Play like a culé: A Cristian Tello Fan Fic

Chapter 24

María's P.O.V.

We were cramming for a final in the library, all the books spread out on the table, sitting next to each other. The night was young. Only 2AM. Five hours until test time. We were alone in the law library because Pedro had agreed to close it when we were done. That is if we were done before the girl that was in charge came back to open up in the morning.

I trembled in my seat because, as usual, I’d forgotten my jacket. He heard my teeth shatter and asked: “You want my jacket?” He had no other jacket so he meant taking his off to give it to me. “No, no. I’m fine.” “No you’re not. You know what? I’m not even asking you.” He starts taking off his jacket and stands up to put it on me. I roll my eyes and shove my hands through the arms. I zip it up and thank him. He sits back down and we’re both reading.

I start to run my hands up and down my thighs, as I usually do when I’m nervous, when suddenly I feel his hand brush mine. I look down and he brushes his pinky against the back of my hand. I bring it closer to him and he takes that as a good sign. He covers my hand completely with his and laces his fingers with mine. I look up at him shyly and he’s smiling at me so I smile back. He’s such a gentleman about everything. I’m not blind. I know he has a thing for me. But he’s never been forward or uncourteous about it. We’ve been alone in my apartment and he’s never made a move. This was the first time he’d tried anything and I thought it was so sweet.

I kept reading and so did he. After a while our hands were locked together, hanging in the space in between our seats. He brushed my hand with his thumb occasionally and I responded. “I’m gonna go get some coffee. How do you take it?” I said as I let go of his hand and stood up. I was falling asleep on my chair. “Pretty dark. Oh, and bring some diet sugar. Thanks.” “Yes, your majesty.” I joked. He laughed and so did I.

After I came back with the coffees, I moved my chair closer to him. I set the coffees and sugar packets on the table and sat down. We prepared our coffee and practically chugged it down because we were both very cold and very sleepy. He stood up to throw away the cups and sat back down next to me. “Alright. Let’s get back to it.” He said, smiling at me.

I brought my legs up and sat cross-legged on my chair. I looked sideways at him and he was distracted reading so I took the opportunity. I took his hand and brought his arm around me. He looked beside him, surprised at my move, but looking very pleased. He brought my body close to him and we kept reading…

After our test, we were mostly relieved by being done with it. I came out after him and saw his lean figure in the distance. I walked towards him and he turned around, hearing my steps. “We’re done! Midterms are done!” He screamed out of pure joy as I laughed. He practically ran to me and took me in his arms, spinning me around. After he set me down, I was the one who stopped, my hands on his chest, to look into his eyes.

His smile disappeared and he looked at me with all seriousness. His hands were resting on my hips and he didn’t dare make a move. He probably thought it was too fast after what had happened with Cristian. But it’s been a month and a half and I really like Pedro. He moved away before I could consider anything else. He took my hand in his, though, as we walked toward his car…

We were but we weren’t. We held hands, we caressed each other, he took me on dates but we weren’t actually a couple. We hadn’t even kissed yet. It was already almost Christmas and I was definitely nostalgic about my family. I’d left them for someone that, at that point, I thought would be with me forever. But now I found myself in a cozy café in Madrid in front of the fireplace, Pedro Mosquera’s arm around my shoulders.

I suddenly realized I had every reason to be happy but somehow, I wasn’t. Not entirely. He brushed my arm with his thumb and I shook myself out of my reverie. I smiled at him and he smiled back. “What were you thinking about?” “Oh, nothing. I just miss my family.” I looked down at my cup of coffee, which was already too cold to drink, and he took it from me to put it on the sidetable. “You’re living your dream. This is what you’ve always wanted to do. Think about that.” I smiled up at him because he always knew what to say. He was like a wise owl.

Suddenly, someone jumped on the back of our couch and seemed to be holding something over our heads. When I looked at him, he was dressed up as an elf and he was hanging a mistletoe over our heads. We both looked up and simultaneously looked down. I stared into his eyes and I wanted to but I wasn’t sure if he wanted to. “Mistletoe! You have to kiss her!” The elf joked with a ridiculous voice as he shook it over our heads. This was more an American tradition but globalization had a huge reach, apparently.

“Something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time.” He says so only I can hear and takes my face in his hands. He brings it toward him and presses his lips lightly and carefully against mine. They taste like herbal tea which is what he was having. The kiss is short but oh-so-sweet and very meaningful. The entire café breaks into a collective “aaawww!” This makes me feel so incredibly embarrassed, I bury my face in his chest and he wraps his arms around me.

Everyone starts laughing and, when the attention is drawn away from us, he presses a kiss on my hair and whispers: “They’re gone. You can come out now.” I laugh and face him again. He’s sweet, kind, loving, respectful, smart, he surfs, he skates, he’s a professional footballer…Why do I feel like I should like him more? I make sure no one is looking and press my lips against his once more. He smiles and presses his forehead against mine. I smile and feel very warm with him this close to me but I still feel like something is missing