A/N: Hey there girls, how are you?? Well this sould be up on Monday but I managed to finish it a little sooner! It's a two part chapter, so the other half will be posted in a day or two! Hope you all like it! Comments = love 
xoxo, Tamy. Chapter 4
Part 1
It is one of those moments where he feels everything stop around him. He can feel his heart pounding in his chest but it sounds like it is in slow motion. The beats of his heart and the sounds every few seconds aren't matching. As on cue his stomach starts doing flip-flops. These black eyes are looking at him and it is enough to send his heart pounding out of his chest. How long has it been since he has seen these soulful black eyes?
The girl before him isn't the girl he once knew all those year ago. This isn't a girl at all. This is a woman. A beautiful woman.
He breathes in the warm summer air. He inhales deeply and freezes. He can smell it.
Lavender and jasmine.
It floods his body and burns his sinuses as he stands in shock. Curves and legs. Black eyes and black hair. Sweet voice and full lips.
Maria Elena Cortez is home. Back to her beloved Spain.
She looks gorgeous; excruciatingly gorgeous. She's wearing a dark blue dress that looks amazing against her tanned skin. Her hair is in soft curls and looks darker than the night sky. Her makeup is perfect, minimally done, but done enough to bring out her eyes and pout her lips. Her legs are long and shiny and glorious; he wants to run his rough hand against her smooth flesh and watch the goosebumps that arise.
All he wants to do is hug her. Or touch her. He just needs to feel her. But he can't. And that hurts so fucking much. His mouth is suddenly dry, his breathing ragged.
What is she doing to him?
-
Karma, fate, destiny. She hates these words now more than ever. They all mean the same damn thing. It means that you don't have a choice. And right now, looking at him, she knows that there was never a choice to be made.
His stare burns her skin and sears her heart.
He looks good; really damn good. He's wearing jeans and a white button up. His hair is a little shorter then the last time she saw him. He's got a day or two old scruff on his face which is something she's always loved and she aches to rub her cheek against his. But she stays where she is and drinks him in.
She takes a deep breath and he watches her chest rise and fall.
He's broken from his daydreaming by the sound of heels against the floor. She takes a step in his direction. He feels the place begin to spin and he can see Gloria staring at him. It's awkward and he's uncomfortable and he doesn't know what he's supposed to do. Does he hug her and act normal or does he run?
?Hola?, Maria Elena manages to say, her voice slightly shaky, giving away her fear. Why is she so scared? This is Xabi. Her Xabi. She shouldn?t be shaking and trembling like this. Except he isn?t hers anymore right?!
She was always able to read his eyes. They were truly the window to his soul. But now this window she once loved to look through is closed to her, and she sees nothing. For some reason she always thought that everything she was going to see in his brown orbs when they met again was hate. Hate for what she did. Hate because she let him go and disappeared in the world. And he has every right to. She probably would if the tables were turned. Her mind keeps screaming that will be a lot easier if he hates her. She won?t have to feel so guilty for being so week then. But her heart knows that she can?t have him hating her.
And he doesn?t. She was wrong. The man in front of her holds soft eyes and a relief expression that she can?t bring herself to understand.
Her soft voice echoes like a sweet forgotten melody through his ears and brings him back to reality. He smiles shyly at her and she feels her knees go weak. ?Hola?, he replies, and she smiles back, avoiding his gaze for a few seconds before meeting his eyes again.
Somehow during their little Xabi-Maria moment Gloria managed to disappear again. She knows their story by heart and leaving them alone for a few minutes after five years apart seemed like the best thing to do.
?Gloria has a thing for disappearing lately? she says in a small voice. He laughs softly and she melts inside. God how she missed that laugh, that smile. She feels the tears forming in the corner of her eyes and takes a deep breath to keep them from falling. She?s not going to cry in front of him and show how much he still affects her.
?She?s probably celebrating her engagement.? He says, hands stuffed in his pockets and looking at the ground. Maria disagrees but doesn?t say anything. Her sister is not celebrating her engagement. She?s probably avoiding all the guests and Gonzalo and being her weird lately self.
?How are you?? she blurts, and he can sense the tension is her voice, obviously very afraid of the answer she?s about to get. She knows that is going to hurt if he says he?s great, without her.
?Good.? He answers, with a blank expression. It?s selfish, she knows, but in this case, for her, good is better than great. ?And you??
?Good.? She replies, with the same empty face and lost eyes. ?How is you ma ??
?There you are, I looked for you everywhere?, a deep voice interrupts her from behind and pops their little bubble. And yes, ironically, it has to be Iker. Both Maria and Xabi look in the direction of the club to see him standing at the door holding his drink and smiling at them, clueless about what?s really happening in front of him. He slowly approaches under their nervous gazes and wraps an arm loosely around Maria?s waist. She closes her eyes briefly to keep herself in check, takes a deep breath and manages to pull a fake smile on her lips to look up at him.
?I see you two already met? He says, and Maria tenses under his arm. Oh God, what do we do? What do we say?
Xabi feels his blood boiling and all he wants to do is punch Iker in the face. Seeing his friend and team mate with the girl that was supposed to be his almost makes him loose his temper. Of course we?ve met. He wants to say. We?ve met twelve years ago. But he?s not going to say it. He?s Xabi Alonso. And it?s part of who he is to keep calm and maintain his serene and cool façade, even when his emotions are all exploding inside and about to burst.
?Yeah, we did.? He answers with a fake calm, not exactly lying, and Maria wonders how the hell he can be so contained? If she was the one to answer she?s sure her nerves would give them away. They lock eyes for a few seconds, knowing exactly what the other is thinking. This is their story, their memories. And they?ll keep it like that, for now.
?Great.? Iker says, his breath smelling like alcohol. Celebrations like these, preceded by a victory, are meant to get drunk and crazy. She knows that all of the players are for sure beyond drunk by now.
?We should go back inside.? she suggests, desperate to end that awkward situation as soon as possible and get out of there.
?Sure.? Iker agrees, pulling her a little closer and taking a sip of his drink. ?Come on Alonso, the whole team is in there? he calls, nearly dragging Maria Elena towards the club. ?You?re the only one missing.?
Maria looks back at him as she walks with Iker. He?s standing there staring at them, hands still in his pockets. He doesn?t like what he sees, she can feel that, and part of her is almost happy for it. She flashes him an apologetic smile and he knows that her black eyes are inviting him to go inside.
He has been without her for five years, and after all this time she?s finally there. With his friend, of course, but still there. How can he deny her silent pled? How he can deny to himself the possibility to stare her perfect face for a few more moments? She wants him to be there. He wants to be there, even if it?s damn painful. So he takes a deep breath, looks up at the starry sky, almost as if he?s asking God for some help, runs a hand through his short brown hair and decides to dive into his nightmare.
At the end of the day he rather has a nightmare from which she?s part of, than a dream where she can?t warm him with her enthralling existence.
