Another Night

Chapter 4 - Show Off

The next morning I woke up and got ready to go serve the team in whatever way possible.

It was their first day of training today and Joachim was in no mood to play around.

I helped Esteban out with the breakfast and designated drinks for each player before going to find Colin.

"Colin," I spoke before entering his room.

"Mara, good, I have to talk to you," he said sternly, scaring me a little.

"What about?"

"Are you going to the opening ceremony tomorrow?"

A wave of relief washed over me.

"I-I didn't know that was an option-"

"The guys are going to be watching from here, so I'd need some extra help around since most of the staff have tickets to the match."

"Lucky them," I sigh. "I'll stay of course."

"Good, thank you so much."

"Maybe we can spot Samantha on TV," I joke. "The guys just started training, Joachim wanted to talk to you."

"Alright, thanks," Colin said before leaving.

I followed him to the field built in a couple of months ago and caught a glimpse of the guys separating into groups.

I had nothing better to do, so I just stood by the two men talking and looked onto the field.

"Do you play?" A voice interrupted my thoughts.

"No," I laughed and shook my head. "I used to, but I just stopped," I answered Erik.

"Try it sometime," he smiled at me before throwing a ball towards his group members and heading over.

I went onto the field and sat down in the bleachers by Lou and struck a conversation with him.

The guys eventually began doing penalty drills and I felt like I was staring at Marco for hours.

The thought of Victoria came to mind. Switching teams with her. Maybe it was too late now, but a rush of jealousy came over me as I imagined her having a laugh with Marco.

On the other side of the field was Mario, doing some tricks and shooting some amazing goals by himself, practicing with Ter Stegen.

In a need to step away from Marco, I got up and headed over to Mario's side of the field and stood and watched.

"Like what you see?" Mario yelled at me.

"I've seen better," I bit back.

I turned to see how the rest of the guys were doing and I made eye contact with an already staring Marco.

"Want me to teach you?" Mario chimed back and caught my attention.

"No, no," I shook my head. "I'm fine watching."

"Mara," Mario called me over as I passed by the table. "Come and play with us."

I looked at the group of guys and instantly caught Marco's eye.

"I'd better not," I shook my head.

"You're free," Mario observed. "I'll make sure you don't get in trouble."

"Don't force her-" Marco began.

"Okay," I agreed.

Why wouldn't Marco want me here?

I sat down next to Mario and across from Marco. Mats began dealing me into their poker game.

"Do you know how to play?" Jerome asked me.