Home is Where the Heart is - Pablo Gavi

Chapter 42: Legal

"Feliz cumpleaños! (Happy birthday)" Gavi yells, waking me up. I sit up in bed, stretching my arms. I rub my eyes until they focus and I can see Gavi standing at our bedroom door with a tray in his arms.

"Thank you," I say. He comes towards me and I reach out for the board. "What's this?"

"Breakfast." He blushes, setting the tray on my lap. He slides down next to me as well, getting back under the blankets. When he's comfortable he stops shifting and plants a kiss on my lips. "For the birthday girl."

I pull his lips back to mine. "Thank you mi amor," I murmur into his mouth.

I feel his lips turn into a smile against my mouth. "Anything for the birthday girl."

"I'm going to hold you to that today," I tell him before taking in the tray of food he made. The base is giant waffles, topped with whip cream, syrup and an array of fruits. It looks so good.

We share the breakfast waffles he made and spend the better part of the morning in bed. We talk and laugh and watch shows on our phones together. Having his arm around me and knowing there's no where else he'd rather be is the best feeling.

"What time are we supposed to be meeting the team?" Gavi asks me as we scroll through our phones next to each other in bed. After our relaxed morning we grabbed some lunch and took Atlas for his first walk on the beach. When we got home Gavi gave me his gift---I thought Atlas was his gift, but apparently he got more. He got me a Barca sweatshirt that I love and a chain that matches the number 26 necklace he got for me not that long ago. This new necklace is delicate and a bit longer, the letter P engraved on the circular surface. I put it on right away.

It's shortly after four now and I think we're eating supper at the club we're going to. Along with our five day break and my new legal identity, Xavi okayed a night out for the team. He claims it's for team bonding but we all know that's an excuse for him to give us a reward for our hard work.

I squeeze my eyes closed and rub my temple. "Seven," I respond. If we have to leave at seven I need to be ready by 6:30, meaning I need to start getting ready at about 4:45, and I should probably eat before we go, even though we're eating there--

"You don't want to go anymore?" Gavi asks, setting down his phone and focusing on me.

I open my eyes and set down my own phone, noticing he's watching me intently. "It's not that, I want to go. I'm trying to figure out when I need to start getting ready."

"Oh okay, because we can stay home if you'd prefer." He shifts until he's back to laying on his back. "Your birthday your choice."

"Do you not want to go?" I ask, wondering why he would think I wouldn't want to go. We've been jokingly planning this night with the team ever since Lewy brought it up weeks ago. I've been looking forward to it.

"I want to go," he assures me, "but not if you don't want to."

I roll over so my head is on his shoulder. "I really like you, have I told you that recently?"

He smiles, finding my hand amongst the sheets and taking it in his. He squeezes my hand before leaning down and planting a kiss on my forehead. "Even if you have, I wouldn't stop you from saying it again."

Thanks to my over planning I'm ready to go to the club twenty minutes before we need to leave. I call that a success. Tonight is going to be a lot of fun. We decided it'll only be teammates, no friends or family for this party.

"Are you ready?" I call to Gavi as I walk down the stairs. I'm wearing a pair of jean shorts and a sparkly tank top with the number 26 and P necklaces layered around my neck.