"Alright. Like this...no, the shirt looks bad. Maybe this way...", Rúben's attempts at modelling while on the lift were interrupted by the doors opening on the 8th floor.

"Good morning", you said, holding a laugh after finding one of your neighbours doing a photoshoot there at 8 am. Not what you expected.

"Morning", he said, slightly embarrassed by being caught.

When you reached the ground floor, you said goodbye and left. He stayed on the lift to go one floor lower to find his car, but you were taking the bus. And all the way to work, you kept thinking about that funny moment. And about how cute the guy from the lift was. No wonder he was taking photos of himself everywhere. All guys who looked like him probably did the same.

The next day, you thought about leaving in the morning ten minutes earlier than usual so you could grab a cup of coffee on the way to work. Tea wasn't enough after staying up late to grade exams. And Rúben...well, he wanted to avoid being embarrassed again so he also left ten minutes earlier so he could get the stupid selfies done. He actually liked the shirt he

was wearing that day better so it all worked out perfectly...until the doors opened on the 8th floor again and you caught him taking more photos.

"Sorry", you said when you couldn't help but laugh.

"It's ok. I just...I have to do this because of my management. I don't just take photos all the time".

"Management? Are you a model?", you could believe that. But also couldn't believe your luck of living in the same building as a model. Were there more? You were just wondering.

"No, I'm a footballer".

You cocked your head to the side, confused. "I didn't know that was part of the job".

"Yeah...".

"You don't have to make up jobs, really. It's ok to feel cute and want to take a photo of yourself. I'm not judging".

And now you didn't believe him...

"Look", he said, showing you his Instagram profile and then laughing seeing your shocked face. "You really didn't believe me then".

"Well, men lie all the time to impress girls", you said, shrugging and making him chuckle. "I imagine many pretend to be footballers often".

"Probably, yeah".

When you reached your floor, you left again after wishing him a good day and once you were gone, Rúben realised he didn't even ask your name. Too busy trying to justify his lift antics.

But it turned out he didn't need to ask it because you couldn't help going back to his profile while bored on the bus. He was a legit footballer but also...yes, there were all the photos he had to take because of his management. Or so he said.

He had more than 2 million followers so he wouldn't notice one new follower, right? But he did, of course. Rúben was just checking his notifications when he saw a face that looked familiar. And after clicking on the profile, he saw that it belonged to his neighbour that kept interrupting his photoshoots in the morning. It was a private account, should he request to follow you? Sure, he had nothing to lose, did he? Worst case scenario, he'd have to start walking down the stairs. He could always use the exercise.

After accepting his request, you hoped to find him in the lift the following day but...he wasn't there. Of course, three days in a row would be too much of a coincidence but you couldn't lie and say you weren't at least a bit disappointed.

And so was Rúben. He almost thought about talking to you on Instagram but that would have been too much, right? You barely knew each other. He did check your account to see if you had posted something about that day. Maybe it was your day off? It said on your profile that you were a professor but he wasn't sure what your work schedule would look like.

When you got back home, you were so exhausted. But when the doors to the lift opened, you saw Rúben there and couldn't help but smile.

"Hi, mister footballer".

"Hello, professor. We see each other on the way back from work today then".

"Gotta spice it up a bit, I guess".

"8th floor, right?", he asked, ready to press the button and you nodded. "I'm on the 12th".

Why was he telling you that?

There was silence after that. You didn't know each other after all but you both wanted to talk and didn't know what to say.

When you reached your floor, the doors opened and you stepped out after saying goodbye to Rúben. But instead of hearing the doors closing, you heard them open again and saw him leave the lift.

"What...".

"Do you wanna do something together? Like...go for a drink or food or I don't know...".

"I would love that", you said, happy he took the initiative. "I was planning on going for a picnic tomorrow by myself. I wouldn't mind the company".

"That's a great idea. I have training in the morning but then I'm free all day".

"Well, you know where to find me", you said, pointing at your door and making him chuckle. "Pick me up at noon?"

"I'll be there".

**

Saturdays were the days you took off completely unless something came up. And you loved going out to have some food somewhere, either by yourself or with some friends. Since the weather was good for once, you knew you wanted to take that chance to go to the park and enjoy the sun. And now you had a companion for your little picnic.

Staring at your reflection in the mirror, you liked what you saw. Your outfit was cute but nothing that screamed "I'm going on a date". Even if you guessed, and hoped, this was a date.

You were putting your hair up in a loose ponytail when the doorbell rang and you walked to open the door and found Rúben there. Well...he really put a lot of effort into his outfit, making you feel insecure all of a sudden.

"I need to get changed", you said, making him frown.

"Why? You look good".

"But you look better. I didn't know we had to dress up so much for a picnic".

He laughed and shook his head. "Remember I'm the one who takes selfies on the lift, so obviously I'll try harder. But really, you look great so let's go".

This time you both were going to the same floor and soon you were out of the building on your way to the park you had chosen for the picnic.

"I hope you like the food. It's healthy...for the most part".

"I'm sure it'll be fine but tell me what you have on that basket. I'm curious".

"Oh, you know. The typical things...I got some sandwiches, summer rolls, some pasta salad, lots of fruit and some chocolate snacks. And juice and water".

"Perfect!"

The park was obviously very busy on such a sunny day, but you found a nice little spot without too many people around. Placing the blanket on the grass, you got comfortable and started to take out the food so you could start eating.

"I'm starving. I didn't eat after training".

"Help yourself, then", you laughed.

"Why don't you tell me more about you? I only know you're a professor and that you're my neighbour", he paused after trying some of the pasta salad. "And you're pretty good at cooking too. Good qualities to have".

"Thank you. I do know a bit about you...I googled you. Don't judge".

He smiled at you, trying not to laugh since his mouth was full of food.

And so you told him more about you. Where you were from, what you taught in University, why you had moved to Manchester, ...

"And I'm guessing you're single".

"You're guessing right, mister Dias. I hope you're single too. I don't want to be fighting angry girlfriends".

"Didn't you find your answer to that on your Google search?", he asked, raising an eyebrow playfully.

"Oh, I found a lot about your love life on my Google search. Hard to know how much I should believe, though".

"Only believe the good. Always", he laughed. And his laugh was so nice to hear that it always made you smile. "But yes, I'm single".

"So the selfies weren't for the posts your management wants you to do then. They were for Tinder. It all makes sense now".

He snorted. "Will you help me choose the one that'll attract all the pretty ladies? If you like them, then we know they'll work".

"I could help you take them too. Maybe we can add some shirtless photos too. You seem to like posting those and...well, I guess they are alright to look at".

"Already asking me to take my clothes off. Wow! You move fast".

"Sometimes".

Anyone who saw you there would have known you two were flirting. The looks on your faces said it all. The smiles, the cheeky looks or the slight blush on both of your faces, but mostly on yours.

"Should we take a little walk around the park now we're done eating?"

"Sure", you agreed and with his help, you quickly tidied up and got up to go for that walk.

Rúben took the basket from your hands so he could hold it.

"Not as gentleman-like as you think because it weighs a lot less now, you know?", you teased.

"Did I just lose points because of that?"

"One or two, yes. You should do something to get them back".

"Like what?"

"Well, there are a few options. You could buy me an ice cream, you could carry me home later if my shoes hurt my feet or...you could give me a kiss? Your choice, really. Just offering some options".

"Hmmm", he pretended to think while turning to face you. "Ice cream sounds like the best option but I don't see any places where we could buy it and those shoes actually look very comfy so I guess I'll have to kiss you".

"Poor you, it's a big sacrifice but the points...".

He interrupted you by placing a kiss on the tip of your nose, which made you laugh.

"That's only half a point".

"I have to do better then".

He leaned down to kiss your lips and soon your arms were around his neck to help you kiss him better. One of his hands went to your waist while the other kept holding the basket until he got tired of not being able to hold you properly and dropped it, breaking your kiss for a second so you could laugh. And then you kissed again. Who cared about an old basket anyway?

"How many points was that?"

"Maybe...four? I don't want you to get too comfortable by giving you too many".

"Good...I love a challenge".

**

After that picnic date, there had been a few more. And now you texted each other every morning to know when to go to the lift and spend some minutes together before you both headed to work.

"You know", you said one morning in between kisses. "We could take some selfies together. Not for your Instagram but for fun. It's what made us talk to each other in the first place. It'd be cute".

"Let's do it".

And when you were in the middle of taking another photo, the door opened on the 3rd floor and a neighbour looked at you with his eyebrows raised seeing the scene in front of him.

"I could wait if you're busy...".

"It's ok", you said, trying not to laugh. "We're done. It's for his Instagram. Not a model, just a footballer. This is part of the job apparently. Weird, I know".

The neighbour kept looking at you two funny while Rúben pinched your arm and made you want to laugh even harder.

Minutes later, you were on the bus scrolling on social media when you got a notification for your Instagram that made you smile.

Rubendias 



Finally found a selfie partner 📷