Gavi

     I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. Last night had gone as well as it could have. Leonor seemed happy enough to be at the game, and I was happy she came. She even made an effort to talk to me beforehand. Crazy.

     I rolled out of bed slowly, rubbing my eyes as I did so. Today was Monday, and it was raining out. I didn't have practice until Wednesday, so I had some free time until I had to be anywhere.

     I washed my face with cold water to wake up. Then I took a scalding hot shower; it felt so refreshing.

     I wasn't sure what any of the guys were up to today. None of them had reached out to me since the game had concluded last night.

     I got dressed into a loose shirt and a pair of coral colored shorts. I fluffed my hair and sprayed some cologne on my pulse points. Then I left the bathroom, closing the door behind me.

     I wanted to go for a walk, just to wander, but the rain wasn't letting up anytime soon. I checked the weather app on my phone. It was supposed to rain nearly all day. Great.

     Because I was so bored out of my mind, I decided to text the group chat to see if anyone was busy.

                                                                                        My Minions + Jude

Old Man: Lewandowski

Single Pringle: João Felix

Biggest Loser: Pedri

Fortress: Hector Fort

Giovanni: Gio Reyna

Lil Bro: Lamine Yamal                                                                 

Judith: Jude Bellingham

Me: Is anyone free today I'm bored as hell

Giovanni: nah Chloe is making me to go to some party with her sorry bro😭

Old Man: would you guys want to do drinks for 1:30?

Single Pringle: why do u text like an NPC

Old Man: what's an NPC João?

Single Pringle: oh my days

Me: so is anyone actually free

Biggest Loser: yea I'd love to go out for drinks🥂

Fortress: where we goin

Lil Bro: I can't drink guys💀💀

Me: wait lmfaoooooo

Single Pringle: stop it rn😭

Giovanni: I kinda forgot Lamine was in this group chat

Lil Bro: really gio

Giovanni: sorry mate🤦🏻‍♀️

Me: okay let's meet downtown for "drinks" at 2 pm.

Me: is Jude okay😦

Giovanni: he's asleep

Judith: no I'm not gio stop assuming

Judith: wish I could come but I'm busy

Me: all good

Old Man: see you boys then!👍🏻

Single Pringle: stop texting like that mate

Fortress: joão man

 Biggest Loser: he hey sports

Lil Bro: definition of when someone goes low, you go lower😭💀

Single Pringle: I will find you and kill you

Biggest Loser: okay😍

Me: stop the beef ✋🏻

Me: see u guys later

Giovanni: have fun without me

Read

     It was 2 PM before I knew it. I was the first one to arrive, which wasn't shocking one bit. I walked into the bar and grabbed the biggest table I could find.

     The waiter walked over to me and eyed me suspiciously.

     "I assume you have more people coming," he stated slowly.

     I just nodded quickly. He walked away without another word.

     A minute later, Pedri walked in with Hector close behind him. They were both wearing cream colored shirts and gray overcoats to protect them from the rain. It was still raining heavily. Pedri shook his hair out as he took his spot across from me.

     "I'm happy the plans finally made it out of the group chat," he laughed.

     "First time ever," Hector added, yawning.

     A few minutes after that, the rest of the group walked in, drenched from the rain outside. João and Lamine sat next to me, while Robert Lewandowski scooted in next to Hector and Pedri.

      "Thanks for suggesting this, Pablo," Robert smiled at me warmly. I smiled back.

     "I can't believe that's how you talk, too," João shook his head.

     We all laughed at that.

     The waiter came over to us a few seconds later and greeted us politely.

     "Big fan!" He said eagerly.

     I reached out to shake his hand, saying, "Glad to hear that."

     We all ordered our drinks. I ordered my classic cherry slush, and the rest of the guys ordered a mix of beer and vodka. Yuck. João ordered a Coke because he wasn't a drinker. Lamine ordered a soda as well. We all laughed at the fact that he wasn't able to drink yet. It was a half-hearted joke.

     "When's our next game?" Lamine asked, sipping his drink.

     "Friday," Hector said, drumming his hands on the table loudly.

    "Are you going to invite Leonor again?" Lamine teased, nudging me with his shoulder. I could feel the heat rushing to my cheeks.

     "Come on, man. We all saw how giddy you were when you saw her," Pedri joked. I shook my head. Fine. They got me there.

     "I'm not sure yet," I answer plainly. They all stared at me expectantly.

     "Live a little," João said.

     "It's obvious she likes you," Hector laughed, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously.

     I just rolled my eyes and went back to sipping my drink. They would never let me live this down. Ever.

     We sat there for a few hours, chatting about anything and everything. We shared stories; funny ones and sad ones. We talked about girls. We talked about soccer. We talked about our families.

     I thought about my family quite often. I missed them so much. I hadn't seen my parents in 6 months; with soccer and all. I was extremely busy.

     My older sister, Aurora, came to visit 3 weeks ago. She stayed at my house for a few day. It was good to catch up with her after not seeing her for quite some time.

     We had been extremely close growing up, even though she was older and had other people to spend time with. She went off to college and got her own job; it was just me in the house for a while. When I moved out to pursue my dreams, my parents were officially empty nesters.

     I was broken from my trance when I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I pulled it out and my jaw gaped in shock.

     "Guys! You won't believe this!" I said loudly. They all shot weird looks in my direction.

     Lamine leaned over my shoulder to read my phone.

     It was a message from Leonor. The first time she had ever texted me first.

     It read:

     "Hey Gavi! I was wondering if you would want to come for dinner at the palace later this week. My parents would love to have you over. Let me know. Leonor."

     She had never texted me first before. Maybe all of my friends were right. I typed up a response right away, after I showed all of my friends. They prodded me to say yes, of course.

     "Thanks for reaching out Leonor. I'd love to stop by and have dinner with you and your family. Any day besides Friday would be great."

     "Gavi's going on another date!" Lamine sang out. I hit him in the arm, causing him to groan.

     "You'll be a royal before you know it," Lewandowski piped in.

     I rolled my eyes at all of their smug comments, when deep down, I was jumping for joy. This was exactly what I had been waiting for.

What do u think about him meeting her family for the first time? Trying to keep this story dragged out I don't want it to be so fast hahahahaha