Chapter 6

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"Knock-knock! Can I come in?" I ask, knocking. "Sure!" Marta screams as I enter the room. "Dinner's ready. Hope you enjoy it. Especially Alicia since she had to help me pick up those absolutely necessary spices." I went downstairs before either of them read the culpability in my expression. We had a very nice talk during dinner and they all seemed to get along. After we finished and cleaned everything, Marta excused herself to go talk to her fiancée who was on a business trip. She disappeared upstairs then Alicia asked where the bathroom was. I pointed her to the downstairs bathroom which was down the hall from the kitchen. "Stop playing with that girl, Álvaro." My mother said dryly and in a very low voice the second I got back.

"What? What do you mean?" "You're not just friends. The way she looks at you...she's head-over-heels. It's best to cut her off now before it's too late." It was, in fact, too late. I didn't actually think she was that into me but my mom read women better than I did. "We are just friends, mom." "Álvaro, she knows things about you that even I didn't know. You spend a lot of time together. It's only logical that she start developing some feelings for you." "And what if I feel the same way about her?" Did I just say that out loud?

She chuckled while she cleaned a plate. "Don't kid around, son. You're with Carla. She's a much better choice." "It might seem that way, mom, but he doesn't love her." Came Marta's voice from behind us. She's smiling and nods encouragingly at me. "He loves her." She points to the hall Alicia had just disappeared into with her head. I look over at my mom and she seems shocked. Her mouth is even a little agape and I can't come up with anything to say. "I know him. He looks at her different. This is real." "Do you think you know my son better than I do?" My mom is furious and Marta is frowning, ready to argue.

Alicia now comes into the room, unsuspecting. "Hi, Alicia. We just thought maybe you were ready to go home. You're welcome if you want to stay, though." I was rambling trying to make it seem like we were talking about that. "Oh. Yeah, I sort of wanted to get going. Would you take me home?" "Yeah, sure. I guess I'll see you later, gals." I look over at my mom and she looks like she's about to kill me. She then completely changes her face as she hugs Alicia and says goodbye. Marta hugs her and seems to say something in her ear. She walks toward me and I lead her to the front door, grab my keys and walk toward my car. She'd never seen it so she gasps when I open the passenger door for her. "This is your car?" "It is." I smile at her as she gapes incredulously.

"Wow." Even in the dim light, I can see tears forming in her eyes. "What's wrong? You want to take a cab instead? We could take a cab if you..." "No, no. That's not it. It's just...I never thought I'd get into a car like this. This is so stupid. I'm sorry. I sound so ridiculous right now." She covers her face with her hands while her back is pressed against the closed back door. I gently remove her hands from her face and look at her. "You'll have a car like this one or even better. You'll be a great lawyer, I'm sure of it." She smiles broadly and stands on tiptoe, caressing my cheek with her hand before pressing her lips lightly against mine. I return her kiss and, what's more, I deepen it and wish that my mom is looking at us through the window at this very moment.

I stop kissing her and press my forehead against hers. She smiles broadly and blushes, as usual. I make my way to the driver's side and shake my head. What the fuck am I doing? I'm with two girls at the same time. I never thought I'd be capable of this but here I was, playing with both their feelings. I drove with the directions she gave me and we got to her dorm pretty fast. She was about to step out but I wanted to come in for two reasons: I honestly liked her and I wanted to mess with my mom's head. She'd be wondering where I was if I took too long. I knew she wanted the best for me but she needed to understand that I needed my space, to live my life.

"Would you mind if I took you to your door?" "That's ok. It won't be necessary." I take her hand in mine: "Please. I want to." She rolls her eyes, a smile on her face. "Fine. Come on." We both step out and she leads me to the third floor of a really run-down building. She lets herself in with a key. "Wait here. Let me check if my housemate's here." I wait in the hallway as I look around me and even I'm scared of this place. How can she live here? She pops her head out. "She's asleep so we'll have to be quiet." She puts her index finger over her lips and I imitate. She takes my hand and leads me to the very small couch in the tiny living room.

There's a small tv in front of it so she turns it on. She sits back down beside me after settling on a channel and lowering the volume to a whisper. I put my arm around her and she gets comfortable on my shoulder. We just sit there and I start thinking maybe I'll buy her an aparment. Buy us an apartment... "Álvaro, Álvaro, wake up." I wake up with a really sore neck and absolutely sure that that's not my mom's voice. I slowly open my eyes and a fully clothed Alicia is looking at me worriedly. "We fell asleep last night." Holy shit, training. "What time is it?" I ask, rubbing my face with my hands and running them through my hair. "It's a little before 7:00." "Thank God. I have to go right now or I'll be late for training." I stand up quickly and leave her sitting on the small sofa, her legs bent under her. "I had a great time last night. I'll text you later."

I could finally say that since she'd agreed to finally give me her number. I turned back again, bent down and took her face in my hands. I kissed her softly and slowly, taking in her scent and her taste. She put her hands over mine and kissed me deeply. I abruptly stood up straight and walked quickly to the door. "Bye." As I ran to my car and turned the ignition, I couldn't fathom why she followed my game. She had no reason for letting me kiss her; treat her like I did. She knew I had a girlfriend and I was deliberately cheating on her. Was it possible that she liked me as much as I liked her and she didn't care?...

After training, I called Marta and asked her if there was anyone staying in our Madrid apartment. We used to live in an aparment and started renting it after we moved to the house. I was gonna ask Alicia if she wanted to stay there, no charge. I called her and told her to meet me at that apartment building which was at walking distance from hers. I smiled at her as I saw her walking down the street toward me and she smiled back. I kissed her cheek and led her upstairs. I stood in front of the door and stopped. "Why are we here? What is this?" "Your new apartment." I opened the door and let us in as her jaw dropped. "What?"

I took both her hands and pulled her inside. She kept looking everywhere, her jaw still hanging open. Admittedly, the view of the city from here had always been spectacular. Especially because the window was continuous or panoramic. It was completely furnished and now that we constantly rented it, we'd updated all the furniture to the latest cosmopolitan style. I showed her all the rooms and she was still shocked. The kitchen was stocked with all the latest gadgets. As we stood there in front of each other, she asked: "But...why?" "Because I cannot stand to see you live in that run-down place when there's a perfectly good, empty apartment right here."

"Yes, a ridiculously huge apartment." I shrug. "You're my friend. Nothing's too good..." I step forward and lean in but she stops me. "Wait." When I open my eyes she has her palms raised and she steps away. "I can't do this, Álvaro. I can't be your 'friend-with-benefits'. If you're doing it for that, then I'll go back to my run-down place." She tries to walk past me but I put my arm over her torso, blocking the way. "I'm not doing it because of that. And that has been totally wrong of me. I was taking advantage of you and I'm sorry." I apologize wholeheartedly and truthfully. I honestly didn't know why I had been doing it myself."It's ok. I let it happen, too." She half-smiles at me and I let her go. She makes her way to the window and looks at the city. "It does have a great view." "That it does." I agree with her. "What do you say we start moving your stuff over?" She looks back at me and gives me a full smile. "Let's do it."

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