Like We Used To || Manuel Neuer

8

              As Asher's car pulls onto the roadside, Bastian Schweinsteiger engulfs me into his arms, uttering the words that make my heart swarm. "Manuel's jealous," he says.

"No," I murmur, breathing into his ear, softly caressing his cheek with my fingers.

"Azelie, he's glaring at Ash's car. I'm pretty sure Manu thinks he's your boyfriend."

"Really?"

"Really."

"You aren't lying to me?"

"Believe me, liebe. Now, pull away. This is beginning to look weird."

On command, I pull away from Bastian.

"Don't be mad at me, okay?" Bastian continues. "Things really did work out."

They haven't completely worked out, but I nod my head. "I won't be mad at you," I say, "and I'm sorry for being so impulsive earlier. I didn't mean to yell and point fingers."

"Apology accepted."

I smile, because Bastian is great. Before meeting him, the last thing I'd expected of him was him to be the way that he is. Basti is an impeccable mixture of funny, serious, and everything else, and as I saunter over to Asher Franke's car, I find myself developing a friendly crush on him.

I greet Asher with a smile—flirtatious, for the show—and, because I can still sense Manuel's eyes intently analyzing us, I  try to make it look like Asher means everything to me. I must succeed, because Manuel moodily ambles over, motioning for us to unroll the windows, which Ash does.

"Hey," Manu says to Asher, awkwardly leaning into the car through the windows.

"Hi," Asher replies cooly.

"I vaguely recall Bastian telling me Azelie's boyfriend would be here to pick her up," Manuel confesses, the corners of his lips twitching into an unforeseen smile. "Are you her boyfriend?"

Startled, Asher's eyes widen. "What?"

"Whoa, okay, let me backtrack a bit," Manuel then says, as if coming to a stark realization; realizing what he just said, and how inappropriate it sounded. "I didn't mean to blurt that out. I'm sorry. I haven't even asked you for your name."

"I'm Asher," Asher introduces calmly, reaching over me to offer Manuel a handshake. "Asher Franke. Nice to meet you."

"Manuel Neuer," Manu replies, firmly shaking Ash's hand, "but please, call me Manuel."

Ash nods; the gesture polite, extremely suave. "Noted."

Manuel nods and the two continue talking and bonding and by the time Manu and Ash finish their exchange, they're surprisingly the best of friends. To my absolute shock, the two men even exchange numbers, and when Asher announces that it's time for him to go, Manuel looks more upset that I'd like to admit. As Ash turns on his ignition, Manuel looks at him sadly, and the last thing he says to Ash before we speed away on the car is, "Take care of her, Herr Franke."

☁

            Asher and I spend the evening in Belo's bistro, ordering varieties of unique items on Belo's lunch menu, discussing everything and yet nothing at all. When our irrelevant conversations begin to falter, Asher parts his lips, asking me, "You want to explain to me why Manuel thinks I'm your boyfriend?"

Unfazed, I swallow the tapioca pudding that I had been chewing. "I wish I could tell you the answer to that, Ash," I answer, "but I really don't know. It's actually funny, because I specifically told Manu that I had a friend coming over to pick me up, not a boyfriend."