RESTA CON ME
Chapter 4
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
As I opened my eyes,
I saw Stephan wasn’t next to me. I got out of bed quickly but then
the door opened, and he stepped through. He looked adorable. His eyes
looked at me sleepily, his hair was messy and was standing up
funnily.
“Are you in a rush
to somewhere?” He climbed back next to me and kissed me.
“No, I just didn’t
know where you were.”
“I just popped out
for a second, but I wouldn’t leave you for a minute, especially now
that we got to this point.”
“I’m glad.”
“What do you want
to do today?”
“I don’t know
... I have to buy my ticket home soon.”
“You’re going?
Right now?”
“Yes, I’m going
home for Christmas.” I looked at him. “You will be with your
family during the holidays, no?”
“Yes, but I
thought you’d be with me. Will you be back for New Years’ Eve?”
“Do you want me
to?”
“Very much so.
Especially that the team’s a champion. By the way, I wanted to
invite you to the Christmas party.”
“Sorry sweetie,
but I have to go home on the twentieth.” I looked at him and hugged
him. “But you could come with me.”
“Yeah, sure. No.”
“Why? It would be
fun.”
“The fans would
tear me apart.”
“That’s adorable
how you think the world’s revolving around you.” I looked at him
and kissed his cheek.
“Because that’s
how it is,” he said, and I laughed.
“We could go into
the city. It’s beautiful now that the snow has fallen, and
everything is decorated. Let’s go out for a walk. Please!”
“All right.” We
dressed up quickly and we went to do some shopping. To buy Christmas
presents for home and I helped Stephan shop too. The whole day went
well. In the afternoon, we bumped into a few of his teammates and
their girlfriends and we sat into a nice little restaurant. This was
the first time Stephan introduced me as his girlfriend. After a glass
I excused myself to the toilet and a black-haired girl who was
Zlatan’s girlfriend, Alexandra, came with me.
“How long do you
know each other for?” She looked at me.
“For six months
now. We met in a funny way, he hit me with his bike.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. I think it’s
fate.”
“Me and Zlatan met
through my job. Of course, since then we’re on and off. This goes
for two weeks now. Sometimes he is aggressive and quick tempered. I
love him but when he clicks, he shouts and hits.”
“Stephan’s not
like that. It’s strange that two best friends can be that
different.”
“It is. Is my
outfit okay?” She looked at me and turned around. She had a black
skirt and a sparkling pink top on with high heeled boots.
“Very much so. I
couldn’t walk on those boots.”
“Tell you what, me
neither but Zlatan loves these.” She smiled, and we went back to
the others. I talked to Alexandra a lot, but I didn’t get along
with her as much as I did with Helena; there was nothing wrong with
her.
“Does it bother
you that your partner is famous?” I asked as we were in the middle
of dessert. The boys and a few girls were talking in a group and we
were sitting at another table.
“No, what more,
that’s what I like in the whole thing. Truthfully, if Zlatan
doesn’t start it with me then I will. I don’t like ordinary men.
I don’t like anything ordinary. I like it when people envy me.
Zlatan is somebody turns the women’s heads and I’m not bored with
him. His style can be improved but when he is calm he is lovable.”
“Same with
Stephan. You know, he is so kind and attentive.”
“The two of them
totally differ and they are still best friends, you see.”
“Yes, that’s
true,” I stated. We talked a lot about the boys’ relationship,
the team and we got to know each other. It appeared Alexandra doesn’t
know Zlatan very well and for me it was something that shouldn’t be
that way. I couldn’t imagine only being with Stephan because he is
famous or because he is rich. I’d love a time when we could go
somewhere, and he wasn’t recognised. I flew home but I came back to
Milan on the twenty-eighth. There weren’t many things that would
have made me stay in Hungary therefore it was easy to leave the
country. I stepped into the flat and I saw a huge Christmas tree in
the middle of the hall.
“Oh my God! This
is beautiful,” I marvelled, and Stephan stepped out of his room.
“I’m glad you
like it. The four of us decorated it; my sibling, Zlatan, Helena and
I.”
“This is
beautiful. I’m sad I wasn’t here, it must have been fun.”
“It was, we
laughed a lot.” He stepped to me and kissed me. “I know it’s
late, but Merry Christmas!” He stepped to the tree and gave me a
small box. “It’s yours. Open it.”
“All right but let
me get your present, too, then. I really hope you’ll like it.” We
sat under the tree and started opening our presents. After I opened
the box I was so touched. A bracelet-watch and a beautiful ring was
wrapped in silk paper. The watch was decorated with snow white beads
and there were gems around the number plate. The ring has gems as
well, but those were blue.
“Stephan I can’t
accept this.” I looked into his eyes. “It’s too expensive and
I–”
“Please, accept
it. I loved it as soon as I saw it. Just like you when I hit you with
my bike. That’s why I though of buying it for you for Christmas
straight away. Oh, and there is something else.” He stood up and
after a few moments he came back with another present. “There is
this.”
“But I already
received more from you than I expected.”
“Just open it.”
He extended it towards me. I took it and started unwrapping it. A red
and black jersey fell to my lap. On its back was the number ‘92’
and the word ‘Shaarawy’ written on it. “I wore this the first
time I scored a goal wearing Milan’s colours. I love this jersey
and I know you’ll look after it.”
“Stephan I really
love these. Everything is great and wonderful, but I would have loved
if we’d just hugged and cuddled.”
“We could do that
later.” He sent a wide smile towards me.
“All right. My
turn.” I looked at him and took my presents out. He got a perfume,
a pair of sunglasses and a necklace from me. It seemed he liked all
of them which made me feel proud that I could make him happy. At
night we went for a walk and had a hot chocolate each. On our way
home, holding hands, we discussed the New Years’ Eve party. Stephan
was expected at Zlatan’s house and of course I was invited too. I
was happy because I haven’t seen Helena for almost two months now.
The last time we spoke when we got together, and I told her the news.
We were happy together with or phones in our hands. I bought
something for her too, and I hoped I could give it to her tomorrow.
Arriving home, we climbed under the covers and were occupied by each
other. I missed this and it was such a good feeling to be able to
finally hug and kiss him. The next day, I got my mid-celebratory work
down which they assigned me before. I stepped out of the room around
three and called Helena.
“Hi, are you at
work?”
“Yes, but you can
come in, though I don’t think I can listen as much because there
are many people here.”
“Then can we meet
sometime else?”
“Okay, but I
really have to go. Bye.” And she disconnected. I thought about
cooking something for Stephan, so I went into the shopping centre. As
I was browsing between the aisles I spotted Zlatan. It was weird
because it seemed like he was staring at me. I hurried over but then
he acted like he didn’t see me and turned around. I couldn’t
comprehend this behaviour. I quickly selected all the ingredients and
went to the tills. I was packing into the boot while I was thinking
about a way to put the carton of water in when I heard a voice behind
me.
“Do you want me to
help?” I turned around and I saw Zlatan.
“I ... don’t
know. It’d be good,” I answered and with his strong arms he
packed everything into the car in minutes.
“Thanks, I’m
glad you were here.” I looked at him, smiling.
“I help when I
can.”
“I waved to you,
but you didn’t notice me.”
“I must have not
paid attention. That’s it.” He cut it short. “Are you coming
over tomorrow night?”
“Yes, Stephan
mentioned it.”
“That’s good.
I’m glad you got to your mind and admitted that Stephan loves you.”
“I love him too,
and I loved him then too, I was just afraid I’d be left blinking,”
I explained as we pushed the cart back together.
“This is bullshit.
You know if I love someone then I want to let them know. Of course,
there are times when I like a woman who’s already taken.” He
looked at me with his sparking brown eyes, in a way that made me
uncomfortable.
“I don’t
understand. Is there something wrong with Alexandra again?”
“No, of course not
... I just said that. But now I need to go. I’ll see you tomorrow
night.”
“Tomorrow,” I
called after him, but he hurried away as he arrived. On my way home,
he was on my mind and what he said. I didn’t know of Alexandra
having another boyfriend. Could she have found someone more special
than Zlatan? I found that hard to believe because Zlatan is a
handsome man and very special. Of course, not as extreme as Stephan
but the style of his behaviour wins by a lot. As I was cooking at
home, time flew by. Stephan was still not home so he wasn’t
bothering. He came home around eight and we dined, and we watched the
TV by the glistening lights of the Christmas tree. On the last day of
the year I bought my dress for the night and went over to Helena’s.
She did my hair again and repaired my nails as well. I stayed to help
prepare for the night.
“Tell me, is
Alexandra coming?”
“Yes, of course.
Why wouldn’t she?” She asked, and I told her what happened
yesterday and all she responded was that we’ll see what the night
brings. Around nine the house was full already. The music was on, the
drinks were pouring the food was disappearing and everybody was
enjoying themselves. At midnight we were admiring the fireworks and
greeted the new year with champagne. We were well after midnight when
I stepped out on the balcony. The cool air hit my face, but it felt
nice to get some air. Next to me were Alexandra and Zlatan. When they
spotted me, they fell silent then Zlatan went into the house, almost
knocking me over so I was left with Alexandra. Strangely I noticed as
if she was crying. I walked over and asked what was wrong.
“I think he
doesn’t love me anymore.” The break in her voice told me this
wasn’t a simple argument.
“Why do you think
that?”
“I feel that
something’s different and he is not acting the usual nice way as he
used to, and he haven’t touched me for weeks.” Her tears were
rolling down her cheeks. I gave her a tissue. “I don’t know what
I did wrong because I try to change. I don’t throw tantrums and I’m
not that pretentious anymore. In fact, I even go out to his idiotic
matches just so he’s happy. I wish I’d knew who that girl is.”
“That might not be
for sure. Maybe you are misunderstanding it.”
“I don’t think
so. I can’t lose him. He is the love of my life!”
“Listen, come in
and get yourself together. Don’t be this sad about a man.”
“You say that, but
you have Stephan. You look so sweet and it’s good to look at you.
But we are slowly becoming like two strangers. He doesn’t hold my
hand on the street. I don’t know where he is and when.”
“If this is any
comfort, I don’t always know where Stephan is, but I don’t think
things into it.” I hugged her and ushered her towards the door.
“Come in, okay?
One’s supposed to ba happy today.” Luckily, I could drag her in
and help her touch up her makeup. Since she was sad, she decided to
head home. She asked me not to tell Zlatan that she left, but when
she drove away I couldn’t hold it anymore. I felt sad for
Alexandra, but I had to tell Zlatan about this. He was currently in a
big group. I waved to him and he understood, and we went into
Helena’s room.
“What is it now?
What does Helena want?” I head on his voice that he had a few
drinks.
“It’s not her
who wants to talk to you, it’s me.” I closed the door.
“Really?” He
stepped closer and I smelt his fantastic scent. “I thought you’d
never–”
“Stop it!” I
pushed him away. “I wanted to talk about Alexandra.”
“Leave me alone
with that hysterical bitch.”
“I don’t get why
you talk about her this way.” I growled.
“I had enough of
her.”
“If you want to–”
“Well, I don’t!”
He cut in and reached for the door, but I stopped him.
“Well, I’ll tell
you either way!” I stood in front of the door.
“Are you deaf?”
“Listen, she
thinks you don’t love her anymore and–”
“She noticed it
finally. At least I don’t have to explain.”
“Why don’t you
love her?” I asked, and it was as if he’d calmed down a bit and
looked into my eyes.
“I like someone
else and ... that’s it. I don’t want to be with her anymore. I
wanted to tell her this outside too, but she kept crying and
interrupting me. And I can’t deal with a crying woman because I get
embarrassed and annoyed.”
“You’re a
heartless jerk!”
“I think not, but
you don’t know me too well yet.”
“I had enough of
you. You better call her tomorrow and make up.” I closed the topic
and left him alone in the room. I looked for Stephan and as I saw
him, I stepped up to him and whispered that I’d be happy to go home
now.
