him and i - joão felix

thirty three

last night, after dinner, we made it back home and went right to sleep. i slept very well in the new bed, maybe even better than i'd ever slept before.

i would've slept in later but i was woken up by the sound of joão's ringtone.

"joão." i complained. "why is your alarm set? you don't even have practice."

"it's not my alarm. i want it to shut up to." he groaned, grabbing his phone off of the nightstand. "hello?" he got up and walked out of the room, trying not to disturb me.

i was almost back asleep when he walked back in. "what was that about?" i asked him.

"it was mateo, lina's boyfriend. she told him i was back in madrid with my girlfriend and wanted to invite us over as a welcome back."

"that's nice." i said, sleepily. "do i have to get up right now though?"

"no, they aren't expecting us until later. go back to sleep." he laughed and climbed back into bed next to me. he pulled me towards him, wrapping his arms around me as we both dozed off.

-

we woke up a few hours later and ate lunch before getting ready. i wore leggings and a crew neck while joão wore sweatpants and a hoodie. he said it just like a hangout so we dressed simple.

once i finished with my hair and makeup, we went on our way. joão drove to their house and we parked on the street in front. we knocked on the door and were greeted by lina and a man, who i'm guessing was mateo.

joão and mateo pulled each other into a hug as lina greeted me with a sweet smile.

"mateo, this is my girlfriend bea. bea, this is mateo." joão said and mateo shook my hand.

"nice to meet you." we exchanged.

"come on in!" lina said.

we followed them into the living room and i saw another girl on their couch.

"you didn't tell me she'd be here." joão whispered to mateo.

"joão!" she exclaimed and jumped up when she saw us approaching.

she ran up and hugged him tightly. it seemed awkward for him, he didn't even hug her back. he looked extremely uncomfortable.

"vera," he pulled away quickly, "this is my girlfriend, bea."

"girlfriend huh?" she said, not even acknowledging me. "i never knew you had one."

we walked more into the living room and sat down. joão and i sat on the couch, lina and mateo sat on one of the chairs, and vera sat on the other.

"there's snacks if you guys want any." lina said pointing to the assortment of foods on the coffee table. "and we have drinks in the fridge.

"thanks." joão smiled.

"so joão? how was qatar?" mateo asked.

"it was great. i loved it there. and the tournament was fun even though the outcome wasn't what we wanted."

"well at least it was fun. are you happy to be back?"

"yeah, i'm happy to be able to see my friends again."

"so, bea. how did you and joão meet?" vera asked with a weird tone in her voice, cutting joão and mateo's conversation short.

"my uncle and him play together. he brought him to help my family move to take care of my grandmother."

"wow, i'm surprised you weren't just some fan girl." she scoffed. "why do you have to take care of your grandma?"

"her health was declining and she started getting a lot worse."