[ eleven ]
When the day of Ricardo's date with Florencia came around, Mariluz wore a dress underneath to possibly make an appearance as herself while they were on the date. Ricardo dressed in a button up shirt and jeans, something casual. Mariluz also went with casual clothes. They weren't going anywhere too fancy, just a pizza parlour that was also a casino.
Ricardo wasn't too happy with our restaurant choice. He thought casinos were unholy places, but he kept his opinion to himself once he heard Florencia say it was a good idea.
They went to pick up Marcela first and then Florencia in Ricardo's car.
And they arrived at the restaurant soon after.
Marcela was absent from the very first moment they entered the restaurant. Her eyes were trained on her cellphone. Mariluz wondered who she was texting, but she only hoped she wasn't begging Marc.
Florencia was entirely different. Though she was on a date with Ricardo, all her attention was for Mariluz. She hoped Ricardo would realize Florencia wasn't in love with him. But it was true that love was blind and it was blinding her Brazilian friend.
After making their order, Mariluz got up from her seat next to Marcela and excused herself.
"Um," She cleared her throat. "I'll be right back."
The twenty year old girl raced for the male toilets to change out of her boy clothes. She locked herself in one of the stalls and shimmied out of her shirt and jeans to reveal a skin tight purple dress. Since she didn't have a purse or backpack, she slid under the crawlspace undernerath the door and left it locked. Next she grabbed a napkin and a pen from her pocket and wrote 'out of order' on it. She stuck it on the door to make sure no one would find her costume and hurried back out, where she ran into Mesut in the hallway that led back to the restaurant.
"Sorry." Mesut told her. But when he recognized her, his expression dropped into a look of annoyance and hurt. "Oh. Its you." He told her.
Mariluz bit her lip hard. "Mesut, I feel so bad about the lie. You need to forgive me." She pleaded.
"But you're continuing to lie." He pointed out. "If you actually felt bad, you would stop all of this."
"I will." She sighed. "When I become starter for Madrid."
Their conversation ceased when Cristiano walked over to them. "Mesut," The portuguese footballer told his friend in a whisper. He still hadn't noticed Mariluz was there. "Marcela's here and her dork boyfriend is nowhere to be found. I'm gonna go sit next to her, so find yourself a date and join us." When he realized Mesut was talking to a girl, he winked, "What about this one?"
Mesut shook his head. "I don't think-"
"Come on, Mesut." Cristiano pleaded. "You said you would help me get at Marcela. So come on." He grabbed onto Mesut's arm with one hand and Mariluz' with the other. He dragged the two of them towards the table where Ricardo, Florencia, and Marcela were sitting. The three looked more bored than anything.
Ricardo's eyes brightened when he saw the familiar face of Mariluz. "Hey!" He smiled.
Mariluz smiled back shyly. "Hello."
Cristiano slid into the booth next to Marcela while Mesut pulled up two chairs for him and Mariluz to sit on. He even held out the chair for her like a gentleman. But it was all an act because he was still mad at her. "Mesut, his girlfriend, and I were just in the neighborhood and we decided to have lunch here. What a coincidence that we'd find you here."
The news surprised Ricardo and Mariluz literally saw his jaw drop. "You're dating Mesut?" He asked the green eyed girl sitting next to his German friend. When Mariluz nodded slowly, deciding to follow the lie, Ricardo now looked at his friend. "Sorry man. I didn't know she was with you. If I'd have known then I never would have kissed her."
Shrugging, Mesut said, "It was a kissing booth. Don't worry about it. Besides, It wasn't until after you kissed her that we really started talking. Right, liebe?" The German footballer wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pressed his lips to her cheek.
"Uh...yeah." She replied.
Florencia finally spoke up, looking around the restaurant. "Have you guys seen Michael? He went somewhere and hasn't come back."
"Maybe he went to play at the slot machines." Mariluz offered with a nonchalant shrug. "My brother always liked those types of things."
A waitress brought them two pizzas, a plate of fries, and fried chicken and everyone started to eat. Mariluz only got a few bites before she excused herself. "This is all so delicious, but I'll have to go find my brother before the food runs out." And with that, she got up and ran off to somewhere unknown.
When she was finally gone, Florencia commented with a smile. "Your girlfriend is lovely, Mesut."
The German footballer only nodded, "She is."
Mariluz crawled under the toilet door when the room was empty and changed back into her boy clothes. It only took her a couple of minutes and she was back with everyone else.
Florencia's face completely changed when she saw Michael Bartra. The blonde was quick to grab a plate and serve some food for the new Madrid footballer. Mariluz sat in the chair that she was sitting in as Mariluz and Mesut told her, "Did you see your sister? She went to go find you." He said innocently, but he knew the truth.
Shaking her head, she replied nervously. "Uh, no. I haven't seen her."
Mariluz switched places a few more times until she was too tired to do so. Finally, dressed as Mariluz, she sighed, getting up from her chair. "I think I'm heading home. I get really sleepy after I eat." After leaving the restaurant, she would make sure to text Florencia and Ricardo telling them he was also heading home to give them some privacy. She assumed Ronaldo would jump at the opportunity to leave with Marcela.
Mesut got up as well and offered, "I'll take you home."
The green eyed girl eyed Mesut suspiciously. She went to the toilets to get her boy clothes and then he led her to his car that was parked in the vast lot. The pizza parlour was located inside a popular mall in Madrid.
When they reached his car, she climbed inside and threw her clothes in the back. She buckled herself inside and almost immediately closed her tired eyes.
He reached Ricardo's house a half hour later and looked in her direction to find she was fast asleep. Mesut thought of waking her up, but decided against it. Sure he was mad at her, but he thought waking her up when she was so tired was probably cruel.
The German footballer didn't have the key to Ricardo's house and he decided to take her to his place.
Mesut was still mad at Mariluz, but his anger at her was lessened now.
-
short and kinda crummy chapter.
but i really wanted tp update. even though i have two essays due tomorrow that i will most likely write tomorrow during philosophy and history. i might even skip spanish to write them too. i'm terrible when it comes to things i don't feel inspired about.
but i really hope you all like the chapter. it means the world to me when you read my stories.
thank you.
i love you.
-clary xx
