see you later // Pablo Gavi

Chapter 83

𝒀𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆.

𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐄𝐗𝐓 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐆𝐀𝐕𝐈 𝐒𝐀𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐆𝐀𝐕𝐈 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐄𝐃𝐑𝐈 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐎𝐋. At that message, all of us get in our absolutely idiotic hiding spots to surprise Pedri for this birthday. My post is right behind the door which they will be opening, so when we all jump out three seconds after they enter, I'll be the first one that Pedri sees.

So that's pretty exciting.

Yeah. Yay. Woo-hoo. Yippee.

Soon, we hear their voices coming. Gavi is casually saying, "Yeah, I don't know where the others have gone today... I texted a few of them but no one got back to me- not even Ember. So I dunno. I hope she's okay..." Obviously, he's spewing lies.

"Sure... Where could she be? Wouldn't she tell you?"

"Dunno, she kind of has a mind of her own. She might have just forgot if some of the other guys were going to do something and it sounded fun so she wanted to go along. I'm not too worried."

"Sure, well, as long as you're not worried."

Then, the door is swung open to the pool area, and I start counting the three seconds in my head. Halfway through Pedri says, "Huh, there's no one-" we all jump out, more or less at the same time, shouting, "Surprise!"

Pedri's reaction is hilarious.

His whole body twitches in surprise, and he stumbles back. Then I leap on him, and he goes, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, what the hell is going on?" starting to laugh as he catches me. And then he goes into hysterical laughing when he sees us taking out balloons and wearing cheesy party hats that Angel or something bought really cheap at a dollar store, so they're really flimsy, but they work for the joke of it all.

I see Gavi behind Pedri as I lean over his shoulder, smiling softly. We catch each other's eyes, and he winks at me.

"Alright, now really," Pedri laughs, gently putting me down, walking further into the pool area. "What is this?"

"What do you think it is?" Ansu laughs. "It's your birthday! It's a surprise birthday party!"

Pedri keeps laughing, saying, "Which one of you thought this up?" as he looks around at all the food, presents, and balloons.

"Dembele!" Kounde says, quick to 'blame' it on him, with a laugh.

"Of course you did," Pedri laughs. "Man, now I feel like a little boy again."

"Pedri, you are a little boy," says Sergi, rolling his eyes.

"Maybe according to you and Busquets, yeah," Pablo Torre teases. "Old geezers."

Busi and Sergi just roll their eyes, apparently too cool to engage in Pablo Torre's immature teasing.

"So," says Inaki. "What do you want to do first, Pedri? Probably not eat, since you just did with Gavi, right? So open presents, or swim, right? Which one?"

"Let's swim," he grins, taking off his shirt.

Alejandro Balde is the first brave soul to just go in with a dive, and he comes up, saying, "Hey, it's not too cold!"

"Bet!" Angel says, jumping in after him. He, on the other hand, comes up shivering, yet he still also says, "Yeah, it's not cold."

I slip off my shorts, putting them on one of the chairs, and go to stand by the water, dipping just my toe in. "It's cold, guys, what the heck are you talking about?"

"When you jump in, it's not so bad," Dembele says before jumping in himself.

I shake my head, about to step back from the water, when suddenly someone's hands are around my waist, and Pedri's voice shouts in my ear, "Here is a favor for you, Ember!" Suddenly, I'm in the air, screaming, about to hit the cold water.

I come up from the water, shivering, my arms wrapping around myself, treading water with my legs just as Pedri jumps in next to me. "Pedri!" I scream, splashing his face. 

He's laughing his stupid ass off, and he shouts to the ground, "Come on, Gavi, come in and calm down your girlfriend."

Instead, Gavi responds with, "Ember, I'm coming. I give you full permission to give Pedri a square hit in the jaw."

"No," I say in annoyance. "I can't, because it's his birthday."

I stare as Gavi takes off his tank top, and despite being surrounded by many men and their bare chests right now, he's the one that makes me blush.

Because he's him.

Soon, he drops into the water next to me and Pedri, and Pedri says, "Anyone have a ball?"

"What kind of ball?" Ansu asks, slipping on his slides, about to get in the water as well.

"Basketball. There're hoops we can play."

"Hold on; I do," Busi says.

"Course you do!" Pablo Torre laughs, rolling his eyes, as Busquets tosses the ball to Pedri, who takes it and shoots it into the basket across the pool.

"Let me try," Gavi orders his friend with a grin. Good. It seems like he's in a good mood today. I'm not sure how exactly, considering I'm pretty sure he got basically no sleep last night, but whatever. I lean over to look at his face, and somehow, he still manages to look completely perfect; no eye bags or anything.

"What're you looking at?" he grins wider.

"You, handsome."

"'Kay, beautiful," he responds, taking the basketball, which Pedri just passed to him.

As Gavi shoots and makes it, I watch how the muscles move under his skin in a perfe-

Anyway.

"Ember," Pedri laughs evilly. "Why don't you try to make it from here?"

"Because," I say, rolling my eyes, "I'm not a famous football player, thanks."

"We don't use our arms in footba-"

"Pedri, don't even," I say, squeezing his bicep. "that's nothing but pure muscle."

He squeezes my bicep, then, saying, "Nothing but pure muscle," with a cheeky grin, and hands me the basketball.

"No."

"You just don't want to make a fool of yourself, is all. You just don't think you'll make it."

"You're right, I don't-"

Suddenly, Gavi is under me, scooping me up on his shoulders, so my whole body is above water. "Now shoot it."

"Not fair. That's taller than where both of us shot, Gavi," Pedri says, rolling his eyes.

"Gavi!" I squeal, wrapping my arms around myself. "I'm freaking freezing!"

"No, you're not! Swish it, Ember," he laughs, and I sigh, shooting the basketball.

I played basketball in high school.

I was never a starter, though, if that gives you an idea of my skill level.

I shoot with all my might, and I don't even look, not wanting to see my awful air ball. 

Suddenly, though, Pedri, Gavi, and the other guys who were watching cheer, and Gavi laughs, dropping me gently back into the water, saying, "You really were listening when I told you to swish it, huh?"

I grin, rolling my eyes.

And then Pablo Torre, says, completely out of the blue, "Hey, Gavi, guess what? Ember slapped Ferran earlier."

What the hell, Torre?

I thought there was some unspoken agreement that that whole thing was over with.

I sigh, getting ready.