Spain, Soccer, Love?

Chapter Thirty-Two

Mae's Perspective

We arrive at the hotel, and I have to admit, it's really nice. We check in at the front desk, and then head straight to our room.

The plan is, both Gavi and I will stay in this hotel tonight, but Gavi will be staying in the hotel the team is staying in for the other night. I would stay in the same hotel as him, but we don't want to risk it.

I start to unpack, eager to calm my nerves. Gavi must sense my nervousness.

"Hey, it will all be okay, I promise. You'll go to the meeting, tell them you don't want the job, and bam, it will all be over," he assures me.

"Ya, I know. I just can't help being a little worried, you know?"

"Of course. I know what will make you feel better," he says.

"What?"

"A nice, big, hamburger," he exclaims, showing me a picture on his phone.

"That does look good," I admit.

"Good, cause we're going to get one," he smiles, helping me off the floor.

"Won't people see us?" i point out.

"Eh, it's almost dark. I think that we will be fine."

"If you say so," I shrug, grabbing my phone and purse, ready to head out the door.

Thirty minutes later I'm devouring the best burger I have ever had.

"This is probably the most delicious burger I have ever eaten, and that's saying a lot considering I'm from America," I manage to say with a mouth full of food.

"It does look really good," Gavi smiles as he picks at his small salad.

"You sure you don't want a burger?" I ask, a bit surprised he had passed up on it earlier.

"Ya, I'm sure. I'm not that hungry, and it's probably not the best thing to eat when I have a game in two days," he points out.

"Why aren't you hungry?" I question, a bit worried.

The past few days I've noticed that he's had quite a small appetite.

"I think I'm just really nervous for the game. There's a lot of pressure, and losing could cost us the league," he admits.

Currently, Barcelona are sitting in first place, only three points ahead of Real Madrid. Losing would cause the two teams to tie. This would mean that even tying a future game could help Real Madrid take first place.

"You're going to do great, I promise. You're an amazing player on an amazing team. Just play your best and it will be enough," I reassure him.

"Thank you Mae," he smiles.

"Of course. How about we get out of here and head back to the hotel room. I'm exhausted," I say, right before a yawn escapes my mouth.

"Sounds good to me," he agrees before calling over the waiter for the check.

I'm so fucking nervous, I can barely breath right now. I'm actually considering jumping off the balcony ledge right now. There's no fucking way I'm about to do this.

I'm standing outside the Real Madrid office building, contemplating whether I should go inside. I'm dressed in a flowy white button up and brown cargo pants, paired with a brown belt, white flats, and brown bag. I was going for a cute, but also serious look, and I think I pulled it off pretty well.

Gavi had dropped me off about ten minutes ago in the underground parking lot, promising he would pick me up in the same place once I texted him.

In the ten minutes I have been here, I have gone up and down the elevator twice, walked around the building once, and panicked for pretty much the whole time.

I check my phone, and realize that I am now late. I guess this mean I have to actually go now.

I enter the building and head over to the lady working at the front desk.

"Um, hi, I have a meeting with someone about a job to work here. Do you know where I'm supposed to go?" I ask.

"Oh, yes! Mae, right?"

"Uh, yes. That's me."

"Perfect! Just follow me please," she says as she gets up from her desk and begins to make her way down the hallway.

I follow her slowly, dreading getting to the room. She stops in front of a door and gestures for me to go in.

"He's waiting for you," she says before I open the door and go inside.

To my relief, I find an old man sitting at the desk, not him.

"Ah, Mae! So glad you could make it. Please take a seat," he exclaims, pointing to the chair on the other side of his desk.

"Thank you," I smile nervously.

I quickly take a seat, then take a look at the man. He stares at me for a moment, before he starts talking.

"Listen, I'll cut right to the chase, okay? We would really love for you to work here. The job we are offering you is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and comes with many benefits. So I suggest that you accept," he grins at me.

This really has to be his doing, because there's no way Real Madrid is this desperate for me to work for them.

"I'm really grateful for the opportunity, but I'll have to decline, as I've been doing for the past week. I'm looking to stay in Barcelona, and moving to Madrid wasn't really on the agenda," I explain.

"Are you absolutely sure?" he asks hopelessly.

"I'm sure," I smile sorrily, before getting out of my chair and heading to the door.

"He's not going to be happy about this," I hear the man mutter to himself.

"Who's not going to be happy?" I spin around quickly to face the man.

"Oh, uh, no one. You can leave now," he says urgently, shushing me out of his office.

I leave the office and pull out my phone to text Gavi, before heading down to the parking garage to wait for him.

So I guess I was right. This was his doing. I'm just grateful that i didn't run into him and have to talk to him-

I'm suddenly knocked backwards by a man who seems to be in quite a rush. I look up to see who it is, and am greeted by a mischievous grin and the face of the man I once loved.

"Hey Mae, I was looking for you," he smiles, reaching his hand out to help me up.

I swat his hand away and get up, ignoring his watchful eyes.

"Good to see you Mae," he says, trying to get my attention.

"I wish I could say the same Christian."

I would just like to make it clear that Mae's ex, Christian, is a fake footballer that I made up! I just picked a random name and boom; he was a character! Might be getting a little flashback in the next chapter, which will be coming out on Sunday! (6/25/23)