"This morning, before you went to the bathroom to get ready, I wasn't asleep anymore," Jamal started and my eyes widened, "We cuddled. Again. We didn't talk about it. Again,"

"I know,"

"Why didn't you stay in bed, why did you leave?"

"I didn't want to make it awkward. I didn't want to have to think about it. I... I don't know," I frowned.

"You didn't like it,"

"No, that's not it. I liked it, I think. I'm just... not really sure, how I feel about... everything,"

"If it make you feel any better, I'm kind of confused, too, but we shouldn't make it awkward,"

"I agree. I guess I just like hugging and cuddling a lot,"

"Yeah, me too," Jamal smiled.

He moved closer to me and embraced me in a hug. I rested my head on his shoulder and put my hands on his chest. His arms were wrapped around my back holding me close o him. We stayed like this for a few moments.

"Wanna watch a movie?" he smiled.

"Yes," I smiled back.

...

On Wednesday, the third day in Washington, there was a training session in the morning, which I watched. Unfortunately, Jamal wasn't able to fully participate in it, because he had slight muscular problems.

The physiotherapist and my dad agreed that it would be better for Jamal to not play in the upcoming friendly match against D.C. United. Jamal wasn't happy about not being able to play, but he knew it was for the best.

We were in our hotel room after lunch, the both of us just scrolling on our phones.

"It's the first game you're watching live, right?" I looked up from my phone.

"Well, technically I watched a few games live when I was younger, but it's the first in a while. It's sad though, because I can't watch you," I said.

"You can watch me at the next game. Besides I'll be next to you on the bleachers," he smiled.

"I know, but it won't be the same,"

"Yeah,"

"Hey, why don't we do something completely different, to get your mind off things," I suggested. Even though he was hiding it quite well, I could tell Jamal was at least a little bit sad, he wasn't able to play.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Well, yesterday I went out with Daniel and Celina, because we went to get Ice Cream during break and we walked past this huge swimming pool,"

"You want to go swimming?" I nodded and Jamal raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure? I mean weren't you the one, who told me you're really bad at it?"

"Yes, I'm not very good at it, but I still love it nonetheless," I shrugged my shoulders, a smile resting on my lips.

"Am I gonna have to save you?"

"Possibly,"

"Am I gonna regret saying yes?"

"Unlikely,"

"Are you gonna force me anyways?"

"Absolutely,"

Jamal sighted, "Fine, I'll come with you,"

I grinned at him and got up to pack my things.

"Wait, if we go right now, we won't be back for the game," Jamal looked at the time.

"Let's just ditch the game," I shrugged my shoulders.

"Yeah, we can't do that. I mean you could, but I definitely can't,"

"Why not, you're not playing?"

"First, your dad aka my coach would kill me,"

"I'll tell him it was my idea and I forced you, which is kind of true. I wouldn't even be lying,"

"Second, I still want to support the team. I can't just abandon them,"

"They would understand. Besides we can turn on the live ticker and we'll be back before the game is over, so we can catch the end of it. Don't worry nobody's gonna be mad at you, I promise. If anything, I'll take the blame,"

"You've really thought this through, haven't you?" Jamal looked at me with amazement.

"Well, it's not really that difficult," I shrugged my shoulders.

We both put on our swimwear underneath our clothes and packed towels and a few snacks.

...

We had just left the hotel, when Jamal suddenly stopped. He furrowed his brows and I could literally see the wheels turn in his head.

"What is it?"

"I think I forgot something in the hotel room,"

"What did you forget?"

"That's the problem, I don't know,"

"Then how do you know, you forgot something?"

"It's a feeling,"

I thought for a second, "Do you have your wallet with you?"

Jamal checked his pockets and looked at me with amazement.

"How did you-?" a smile crept up on his face.

"You always forget your wallet," I smiled back.

Jamal pulled out his key and clapped his hands, "I'll be right back,"

He took a few steps, before turning back around. He sped towards me and placed a quick kiss on my cheek.

"Thanks," he grinned and ran away, leaving me with a surprised look on my face, which soon turned into a smile.

...

Jamal got his wallet and since I had convinced him not to worry about missing the game, we weren't in any rush. The swimming pool wasn't far away, so we walked there.

When we arrived, we bought two tickets and changed out of our clothes. We put our things in lockers and showered quickly before heading to the pools.

"When you said, you're bad at swimming, what exactly did you mean?" Jamal got into one of the pools.

"Well, I know how to swim. It's just I cant really swim long distances or swim fast. So whenever we had to swim in school, we had to swim certain distances in a certain amount of time and I just got really tired after a while and I actually almost drowned one time,"

"And you still wanted to come here?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Of course, I love the water, I always have. Besides I'm not gonna have to swim any distances," I followed Jamal into the water.

"If you do happen to drown again, I'll save you," he swan closer to me.

"I appreciate it," I smiled.

I dove under water with my eyes closed and enjoyed the water surrounding my entire body. In that moment it felt like I was in a bubble. There was absolute silence and everything was peaceful. As I swam around with a smile on my lips, the cool water moved past me and tickled on my skin lightly. It felt truly amazing, I had missed this feeling. There were no thoughts running through my head and I had no worries at all. I glid through the water for a few more moments before I swam to the surface again.

I opened my eyes and moved my hair out of my face. I looked around me and realized I had swum quite far away from my previous position. I had swum away from the safety of being able to stand on the ground and wasn't able to feel anything underneath me anymore. There was water all around me and I had to remind myself to stay calm and not panic.

I moved me legs and arms exactly as I had been taught in the swimming lessons, when I was younger. I was barely able to hold myself over the surface and felt my legs slowly growing tired.

Suddenly Jamal dove out of the water, not far away from me. He paddled towards me and I looked at him with relief. When he was close enough I put my hands on his shoulders for support.

"You okay?" he asked, a worried expression on his face.

"Yeah, sure," I lightly smiled, but it was clear Jamal didn't believe me.

He searched my face for any signs, but I just smiled at him. I didn't realize I had moved even closer to him, since I put my hands on his shoulders. Jamal put his hands on my waist, to support me even further.

Our brown eyes met and we held eye contact. I felt my breath hitch slightly and my heart started to beat faster. Jamal pulled me a little closer to him and drew circles on my waist with his thumbs.

His eyes quickly glanced at my lips and I moved my hands from his shoulders closer to his neck. Our faces were mere inches apart and Jamal moved his closer to mine. He sent me a questioning look, testing how far I'd allow him to go.

I nodded my head and glanced at his lips. My heart sped up even more and I felt butterflies starting to appear in my stomach.

Jamal closed the space between us, by softly connecting our lips. His lips moved against mine slowly and carefully almost scared to break something. His lips were the softest thing I had ever encountered. My stomach was filled with butterflies and my cheeks were heating up.

We both pulled away at the same time and opened our eyes looking at each other breathless. A smile rested on Jamal's lips and he scanned my face. I sent him a smile and he returned it.

I moved my hands to the back of his head and pulled him closer to me again.

Our second kiss wasn't as innocent and careful as the first. It was more confident and sure of what we were doing.

Jamal lifted my body up allowing me to wrap my legs around his waist. I smiled into the kiss and ran my fingers over the short hair on the back of his head. His hands still rested on my waist stroking it, sending shivers down my spine.

This time I was the one to pull away. My legs were still wrapped around Jamal's waist and I had to lean back a little, to look at him properly.

I was speechless. The kiss was unexpected, but at the same time it wasn't. I hated to admit it, but I really liked it. Jamal was a really good kisser and at this point I was quite certain I had romantic feelings for him.

...

author's note:

last update of the year! 

to everyone reading this, i wish all of you a happy new year!

thank you guys for over 5.5k reads and especially thank you to everyone voting and commenting, it truly means a lot to me <3.

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