TESSA ▸ PAUL POGBA

TWENTY-SEVEN • PERFECT

When they had returned to Manchester following the vacation to Bora Bora, everything seemed so different. It wasn't Moscow and all the international players weren't surrounding Tessa. She had to admit, she missed them all. And, as much as she enjoyed the company of Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford and all the other Manchester United players, she missed Kylian and Grizi snd Samu.

"This is weird," Tessa commented one day whilst she laid her head on Paul's lap as they sat on his couch. Moving boxes full of Tessa's things were surrounding the perimeter of the room.

"I know," he commented.

"Are you excited to be back? Leicester City's coming over in a few days, right? For the first game?"

Paul nodded his head. "It'll be good," he mumbled. "I just—I don't know. I just miss all the French guys, I guess."

"Me too," Tessa agreed. "It's kind of lonely without them."

"Moving in helps solve that problem," Paul grinned knowingly.

"Yes it does, mon pioche," she mumbled as he ran his fingers through her hair. Her eyes fluttered shut as a brief moment of peaceful silence passed between them; the only sounds they could hear were the crickets outside, past his—no, it was theirs, now—the French doors that led to the backyard.

Paul looked down at Tessa, as a soft smile graced her lips. "What did he look like?" he suddenly asked her.

"Who?"

"When we were on vacation, you said you couldn't stop thinking about our baby. What did he look like in your head?"

Tessa's eyes opened to stare up at the man above her. Her brows quirked. "How do you know it was a boy?"

"Pog-telepathy, baby," he playfully answered. "It was though, wasn't it?"

"It was," Tessa confirmed. She let his fingers play the fingers of her right hand as she thought back to the image. "He had tan skin, closer to your skin tone than mine. But he had green eyes, like me. And his nose was like mine too—"

"Are you sure this was my kid, ma moitié?" He poked fun. "What did he have that was mine?"

Tessa's free hand reached up to graze his lips. "He had your smile," she thoughtfully explained. "And your hair."

"My hair?" Paul's hair was in a buzzcut now.

"From when you shaved the sides. You shaved the sides of our baby's head," Tessa laughed aloud.

Paul joined in. When they settled down, he asked, "Did he have a name?"

Tessa shrugged. She'd not given much thought to the name of their imaginary child. "I don't know... Nathan, maybe?"

Paul shook his head. "Augustin?"

Tessa disagreed. "Too French. What about Max?"

"Too American," Paul retorted. "Thomas?"

"Samuel?"

"Theo?"

"Pierre?"

They tossed names back and forth all evening as they unpacked Tessa's things and settled her in. When Tessa entered their bedroom at night, after Paul had gone out to run an errand came back within the hour, she found a Chanel bag on the bed and Paul exiting the ensuite.

Her eyes found his, a questioning look in them. "What's that?" Her finger pointed to the bag as she entered the room, shutting the door behind them.

Paul shrugged, his fingers squinting together. "Un petit cadeu," he promised her. A little present. "Open it."

Tessa sat on the bed, taking the contents of the bag out in front of her. Inside the Chanel bag was nothing related to the brand, not that Tessa minded one bit. What was inside was much more priceless than that.