Back to us | Alexia Putellas

Date day.

Mapi answered the door almost immediately after we knocked the following morning, reaching her arms out and taking Jordi from Ale before skipping down the hall and into the living room, her excited voice echoing through the apartment.

"I'm so excited that you're here!... let's go and have a look at your new toys shall we?"

"Hey, you two" Ingrid greeted us as we walked into the apartment.

"Hi! Thank you so much for doing this, we really appreciate it" I thanked her, pulling her into a hug as Ale placed Jordi's bag down on the floor.

"You're welcome, we love spending time with our favourite little boy"

Ingrid gave Ale a hug and the three of us stood and watched Jordi and Mapi play for a bit before she turned back towards us.

"Right, so... what do I need to know? When does he go down for a nap? When does he need milk? Fill me in, because I feel like I'm going to be the only responsible adult here today" She laughed, shaking her head at Mapi who was now holding Jordi up above her head and blowing raspberries on his tummy, his little giggle filling the room.

"His morning nap is at about ten, afternoon nap is at around two thirty, he has a bottle before he goes down, they are in the bag, his lunch is in there too and anything else you might need... nappies, wipes, change of clothes, his favourite teddy and I've left the car seat by the door if you want to take him out anywhere"

"We should be back before his afternoon nap, but we put his bottle in there just in case"

"Ok, but there really is no rush. Why don't you two take the day? We're happy to have him and I bet you both could do with a break... it's been a crazy few months"

I could tell Ale was about to say no by her demeanor, she hated asking our friends for help, and the idea of Mapi and Ingrid spending their day off looking after our son made her feel guilty, but I really liked the sound of spending the whole day with my wife without the responsibility of being parents.

"I-" She began but stopped when I reached for her hand and quickly intertwined our fingers, giving it a gentle squeeze causing her hazel eyes to look into mine. I sent her a quick smile, pleading for her to say yes and she clearly understood.
"That would be amazing, but only if you're sure? "

"Definitely, I'm kind of hoping it will make Mapi change her mind" She whispered, glancing over at her girlfriend.
"She wants to have one, but I'm not quite ready yet... hopefully a day of changing nappies and having to stick to a schedule might slow her down a bit" She smirked.

______

"What do we do now?" Ale laughed once we got back to the car.

This was the first time in what felt like forever that we didn't have training, a game, or Jordi to look after. We were on our own and could do whatever we wanted to. It felt strange, there was no car seat on the back seat, no pushchair in the boot, and no Jordi babbling away behind us.

"I don't know"

"Breakfast?" Ale suggested, looking at me as she started the car.

"Sounds perfect" I smiled across at her.

Ale's hand found its way to my thigh as soon as we pulled out of the car park of Mapi and Ingrid's place, without even discussing our destination we were heading towards our favourite cafe, The brew house, where we used to go for breakfast every Sunday, they did the best food and the coffee was amazing, but we hadn't been since Jordi was a few months old due to everything that had been going on in the last few months.

Walking into our favourite breakfast spot almost felt like returning home, the smell of freshly made coffee and pastries filled the air as we sat down at our usual table. It wasn't a well-known spot in Barcelona which is why we loved it so much, it was quiet, most of the time there was somewhere to sit and we had never been bothered by fans, not even once.

"I genuinely can't remember the last time I got to drink my coffee while it was still hot" I joked as I took a sip from my flat white, looking at Ale over the rim of my cup.

She didn't say anything, she just looked at me for a few moments, a delicate smile on her face as her glistening hazel eyes stared into mine. In that moment, time stood still, it felt like we were saying so much without a single word ever leaving our lips.

"I love you so much cariño, you know that don't you?" She said softly as she leant across the table and took my hand into hers.

"I do... and I love you too"
"What's got you all soppy?" I teased her slightly, not used to seeing her like this, especially out of the comfort and privacy of our own home.

"I don't know really... I'm just so lucky to have you. You always know what I need, you love me when I'm at my lowest and forgive me when I mess up. I genuinely don't know how I got so lucky to have you as my wife"

"I guess you are pretty lucky" I joked, while giving her hand a squeeze.

"I'm being serious Isy, Jordi and I are so lucky to have you. I always knew that you were going to be an amazing mother, way before we even discussed having children, but seeing you with Jordi is something else. You're such a natural with him and he absolutely adores you."

"He's just the most perfect little boy isn't he?"

"He is"

We continued to gush about our son as we ate breakfast, talking about how much he had grown and how we couldn't believe that he was going to be turning one in a couple of months. We had become those stereotypical parents who couldn't stop talking about their children even when they weren't with them, but we both loved it.

Our hands remained intertwined as we left and made our way back to the car, Ale opening the passenger door for me before walking around and getting into the driver's seat.

"What do you want to do now?" I asked as I put my seatbelt on and settled into my seat.~
"We could go for a drive or go and pick up Nala and take her to the beach?"

"Honestly?"

"Of course, I always want you to be honest with me"

"I'd love to just go home and snuggle up on the sofa with my wife" She smirked as she leant over and placed her lips on mine, our noses brushing against each other as her breath tickled my skin.

"Just snuggle?" I asked, pulling my lips away from hers and raising my eyebrows suggestively at her tone.

"Well, we've still got five hours until we need to pick Jordi up... it would be a shame not to make the most of it" She smirked as she settled back into the driver's seat and moved her hand to my thigh, a bit higher than usual this time.

______

"That was amazing" Ale breathed heavily as she rolled off of me and collapsed onto the bed beside me.

"I forgot how good sex can be when you haven't got a baby sleeping in the next room" I joked as I rested my head on her bare chest and laid my hand across her waist, taking a few moments to get my breath back.

"And I forgot how loud you can be... maybe we should let Mapi babysit more often. I like hearing you."

Ale had wrapped her arms around me and pulled the blanket over the both of us when my phone started ringing on the bedside table. I reached across my wife to check who it was when I saw Mapi's name on the screen.

"Hey Map, is everything ok?"

"Yeah, all good. He's getting a bit tired and I just wondered if you were on your way yet?"

I moved my phone away from my ear so that I could check the time. It was 6:14... Jordi's bedtime was at 6:30.

"Shit-" I mumbled as I jumped out of bed and walked towards where my clothes were scattered across the bedroom floor, putting Mapi on speaker phone as I pulled on my trousers.
"Sorry Map, we lost track of time, but we're leaving now... we should be there in about 15 minutes"

"I did text you both, multiple times actually... but got nothing from either of you."

"We were occupied" Ale interjected, climbing out of bed and walking towards me, wrapping her arms around my waist from behind and placing a kiss on the top of my shoulder, mumbling against my skin. "Very occupied"

I pushed her off of me, before picking her clothes up off of the floor and shoving them into her arms. "Get dressed" I mumbled, trying to control my laughter as she smirked at me.