HARD LAUNCH
"i will look for you in every lifetime until we finally stay"
~isla~
"isla." i groan and roll over as sofia taps, actually more like slams, her fist into my shoulder aggressively. "get up bitch, joaos here!"
at the mention of joaos name i jolt forward and crane my head to glare at her in disbelief. "what!" my jaw drops in betrayal as i practically leap out of bed and run towards my mirror to fix up my terrible morning hair.
"i thought you didn't like him?" sofia smirks from behind me as our eyes meet in the mirror.
"shut up." i comb my fingers through my knotted locks and sigh, turning around to face my bestfriend. "wait are you being for real?"
"yes isla, why would i lie?" she dramatically flips her hair and jumps back onto my bed, pulling the duvet over her body and grabbing the ice cream tub from the bed side table. "now, go see your man." she winks, as the doorbell rings.
i roll my eyes as i quickly grab a pair of socks and start to pull them on the best i can as i maneuver my way down the stairs. i jog down the long hallway that leads to the front door but slow down as i approach and calm myself.
"okay, don't freak him out." i mumble to myself as i smack my forehead a couple times lightly, hopefully knocking some sense into myself. i pull the door open and as i expected, joaos standing on the other side.
he's wearing an athletic pullover jacket with his team logo on it, shorts and tennis shoes. his hair looks freshly washed and his face lights up when he sees me. he is looking too good for a girl who just woke up not even five minutes ago.
his eyes rake over my figure and a smirk crosses his lips. from the low waisted sweatpants and small tank top i'm wearing, i think it's brutally obvious that i just rolled out of bed, but joão doesn't seem to mind and just laughs lightly. he hands me a small bag that i didn't even realize he was holding.
"oh you didn't have to bring me anything." i smile as i open the door wider, inviting him in even if it's only for a couple minutes.
"yes i did." his hands wrap around my hips from the back to slightly move me out of the way so he can walk around me towards the kitchen. his soft touch lingers on the bare skin of my hips for much longer than i want to admit.
my skin burns in agony for his touch, almost begging for his fingers to trail across my soft skin once more. i can't explain the way i'm currently feeling with my brain, but i think the way my body is reacting, says everything it needs too.
i follow him into the kitchen slowly, leaning back on the island as he stands opposite of me with a cheeky smirk. "open it." he motions towards the bag and i pull out the red wrapping paper.
i turn around so i can set the bag on the counter while i pull whatever it is inside out. i can feel joão hovering over me, the soft fabric of his shirt feeling warm against the bare skin on my back.
his presence makes me nervous for some reason and i pull the present out of the bag quicker so i can run away and stop feeling this weird feeling in my stomach.
i already suspected what it would be, and when i pull it out i prove myself right. it's his jersey.
not gonna lie, the design is god awful. it's white with weird red stripes all over it. it's actually ugly, and i have to bite my lip to stop myself from letting out a disgusted groan. but then i turn it around where his number and name are, and i realize that's the only thing that matters.
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.
the stadium is now packed with people, yet all i can think about is the day joão fake proposed to me on the dewy pitch. it was such a beautiful night, and i often find myself wishing to relive the moment.
the teams walk out, and i know absolutely nothing about football so i just scan the line of people for joão. when i find him he's holding onto the hand of a little girl, probably no older than three or four.
he's treating her so preciously, and it makes my heart flutter in my chest. he suddenly turns to scan the crowd, most likely looking for me. when he finds me he smiles and waves.
i just lightly smile back, not wanting to bring too much attention to myself on the first time i'm here. well technically the second but whatever.
like i said, i have no idea about anything in football, so i just watch hopelessly as the game progresses. i probably should have brought a friend or something to tell me all the rules, because every time i yell out for a free kick or a foul, the group of guys beside me looks at me like they're seeing double.
oh well, at least i'm trying my hardest.
i've never had much interest in watching the sport, but watching joão makes it worth it. my eyes basically just stay on him the entire time because i don't know anyone else on the pitch.
except about twenty minutes into the match i find antoine and i mentally slap myself for not noticing him earlier.
the match ends fairly quickly with atletico winning 2-0. antoine scored and i cheered so loud i thought my lungs might give out. joão had the other assist, and although he didn't score, he was the man of the match in my eyes.
he seemed to be fairly happy with the way he played because he ran over towards my section the second the final whistle was blown, beckoning me to join him.
i was scared of what people would think of me once i was officially seen with joão. this is my last chance to pussy out, once i take his hand there's no going back.
my mind plays tricks on me as joão calls my name with his signature smile, that makes me want to do anything he asks. without thinking i hop up out of my seat and jog down the stadium stairs, slipping my fingers into his.
he pulls me into a quick hug, and although he is sweaty and nasty, i smile against his shoulder nonetheless. "you played great." i whisper as he pulls away.
"thank you." he beams, obviously ecstatic to have won the game. "now cmon, i can't wait to show you off!" my stomach does flips at his words and i bite back a goofy smile.
he takes my hand and helps me over the barrier. my feet fall onto the soft grass, which somehow managed to stay fairly wet in the nighttime humidity.
"isla!" i turn around at my name being called and see antoine running towards joão and i with a large grin. "i'm glad you're here, did you enjoy the match?" he asks with an out of breath sigh. he's only wearing his red undershirt now, probably because he generously gave his jersey to a fan.
"yes it was very enjoyable, even though i didn't really know what was happening." antoine laughs lightly and nods in understanding. i feel joaos arm slip around my waist, slightly tugging me away from his friend. i get the hint and try to dismiss antoine in the nicest way possible. "well you played amazing, hopefully i'll get to see you later!"
"see you!" antoine smiles brightly as he jogs off towards some of his other teammates to jump into a conversation.
"sorry i've just been eager to see you." joão explains as he smiles down at me. we walk across the field together, his arm around my shoulders. joaos face lights up as me taps my arm and points towards the large screen in the corner of the stadium.
the video is live and it's of us. my stomach starts to flip in nervousness but joão pulls me closer, placing a soft kiss on my forehead. he searches around us for the camera man and when he finds him he grabs my hand and points at the camera.
he shows off the pretty ring on my finger for a couple seconds and i look over at him. he's just smiling like he always does. he's always so gorgeous.
the crowd erupts in cheers as the camera zooms in on the ring on my finger. his teammates cheer even louder and joão looks around the stadium proudly.
he looks down at me, his eyes flicking between my eyes and lips, almost like he's deciding if he should try it or not. except i don't give him the chance because i burry my face in his neck, trying to hide the nervous blush on my face.
joão let's go of my hand with a small chuckle, wrapping his arms around me in a warm hug, rocking us back and forth slightly. the fans continue to praise us as the camera suddenly turns away and starts to film someone new.
this is it, no going back now. joão and i just hard launched our "engagement" to practically the whole world. my stomach flips as he rubs my back reassuringly. i smile against his neck, placing a kiss to his pulse point just as i did earlier, and praying no one got it on camera.
rory speaks:
i lowkey fuck with this chapter. 😉 it's cute and a lot of fluff which i love. they hard launched their engagement to the public finally hehehe
ngl i have like nothing to say here except that i legit got a fucking 58 on a chemistry quiz today. fml
okay i love you all and hopefully u enjoyed this just as much as i enjoyed writing it
btw this isn't edited cause i'm too tired to go over this shit, so sorry if there's a lot of spelling mistakes or whatever
love u all 💋💋
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