Cell Phone || Marco Reus

Chapter 11: Worth

"Two minutes," Sara-Maria says as she peers inside the oven.

"Cool," Marco replies from the kitchen table. She said she'd make some baked waffles using the silicone waffle moulds he got for Christmas. He hasn't tried them since he normally uses his waffle maker, which is more practical. He watches her as she takes the strawberry jam from a shelf, calm and collected as usual.

She wasn't last night, though. Not that he's complaining. She was initially still reserved and holding back. It can be because of her lack of experience, which he thinks is very sweet in a way, so he never pushed her out of her comfort zone too much, as well as always tried to be gentle with her.

But last night she wasn't holding back. She was... intense and needy, and sexy as fuck. And while he can't argue that he loves that—who in the right mind would complain about mind blowing sex?—Marco can't help feeling that something seems off.

Is she hiding something from him?

"There you go," she says, placing a plate of two perfect, golden brown waffles in front of him.

"Thank you," he says with a smile, but his appetite has apparently left him. She seems to notice his lack of enthusiasm.

"What is it? You said you were hungry," she says, frowning slightly. Instead of replying, Marco pulls her closer until she sits down on his lap. "Marco, what's wrong?" she asks, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Shouldn't I ask you the same thing, love?" he says softly, looking into her eyes. The way she licks her lips in a slightly nervous manner tells him his instinct isn't wrong.

"I think you should eat, before the waffles get cold," she says, avoiding his eyes.

"That's what the microwave is for," Marco says patiently. "Sara-Maria, I can feel that something is wrong. Something is bothering you."

She looks back at him, saying nothing. Silence falls between them, but Marco doesn't try to break it. She can have as much time as she needs. Finally she lets out a deep breath and says, "Yesterday, when I was in the shop, there were people who—" she doesn't finish her sentence because all of a sudden Marco's phone rings.

He reaches for his phone in annoyance. The name on the screen shows that it's Marcel. Why the fuck does he call this early in the morning? "It's okay. You should answer him," she says. Marco nods, but when she makes a move to stand up from his lap, he holds her still.

"Stay here," he tells her softly before pressing the answer button. "What, Marcel? Isn't eight o'clock too early to annoy someone?" he says, half-joking.

"Have you checked your Instagram?" Marcel's voice is far from joking, making Marco feel instinctively alarmed. Even more so when he feels Sara-Maria's body stiffen against him. She can hear what Marcel said.

"No. Why? What's wrong?" he asks cautiously.

"Do it, mate," Marcel replies.

"Fine, I'll put you on speaker." Marco does it and opens his Instagram app. As soon as it opens the amount of notifications makes him frown. He's used to people leaving comments on his pictures, but not this much. He begins to read some of the comments. "What the fuck..."

"My thoughts exactly," he hears Marcel say. "Mine is also flooded with similar comments and questions. Robin's too. They've found out about you and Sara-Maria, mate."

Marco looks at Sara-Maria. She doesn't look surprised... which can only mean that she already knows about it. "Yeah. Listen, Marcel, thanks for letting me know. Can I call you later?"

"Sure. Is Sara-Maria there?"

"I'm here," she replies.

"Sara-Maria, it'll be fine. It's always like that when Marco got a new girlfriend," Marcel says, attempting to lighten up the mood. "It'll die down after a while."