One Night in Santiago/Football Under Flashing Lights (Neymar Jr. Fan Fiction)

62.

-Neymar POV-
"Sorry to interrupt, Ms. Vera, a courier dropped this off for you, said it was urgent," Rosa said quietly as she handed Katerina a white card.

She took the card and read the message quickly, appearing to sober up almost immediately. "Who gave this to you?" she questioned with furrowed brows.

"Um, a member of the wait staff before he went upstairs to check on some guests," she answered, obviously intimidated by Katerina's question.

Katerina took a look at the stares before returning her gaze to me. She softened her eyes as she rubbed my arm. "Babe, I forgot to say hi to Isabella. I'm gonna be right back," she said. Before I could even fully nod, she excused herself and trotted up the stairs, taking two at a time.

She disappeared at the top of the stairs and I returned my attention to the party. Everyone was in good spirits and it was nice to have some fun with my friends. The entire team was here tonight and we all got pictures together and drank with Anada and the rest of Katerina's friends. It was very true what the tabloids said—there was no party like a Vera party. I was glad Kat and I got to spend the night together.

"Hey, lover boy," Anada yelled over the music, "come dance with me! Rafinha refuses and I have no clue where Alexis is," she laughed.

I chuckled and nodded, joining her on the dance floor for some cumbia. "How do you like having your mom here?" I asked as we started moving.

"It's great! She's going to be here for a while so I'm definitely going to have a lot of time with her," she smiled. "Kat was kinda weird about saying hi though—I don't know if she did yet."

"Oh, she told me she was going up to see her a few minutes ago," I nodded. She narrowed her eyes for a second and looked slightly confused. "what?" I asked.

"Uh- nothing, sorry I couldn't hear you but I just realized what you said," she chuckled nervously. Her expression returned to its normal composure but it didn't quite satisfy me. She had heard me this whole time and suddenly couldn't? Was Kat not upstairs with Isabella? "Relax, Neymar," she laughed, "I can see those gears turning in your head. Kat's fine."

She saw through my transparent concern and I rolled my eyes but gave in and changed the subject. Anada was very similar to me and we laughed easily over childish things. She was definitely like a little sister to me. We continued dancing for another few minutes before returning to the bar for a quick drink. "There are my two favorite people," Katerina greeted us, looking gorgeous as ever.

"He was adequate substitute entertainment," Anada informed her, patting me on the shoulder.

She laughed and nodded, "I'm glad. Let's go eat cake— I'm starving." She took my hand and led us to the kitchen where the wait staff was working diligently to tend to the party.

"Ms. Vera, do you need anything," one of them stopped and asked as the rest of the staff looked up at her visibly intimidated by her knowing she was the boss' daughter.

"No no, don't worry about it. We can help ourselves," she replied warmly and humbly.

"She's allergic to help of any kind if you haven't noticed," Anada whispered to me, earning a glance from Kat. When she turned her back back I nodded at Anada in agreement which made her snicker.

The three of us sat at the kitchen table and ate slices of the cake which had already been cut from another cake in order to ensure the cake outside remained intact for pictures. I was amused at the lengths Marina went to maintain the elegance of the night and I knew in a few short years Katerina would be the same way. I looked over at her as she chewed her cake and bantered with Anada, taking in the way she smiled and laughed with her sister. I was happy to see her like this—so relaxed and enjoying the moment. It finally felt like she was present and not preoccupied with work stress like she had been for so long now.