ADELINA'S POV
we had three days before portugal has to go against ghana. joão and i decided to go out for the first day, having the other two days for practice and rest.
we were walking on the streets near a beach, there were a bunch of cool stuff to look at. we decided to go to a carnival because why not?!
also, i forced him. right as we walked in, i ran up and decided to try to win a teddy bear for him.
"this is rigged!!" i said, angrily. joão held back his laughter, "alright let me try." he said with confidence.
he threw a couple of the darts, getting them in the right place. "are you sure it's rigged?" he asked, being cocky.
just as he said that, he missed the darts and he was out of time. i know i shouldn't be happy that he lost but i really was. "are you sure it's rigged?" i mocked him before walking away.
"that wasn't fair! i was busy talking to you." he tried to justify himself, following me.
"i want ice cream." i said, changing the topic. i noticed it was getting even hotter throughout the day, and seeing an ice cream stand.. i gave up.
he didn't even get to think about what i said, following behind me as i ran over to the ice cream stand.
"what flavor do you want?" he asked, taking out his wallet. i stopped him, "let me buy it, i'm the one who wanted it."
"let me pay for it, adelina. i'll get upset if you don't let me." he said, holding my hand. "fine but let me pay for whatever you want next."
he nodded with a smile, continuing to take his wallet out. "i'll take the oreo flavor." i said, with a smile.
"you're one of those people?" he asked, paying for it. "don't tell me you like mint chocolate.." i said, looking at him.
"what about it?" he asked, my eyes widened in disgust. "oh hell nooooo!!!!" i said, taking my ice cream.
i thanked the worker before walking away. "is it attacking joão day?" he asked, confused. "you're doing this to yourself." i chuckled, he looked so adorable when he was defending himself.
he snatched my ice cream, tasting it. "mint chocolate is better." he said, handing me the ice cream back.
we ended up playing around for a couple of hours, i think joão almost threw up when we went to the roller coasters. or maybe he did.. i honestly don't know, and don't want to know.
"did you have fun?" he asked, holding my hand and swinging it. we were walking back to the hotel, i liked walking around here better than driving.
you actually get to enjoy the weather, and the people around you. i also get more time with joão, just holding his hand and walking around peacefully.
i loved the little moments like these, they made me really happy, or maybe it was who i was spending it with that made me happy.
he was the reason all of these small moments were so special to me. things like driving around or walking and holding hands.
i loved how i could tell him anything that was on my mind, he would never judge me. "do you always stare at people?" joão asked making me look away.
"no, you've just got something on your face." i said, hiding my face from the sun. "beauty?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at me.
"you talk like you're in a disney channel show, please shut up." i said, rolling my eyes.
he looked offended, gasping before letting go of my hand and walking through the lobby. i laughed at his reaction, following behind him before bumping into someone.
"oh sorry—" i said, looking up at the person i had bumped into. "georgina, hi!" my smile grew, noticing who she was.
"adelina!! i'm so glad i ran into you. i was wondering if you wanted to hang out?" she asked, i nodded with a smile on my face. "of course!"
joão texted me, asking where i was. i told him i was going to go out with georgina. i guess he stopped acting angry already.
we ended up just walking around and buying stuff, we decided to sit by the park and eat the sandwiches we bought.
"when did joão and you start dating?" she asked, curiously. "a couple of weeks ago." i said with a smile. "only? you guys already seem super close and comfortable with each other." she said, in awe.
"really?" i looked at her with a scrunched face. "yeah, it usually takes me at least five months before i can act friendly and comfortable with my significant other. you guys are really adorable."
i chuckled, trying to hide the fact i was blushing. "when are you guys planning on making it official to the public?"
my smile dropped at her question. "we aren't planning on it." i spoke with a serious note. "oh, sorry if i invaded your privacy." she spoke, concerned.
"oh no! you didn't! sorry, i don't know what's wrong with me." i chuckled, nervously. she smiled back, "you're a really sweet girl, adelina. i can tell something is bothering you though.. you can always talk to me if you need a friend." she said before taking a bite of her sandwich.
—
georgina and i said goodbye a little after our meal and conversation. joão wasn't in the hotel room when i checked in. he was probably hanging out with andre or something.
i sat down on the bed, confused. i would be lying if i said i didn't feel bad for joão. i was afraid he might think i'm embarrassed of him or something.
he invited me to qatar, to watch him play, to meet his teammates, and introduced me to everyone. he held me in front of everyone and didn't care who was looking.
but, i couldn't even tell my best friend we were dating until they caught us together. i hated feeling like a scaredy cat, i wanted to tell everyone. i wanted to post cute annoying couple pictures on my social media, and be able to cheer for him in public.
i got up from the bed, walking over to the bathroom to take a shower. i heard the door open while i was in there, knowing joão was back.
i got out of the shower, joão was on the bed sleeping. i smiled at myself before walking over to my phone to check my notifications.
it was just a bunch of messages from my dad asking me how work was going, etc. "you okay?" i heard joão's voice.
i turned around, smiling at him. "yeah, why?" i asked. "nothing, you just looked sad." he responded, stretching.
his hair was a mess, he looked so cute. "i missed you!!!" he said, pulling me into a hug. i hugged him back, confused by his mood.
"get up, it's six. you have a business dinner to get to later." i said, getting out of bed. he held onto my hand, groaning.
"let's just sleep for a couple of minutes." he said, refusing to get out of bed. i rolled my eyes, annoyed at his behavior. i wasn't actually annoyed, he's always like this. he's a pain in the ass when it comes to getting out of bed.
it's annoying that i don't get mad at him because of how cute he is. "alright, fine." i spoke, giving up.
i could see him smile into his pillow when he heard my words. he pulled me onto the bed, quickly cuddling me.
"did you have fun with georgina?" he asked, trying to fall back to sleep. "yeah, we walked around and went to the park." i spoke, telling him about my day.
he listened, holding my hand the entire time. he had his eyes closed but kept nodding so i knew he was listening. "what about you?" i asked.
"boring, boring, boring. it was just coach talking and getting us ready." i chuckled at his attitude.
i knew he was nervous deep down, i wanted to be there for him and make sure he knows that everyone is proud of him nonetheless.
"adelina," he began. "hm?" i asked, turning all my attention to him. "my family is coming to watch me play against ghana. do you want to sit with them or— you can sit somewhere else, i'm not trying to rush you into something you don't want to do yet. they are just excited to meet you.. but they will understand." he said, he kept his eyes on me to watch my reaction.
"of course, joão. i would love to meet your family." i spoke with a smile. he smiled back, leaning to kiss me. i kissed him back before we broke the kiss.
"do you want to sleep?" he asked, i nodded, lying down next to him. we kept looking at each other, telling random stories to each other until we both fell asleep.
the guilt returned to me when i woke up, joão was once again, introducing me to people in his life. he said his family was excited to meet me, he was talking about me.
my parents don't even know i'm here in qatar. i felt so bad, i felt horrible, i felt like a piece of shit.
i wanted to cry so badly, i just watched him sleep peacefully. i didn't deserve him, at all.
he didn't deserve all of this, he deserved someone so much better. someone that had their life fixed and knew what they wanted. someone who wasn't afraid to talk to their parents about normal things.
i tried to hold back my tears but failed miserably. i began to panic as a tear rolled down my cheek, quickly wiping it.
i turned around before getting up and walking over to the bathroom. i didn't want to disturb him, he needed to relax and get all the rest he could get.
he needed someone better than me, i hated this feeling so much. the feeling that you're not good enough for anything.
i heard a knock on the door, making me wipe my face quickly. "adelina? are you in there?" he asked, concerned.
"yeah, hold up." i answered back, flushing the toilet before getting out of the bathroom.
"let's go back to sleep." he said, exhausted. i nodded with a smile as he held my hand and took me back to bed.
"i'm such a good husband, i knew my wife needed rest." joão said, confidently before falling back to sleep.
i chuckled lightly before deciding to sleep as well.
—
my phone rang causing me to get up, it was already eight. i quickly got up, waking joão up.
he surprisingly didn't take long to get up, look at him making progress!! he took a shower before changing into his outfit, a white button up shirt and black jeans.
i wore a white basic crop top, black mini skirt and a black jacket. i wasn't feeling well today and that nap was just me overthinking every little thing. didn't even sleep till the last ten minutes.
i put my usual makeup on, put my hair down and put my short boots on.
"are you okay?" joão asked, noticing i was zoned out. "yeah." i said with a smile before going back to what i was supposed to be doing.
i didn't want him to think i wasn't okay but i think i was feeling miserably. let me just eat dinner so he thinks i'm fine.
"andre and clara are waiting for us in the lobby, let's go." joão said, looking away from his phone and putting it away.
i nodded, walking over to him. he let me walk out first, locking the door after me. he put his hand on my lower back as we walked together.
it seems he had already noticed, shit. when we walked into the elevator, it was just as awkward.
i hated this so much but i couldn't change how i was feeling no matter how much i wanted to. he looked over at me, noticing i was zoning out once again.
"smile, wife." he said as we made it to the lobby before holding my hand and kissing it. i looked over at him to see him winking at me.
my smile grew, he was being cute. "let's go eat, i'm starving!!!" he spoke right as the elevator opened up, dragging me over to where the party was.
—