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Did you mean it?

I couldn't sleep, the adrenaline had been pulsing through my body ever since Ale had got down on one knee earlier that night. I had been awake for most of the night, albeit for a few minutes dozing in Alexia's arms after our evening's exploits. I laid in Alexia's arms for a while, taking in every part of my sleeping fiancé, the way her hair slayed out across the pillow, the way she still held me closely even as she slept, the way her chest rose rhythmically as she slept peacefully beside me. She was perfect, and she was mine.

I eventually grew frustrated with lying in bed and being unable to sleep so I slowly climbed out from under the sheets and headed downstairs, leaving Ale to get some rest.

I made myself a hot chocolate and grabbed a blanket from the sofa, before heading out into the garden, relaxing on one of the sun beds and looking up at the stars. I couldn't stop thinking about everything that had happened tonight and in the months since coming home, eventually, my thoughts moved onto everything that happened in Ale and I's relationship leading up to this point, replaying the first few weeks of our relationship in my head.

I had joined the team in the January transfer window and it took me a month or so to settle in. I was young... it was a new city and I didn't really know anyone on the team, It was overwhelming. The first person to take me under their wing was Mapi, she was the young one in a new team when she joined Barca so she knew how difficult it was. Growing closer to Mapi meant in turn that I got to know other members of the team more and eventually, I settled into my new life in Barca.

Alexia and I started to grow closer towards the end of the season, we had both picked up injuries which meant we were spending more time together, rehabbing in the gym, and getting treatment on the physio table. Ale would drive me to and from the training ground and after a week or so we started stopping for coffee in the morning on our way in and texting each other in the evening when we both got home. It became more than just teammates supporting each other through an injury, we became friends and as time went on it felt like it might be becoming something more.

We had been flirting on and off for a couple of weeks before the night of the team's celebratory dinner after we had won the league. Ale had picked me up from my apartment and I could have sworn that she looked me up and down as I climbed into the car, a hint of a blush visible on her cheeks as she drove, her eyes glancing over at me every so often as she gripped the wheel but it was on the ride home where something changed. Normally we would be talking or singing along to Rosalia or whatever was playing on the radio, but that night we sat in complete silence and it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable at all. I wanted to tell Ale how I was feeling, I wanted to talk about what was going on between us, but she was Alexia Putellas... the Alexia Putellas, and the likelihood of her feeling the same was almost zero. We were just teammates... maybe friends but nothing more and it wasn't worth risking our friendship for.

I was distracting myself by looking out of the window as we drove through the outskirts of Barcelona when Ale reached over and placed her hand on my thigh. The warmth of her skin against mine caused my head to snap around towards her and my heart to somersault in my chest, she took her eyes off the road for a second to look into mine, her deep hazel eyes saying more than words could. She invited me on the post-season trip to Ibiza that night and on the first night there we shared our first kiss.

We went out for dinner with the group that evening, We sat next to each other at the restaurant and Ale's hand found its way to my thigh again, this time under the table, we barely participated in the group conversations, instead focusing on each other. Ale's flirting had stepped up to another level, leaning closer to me as we spoke, whispering things into my ear, draping an arm over the back of my chair, accidental touches, laughing at anything remotely funny that came out of my mouth. She was adorable and all that I could think about was pulling her closer and capturing her lips with mine, but we were sat at a table in a restaurant surrounded by our friends and teammates.