him and i - joão felix

three

5pm came slower than ever. i was so nervous. i decided to just wear a black top and some baggy-ish jeans. simple but cute. hopefully it was appropriate for wherever we were going.

i was finishing up with my makeup when i heard the ring of my doorbell. i finished up my mascara and ran to the door.

"hey," i said, "i just have to put my shoes on and grab my stuff then i'll be ready. do you want to come in while i finish?"

he didn't say anything. he just started at me. his eyes roaming. "yes or no?" i teased as he snapped out of it.

"sorry what did you say?"

"i asked if you wanted to come in while i finished getting my stuff together?" i laughed.

"yeah of course."

we walked into my room and he sat on my bed. i put on my white converse and grabbed my phone and purse. joão and i walked out to the car and he opened the door to the passenger seat for me.

"so when are you gonna tell me where we are going?" i asked as he got into the drivers seat.

"i told you it's a surprise." he made eye contact with me for what felt like forever. i started getting a nervous feeling in my stomach, i couldn't figure out why. "you look amazing by the way."

"you don't look to bad yourself." after i said that, i looked out the window. i can already tell i was blushing. i didn't want him to see the affect he had on me.

the drive wasn't very long. only about 15 minutes. joão pulled into the driveway of a huge mansion.

"woah." i said. "who's house is this and why are we here?"

"this is ronaldo's house. every once, he hosts a party for the team and other players he's friends with. everyone gets a plus one so i thought why not bring you."

that made me even more nervous. what would people think when me and joão walked in together. what if people judged me because i was dressed so casually? and i would be meeting some other players that i've only seen on TV.

i think joão could tell i was nervous because i was shaking my leg. he put his hand on my thigh to stop me from nervously bouncing it.

"hey, there's nothing to be nervous about. all these guys are chill." he said, smiling softly. "and i'll be with you the whole time."

he opened my door for me and held my hand as we walked to the door. we were greeted at the door by ronaldo.

"hello you two!" he looked from me to joão and i think i saw him wink at him. "welcome in!"

when i walked in, i wasn't as nervous. all the girls were dressed like me and joão was right next to me. he greeted a few players and introduced me to them. i saw my uncle from across the room and he smiled and waved at me.

"do you want anything to eat or drink?" he asked me as we walked into the kitchen.

"i'm a little thirsty. i could go for a water."

he grabbed two water bottles out of the fridge and handed me one of them. i cracked the lid and took a sip of mine and he did the same.

"shit." i said spilling some water on my shirt.

"let me help you with that." he grabbed a paper towel and started wiping at my shirt.

"it's okay really it's just some water joão." i insisted but he didn't stop.

"i've got it." he said finishing up. he looked up at me and we locked eyes for the second time already. a few seconds went by, but it felt longer. we didn't move from that position until he started to lean in.

"yo joão, what's up!" a voice called and joão took a step back. "who's this you have with you?" he smiled and winked.

"hey rafel. this is my friend bea, she just moved here. pepe is her uncle." he smiled and shook my hand. "bea this is rafel leão, he plays on my team."

"nice to meet you." i said.

"you too." he responded.

the boys continued to talk but i couldn't stop thinking about what just happened. or what would have happened if rafel didn't walk in.

-

the rest of the night consisted of joão talking to other players and me standing next to him. even though i didn't talk much, i still had an amazing time. i loved meeting all of the new people.

he was pulling into my driveway now. he got out of the car and opened up my door for me. he walked me to my front door.

"i had a really nice time tonight." i said. "thank you for bringing me."

"i had a nice time too, i'm glad you were with me." he pulled me into a hug. his arms around my waist caught me by surprise. i smiled into his shoulder. i was sad when he pulled away. "goodnight bea."

"goodnight joão." and with that, i turned and walked into my house.

i plopped face down onto my bed and screamed into my pillow. i've only know this man for a day and he's already doing things to me.

-

it was a few days later and i had yet to hear from joão. i did my basic morning routine as i did when i was back home in america. i sat back down on my bed to check my phone.

1 missed call from joão felix.

i immediately called him back. the phone rang 3 times before he picked up.

"hey." he said. i love hearing his voice, i thought.

"hi." i smiled into my phone.

"i was wondering, do you wanna do something later?"

"like what?"

"remember on the plane when you told me that you used to play football?"

"yeah, why?" oh no.

"i was thinking... maybe you wanted to come to the field with me and help me practice?"

"yeah sure. what time?"

"i'll be there in an hour." he hung up the phone.

an hour? my stomach already began to burst with nervous butterflies.