Home is Where the Heart is - Pablo Gavi

Chapter 9: Get Off Easy

Pablo's POV:

Standing on the beach I watch her walk away and I swear I try really hard not to look.

God she's perfect. Everything about her; her smile, her eyes, her heart. With Isla it's easy. We can play futbol together or hang out and talk about random stuff. When I'm with her I forget about other people's opinions and how under a microscope my life is. The only reason I consider the public when I'm around her is because I don't want her to get caught up in the glory of my spot light life and end up running from it the way I sometimes feel like doing. And she said it, she said she didn't want a relationship right now. In that moment I told myself I would back off, keep her as a friend. Another part of me, the selfish part, doesn't want to let myself fall for her completely until I know I am not going to lose her.

Pedri puts his hand on my shoulder and I force myself to look away from her figure: her long brown hair is damp and tangled, flowing behind her. Him, Ferran and Frenkie have joined me in gathering all our belongings.

"Have fun today hermano?" Pedri asks me. He walks a little bit away from me where his bag and towel are spread across the sand.

I look over my shoulder at him. "Yeah today was a good day."

"Isla is really great," Frenkie comments, looking over at the girls. I glance in their direction too, my jaw tightening. "I'm glad she came around training today. Do you know, will she be training with us again tomorrow?"

I turn my back to him and start shoving my towel into my bag. "I don't know," I mutter. I turn back to him and Ferran. "What were you talking to her about during the passing drill?" I ask Frenkie, unable to help myself.

He looks surprised I asked, or maybe that I noticed at all.

I hear the shuffle of Pedri's feet in the sand as he comes up behind me, putting his hand on my shoulder. He starts to rub his fingers back and forth and I try to relax my tensed shoulders.

"Nothing really," Frenkie says, shrugging it off. He moves over to where Mikky's beach towel is laid out and picks it up, beginning to fold it. "I told her not to sweat her mistakes," he elaborates, "they're only mistakes and she'll improve the more she practices." He pauses. "You're crazy about her aren't you?" he asks, looking up at me with a smirk on his face.

I glare at him. "I am not. We're just friends."

Pedri smacks the back of my head gently but doesn't say anything. I swat his hand away and he backs up, out of my reach.

Frenkie puts his hands up in defense. "Calling it how I see it."

Ferran, who had been admiring Sira from afar---as he always does---speaks up, "Is it such a bad thing, to have feelings for her?"

"It wouldn't be," I say cautiously, "but I don't have feelings for her so that's irrelevant." If I admit to them how I really feel, they'll tell me to go for her. I'm Pablo Gavi, the amazing futbol player, who wouldn't want to be with me? But they don't understand. I need this girl in my life, and if it's only as a friends than so be it.

I notice she's hugging Sira so I pick up both mine and Isla's bags, preparing to book it out of here when she's ready. When she comes over I separate myself from the guys, quickly mumbling a goodbye. She offers to take her bag but I decline and we head up to my car.

Once inside my vehicle I remember I haven't checked my phone all day, not since eating at Xavi's house. I also distantly remember we haven't ate since then but don't feel hungry. I should ask Isla if she wants to stop for something on the way home.

I pull out my phone and the screen lights up with a dozen messages from my mom and twice as many from my sister. I open my mom's messages and the first one reads: