Uma reviravolta que virou goleada! Eis, o mote que irá ditar o campeonato, agora só paramos no Marquês. Sofremos cedo e se não fosse o poste teríamos sofrido novamente, mas a segunda metade do jogo foi encarada de maneira diferente, os nossos homens lutaram pela chama imensa e honraram o manto sagrado. Engraçado que no início o problema estava na defesa e agora é a nossa solução: a habilidade do Grimaldo, a entrega do Almeidinhos, a naturalidade de Jardel e a paixão do Rúben. Ali não passa nada. O nosso capitão Jardel deu-nos a esperança, o Pizzi tirou-nos do sufoco, o Jonas conseguiu nos tranquilizar, o Rúben recordou-nos que isto é Benfica porra, e o Jiménez mostrou-nos a direção do marquês.
This is for the lovely anon who requested a Francisco Geraldes OS. I’m sorry it took so long. Please share your thoughts. xo
Camila pulled up her Volkswagen beetle in front of the stadium just in the moment when Francisco and couple of his teammates were getting out.
She rolled down the window and waived at him. „Cisco, over here.“ As if anyone was unable to spot the yellow car.
He grinned and waived back, and his friends must've made some joke because they all laughed. Francisco showed one of them but laughed anyway, and as they got within earshot Camila realized they were making fun of him.
„Cisco go, don't let your girlfriend wait for you,“ one of them said, imitating a female voice- her voice.. Everyone laughed and Francisco blushed.
God, like they're twelve, Camila thought rolling her eyes.
She recognized the head clown of the group- it was Nuno Santos. Ever since Francisco introduced her to his teammates, Nuno wouldn't miss a single opportunity to hit on her. It didn't take her long to figure out that he is not just the biggest clown but also the biggest flirt on the team.
„Everything alright with you, Santos?“ she asked raising an eyebrow at him.
„Oh sweetie, everything is perfect, but there is just one thing missing-“ he took a dramatic pause as he leaned against the rolled down window of her car. As if she didn't already know what he was going to say.
You, sweet cheeks.
„-you, sweet cheeks.“ he smirked. She laughed.
By this time, Francisco has already gotten into the passenger seat.
Camila fluttered her lashes before winking at him. „Never in your wildest dreams, Nuno boy!“
She laughed while hitting the gas pedal with her foot, which made Nuno lose his balance and almost fall over.
Camila stuck her hand outside the window and waived at the group. „Bye boys!“ she yelled. As they drove off, in the rearview mirror, she could see the rest of the guys laughing at Nuno.
She focused her attention on Francisco, looking at him with the corner of her eye. Only now did she notice he was holding a burger in his hand.
„What?“ he asked, his mouth half full with food.
„What did I tell you about eating in Lemon?“ Yep, she refered to her car as ”lemon“. Which wasn't far from the truth, really.
„You eat in my car all the time!“ Francisco protested. „Need I remind you of the instance when you ate not one, but two-ice cream corns in my car simultaneously? The seat is still sticky from the melted ice cream.“
„Well it's not my fault you let me eat there,“ she shrugged her shoulders innocently. „I, however, have a different policy, so put that away,“ she demanded.
Instead, Francisco showed the remains of the burger in his mouth, making a face at her. Thankfully there hasn't been much of it left.
„Mom is making a dinner party tonight since it's her birthday. She told me to invite you.“ Francisco said once he was finally able to speak again.
„Oh, I'd love to come. What should I bring?“
„You don't have to bring anything,“ he shrugged. Then he wiggled his eyebrows at her and said in a deep voice imitating Nuno Santos from earlier, „Just your gorgeous self“.
They both laughed hysterically.
„Your mom likes flowers, right?“ Camila asked as she pulled up in front of his building to drop him off. „I'll bring at least flowers“ she said.
---
The party was bigger than Camila thought it would be. Few friends and family members that Francisco mentioned turned out to be more than two dozen people. On top of that, everyone looked so fancy and Camila thanked heavens that she had put in an effort to dress up a little bit. Even Francisco looked very nice in the white shirt and burgundy pants that he was wearing.
The dining table was set up in the backyard, with lanterns fixed above it to provide a bit more light. As they were eating, a soft music was playing in the background, and the overall atmosphere was very pleasant with everyone chit- chatting and laughing.
Just before desert, Francisco's father disappeared somewhere and then a few moments after, beautiful fireworks lit up the sky above them. Everyone was in awe, and then Francisco's father showed up from the house, carrying a beautiful two-tiered cake.
His wife stood up and gave him a kiss while everyone clapped and cheered. Camila was truly touched at how Francisco's parents were in love even after all this time. Francisco's dad then raised a glass of champagne to make a toast to his wife. He talked about how much he loved her and how lucky he is to spend every day for the past 25 years waking up next to the love of his life. He talked directly to the young people present at the dinner, when he said that he wishes to everyone to find the love of their lives like he has found his own.
As he said this, Camila’s eyes found Francisco’s which seemed to have already been fixed on her. They looked at each other for a moment, and Camila thought with bitter-sweet feeling that she has already found hers. The taste of guilt and sadness made her avert her eyes and clap along with the others to Franciso’s father. Her eyes were glazed with tears and it turned out that she wasn’t the only one touched with his speech, as she spotted few more women wiping away the tears.
When dinner was finished, Francisco’s father invited everyone to join him and his wife on the “dance floor”. Immediately Francisco found himself in front of Camila. He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips, asking her for a dance, like in the old times. Giggling, she bowed, and he took her in his arms and together they started swinging to the music.
Francisco was never much of a talker and Camila seemed to not be in the mood to talk either, so they just danced quietly. He held one of her hands in his, while the other one rested on the small of her back. Camila wrapped her free hand around his torso and soon she rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes and just moving her body slowly to the rhythm. As she did this, Francisco pulled her closer to his body, so that her chest was pressed onto his, their hearts beating in sync. Francisco moved his head to the side and buried his face in her hair, kissing it slowly. Camila didn’t say anything, she just hugged him tighter.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you too,” Camila responded, but she didn’t understand. She loved him like a friend and he was in love with her.
When the song ended someone suggested that they all switch partners and somehow-whether it was fate or she was avoiding him- Francisco didn’t get to dance with Camila again that night.
Soon, the unexpected rain forced them back into the house. Some people decided to call it a night and head home, while some went back in the house and continued hanging out inside.
With the corner of his eye, as he indulged in the conversation with his uncle about how Rio Ave was preparing for the upcoming season, Francisco noticed that Camila has excused herself and went on the balcony. He waited a few beats and then excused himself from the conversation and went after her.
He found her leaned on the balcony railing. With her elbows supporting her chin, and her eyes fixed on the dark sky, she seemed to be in some deep thought. Francisco didn’t say anything but leaned on the railing as well, mimicking her posture, a few feet away from her. They stayed like that in silence until he turn his head to the right to look at her.
“Have you been avoiding me?” he asked straight forward. Camila seemed surprised, so he went further on to explain. “I barely even saw you, let alone talked to you tonight- minus that dance.”
“Cisco, there were a lot of guests here tonight. It’s more important that you entertain them; you can always talk to me.”
They stood there in silence once again, both looking at the sky. Francisco was working up the courage to say something, while Camila seemed as she wanted to simply be left alone.
“We should get back inside”. “I can’t go on like this anymore.” They spoke at the same time, facing each other.
Camila looked at him with surprise, “What are you talking about?”
“This…us,” Francisco said, moving closer to her.
“What about us?”
“Camila…don’t, don’t act as if you don’t know.” Francisco shook his head. “Rejection is fine, just don’t pretend you don’t know how I feel about you.”
And she did know. They were friends for a little more than a year. They were introduced by some mutual friends and then they just started hanging out alone, until Francisco became her biggest confidant. They were a perfect match: he was a quiet and reasonable person, while she was the most strong-headed, outgoing and free-spirited one. She was the wind in his sail, while he was her anchor, the one who made sure she didn’t go over her limits.
The bond and affection that developed between them was evident to everyone around them. Wherever they went, they’d get questions on how long they’ve been dating or when will they finally hook up, or just how they shouldn’t waist their lives when they are clearly perfect for one another.
It was evident to them as well. They felt affection for one another that, as much as they tried, they couldn’t pin on friendship, and they exchanged touches that were anything but friendly. Like when he would graze her neck with his lips after hugging her tightly and burying his head in her neck. Or when she would graze his lips with hers after she tried to kiss his cheek but he jokingly turned his head to the side. Or when they shared her bead when he would come to sleep over. Or when her fingers would randomly interlock with his whenever he took her by the hand.
He even kissed her once.
It was after one of his games, and he was so happy he scored a goal and she was so proud, and as he ran to her after the game, she hugged him tightly and squealed in happiness and when she pulled back he kissed her. Camila made him promise he would never do that again, and even though they continued to be “just friends” the kiss was still there, hanging above their heads, reminding them that neither of their intentions were innocent.
So yes, she did know how he felt about her just as well as he knew that she had a boyfriend. Camila never hid that fact from him; she told him that as soon as they started hanging out. She was dating Raphael Guerreiro for two years now. They were in a long distance relationship after Raphael moved to Dortmund to play for Borussia. Francisco met him a few times and no matter how much he wanted to hate him, he couldn’t because Rapha was a great guy. Francisco was sure that had they met under different circumstances they would’ve been great friends. But that was impossible since Francisco wanted his girlfriend and Raphael was two thousand miles away not having the last clue of what was going on.
“And you know that I can’t,” Camila breathed in exasperation.
“I know.” Francisco admitted, his voice almost a whisper.
They never really talked about Raphael. It was because what they were doing seemed a lot less wrong if they didn’t acknowledge his existence and the fact that he was an actual breathing person who would be destroyed by what the two of them were doing. Yet, like some invisible barrier, Raphael was always there.
“But Camila I love you.” He exclaimed. “I am in love with you and I have been from the moment I laid my eyes on you. I love everything about you. Even the things I don’t like I love, because they’re yours. You are my best friend, you really are, and I don’t ever want to lose my friend, but I love you and I can’t keep going on like this.”
“I love you,” he repeated more softly, “and you can say whatever you want, you can hide behind Raphael’s name but you and I both know how you feel about me,” he spoke, his words not so much the words of a brave man but of a desperate one. “I know you love me too.”
He was standing so close to her, he could feel her trembling body against his and could see the tears welling up in her eyes.
“I do,” she admitted breathlessly and Francisco didn’t need anything more than that. He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, putting all the frustration, anger, desperation, all the feelings that have accumulated over the past year, into this kiss.
With every cell in her brain she knew she should push him away but no matter how wrong all of this was, it felt so right. It felt like she should be exactly here, in his arms, kissing him and just ignore the world. But that was easier said than done.
Gathering up every atom of her strength she broke the kiss.
“Francisco, you don’t understand. I do love you, but I love Raphael too. I can’t do this to him. He doesn’t deserve this,” she said wiping away the tears that she only just now realized were falling.
“So you love me. Just not enough.” He said, his voice broken.
“I’m so sorry Francisco,” Camila whispered before she left.
Francisco didn’t know how long he was standing on that balcony staring into the dark. Then he felt something warm cover his shoulders. It was his mother’s older sister. She brought him a blanket so that he wouldn’t freeze. Apparently, she has heard a big part of his and Camila’s conversation.
“Don’t worry, my dear,” she said softly, stroking his back. “People who are meant to be always find their way to one another. No matter the obstacles. And you two, my darling, are meant to be,” she said with a reassuring smile as if she knew something that Francisco didn’t.
---
It was well past midnight when Camila came home. She took off her clothes and make up and got into bed. She quickly typed a number that she by now knew by heart. He picked up after the second ring.
“Baby,” Raphael whispered in his sleepy horase voice, “is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine,” Camila answered, trying her best to sound normal. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too, princess,” he said softly.
“I booked a ticket for Dortmund. I’ll be there tomorrow baby.”
“What? Are you serious?” Raphael asked, now wide awake.
“I am. We’ll figure everything out once I get there. I just can’t stand to be apart from you anymore.”
“You do realize that once you land, I’m never letting you leave my side ever again?” he only half joked.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Camila whispered.
