And I Love Her

Chapter 19 - Madrid

The kisses he was leaving down my cheek made me open up my eyes finally.

"It's time to go," he whispered in my ear.

"I don't want to go," I whispered back.

"There's traffic, we're in Manhattan," he urges me further.

"I'm happy here," I finally look at him.

"You'll still be happy in Madrid," James spoke.

That was a lie.

A part of me knew that if I went to Madrid with him, this illusion will crumble- and that it did.

This beautiful illusion I had created of us with no worries or trouble in the world. We stayed in my apartment for three days straight. We didn't leave once, but we're about to and I'm going to regret it.

"Let's go, love," James said.

I left one last kiss on his lips before getting up and heading to the bathroom to get ready.

James bought a ticket on the same flight as the one I was going to take to Madrid. The day after we arrive, exactly a week earlier than his birthday- due to training schedules- there's a birthday party set for Marcelo and James is taking me as his date.

We are together. That is a fact, but we haven't spoken about it at all.

The past three days seem like heaven to me.

After what happened by Columbus Circle we came back to my place and talked. We literally dropped all our things, went to my bed, lied down and talked.

We talked all night long because a year and three months is a long time for people who have feelings for one another.

The main thing is, he still had feelings for me. After all this time, the guy I once loved has feelings for me and I have them back. Now we can be together, happily ever after.

But that God forsaken sound of the airline employee telling us our flight is now boarding, burst my bubble.

"You okay?" James asks as he takes my hand in his.

"Yeah," I lie and sit up. "Are you sure you want to go?"

"I kind of have to," he chuckled. "You really want to stay don't you?"

I wrap my arm around him and bring him closer.

"Wouldn't you?" I ask before leaving a kiss on his cheek. "We could drop everything and go back to bed- be happy."

"Why won't you be happy in my bed in Madrid?"

"Because it won't be just the two of us."

James stays silent. There's no lie in what I just spoke.

Instead he just leaves a kiss on my lips and stands up.

"You'll be happy," he says. "I promise."

"You do keep your promises," I smirk up at him before taking his hand and heading to our gate.

Together we set out to Spain, hand in hand.

Upon our arrival in Madrid, a Real Madrid fan came rushing up to James asking for an autograph and I had to hide behind my hair. The first red flag of my jumping into this.

I was a split second from having a panic attack as we stepped out of the airport and that smell of Madrid hit me, just because I got what I wanted in the blink of an eye.

I wasn't ready. What was I supposed to do? Move back to Madrid and get a transfer here? Leave my job completely and look for another here? My apartment has to be rented out until my lease expires. Get all my stuff back here again. How am I going to explain this to my friends? Family? What about James' family? What if Salomé hates me? Daniela?