva hanging the banner over there? And, here. You might get a bit thirsty.” She handed him a bottle of water.
“Ginnnaaaaaa…!” David Villa gave her a stern look then pointed one finger to his hip dips.

*

I was about to finish decorating the table on the stage when Pepe approached me.
“Hey – are you almost finished with that superglue?” he asked.
“Yeah – give me one second,” as I glued the last red and yellow ribbon on to the sides of the table.
“Aha – great! Thanks heaps!” he grinned and disappeared before I could ask him anything.

The workshop went really well, and we raised a huge sum for the local children’s hospital.
Metze also enjoyed himself until some little kids cried upon the sight of him with that thick beard.
Then he just walked backstage to sulk, and sat near the water cooler – this prompted Pavi, Lynx and Gina to offer him a glass of water.

*

The players were getting ready to walk onto the stage to sign autographs for the fans, when I heard a loud scream.
“AAAAARRGHHHH!!!! WHO DID THISSS?????” I was shocked to see Iker looking so flustered and frustrated.
I ran over to see what had happened, and Callie was trying to help Iker getting his gloves off.
“Ouch, ouch!!!! Callie that hurts! Who put glue in my gloves????”
Unconsciously, I looked at Victor, who couldn’t contain his glee.
But then I saw Pepe’s face looking a bit purple – he was trying hard to hold his laugh, he couldn’t and bursted out laughing.

At that stage, almost everyone was laughing out loud – except poor Iker.
“PEPE!!! Did you do this??? Wait until I get you, you hear me????”
Callie tried to console Iker and she remembered that she got a nail polish remover in her handbag.
She dragged Iker backstage and started working on removing the superglue with high precision, thanks to her lab-trained hands.

*

The event continued on by Pepe taking over the mic, introducing the whole Spanish team. Before it could drag on for too long, Raul grabbed the mic from Pepe.
Then he realised that the mic felt a bit sticky. And his hand was stuck. “What the???”
Pepe was surprised as well – he tried to remove the mic from his hand, but it wouldn’t budge.

The crowd was not aware of what was actually happening, all that they could see was Pepe and Raul fighting for the mic.
The crowd laughed and started heckling.
Pepe laughed and said, “Oh well – it seems that you’re stuck with me, Raul… how about a little kiss, huh??”
Raul’s face went pale as he tried to run away from Pepe’s embrace.

I glanced at Metze and he seemed unusually pleased.
“Chris – did you put glue on that mic?”
“Well – I was feeling a bit bored,” he grinned mischievously.

Beth- Cesc, a Zebra and a Masked ball.

Having agreed to keep Cesc company for the day, I was stuck with ideas for what to do with him. He had been stuck inside due to the rain for the last week and that had made him like a very grumpy child. With the weather finally clearing up I decided to take him down to the beach for some fresh air and so that he could get rid of some energy by riding the donkeys, which he had be badgering me to take him to do since we moved to the seaside 6 months ago.
On arrival at the beach I realised there was something wrong. Cesc however seemed very excited. There were no longer donkeys taking people for rides on the beach…they were now using zebras. How odd, I know I hadn’t been to the beach in a long time, but I didn’t think this much would have changed!! Giving Cesc all of the change in my purse I stood on the promenade and watched him run down and join the queue for the zebra’s, I couldn’t help but smile at the excitement written all over his face.
When his turn came he very carefully rode up and then back down the stretch of sand laid out for the zebra, and looked very pleased with himself as he was turning the zebra back round at the end of his ride. I was standing cheering from the side especially pleased that he hadn’t embarrassed himself. Oops maybe I had thought too soon! A small child had dropped their ice cream and started screaming just behind the zebra, which had spooked it. Cesc was in the process of dismounting when the zebra had charged off down the beach, in the opposite direction to any help. I thought he had managed to get his feet to the floor, but as I watched on in horror I realised that Cesc was clinging on for dear life because his arm hair had got caught in the saddle (note: really sorry about this I couldn’t resist!) therefore meaning he couldn’t separate himself from the zebra. I was powerless to help as the zebra took off down the beach, however, he was being chased down by a very concerned paramedic called Lucy who apparently had a very special talent for taking care of forearms especially hairy ones!
Lucy made good ground on the zebra and was able to guide it too a walk and then halt as she carefully untangled Cesc’s hair from the reins and front of the saddle. As I and the owner of the zebra joined Lucy, Cesc and the zebra (Sophie I think it was called), Lucy and Cesc were sitting on the beach with Lucy massaging Savlon into his sore arms.
After Cesc had been assessed for other injuries and was ready to go home he informed me that Lucy had invited him to a masked ball being held at her uncles house that evening. Not being allowed out past 10pm without a chaperone (he’s delicate that Cesc!) he said he had asked Lucy if I could accompany him and she had agreed. Great I thought, no evening in with the TV and internet for company. Now I would have to make an effort, find a dress and keep myself company all evening as Cesc would disappear off with Lucy no doubt.
Cesc, in his elated state, persuaded me to buy him an ice cream. As I was going to pay I realised with dismay that I was out of change. Whilst fumbling in my hand bag to find a note of some sort and praying that there was one in there, a smooth voice interrupted with an “allow me”. Bright red in the face I turned and start refusing his kind offer. The tall, dark and very handsome stranger insists and secretly feeling very relieved I accepted. Once outside the ice cream parlour I re-state my thanks and try to remove my self from the situation before it got even more excruciating.
On arrival at the country hall later that evening mask and purse in one hand, and Cesc’s tie and mask in the other one I couldn’t help but think how well Cesc scrubbed up when he wanted to make an effort. His arms were still a bit sore from earlier but on the whole he had recovered quite well from the ordeal. As he skipped up the path I had to remind him to put on his mask and almost tie him down to make him stand still long enough for me to tie his tie. Lucy was waiting for him as we arrived leaving me to head to the bar. Collapsing on a chair and ordering a large drink I noticed another figure a few stools down. Noticing the goalie gloves poking out of his suit jacket, and the fine hands that accompanied them which looked strangely familiar, my curiosity deepened. On hearing his drinks order I was left in no doubt that he was the gentleman from earlier. Deciding not to follow the protocol put in place for the evening I removed my mask and with a blushing face reminded the gentleman of his kind act earlier. With recognition dawning on his face, he removed his mask, grabbed my hand and dragged me out in to the garden. This evening was looking up already!

Gina- desert island, a map and Nando

Looking down at the map in my hands once again, I shook my head. This had to be wrong, it said that I should be coming up to a waterfall right about now, and there was no sign of water anywhere! Sighing as I sat down under the shade of a palm tree, I folded the map up and tucked it into the pocket of my shorts. The heat was sweltering already and it wasn’t even noon yet. I could feel the drops of sweat running down my back, cooling my burning skin for mere seconds before the hot air took over again. Lying back, I closed my eyes, dreaming of a place with cool water and an ice cold drink waiting for me at a makeshift bar.

I was woken up from my slumber later that day by a bucket of ice-cold water getting tipped over me. I shot up instantly, ready to shout at whoever had dared wake me up so cruelly, when I realised that the water was actually having the desired effect and cooling me down. I promptly closed my mouth again, looking up at the person who had woken me up. He was quite tall, blonde and had the most amazing smile in the world. All in all, he was quite a good-looking guy. He looked at me almost shyly; his face going bright red as he noticed my drenched shirt was now going see-through. I self-consciously crossed my arms over my chest and smiled back at him.
“Sorry about that.” He said, nodding at my shirt. I shrugged and told him it didn’t matter.
“So, what exactly are you doing here?”
“I’m on my honeymoon. My wife Malin is around here somewhere, I got bored of sitting on the beach so I decided to take a walk.”
“You’re on your honeymoon? On a desert island in the middle of summer?”
“Yes, she wanted to come here, and who was I to refuse? I wish I’d thought to bring some stronger lotion though, this sunburn is not a good look for me.”
I looked him over, only now noticing that his skin was a rather unflattering shade of pink. I held back a laugh and he raised an eyebrow at me.
“You think you’re in a better state? Clearly, lobster is in this summer.”
I looked down at my own legs, which were the same shade of pink as him. Unfortunately, the back of my legs hadn’t seen the sun and were currently whiter than white. I groaned as I desperately tried to find a way to cover the odd sunburn, and he waved a hand at me dismissively.
“Don’t worry about it, my sunburn is probably worse. At least you’ll be able to sleep on your back. Anyway, I’d better be getting back now, I've been gone for ages and Malin will be getting worried.”
I nodded, and he’d only got a couple of steps away before I remembered the waterfall I was looking for and asked him about it. He walked back over as I pulled the map out and unfolded it, holding it out in front of me.
“So you see, it says here that the waterfall is just over a hill about 20 yards from here, but there isn’t a hill. I’m really confused. Do you think I should write to the people that made this map and tell them they have it wrong?”
He looked at the map for several seconds, a smirk on his face before he prised it out of my hands, turned it around and gave it back.
“It’s upside down. You were looking at it all wrong, no wonder you couldn’t find the waterfall!” I went bright red and smacked my open palm against my forehead, momentarily forgetting about my sunburn. He pointed at a spot on the map.
“We’re here, the waterfall you want to get to is all the way on the other side of the island. Good luck getting there.”
I thanked him, cursing my inability to read a map and thinking about how I was going to get the message to the other girls that I was going to be a little late for our girly holiday.

MXA- Egypt, an umbrella and Villa.

I can feel a trickle of sweat sliding down the back of my neck, I’m struggling to breath, my heart is racing and hang on, was that my lung giving up and bursting? When Xabi surprised me with a trip to Egypt I was over the moon, I imagined all the romantic things we could do together, this was not meant to happen. I was just going for a stroll and to look at the amazing scenery while Xabi went to the gym, OK, OK, I was looking for a shoe shop, but I never expected to end up in the middle of no where completely lost without my mobile phone or anything to drink. (Note to self: If you want a hip flask in your handbag don’t let anyone talk you out of it through risk of becoming an ‘alchi’). Oh god, I really am hot, I don’t know how I’m ever going to find my way out of this seemingly deserted place. I stop walking and take a second to catch my breath, I roll my shorts up a few more times to get some air on my legs and tie a knot in the back of my t-shirt to get it off my sweating body. I am soaked through with sweat, I must look a mess, all that time straightening my hair just for it to curl back up in the heat. My feet ache too, I remove my flip flops as they’ve started to blister my feet, I put them into my handbag and look around trying to work out which direction I should be heading. Wait! What’s that? I swear I can see something in the distance, and is that music I hear?

Finding a last bit of energy I start to run in the direction of the glimmer of colour and noise. As I’m running I’m convinced I can see something there, yes, finally, someone to help me!! I call out ‘Hello, is someone there?’. No reply, but I’m almost there now and I think I can make out a man under a giant pink and blue striped umbrella. Yes, there definitely is someone there, and he seems surrounded by stuff, there’s a cooler box and a stereo, I had heard music, I’m not going insane, hooray!!

I reach the man, he’s lying back in a deck chair wearing a pair of dark green shorts rolled up to reveal tanned thighs. He looks up at me, taking his sunglasses off and placing them on top of his head. I wait for him to say something, but he doesn’t he just takes a long swig of his bottled beer and points to the deck chair next to him. I don’t remember seeing two chairs before. My mouth is watering looking at the liquid in the glass bottle, I can see droplets of water running down the side and landing onto his lower tummy.

I can’t take the silence anymore, I need help and to get home. ‘Hi, is there anyway you can help me? I’m lost and I need to get home, I’ve been walking around for hours. Please, how can I get back into town?’ I’m speaking too fast and from the look on his face I start to wonder if he understands English. I’m infuriated when he just shrugs his shoulders at me, but then reaches into the cooler next to his chair and pulls out a bottle. He leans forward and offers the bottle to me “aqui”. It’s the first time I’ve heard his voice and I feel relaxed just by hearing his tone. I take the bottle and decide to sit next to him. Tasting the beer on my tongue is like heaven, I close my eyes and with the sound of Christina Agularia coming from the stereo I almost forget about the drama I have just been through. I’m brought back to reality when the man nudges my arm, I look over at him and see he is offering me something. Oh my god, is that a joint? As if I’m going to get stoned right now, I have issues to deal with you know!! Then again, it doesn’t look like this man knows how to get back to town and he seems pretty happy here. OK, maybe I’ll just have a few pulls I think as I take it out of his hand. Lighting it up I take a long drag and start to cough furiously, hm, think I’m remembering why I don’t smoke. I have a few more pulls and pass it back to him.

*Two hours later*

I don’t think I have ever laughed this much. I look up at the man and fall about laughing once more when I see the pink icing on his chin. He throws yet another empty bottle away from him into the pile a few yards away, I don’t remember drinking that much. I’m so thankful that the man had food stored away, I hadn’t even realised I was hungry. Oh wow, is that a bag of onion rings I spy. Seems we both have the same idea, as I launch forward to grab them he does the same, we both fall off our deck chairs and crash into one another. Laying side by side on the floor we once again fall into a fit of giggles. I roll onto my side and look into his big brown eyes, they seem from another world, there’s something in them that isn’t quite right, but could never be classed as wrong. He raises a hand and runs his fingers over my eyelids closing them, I keep them closed and feel his hand trace my face and end with him tucking stray hair behind my ear, I feel peaceful, like I’m floating or something…..

“Maxine!! Come on, baby, wake up!!” I can hear a voice from somewhere, where’s that coming from? I feel the faintest of kiss touch down on my lips. I know those lips, I must wake up, come on, open your eyes, you can do it. With what feels like a huge effort I slowly open my eyes, I can see a face looking down on me, it’s so full of concern. That face is Xabi’s. Where am I? What’s going on?

He grins down at me and helps me sit up. I look around, I’m in a dry land area, there’s no one around, but I can see a car parked a few feet away, it’s dark outside.

“What happened?” I ask. He looks at me and I can see the worry in his eyes, he takes hold of my hand before replying “You never came back, I was getting so worried, I’ve been driving around for hours looking for you. No one in town had seen you walk by and then I spotted you lying here in this empty field, I rushed over and you wouldn’t wake up, but you had a smile on your face, I’ve never seen you look so beautiful”. I look down at my dirty clothing and scratched up legs, I run a hand through my ragged hair and I realise I am never going to love someone as much as I love this man right now. I give him a long tender kiss and hug him tightly to my body breathing words into his ear. He helps me up and as I start to walk something falls to the ground. I stop to pick it up and run it over my fingers. In the palm of my hand is a little cocktail umbrella with pink and blue strips. Written in tiny letters are the words ‘I knew he’d find you’.

Stories for Malin

By Venice

His body is the colour of moonlight, spread out next to you. He breathes like a metronome, reliable and reassuring, while a faint smile still lingers on his face.

Sometimes you stay up a little longer just to watch him sleep. He lets go of everything, face covered in a gossamer veil of peaceful sleep. He's his own now, and you know that when he is his own, he's yours completely.

You want to use your fingers to investigate his textured body, thrilled as if it were the first time, as if you didn't know every line by heart. But you stop short of breaking through the filmsy glow of his skin, deciding it was best to leave him to be his own now.

Instead of tracing his skin, your mind traces back to that first time, that first meeting. And you wondered, of all the women there who fought for his attention, cluttering his vision, numbing his senses, why did he look for you? It was nothing more than a fleeting glance, a gentle brush of arm to arm, a split second.

"I saw something in your eyes." he whispered. "I wanted it for myself."

Seven years later you can still feel that look in his eyes like he had that first time, the one he enfolds you in when he thinks you're not watching. That's the look of being in another world, with you.

Your eyes are fixed on his mellow face, but your eyelids are heavy. You want to stay like this forever, but you're not fighting it. Because you know that by the time it dawns and his skin shimmers in a different light, turning his hair from silver to gold - you will be the one sleeping peacefully, and he will be awake, his fingers slowly drawing the line of your hair and neck with the lightest of touches.

Sometimes he wakes up a little earlier just to watch you sleep. He moves so close that his lips almost touch your ear, mouthing the gentlest of words. You don't need to be awake to hear them. They came to you in your sleep many times before. And they told you he wanted you to have him. Breath after breath, heartbeat after heartbeat he belonged more and more to you.

By Gina
Ok, just a quick note…Nando isn’t a baller in this story, just so you don’t get confused :D

Sighing heavily as she looked out of her bedroom window again, the blonde turned her attention back to the guy stood in her room, talking about something or other he’d done with his friends earlier that day. She’d given up trying to get back into the conversation a long time ago, mumbling the occasional ‘mm-hmm’ as he spoke to keep up the illusion that she was listening. He didn’t seem to notice though, carrying on with his explanation, complete with enthusiastic waving of the hands. She ducked her head as his arm swung millimetres away, nearly giving her a black eye. He stopped talking momentarily to check why she’d moved, nodding quickly as she told him to calm down before launching back into his story. She rolled her eyes and looked back out of her bedroom window. She could see the stable hand hard at work, his shirt cast to one side as the sun outside beat down on his pale skin. He looked up briefly, their eyes meeting, before his face flushed red and he looked away. She rested her forehead against the window, breathing out slowly as she felt her heart rate quicken. He disappeared back inside the building at the end of the courtyard and she sighed again, moving away from the window.

“Malin, are you ok?”
She looked up sharply, having almost forgotten her boyfriend was in the room and nodded.
“I’m fine, just a little tired. I might go back to bed for a few hours.”
“Oh ok. Do you want me to leave?”
She flashed him a quick smile before nodding, softly placing a kiss on his cheek.
“Sorry, I know you really wanted to tell me about your trip, but I haven’t been sleeping well recently and I could really do with a few hours. I’ll call you later.”
The guy nodded, heading for the door. He stopped just before leaving, turning to face her once more and checking if this was really what she wanted. With one final assurance that she’d call him later, he left and she was instantly back at her window, hoping to catch another glimpse of the stable hand.

It had been her mother’s idea to hire someone to help out with the horses while she was at school. She had a number of very important exams coming up and she needed to get good grades if she had any hope of achieving her dream of becoming a lawyer. She’d been reluctant to let someone else take care of her horses at first; they were her babies, her pride and joy. As soon as she’d set eyes on Fernando, she’d know she could trust him with them. He was tall, blonde and had a smile to die for. When she’d first met him, looking into his chocolate brown eyes, he’d smiled shyly, introduced himself and asked where the horses were. She’d taken him over to the stables and within minutes, he was inside, gentle hands running over the animals while he whispered soothing words. She’d fallen in love with him on the spot.

*Flashback*
“So, how long have you been working with horses?”
“Not that long if I’m honest. I just need some money right now, and I love horses, so when I saw the advert, I had to apply.”
Her jaw dropped open in shock, watching as her favourite horse stretched its neck in his direction, and he stroked its nose softly, not meeting her eyes. She found it hard to believe that this boy hadn’t been working with horses for that long. He seemed to have them under some kind of spell, even the most temperamental one was like putty in his hands.
“You’re a natural.”
He blushed and smiled at her again.
“I don’t know about that, I just feel comfortable around them.”
She placed a hand on his arm, instantly feeling the spark between them and she pulled away almost too quickly as he jumped in shock. Clearly he’d felt it too.
“I meant it Fernando. I’ve never seen them react to a complete stranger like this. The job’s yours if you want it.”
*End of flashback*

That had been six months ago, and since then, she’d watched him every day out of the comfort of her bedroom. They’d caught each other’s eye a number of times, but she’d tried to stop anything from happening. She was in a relationship already and it would get too complicated if she got involved with Fernando. He wasn’t going to be there forever, and she didn’t want to get hurt, but at the same time, breaking hearts wasn’t her style. It was clear that he liked her, he went red every time she attempted to speak to him. Once she was sure her boyfriend was long gone, she slipped on a pair of boots and headed down to the stables.

“Hey, still hard at work I see.”
The blond jumped at the sound of her voice, but composed himself fairly quickly, turning to meet her gaze.
“Yes, I’m nearly done here. I’m leaving early today, I have to meet some friends later. I can’t remember if I told you…”
He trailed off, uncertain if this was the right way to go about speaking to someone who was essentially his boss. She smiled and made her way over to the far end of the stable, picking up a spare pitchfork.
“I remembered, that’s why I came down to help out. Two pairs of hands are quicker than one, right?” She winked, laughing lightly as he blushed again. “Relax, would you? I don’t bite…unless you want me to?”
She bit her lip, a playful smile on her face. He looked down at his feet, then back up at her, an unreadable expression on his face as she leaned towards him, all thoughts of her boyfriend tucked away in a distant part of her brain. Their lips were just about to meet when a snort interrupted them, making them jump apart. One of the horses was stood just meters away from them, nodding its head and she walked over to stoke it. Fernando joined her seconds later, and as they stood on either side of the horses body, stroking its nose, their fingers brushed against each other. She took a deep breath, entwining their fingers as she stepped away from the horse, Fernando following her almost hesitantly.
“Malin…”
She pressed a finger to his lips to silence him before replacing it with her lips. Kissing him was nothing like she’d imagined it would be. His lips were soft, and his actions hesitant at first, until she placed his arms firmly around her waist and deepened the kiss.

An hour later, they were lying on the straw in one of the mucked out stalls, her head resting on his chest as she listened to the steady beat of his heart. His fingers were tangled up in her long blonde hair, a lazy and sated smile on his face. A noise outside the front of the building made them both sit up, shooting panicked looks at each other as they scrambled to get their clothes back on before they were caught. Picking up the pitchforks again, the continued working on the other stalls, just in time for her mother to walk in.
“Malin, there you are dear. I’ve been looking all over for you, I should have guessed you’d be down here with the horses. Are you done with your work?”
“Yes mum.”
“Right, in that case, when you’re done in here, dinner’s ready. Perhaps Fernando would like to join us too?”
She looked over at the boy stood next to her, squeezing his hand gently behind his back.
“If it’s not too much trouble ma’am, that would be lovely.”
“Oh no, its no trouble at all. You’re doing a wonderful job with the horses.”
He smiled softly, blushing again.
“Thank you ma’am.”
Her mother nodded, satisfied that the pair weren’t up to any mischief and headed back towards the house. As soon as she was gone, they both breathed a sigh of relief.
“That was too close.”
“Tell me about it. I thought she’d catch on for sure.”
They worked in silence for the next 15 minutes, all the while, a huge grin plastered on his face. Eventually, they dusted themselves off and looked around, proud of their work. She poked his side as he continued smiling.
“What’s so funny?”
“I didn’t know that there were perks to this job.” He replied, as he pulled her in for another kiss before they headed back towards the house, occasionally shooting shy glances at each other on the way.

SBAers are a talented bunch 2- They can even make LD cry!!

Pavi

As I wrap each plate in a sheet of newspaper and place it into the box at my feet I feel a bit more depressed at the outcome of the past few years. I survey the boxes littered throughout the tiny flat which I have called home for the past three years and which holds more memories than I care to remember at the moment.
From somewhere within the clutter of my living room I hear my phone ringing; surprisingly I manage to get to it before I misse the call.
“Hello?” I say a little out of breath.
“Pavi, it’s Mamen. I know we haven’t talked in a while but I couldn’t let you leave Madrid without talking to you.”
I immediately begin apologizing, “I’m so sorry I haven’t called you lately Mamen but after everything that happened I just didn’t know how to face any of you.”
“I completely understand Pavi, but I’m calling because Raul and I are planning a goodbye dinner for you tomorrow night so we’ll be meeting at Zalacaín at 10pm.”
How can I tell her that Zalacaín was the same restaurant he had taken me to on our first date.
I can’t, so instead I just try to sound as cheery as possible. “Mamen you know you didn’t have to do that for me, but thank you and I’ll see you both tomorrow night.” “Wait one quick question; he won’t be there will he?”
“No, of course not” she says, but I detect a funny tone in her voice.
“You never were very good at lying” I joke almost as if everything is normal.
Her tone turns serious and she says “Pavi I really think you two should talk before you leave for London at the end of the week.”
“I don’t think we have anything left to talk about, he made his decision and I’ve made mine.”
“Well then I guess I will be seeing you tomorrow night then, goodbye.”
“Okay see you tomorrow then, bye Mamen.”
After getting off the phone I can’t concentrate on packing anymore so I find myself just wandering through the flat. As I walk from room to room the memories come flooding back to me until I can feel hot tears rolling down my cheeks.
I walk through the hallway and remember a night two years ago when we came stumbling in after a night out and instantly began ripping each other’s clothes off; it was our first time having sex and it was neither sweet nor gentle, but just plain perfect.
I keep walking until I find myself standing in the kitchen remembering a night six months later when I came home to discover him cooking dinner. He had just laughed at the look of shock on my face and then poured me a glass of wine and continued cooking while we discussed our day.
I walk into the bathroom with every intention of continuing to pack when I spot the thermometer sitting on the sink. It instantly transports me back to a day six months ago when he had come over to my place after training only to find me lying in bed with a fever. He asked for the thermometer to check my temperature but I told him I didn’t have one. He ran out to the shop to get one and had returned with medicine, soup, tissues and everything else I would need for the next few days. He didn’t leave my side the entire time and never once complained about having to take care of me. After that I had just known I wanted to spend my life with him, at the time I thought he wanted the same thing.
*The Next Evening*
I have been standing in front of my closet for the past hour and I still can’t pick an outfit for the goodbye dinner. I finally choose my little black dress put on some heels and do my makeup and I’m ready to go.
By the time I arrive at the restaurant almost everyone is already there and as I greet everyone I feel so much love for all of these people who have become my family in the past three years. It feels surreal to look down the table and see Raul, Ruud, Fabio, and Miguel; who are considered celebrities in Madrid, but I just see them as my friends. I thought they would forget about me after the relationship ended but they have all stuck by me, even though they’re mostly his friends.
I notice that the chair at the end of the table is empty and I don’t know if I should feel sad or relieved. Since our breakup the tabloids have linked him with every model and actress in Madrid; I try to tell myself he can date whoever he wants, especially now that I’m leaving and I won’t have to read about it every day.
Just as I am beginning to relax and starting to have fun he walks up to the table and takes a seat as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. We briefly make eye contact and I try to smile at him but I don’t know if I succeed.
After dinner and several bottles of wine someone has the brilliant idea to go dancing and we’re all so drunk that it sounds like the best idea anyone’s ever had.
As we’re heading out the door, a hand reaches out and grabs my arm. I hear a voice in my ear, “I need to talk to you.” Everyone else keeps walking completely oblivious to the scene unfolding behind them and then I see Mamen look back and smile at me as she keeps walking with her husband.
Without turning around I say “I don’t think we have anything left to talk about, I’m leaving in two days and then all of this will just be a bad memory.”
“I know I said a lot of hurtful things but I was scared, I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.”
“You could have just talked to me; I thought you wanted to same thing from this relationship that I did. I don’t know if I can go back to the way things were.”
“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since we ended things and I can’t let you leave without trying to fix it.”
He suddenly takes my face between his hands to place a tender yet passionate kiss on my lips and I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes.
I push him away and through the tears I barely manage to say, “Sergio I don’t know if we can fix this because I know what I want and I don’t know if I can wait around for you to be ready.”
As I turn to walk away I feel a velvet box being pressed into my hand. I’m speechless so all I can do is stare at the box and then back at him. “Open it” he says. Inside the box is a beautiful diamond ring. He takes the ring from the box and gets down on one knee and says “I love you more than anything, will you marry me?”
As I look into his eyes all I see is his love for me and all I can say is “yes.” His face lights up with a huge grin and I instantly know that no matter what has happened between us in the past, in this moment he’s the man I’m meant to spend the rest of my life with. As he puts the ring on my finger I notice an inscription written on the band, I ask him about it and he tells me it says “te quiero mi amor.” I feel the tears in my eyes again as I throw my arms around his neck and press my lips to his before whispering “I love you, Sergio.”


Gina
He looked over at the sleeping girl in the bed next to him, feeling the guilt wash over him. Her long brown hair was splayed out over the pillow and she had a soft smile of her face, obviously having a pleasant dream. She looked like an angel sleeping, and it made him feel like a complete bastard for what he was doing to her. He knew he would never be able to commit to her fully, not while his wife and child were waiting for him at home. He knew very well what would happen if this ever got out, yet he couldn’t seem to stop himself. Every time she called him up, he’d find the excuses shot out of his head and he was at her front door minutes later. It was only after, when she fell asleep and the guilt eating away at him prevented him from doing the same he realised that this couldn’t go on. Sighing heavily as his phone vibrated, he picked up and held it to his ear.

“Hello?”
“Where are you?”
“I’m on my way home right now, I crashed at Iker’s last night. I’ll be there soon.”
There was a noise in the background, and then another voice was heard down the line.
“Papa!”
He bit his lip hearing his daughter’s excitement, looking over at the sleeping girl next to him again. She rolled over in her sleep, her arm sprawling across his lap and he took a sharp intake of breath.
“I’ll be home soon Zaida. I love you.”
He heard the excited giggle as his wife pulled the phone out of the little girl’s hand, holding back to her own ear.
“Hurry back, ok? We haven’t seen you since yesterday afternoon.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can. Give Zaida a kiss from me.”
He hung up, slotting his phone back into the pocket of his jeans before standing up and pulling them on. The sleeping girl opened one eye at the movement, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and looking up at him, her hazel eyes still not focussing properly. He kissed her on the forehead, brushing her hair out of her face.
“I have to go.”
She nodded, a brief flash of disappointment showing on her face before she replaced it with a smile. It wasn’t brief enough though, and he caught it. The guilt was back tenfold, knowing that he was hurting her by doing this. He couldn’t give her what she wanted; yet he was too selfish to let her go. Did he love her? Was it even possible to love two people at the same time?
“I’m sorry, I promised Zaida I’d spend some time with her today.”
“It’s fine, I understand. She’s your daughter, she always comes first. I’d be the same in your position.”
“I hate leaving you like this.”
She nodded again, trying hard to keep the tears at bay. She always picked the wrong guys, always ended up getting hurt. She let him kiss her, not having the energy or the heart to pull back. She looked away as he slid his wedding ring back onto his finger, not wanting to be reminded of what they were doing.
“I’ll call you later.”
And with that, he was walking out of the door, leaving her sat in bed with the sheets wrapped tightly around her and the hot tears already flowing steadily.

He opened the front door to his house and was instantly greeting by his daughter, who ran at him from the living room, grabbing onto his left leg and squeezing tightly. He laughed and picked her up, giving her a kiss on the cheek. She wrapped her arms around his neck, snuggling against his chest as he walked through the house trying to find his wife. Zaida was struggling against him, so he put her back down and she reached for his hand, pulling him towards the kitchen. He followed his daughter, watching as she thrust a piece of paper at him proudly. He looked down at it, smiling as he saw what she had drawn. In the messy scrawl of a three year old was a picture of four stick people, all holding hands and smiling. He recognised three of the people instantly, but the fourth baffled him. Looking down at his daughter, ha asked her who the fourth person was. With a beaming smile, she replied.
“Gina. She’s pretty, I like her.”
Biting his lip as the smile on his face faded, he started panicking. If Zaida had picked up on it, would his wife have done the same? It was too much of a risk, and it wasn’t one he was willing to take. Giving his daughter another kiss and telling her it was a beautiful picture before excusing himself, he left her in the kitchen. Pulling his phone out of his back pocket, he dialled the number he knew off by heart, waiting several seconds before she picked up.
“That was quick! Zaida bored of you already?”
“No. And that’s not why I’m calling. This thing…whatever it is. It has to stop.”
Her face fell and she struggled to hide the sadness in her voice as she replied.
“David, I know your family comes first and I understand that. I would never try to come between you and them.”
“The thing is, you already are. I am missing the best years of my daughter’s life when I’m with you, and I can’t do it anymore. She drew a picture of the family the other day and showed it to me just now. You’re in it!”
Her face paled as he said those words, knowing that this was where it ended. This was his way of saying it’s over between them.
“She’s three years old, I’m not going to break everything she ever knew.”
“I’m not asking you to. I may be a lot of things David, but I’m not a home wrecker. If you’re sure that this is what you want, then it’s fine with me. I knew when we started this that it wasn’t going to be forever and I thought it wasn’t going to be serious. I just didn’t think that somewhere down the line, I’d fall in love with you.”
He hesitated for a second, knowing that once he’d said the words, he couldn’t take them back. It would change everything. Taking a deep breath, he finally spoke.
“I love you too. But I love my daughter more, and I can’t do this anymore. I’m sorry.”
He didn’t wait for a reply, hanging up before he heard the broken sob escape her. She’d known it was coming, but that didn’t make it hurt any less. He tucked the phone back into his pocket, walking back into the house and greeting his wife with a kiss. He’d made his decision, and only the guilt eating away at him inside told him that it had been the wrong one. He’d broken two hearts with those few sentences, and watching his daughter drawing yet another picture, her tongue poking out in concentration, he hoped that it would all be worth it in the long run. He told himself that he was doing this for her. That had to be enough.

SBAers are a talented bunch! 2 fantastic stories by our resident authors

For Gina, by the Fantastic and eloquent Venice

She closed her eyes, allowing the small drop of sweat to slide down her eyelid to the cheekbone, only to dissolve in the soft fabric of her skirt. The air condition wasn't working, and she was stuck in the car on the road in a jam she couldn't see the end of.

She could almost feel the smell of watermelon her lover had brought to her lips that morning, gently waking her up. She smiled lazily back then, with her eyes still closed, slightly parting her lips to allow that small piece of refreshing sweetness in her mouth, brushing her tongue on his fingertips which softly smeared the soothing moisture of the watermelon over her dried up lips. She woke up with the feeling of being enwrapped in a thin layer of perspiration, with the back of her neck under her hair damp from the heat. It was early morning but the air was already sultry. The air condition wasn't working, which for some reason seems to be happening often when she's around.
"It's because you're too hot to take." she remembered him whispering the night before, and smiled.

She was still stuck in traffic, and cursed her decision to take that particular route. She cupped her hair and tied it in a ponytail, feeling instant relief at the back of her neck. A thin line of perspiration ran down her spine, making her gasp instinctively. It brought back the memory of him lifting her hair from the back of her neck. She bit her lip shuddering while he gently blew across her hairline cooling it off.

She opened her eyes wide in anticipation as he reached out by the side of the bed and grabbed another piece of the fresh watermelon. Smiling mischievously he sensually bit the melon and disappeared from her sight again, until she felt the overwhelming coolness sliding down her neck and shoulders. He took his time there, nibbling her delicate shoulders, breaking through the film of condensed heat on her body with his cool touch, in a manner which made her close her eyes and bite the pillow under her chin, for her skin was alarmed and her heart palpitated.

He slowly slid down her spine all the way to the small of her back and traced it back up even more leisurely with his tongue waking up every last nerve in her body.

Or so she thought.

She sighed in both relief and disappointment when he disconnected from her, letting the wet trail on her body dry up to cool her overheated skin. She kept still but her eyes followed his movements. He reached for the bowl of fruit again and took two pieces of watermelon this time. He slowly bit one as he looked deeply in her eyes. The corner of his lips raised in a half-smile as he winked and dived behind her back again.

She closed her eyes and relaxed as she felt the now familiar chill of him sliding down her back. But her eyes opened wide and her body arched as she sensed the same cooling presence at the base of her knee, overloading the nerve cells she didn't even were there, making her more aware of his presence than ever before.

He moved closer, leaning into her so she could feel his washed up, firm body pressed against hers while he drowned her neck and shoulders in more kisses. His dry warmth all along her side and the cold climbing up her thigh put her in that intangible position of softly crying for more without being sure she could take it. As he reached the highest point, he lingered some more until the chilling sensation enfolded her from head to toe spreading from the center, and finally dropped it only to gently press his fingers.

The jam finally moved. She sighed in relief as she glanced over the groceries in the back seat. She needed to get them in the fridge as soon as possible, or the effect of pineapple rings wouldn't be anywhere near what she'd planned.

"I won't be a second", she promised as she once again checked his fascinating body spread across the bed.

Handcuffed to the bedpost, David sighed and nodded in compliance.

For Malin, by the superbly magnificent Gina


It was strange that after living here for little under a year, Fernando felt like he was out of place. He didn’t belong, this wasn’t his home. He dreamed of sandy beaches and warm rays of sunshine, yet all he got was a bitter lashing of rain and a breeze strong enough to blow him away. He wanted to find his place in the world, but more than anything he wanted to find someone to share it with.



He was back at the dock again, waiting. Glancing down quickly at his wrist only to find that he’d forgotten to put his watch on, he made a mental note to be more organised next time. It had to be time for her to make an appearance by now. She was always there at seven o’clock on the dot. He’d made it a habit to take a walk by the dock first thing in the morning in the hope that he would see her. He’d been there for little more than five minutes when a movement to his left caught his eye. He held his breath as he watched her walk towards her favoured spot, leaning against the railing and looking out over the water. There was always a distant look in her eye, like she was troubled by something. He’d been over the scenario many times in his head. She would stand there for half an hour before dropping the rose she’d been carrying into the water and making her way towards the other end of the dock, disappearing from sight.



He swallowed nervously as his eyes traced over the tall blonde’s figure. She had her back to him, seemingly oblivious to his presence, as always. She was wearing a simple black dress with killer heels to match, and she looked every bit the perfect woman she was. He’d seen her many times before, he’d recognise those legs anywhere. He’d dreamt of her many times before too, desperate to find out more about this mystery woman. There was only one thing stopping him from going over to talk to her. The last time they’d spoken, things hadn’t exactly gone to plan. He’d gotten nervous and fumbled his words and she’d just given him a stern look before walking away. That had been then though; he was a different man now. He’d grown up a lot since then. Running his fingers through his hair, he took a deep breath and prepared to go over. Right at that moment, she snapped out of her daydream, reaching into her pocket and pulling her phone out. After looking down at the gadget in her hands, she sighed heavily. Placing the phone back in her pocket, she dropped the rose into the water and turned to leave. He cursed as he realised he’d missed his chance again.



This went on for more than a year, and each time, the same thing would happen. He’d pluck up the courage to go over, and then she’d look at her phone, sigh and walk away, the distant look always on her face. He wished he could do something, anything to make her smile. She always seemed so lost, a forlorn figure on the dock watching the sunrise over the water. Eventually, he decided enough was enough. He was tired of waiting. Walking over slowly, he stood beside her, their bodies barely touching. She didn’t look at him, playing nervously with the keys in her hand. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she broke the silence.

“I’ve seen you watching me.”

He cleared his throat, not really sure how to respond to that.

“It’s ok, clearly you like what you’ve seen, or you wouldn’t keep coming back. Why do you do it?”

He wanted to speak. He wanted to tell her that he was captivated by her, that he wanted to put a smile on her face, to stop her looking so lost, but the words caught in his throat.

“Do you ever talk?”

He nodded dumbly; completely dumbstruck by the effect this girl was having on him. She bit her lip as a buzz sounded from her pocket, looking down at her phone.

“I have to go.”

Before he could reply, she was walking away. Shaking his head to clear the cobwebs, he spun round.

“Can I at least know your name?”

She stopped dead in her tracks, not even bothering to turn around before replying. If she had, he’d have seen the smile he was so desperate to get to know spread across her face.

“It’s Malin.”

“It’s nice to meet you Malin. I’m Fernando.”
“I know.” He didn’t have time to question how she knew his name before she spoke again. “I’ll see you around.”

And with that, she was gone again. She’d disappeared from sight so quickly; he had to pinch himself to convince himself that he was awake. He shook his head again, shoving his hands into his pockets and walking in the opposite direction, unable to stop the inane grin spreading over his handsome features.


The next morning, he got to the dock earlier than usual; standing at the spot she always appeared at instead of hiding in the shadows. He waited for hours, but she didn’t turn up. Disappointed, he trekked back to his apartment in the city center, already looking forward to the next day. He didn’t know why he cared so much; he knew nothing about this mystery beauty aside from her name.


It wasn’t until the end of the week that she made a reappearance, taking her place next to him on the dock in silence. He glanced over at her, trying hard not to get caught looking as he took in her features for the first time. Her long blonde hair was covering her face and he longed to reach out and tuck it behind her ears. Her eyes sparkled as she turned her head, their eyes meeting.

“Why did it take you so long to come and talk to me again?”

The question was direct and it took him by surprise. He cleared his throat again, running his hands nervously through his hair.

“I didn’t want to seem like I was stalking you.”

“Well, you kind of are, no? You’re here everyday.” She tucked her hair behind her ear.

“How do you know that? I might have been busy this last week.”

“I saw you standing here waiting for me. I wanted to come over, but I couldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“It’s complicated. I’d rather not talk about it.” She looked down at her feet, the distant look back in her eyes. Her hair fell into her eyes again, and she made no attempt to push it out.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”

“It’s fine. I get like this sometimes, most people wouldn’t stick around as long as you.”

“Then they’re clearly missing out.”

She tried to bite back the smile somewhat unsuccessfully, looking down again. He plucked up the courage, reaching out and tucking the loose strands of hair behind her ear again, his fingers brushing her cheek. The contact sent sparks up his arms, straight to his heart and she leaned into his touch. He looked into her eyes, looking for any signs that his next move was going to be unwelcome, but she held his gaze, closing her eyes as he leaned in. His warm breath ghosted over her face, giving her mere seconds to prepare for his lips covering her own. Her heart was racing as he pulled away, a shy smile on his face.

“Was that worth the wait?”

“You are.”



*Fast-forward five years*



He was stood at the dock again, looking out at the water, feeling the warm breeze on his face. This place had started it all for him. He had the perfect life now, no matter how long it had taken to get there. His daydream was interrupted by an excited shout.

“Daddy, daddy, look what I found!”

He turned around, kneeling down as his daughter ran into his outstretched arms.

“Hola, princess.”

He stood up, picking her up in his arms as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He felt a hand on the small of his back and he turned around, greeting his wife with a kiss.

“Daddy, Jose was being mean to me. He said my pigtails look stupid.”

Fernando let out a laugh, shifting her weight onto his other arm as his son joined them at the dock, leaning over the railings and dropping a stone into the water. He clapped his hands excitedly as it hit the surface, creating a ripple of waves.

“Jose, what have I told you about being mean to your sister? Apologise to her please.”

“But Papa…”

“But nothing. Apologise, or no football for you when we get home.”

“I’m sorry for saying your pigtails look stupid Eva.”

The small boy crossed his arms over his chest as his sister beamed at him. Fernando put her down and she wrapped her arms around her twin brother, placing a kiss on his cheek. Taking his wife’s hand in his own and calling out to their children who were currently running just ahead of them, he smiled, happy that now, he was truly home.

MG's Scenario game results Part 3 (Lucy's bday edition)

Again i couldn't remember them all so made a few guesses, correct me at will..

All set at Lucy’s fabulous bday bash in a posh venue somewhere in SBAland-

Gina (About VG) Luis Garcia, Handcuffs

Ok, there are a few extra characters in there, but they were kind of necessary to make the story flow :)

VG walks into the party a little late to find it’s already in full swing and there’s chaos ensuing on the dance floor. There’s a whole load of ballers dancing away, seemingly oblivious to anything or anyone around them. As she was about to make her way downstairs to join everyone else, she heard a quiet sob coming from the right. Shocked, she looked down to find none other than Luis Garcia cuffed to the banister, a sad look on his face.
“Are you ok there?” She asked, and the little Spaniard looked up at her, his eyes glistening.
“No…I came up…here for a few minutes.” He was choking back sobs between words and she sat down next to him, being careful not to crumple her dress and giving him a sympathetic pat on the back. “And I bumped into Gina…with the two Davids. There was a bit of…confusion, and next thing I know, I’m sat here…cuffed to these stairs and…they’ve left me.”
“I’ll be back in a second, I’m just going to see if I can find anyone to help.”
She left him sat on the stairs alone, quickly tracking down Gina who was in a bit of a panic.
“VG, have you seen my handcuffs? Villa’s been playing up and I could have sworn I had them earlier…”
“Yep, poor Luis is cuffed to the banister upstairs. Do you have the keys?”
Gina handed them over and VG ran back up the stairs to uncuff Luis, who was currently inconsolable. She quickly uncuffed him, and he rubbed his wrist gingerly, checking for any damage.
“Thank you so much.” He said. “I was worried I’d be up here all evening, everyone else seems to be having so much fun. How can I repay you?”
She thought carefully for a few moments before placing a kiss on the shocked Spaniards’ lips.
“Well, I have a date to the party already, I believe you know him quite well. I was wondering how you’d feel about making a return to Liverpool.”
He smiled, giving her a sly wink before replying. “I shall talk to my agent, but you know these things are complicated, no?”
“Try your best and I’ll make it worth your while.”



MXA (About Pavi) Niko, Pan scrub

Niko had been sent to the bar again by Venice demanding another line of shots!! He being the dutiful date didn't dare disagree with her. On his way, he cuaght a tumbling MXA, who had been spinning around the dance floor in a drunken state. As they collided she spilt her cocktail all down his shirt and trousers. Sighing at the stupid womans mistake, Niko headed to the kitchen area to clean himself up. Looking around for something to wipe away the bright blue mess, he spots a pan scrub and decides to give it a go. The kitchen looked empty so Niko removed his clothes to really get scrubbing at the stain, all of a sudden he hear's a crash in the store room. Leaving his clothes on the side and walking over in his tiny dark blue pants to check out the noise, he is greeted by a very drunk Pavi sat in a corner of the room, clutching a bottle of champers and just wearing The Ramos' shirt. Pavi: "Well hellooo there." Niko: "Oh gosh, sorry, I didn't know anyone was in here. Where's Sergio?" Pavi: "I'm not sure, he went to get some whipped cream, but I think he got dragged to the pool by Nando." Trying not to stare at Pavi's bare legs Niko wonder's what to do next in this situation. Pavi: "Why are you only wearing pants?" Feeling very self consious and wondering what Venice would say if she was to walk in on them now, Niko starts to rush out an explanation and beg Pavi not to tell anyone what she'd seen, getting all in a panic he starts to cry a little. Pavi starts to feel sorry for the poor guy and offers him a sympathetic hug, as she embrasses Niko into a bear hug, The Ramos enters the room again carrying whipped cream in one hand and a camera in the other. He see's Niko and an almost naked Pavi cuddling up and goes off in a jealous rage. As he's storming out of the kitchen he spots MXA walking into the ladies bathroom. Seeking revenge on Pavi he follows her in and puts the whip cream and camera to very good use........ Pavi (About Sarah) Nando, Teacher’s cane
Sarah and Cesc were dancing the night away and having a great time and Cesc decided to go to the bar to get a drink. Sarah said she needed to use the toilets so she left him at the bar. Without paying much attention she accidentally walked into the men’s toilet. She ran into Nando and felt embarrassed at her mistake. She turned to leave the bathroom but he stopped her with a hand on the door. When she turned around to tell him she had to get back to Cesc he kissed her. She was surprised but didn’t mind the kiss so she started kissing him back. He pulled away and said she should be punished for walking into the men’s toilet. She couldn’t believe what he was saying since she had always pictured Nando as a very shy and quite guy. He then told her to turn and face the mirror and she saw in the reflection that he was holding a teacher’s cane. Before she could say anything he started to use the cane on her bum and all she could was moan. All of a sudden Pavi walked into the toilets and upon seeing Nando and Sarah started to apologize. The Ramos walked up behind Pavi and saw Nando and Sarah together as well. Sarah quickly left the bathroom to get back to Cesc. As she was talking to Cesc she saw Nando walk by and he winked at her.


Lucy (About MG) The Ramos, A tub of banana body butter

So it's present opening time at my party and the cute Spanish waiters have clubbed together to buy me a special present since I invented them and everything. Rodrigo, the most handsome who looks a lot like Cesc Fabregas, presents me with a basket of luxury bath pampering lotions and creams. At first I'm thinking 'Really? Bath stuff? I get enough of this from kids at school' but when I see the glint in Rodrigo's eye, I see the real purpose of the gift and readily accept it. After opening all the prezzies, I leave them in the cloakroom before Rodrigo and I try and find somewhere to be alone whilst Nando is off having his half hour private time with Pavi. Meanwhile, The Ramos is looking for his wallet and important 'supplies' that lie within. He thinks he left it in his jacket. Off he wanders into the cloakroom and being quite large and strong, manages to knock over a lot of presents. He tries to pick everything up and notices a tub of banana body butter. 'Que?' he thinks. The Ramos likes bananas. He opens the tub with interest and eats some. At that moment, MG slips into the cloakroom, having seen him enter only a few minutes previously and horny for some Ramos love. She sees him tasting the body butter and exclaims that he is wasting the stuff and proceeds to demonstrate how it should be used by ripping open his shirt and applying it with expertise to his fine abs...

Aoife (About Laura) Dagger, A pair of armani boxer shorts

Laura stumbled into the men’s room by mistake. The karaoke had kicked off in the party and Aragones had started belting out the lyrics to Madonna’s “Like a Virgin”.

Standing there, clad only in a pair of Armani boxer shorts, was Daniel Agger. Laura looked at him confusedly, "What are you doing here? This is a party for the Spanish football team. You're Danish, Danny."

Danny looked embarrassed and shuffled, his hands covering his modesty. Laura couldn't take her eyes off his strong arms, covered in tattoos and slightly tanned.

"yes, but I heard from Nando and Pepe that it was a great party and that a cute chica from Merseyside was going to be at it. They said I should come since I’m over here for the match tomorrow. But the security guy wouldn't let me in since I'm not Spanish,” he took a deep breath, “So I went around the side of the building and climbed all the way up the trellis. I squeezed in here through this window -" He indicated a small window up above the row of sinks, from which was hanging a pair of black dress pants and a white shirt. "It was too small and my suit got caught on the hooks when I was climbing in. I lost my footing, slipped, fell and ripped my entire suit."

Laura looked at Danny, her mind working overtime.

"Well Danny, we can't have you standing in here in your skivvies. Come with me and I'll find you something to wear."

They slipped into the anteroom, which was full of comfy couches and had a spare suit hanging on the wall. It was The Ramos's spare. “He likes to mix it up halfway through the evening but he's had far too many shots with Iker to even remember it's here”, Laura explained.

"But Laura, I'm not ready to go to the party yet."

And with that, Danny slipped off those Armani boxers and looked up at Laura, a smirk on his freckled face.

"And I seem to have lost my underwear now too....could you come over here and help me please?"

...............

It was two hours before Laura returned to the party, a little flushed and a lot happier. Danny worked The Ramos's spare suit and kept thinking of the repeat performance he'd be giving Laura later that night in his hotel room.


MG (About Lucy) Stevie G, A bottle of whiskey?
Damn these shoes Lucy thought hobbling outside for a seat on the patio. Slipping them off she sighed at the relief. 'Are you ok?' a voice in the dark asked making her jump. 'Who's there?' Lucy shouted then smiled as Stevie, his forehead wrinkled in concern stepped out of the shadows. 'Its just my feet' she replied 'they're killing me!' 'May I?' he said kneeling in front of her and taking one in his hand. 'Sure' she sighed as he began to massage gently. 'Wow that feels really good!' Lucy whispered 'where did you learn such skills?' 'Oh my ex wife used to wear stupid hooker shoes all the time' Stevie shook his head, 'and she made me massage her bunions when she came home!' 'I have another little trick which might help actually' he grinned blushing slightly. 'Oh yes! you go for your life' Lucy croaked horsely as the sensation in her foot intensified. Reaching behind him Stevie picked up a bottle of whisky and taking a large mouthful lifted an astonished Lucys foot and put the toes into his mouth allowing the cold liquid to run between them numbing the pain and sending tingles up her legs! 'OMG' she groaned 'who taught you to do that?' 'Oh it was my friend Nando' Stevie replied 'actually hes far better at it than I am why don't you come home with me and I'll get him to show you!' Lucy was on her feet in an instant and heading off to get her coat. 'BTW she asked Stevie as they drove to his flat you never said who taught Nando the foot trick?' 'Im not sure' Stevie replied shrugging his shoulders 'I think it was some girl he met in a stationary cupboard once!!'

Beth (About Aoife) VV, A ruler
Once upon a time (i was stuck for an opening) at a stunning house/building a birthday party was being held for a girl called Lucy. She had invited all of her kickette friends and their other halves, although unfortunately one or two were absent so there were some spare ballers roaming around. One of these was a goalie by the name of VV, he was infamous for getting into fights about his position in (or rather out of)the SNT, therfore when he was released by his partner to attend this evenings prestigious bash, he felt slightly out of place and awkward. By the time the clock struck midnight (sorry for all of these fairy tale references my imagination is obviously packing up on me!)he was sitting at the bar downing shots, feeling quite sorry for himself as he was on his own whilst everyone was dancing to beyonce, or dirty dancing, or something similar. At this time, one of lucy's friends turned up late as she had had a prior commitment at a gig. Running in slightly flustered she grabbed a stool and ordered a number of shots, to make up for lost time, not realising that only VV was at the bar. Aoife didn't immediately recognise him, but definitely knew that he was hot. In the mad rush that there was to get to the party Aoife had put her jewellery on in the car, but whilst sitting at the bar she realised that she was missing an earring. She started emptying her bag over the bar surface looking for the earring. Because she was in such a rush to get there Aoife hadn't got around to clearing out her bag and so had alot of random items in there. Most of which, in her haste, she had managed to send flying. Eventually Aoife found the earring, put it in and set about clearing up the bar. As she was closing her handbag, a hand pushed a ruler along the bar towards her. Looking at the ruler Aoife realised it must have been something that she dropped out of her handbag. Trailing her eyes up the arm attached to the ruler, her eyes met those of one VV. Seeing the mischief in those eyes, a thought popped into Aoifes head. She grabbed VV's hand, the one without the ruler, downed her last shot, and with boyzone playing in the background she dragged him off to the cloakroom imagining the fun she could have with that ruler, and hoping no one would notice.


Laura (About MXA) David Silva, Cream cakes
Before they left the house MXA and Xabi had decided not too get too drunk because they wanted to be wide awake when they got home. But after drinking only a few sugary cocktails all night she was starting to get the shakes (ha what a lush) so on the pretence of getting some food from the buffet MXA sneaked off into the gardens with her hip flask and so she didn’t feel too guilty she grabbed some cream cakes on her way out. Once outside she found a nice secluded spot away from the debauchery in the pool. After a few minutes she hears a rustling and goes to investigate. She pushes her way through some shrubs only to find David Silva tied to a tree. ‘What the hell?’ says MXA shocked at the sight of him. ‘Thank god MXA, Gina tied me to this tree and I think she’s ran off with Villa and forgotten about me. I am starving!’ MXA shakes her head and walking over to him, shoves a rather large cream cake in his mouth. Some cream drops off and slides down his chest and MXA’s (very rarely dirty) mind goes into overdrive. She hurries back to the party quickly leaving poor David stranded and unable to shout for help with the cake in his tiny mouth. Grabbing Xabi away from the bar she tells him its time to go. Now where will I find some whipped cream and rope at this time of night she wonders.


VG (About Beth) Minty, A pink thong
Beth and I are chatting with a cute waiter, when all of a sudden we hear a loud thump coming from the pool area. We seem to be the only ones who heard it so we run to investigate. The pool area is dark and silent. I am about to turn the lights on when all of a sudden we hear a female voice screaming: These? You want me to put up with these? Which was quickly followed by a loud splash and sound of heels leaving the area. After the first shock (seeing it was Minty), we finally manage to get him out of the water. His hand is strangely formed into a fist and it's visible he's holding to something tightly. Bring some water, Beth says to me. Don't you think he had enough of it already, I reply. Water she says and her eyes convince me it's better to obey her. Beth in the mean time takes a box of tissues out of her Gucci bag and gently starts caressing his cheecks. He slowly opens his eyes and looks at her: why are you doing this? I thought you needed some help she replies while taking another tissue. They sit in silence for a moment. What are those, Beth asks pointing to a wet, creased peace of cloth lying close to them. Where did you get this, he asks panically looking at his now empty hand visibly blushing. She smiles and carreses his cheek again, this time without the tissue: Girlfriend didn't like them? She leans to give him a kiss.. No, they're mine actually he says with cheeks burning furiously. You mean, this am, well those errr these PINK thongs are actually yours!!??!!


Steph (About Venice) Xabi, A wooden spoon

Xabi has a type tonight and that type is Redheads Xabi came to Lucy’s party looking quite exquisite. He was on the arm of the gorgeous MXA who he loved very dearly. Well while at the party, Xabi decided to cut loose a little. He began drinking some and eventually got a little wild by removing his jacket, taking his tie off and rolling up his sleeves. He was having a killer time talking it up with Nando and even participating in the Macarena. After dancing he decided he was hungry and headed off to the buffet where he spotted another gorgeous redhead with a wooden spoon. He walks over to find out who it is, but she then soon disappears into the vast crowd of dancing Spaniards. He tries to make her out by following the red hair, but there being so many redheaded kickettes, he soon gives up. Xabi, being a little disappointed at not meeting her heads back to spend some time with MXA. He begins chatting it up with TOH, and even though he is happy to be reunited with the SNT captain again, he still feels that pit in his stomach that is longing for his new red headed Lolita. He sees his EPL rival Cesc from across the room with a redhead and gets his hopes up, he sneaks away from MXA hoping that it is the one he longs for, but when he gets there, she is a beautiful red head in a silky green dress, but alas, it is not the one of whom he seeks. Being disappointed and feeling bad for lusting after another woman with MXA there, Xabi decides to call it a night and heads back to the cloak room to grab his jacket. He puts his coat back on proper and heads out with his head down. He goes back to the dining room to see if he can spot his new crush, but again is disappointed. He is finally convinced that she just doesn’t exist and heads for the door. He is just about ready to get into his car (which is spotless clean for some reason??? ;)) when he hears a voice calling after him. He turns around and sees the gorgeous girl who had the wooden spoon and can’t help but smile. She runs up to him and hands him his tie. “here Xabi, don’t forget this.” She says Xabi is totally enamored and just stares at her, his eyes as wide as his mouth. The girl not knowing what was wrong with him, then goes to put the tie around his neck and as she reaches around, Xabi pulls her in and kisses her. It was the best kiss of Xabis life, but the girl seems a little uncomfortable and pulls herself away. “what are you doing?” she asks Xabi, never experiencing rejection before manages to stumble out “I saw you with the wooden spoon and just thought you were gorgeous. I, I , I just couldn’t help myself.” The girl looks at him with a piteous smile and responds, “well I’m here with Niko, and I don’t think he would be very happy if he caught me kissing some other guy, I’m sorry , but I have to go back inside.” The girl then turns away and as she starts walking Xabi stops her “Can I at least know your name?” “Venice” says the girl and then proceeds to walk back inside

Sarah (About Gina) Cesc, Sleeping bag

It was quite late, but the party was still in full swing. Sarah had abandoned Cesc on the dance floor in favor of the free whiskey shots at the bar, and he was trying desperately not to be too heartbroken. [Author’s note: Impossible, I know! I’m so irresistible…just ask Nando. ] But he was doing a pretty good job of distracting himself by dancing crazily with Lucy to the weird catchy foreign song. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he sees Gina stumble to the stairwell and start to climb the twisting steps. She looks a bit inebriated by this point in the night, and being the nice guy he is, he starts to worry that she might fall and hurt herself. He rushes to the bottom of the stairs, but before he could start to climb, he sees her shooting back down, sliding on a sleeping bag that she found in the cloakroom! (I guess someone had brought it to the party hoping to get lucky with their date—or someone else’s—by the end of the night.) She knocks him over, and in the ensuing tangle finds herself lying on top of him, with the sleeping bag under them both. She stares deep into his eyes, then gives him a little wink and whispers,“Why don’t we see if we can find a better use for this sleeping bag?”Cesc cracks a smile, and being the gentleman that he is, helps her to her feet. However, as soon as they’re both up, he snatches the sleeping bag from the ground and dashes up the stairs, yelling “My turn, my turn!” Gina rolls her eyes, and walks away, trying to remember where she tied up David Silva.


Venice (About Steph) Villa, A feather duster

Even though his friends tried to pay attention to him as much as possible, David Villa couldn't help but feel left out a little after seeing his teammates and their dates getting jiggy with it on the dancefloor, drinking and having fun. He cursed the damn muscle injury under his breath. Even though he could move, it still hurt him and as the doctors said there was a slim chance of him making an appearance in the final match vs Germany, he didn't want to do anything to strain that muscle even more.So there he was, on the sofa in the gallery, watching his friends having the time of their lives, clutching his drink and feeling lonely. He's had a few too many already and was getting sleepy. His head was heavy and he leaned back, closing his eyes.He thought he was dreaming when he felt soft fabric covering his eyelids, wraping around his head. He tried to open his eyes, but couldn't see anything really. "What's going on?" he wondered and tried to complain, but curiosity kicked in and he decided to wait and see what will happen. He felt a light touch sliding across the back of his neck behind his ears, brushing against his shoulders. It was light enough not to irritate or tickle him, but still enough to give him goosebumps."Who's that?" he asked, letting out a small gasp before that.No reply. He leaned back more, hoping that the gentle caress wouldn't stop. He shuddered but not in a bad way when he felt a small hand unbuttoning his shirt. He gave in without resistance. "Who are you?" he asked again with a smile on his lips."You can call me Ms TOH." he heard a female voice whispering. "OOh this is exciting", he thought. He felt the same delicate touch all down his chest and stomach. He was shivering now, felt hot and cold at the same time. He sensed some movement south of the bellybutton. His hot Spanish blood begin to boil and he couldn't take this any more. He tried to grab the hand that was teasing him, but he got hold of something thin and furry. Not knowing what was going on, Villa stripped his blindfold and to his surprise found out he was holding a feather duster. He turned around swiftly but all he saw was a female figure vanishing into the dark. He got up and tried to follow her, but he couldn't see past the crowd. Feeling bittersweet, he sat back on the couch and skimmed his eyes through the crowd of his friends and their dates. He caught the intense look of a girl next to the god himself. When she caught his eyes, she raised an eyebrow, smiled and turned back to Raul. David Villa smiled and poured himself another drink.

Pavi (About Sarah) Nando, teacher's cane.

Sarah and Cesc were dancing the night away and having a great time and Cesc decided to go to the bar to get a drink. Sarah said she needed to use the toilets so she left him at the bar. Without paying much attention she accidentally walked into the men’s toilet. She ran into Nando and felt embarrassed at her mistake. She turned to leave the bathroom but he stopped her with a hand on the door. When she turned around to tell him she had to get back to Cesc he kissed her. She was surprised but didn’t mind the kiss so she started kissing him back. He pulled away and said she should be punished for walking into the men’s toilet. She couldn’t believe what he was saying since she had always pictured Nando as a very shy and quite guy. He then told her to turn and face the mirror and she saw in the reflection that he was holding a teacher’s cane. Before she could say anything he started to use the cane on her bum and all she could was moan.

All of a sudden Pavi walked into the toilets and upon seeing Nando and Sarah started to apologize. The Ramos walked up behind Pavi and saw Nando and Sarah together as well. Sarah quickly left the bathroom to get back to Cesc. As she was talking to Cesc she saw Nando walk by and he winked at her.