Sway with Me

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Irina's Return

Isabelle smiled as she felt Cristiano wrap an arm around her shoulders as they walked through the sunny Spanish capital; the couple were enjoying some time together while they could after training.

“I’ve missed this,” Cristiano said as they walked down the street, the footballer had to admit that he was enjoying the time that they were getting to spend together; however with training and other commitments they had found it difficult to find time for one another.

“There’s only two shows left,” Isabelle said making Cristiano nodded his head, he couldn't believe that his time on Más que baile was coming to an end; he didn't know what he would do when his time was finished, he only hoped that it wouldn’t end his relationship with Isabelle.

“I can’t believe how fast the past twelve weeks have flown by,” Cristiano said as he gently took her hand as they slowed down their walk; the footballer knew that they had to talk about this sooner or later.

The red head looked at him as they walked down the street, she knew that he had something that he wanted to say; he looked at her as he took a deep breath, he knew that they needed to talk.

“I want to talk about what will happen when Más que baile,” Cristiano said making the red head nod as she watched him; she had her own worries about what would happen to them when the show finished.

Cristiano licked his lips as he prepared to talk, he didn't want to lose what he had with Isabelle; he wanted their relationship to survive and he knew that he couldn't live his life without the woman beside him.

“I don’t want to lose you Isa, you mean the world to me and I know you have commitments with the show but I want to be a part of your life,” Cristiano said as they continued to walk.

The red head smiled at him pleased that he felt the same, she knew that Cristiano was the one for her and she wasn’t about to let him go without a fight.

“I think we can work through this… I’m only away usually for the winter tour and then I have my contract negotiations to go through for next season,” Isabelle said making Cristiano grin before he kissed her, he was thrilled that they were on the same page; he hadn't felt like this since Penny had died and now he knew that he could finally move on.

“Why don’t we go to lunch,” Isabelle suggested as she laced her fingers with Cristiano’s, she knew that there were things that they still needed to talk about before things got any further; the red head sighed as she allowed Cristiano to lead her down the street.

***

Cristiano couldn't keep the smile off his face as he kissed Isabelle, he didn't know what he would do without her; he knew that she was what made everything make sense again.

“So what do you want for lunch?” Cristiano asked as they were seated in a restaurant, he couldn't believe that he had nearly missed out on having someone like her because of Irina.

The red head was wearing white cutwork yoke peplum top and G-star denim shorts paired with black heeled sandals, she wasn’t the sort to dress up all the time and she was relaxed within herself without worrying about what other people thought about her.

“I’ll just have Pasta Bake,” Isabelle said making Cristiano chuckle and nod his head, that was another thing that he loved about Isabelle; she looked after herself but wasn’t one of those women who counted calories.

“I’ll have the same then,” Cristiano said as he sipped on his glass of water, he didn't know how he could have thought about asking Irina to marry him when Isabelle had been out there waiting for him.

The couple spent the rest of lunch enjoying themselves, they were just finishing up lunch when someone that they never expected to see again approached them; Isabelle glared at the Russian wondering what she was doing there.

“Cristiano, it’s nice to see you again,” Irina purred as she approached the couple, the footballer stared at his ex-girlfriend wondering what she wanted; he licked his lips as he glanced at Isabelle, he wasn’t about to allow Irina to drive his girlfriend away.

“Irina,” he greeted politely before he took Isabelle’s hand, he knew that he had to send the Russian a clear signal that he wasn’t interested; he knew that she wasn’t about to allow her to ruin what he had with Isabelle.

“I can’t believe it’s been weeks since we last saw each other,” Irina said as she glanced at Isabelle; she had felt sick when she had seen pictures of the couple happy together and she had hoped that he would be easily swayed from the red head.

Isabelle relaxed slightly as Cristiano took her hand in comfort; he knew that she wasn’t comfortable with his ex-girlfriend hovering around.

“It has, is there something that we can help you with Irina?” Cristiano asked wondering what the Russian could possibly want, he knew that this wasn’t an accidental meeting.

Irina had always said that nothing happened by accident and it worried him what she had been up to since he had end things with her.

The Russian pursed her lips as she looked at the couple, she knew that she had to be careful; if Cristiano knew that she was a threat to his relationship then he wouldn’t allow her near him or Isabelle.

“I just thought that I would say Hola,” Irina said cautiously as she looked at the red head, she didn't know who the dancer thought she was but she would pay for costing her one of the world’s most famous footballers.

Cristiano nodded his head since he didn't believe that she was trying to be polite; there was nothing in the past that hinted that she would do something like this.

***

“What do you think she wants?” Isabelle asked as she looked at Cristiano, the two were back at his home relaxing after lunch; she licked her lips as she watched her boyfriend wondering what he thought about Irina’s return.

“I don’t know,” the footballer murmured as he watched her, the two knew that whatever the Russian wanted it wasn’t going to end well if she tried to split them up.

Cristiano moved closer to Isabelle as she watched him, he brushed some hair from her face and smiled at her softly.

“And I don’t care… I love you,” Cristiano said making Isabelle smile as she watched him.

The red head pressed a kiss to his lips, she knew that Irina wasn’t going to walk away without a fight and now that she had come back it worried her what the Russian had planned for them.

“I love you too,” Isabelle said making the footballer smile before he kissed her, he knew that there was a chance that Irina was here to break them up; she had vowed that they would pay when he ended their relationship.

“I won’t let her destroy things for us, I love you Isa and I wouldn’t allow Irina to ruin this for us,” Cristiano said as he cupped the red head’s face, he knew that she needed to hear this before anything else happened.

He knew that whatever Irina had planned would be aimed at hurting Isabelle and he wasn’t about to let that happen.