Bad Reputation - Mapi León

Chapter Eighteen

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Escape.

A word that perfectly described Jana Flores' life, a word she had became accustomed too—deciding to run from her problems, instead of facing them. Yet, when Mapi entered her life, she no longer saw the use in running,

The love of her life gave her strength to keep her feet planted, and taught her to face obstacles head-on.

Yet, when Mapi finally arrived at her girlfriend's apartment with a large smile across her lips, she had let herself into the home with the keys that Jana had landed her, but her smile disappeared when their were boxes sealed in the hallway, as well as bags full of photo frames and clothes.

"Princesa?" She called out, the familiar nickname echoed through the hallway and responsive footsteps sounded onto the wooden floor. A smile appeared on Mapi's expression, when she noticed Jana stood at the end of the hall—still dressed in the athlete's jersey and Nike shorts, "You haven't went out today?"

"No I've been... packing." Jana revealed, gesturing towards the pile of random things next to the blonde, to which she nodded hesitantly and approached her girlfriend who smiled—yet it was a fake smile, one that Mapi realised instantly, "What are you doing here?"

"I said I would come over after training... Are you okay?" Mapi worried, following after her girlfriend into the kitchen where a bottle of wine and a half-filled glass was set on the counter, "You don't usually drink."

"Special occasions, only." Jana smiled, picking up the large glass and sipping from it—watching the blonde from over the rim of the glass, eyes filled with suspicion and concern.

"What's the occasion?" Cautiously, Mapi sat down on the settee in the living room, watching as the brunette followed after her and sat opposite her, on the coffee table, "Why do I feel like we're about to break up?"

Jana's eyes widened and she set down the glass onto the table, "What? No." Reaching her hands to hold onto Mapi's, their fingers intertwined softly and the air turned warm, "I need to tell you something, it's... important."

When Mapi didn't reply, opting to nod wordlessly—it made the nerves inside of the therapist's stomach flutter, wondering how she would tell the blonde what she had been told earlier that day.

"After you dropped me off before training, there was someone... Lauren was in front of my door." Mapi apologised quietly when she clenched her girlfriend's hand tightly, a jealous feeling overtaking her when she heard the name of Lauren Hemp, "I tried to ignore her but... She told me something."

"What was it, princesa?"

"Lauren said she was here to win me back, and that she wouldn't leave without me by her side," Jana breathed deeply, feeling an overwhelming urge to drink the remaining contents of the wine bottle staring at her from the kitchen island.

Mapi was uncharacteristically quiet and nodded her head along as she processed the words, "Is this what the boxes are about? You're going back to England?"

The thought of Jana moving back to Manchester, to be with Lauren struck a chord inside of the defender whose annoyance and jealously was clear on her face—the smile wiped away, yet she couldn't pull her hand away.

The thought that it could be their last time touching, almost brought tears to her eyes.

"Mapi... The boxes are full of the stuff that remind me of Lauren. When I first moved here, I brought her things with me." Jana revealed, causing the defender to breathe slightly easier as relief washed over her body and a slight smile reappeared, "I couldn't live here any longer with any trace of her around."

"I'm glad to hear that, princesa." Mapi used the rest of her energy, to pull the therapist off of the coffee table eliciting a shriek from her when Jana landed in her lap, both legs stabilised on either side of her hips, "So... That means you aren't leaving me for Lauren?"

"Never." Jana laughed, digging her hips against the blonde's and leaning in closer so that their foreheads were touching, "I'm sorry for scaring you."

"You did, but I forgive you." Mapi shrugged, kissing her girlfriend's cheek and smiling when a blush appeared across them, "You should make it up to me..."

"Yeah?"

Later on, the pair were tangled in the bed sheets, sweaty and Jana was laid down on top of Mapi who was running her fingers through the brunette hair, unknowingly making the therapist more sleepier by the second, "Princesa?"

"Hm?" Jana hummed, looking up and resting her chin on the back of her hands that were laid flat across Mapi's chest. She took her time to observe the perfectly sculptured face of the athlete, counting her freckles then losing count when her eyes trailed down to her lips.

"Focus on me," Mapi ordered with a smug grin, losing her breath when Jana's eyes redirected on to hers, and time seemed like it had slowed down, "How did you get Lauren to leave? You said she wouldn't leave without you."

Jana's smile dropped slightly, thinking back to their conversation. Mapi is the love of my life, I can see myself spending the rest of my life with her, she thought to herself. Believing that the defender would find it odd, for the therapist to think so quickly of marriage, or even the next step in life.

There was a certain insecurity that was deep-rooted into Jana her entire life. Marriage was a sensitive topic, and family was even worse. Four years before her father died, Jana's parents' relationship was torn apart by marriage, and she watched their love for each other dissipate day-by-day.

Yet, Jana was still willing to take the risk for Mapi.

"She noticed how I moved on, and I was happy. With the woman I love."

The power of her words.

Mapi blushed under the dull lighting of the therapist's apartment, nevertheless it didn't go unnoticed as Jana smiled at her girlfriend—the blonde attempting to look away to divert her attention from the beauty, "What did I do to deserve you?"

"Simple," Jana smiled, approaching the blonde and resting her head into the crook of her neck, her lips close to Mapi's ear making her entire body shiver, "You didn't give up."

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