𝙖𝙗𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙙 || 𝙟𝙤𝙖𝙤 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙭

𝘁 𝗲 𝗻

there's a large heart drawn on the back over his number in sharpie. underneath the unproportionate heart, he wrote his signature with a little winky face.

i smile and turn my head to joão who's still standing a little too close for my liking. his face is only inches above mine and i have a tough time showing him my grateful smile from the angle we are at.

instead i press a small kiss to the pulse point on his neck to show my appreciation. i feel him completely freeze behind me and it makes me think something's wrong.

i turn around in his arms, holding the jersey close to my chest. he's staring down at me with this nervous look, his cheeks flushed, and his gorgeous eyes trained on my own.

i realize he's probably only nervous because i've never kissed him before. obviously that wasn't anything close to a real kiss, but it's the closest we've gotten to one. i smile and pat his flushed cheek lightly. "thank you, this means a lot to me."

"of course isla." he smiles, his gorgeous brown eyes pouring into mine, causing me to drown in them.

our bodies seem to be a lot closer than i remember and i can feel myself starting to sweat under his intense, yet gentle gaze. he places his arms on each side of the counter, leaning down impossibly closer.

he's looking at me with this challenging stare, almost as if he's urging me to try something. his eyes snap between mine and my glossy lips. the idea of his lips on mine run through my head, but i remember that this is fake and we aren't even dating. nothing even remotely close to that.

i'm about to open my mouth to tell him something unbeknownst to me, but sofia walks in the room, a bowl of ice cream in her arms. she freezes in the middle of the kitchen when she notices us, staring at us with wide eyes. she stares at us awkwardly for a couple moments, which feel more like hours. the spoon balancing between her fingertips slips from her grasp and she gasps as it falls to the floor.

the sudden noise must knock her out of whatever odd trance she's in because she shakes her head and rushes towards the fridge. "shit i'm sorry, i thought you left." she mumbles with a full mouth of ice cream. she scrambles to put the spoon and ice cream away, trying to give us the privacy back we had a couple seconds ago.

"no it's okay." i turn back to look at joão, who even in the presence of sofia, didn't move an inch. "i was just leaving." he slowly pulls away from me with a defeated sigh. "i'll see you later, okay?"

"yep." i smile, already excited for this afternoon. he places a small kiss to my knuckles before squeezing my hand and slipping out the front door, leaving me behind to imagine the beautiful smile suddenly indented into my mind.

the second the door shuts, sofia throws the blankets down and rushes over to me with a shit eating grin occupying her lips. "your face is like a tomato!" she giggles, grabbing the jersey from my hands and examining it herself.

"what?" i raise my fingers to my burning cheek, trying to deny her observation. "no it isn't!"

she doesn't spend much time on the subject, squealing and jumping up and down in joy. "he's definitely not faking it!" she shrugs, smirking as she holds the fabric up to my body. "the way he was looking at you almost had me blushing."

she wiggles her eyebrows at me as i smack her shoulder, trying to conceal my giggles. she sprints upstairs and i follow her, deciding to start getting ready.

sofia helps me pick an outfit, pairing his jersey with black leather pants and a black purse. i did my hair in lose curls, not really giving it that much attention.

before i knew it, i was sitting in the stadium seats with a bunch of sweaty dudes around me, waiting for the game to begin. joão got me seats behind the bench, which is mostly for family and other team and staff members.