Screaming, applauding and cheering…
All eyes were set on him.
He looked again at the man in front of him. He knew he wanted him to make a mistake, but he would not give him the pleasure to see him fail. He took a big breath and a few steps back. Analyzed every angle possible to score that penalty shot until he finally found a breach in the rivaling team's defense. He breathed out slowly and kicked the ball hard as he could.
The ball flew through the air, headed for the goal. One hand tried to keep it from going in, but failed.
The bleachers erupted in a simultaneous scream of joy.
¡GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAL!
They shouted.
The German team celebrated the score, set now on 2 vs. 1 against Nigeria, granting them 3 more points. “The bullet” had done it again. The foul committed against his team mate had been penalized, and he shot that ball right into the upper corner of the opposing team's goal. Right by the spider's nest, said one of the commentators.
The game ended two minutes later.
“Well done, Dominik” said Brauer as soon as he came into the locker room.
“Oops! You did it again” commented Ewald and gave him a big hug. “Good job” he winked. “Get ready for the press conference” he added and patted him on the shoulder.
As one by one were heading out towards the place the press conference was to be held about the game they had just won, Dominik took a quick shower and decided to post on his Twitter, form his iPad. However, there was something that caught his attention. Someone tagged him on a video of Samanta running from her work place. He could notice the presence of a crown trying to take her picture like she was the Queen of England. He felt deeply angered, and without a second thought, he pulled his black hoodie and a pair of shades. Grabbed his phone and called Sam. He needed to make sure she was fine.
She answered after the third ring.
“Hello?” Samanta answered the call without looking at the screen. She had just come home and she was still shocked by the events at the coffee shop.
“Are you alright?” Asked Dominik, without any tact whatsoever.
“Who is this?” Sam frowned and looked at the screen. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized the caller ID.
“Dominik” he said. “Please tell me you are fine.”
“Yes. I am…”
“Where are you?” He asked next.
“Home” she answered, straightforwardly.
Dominik walked down those halls, trying to avoid all the protocol people and others. The stadium was guarded by a couple security organisms, which he managed to avoid without much effort, they were paying more attention on the people coming in than out. He managed to blend in with some fans leaving the premises, and got to a place where many taxi cabs were waiting. He gestured one of the drivers and he had him to get into the first vehicle in the queue. He got in and indicated the address. He remembered it perfectly.
The car got going and in less than a half hour, he was already parking the vehicle in front of the destination. Dominik paid and got off the car.
He walked to the door and knocked.
A pair of amber eyes looked at him dumb-founded when the door opened.
“You? What in the world are you doing here?” Murmured Samanta.
“I needed seeing you!”
*****
Reporters from many broadcasters were already waiting in their seats. Waiting for every player of the outstanding game to find their spot on the long table arranged for them.
Ewald, the head coach, was sitting in the middle seat, next to him there was an empty seat, where should be Dominik.
He looked to the side and made a gesture with his hand to get the attention of a young man from the protocol team. The boy ran up to him immediately.
“What can I do for you, sir?”
“Please, tell Dominik we're all set up, we're starting now. To hurry up” said Ewald.
“Right away” the kid said and ricocheted towards the locker rooms.
He walked confidently, like a man proud of the job he has to do. He got to the place where Dominik was supposed to be, but there was no one. The place was empty.
“Dominik?” He said. “Mister Weigand? Are you here?” He leaned to the right, trying to take a look at the other side. “The press conference is about to begin, they're all waiting for you.”
Nothing. No answer.
He went out of there and headed for the men's restroom, maybe he was refreshing himself. He ran into a man sweeping the floor.
“Excuse me. Have you seen Dominik Weigand?” He asked. The cleaning man looked at him, frowning. “the player”. He clarified.
The man denied with his head.
The boy kept going towards the other restroom. He found some men, but Dominik Weigand was nowhere to be found.
“Has any of you seen Dominik Weigand?” he asked.
They looked at one another and shrugged.
“No” one of them said.
“Haven't seen him” another one said.
Brad, that was the boy's name, couldn't help worrying. The footballer was supposed to be already in the conference room ready for the press, but he was nowhere to be found. He kept looking for a couple more minutes, but to no avail. Disappointed, he went back to the conference room.
People were getting impatient. They were holding everything back, waiting for Dominik.
Brad rushed to where Ewald was, he leaned in and spoke to his ear.
“I couldn't find him” he whispered.
“What?” Ewald turned to the boy, with a face of horror.
“I asked everybody, and nobody has seen him. He's not in the locker rooms, nor the restrooms. Like he was…”
“…gone” snapped the German head coach.
Friedrich, watching from a pertinent distance, noticed Ewald was upset and came up to figure out what's wrong.
“What's going on? Where's Dominik?” Inquired the publicist.
“Excellent question. Where's your boy? Could you tell me?”
“Bu... bu... b...” Sam stuttered. “What are you doing here? You were supposed to be in…” she pointed at the TV in her living room. “You guys won, now you're supposed to be at a press conference” she mumbled.Dominik smiled and looked right into her eyes.“You are right. I should be there. But I am here” he laughed. “Most likely, they will fine me, so I might as well just make this worth it.”He wanted to see her from the very instant he was away from her. That was all he could think about. He came up to her and put one of his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. He looked at her lips…“What are you…” Sam looked both ways. She felt overwhelmed by the proximity.Dominik could not hold it in anymore and did it. He kissed her, making her silent.Samanta felt like she was flying. She was very much in love with this man. She could only think about that one kiss and how she wanted it to happen again.He held on to her tiny frame and little by little, his hands were rising until they re
Ewald walked from one side to the other, like a caged animal. HE was mad and very frustrated from Dominik's attitude. He was used to Weigand going missing all of a sudden, but he never did it during a press conference. He knew Dom was overwhelmed by the spotlight, but this was only the second match in the championship, it was too soon for him to be tired. He loved his star player, he was like a son, he had known him since he was thirteen years old, supporting his career every step of the way. None the less, he would not put up with this, Dominik knew he had a responsibility to his team, whether he liked it or not.“You'll make a ditch” commented Friedrich after a few minutes alone with the head coach.“As long as I find a stone to crack Dominik's head open with” yelled Ewald. “I am not letting this one slip. He may be rebellious and leave us in the middle of practice, but he never evaded his responsibilities to the team in the middle of a championship. Did you know the federation can
Samanta and Dominik fused together in a warm embrace. There, away from everyone, they finally felt free. Even for the short amount of time they had known each other, there was a certain chemistry between them. Almost as if their souls had previously met in another life. She felt comfortable and uninhibited with him. Dominik felt like he had never felt with a woman, in fact, nobody else before. His heart rejoiced and sometimes he thought it would explode from so much pleasure in it.“I am very much in love with you” whispered Dom.Sam remained silent, words were not coming out of her mind. Dominik started planting short kisses on the lady's neck, climbing up to her face, spreading some more throughout her skin. He stopped and finally looked into Sam's eyes, they had a beautiful sparkle. a soft tingle in his stomach made him smile.“Where have you brought me to?” He asked.“This is the bed of the Los Angeles river. It's my special place. I come here when I need to be alone to think…”
What Dominik admired most of his publicist was how easily he could always get relevant information. That gift had earned him many million dollar contracts with renowned brands, as well as saved him many headaches. He could not deny, Friedrich was a very efficient publicist/manager. A couple phone calls to the right people and he had the world at his feet.That night he would be using his persuasion talent to find out more about that one woman who was causing Dominik to act like a teenager about to hit puberty. Not only because he was worried about his client's image, but because he despised Dominik being attracted to someone, after all his hard work to move forward with him, he would not let some novelty girl ruin everything.He took his electronic phone book and found the number of the magazine which that same morning, published the article mentioning the identity of the girl Dominik had disappeared with the day before.“Yes?” A man answered.“Is this Steve Andrew?” Friedrich asked.
Samanta looked once again at the keys between her shaky hands. They were Gordon's bike keys, which she had just parked outside her house. She slowly looked up and set her eyes on Dominik, who had an ample smile on his face. Inside of her, there was a strong conflict of emotions. She wanted to be next to him, kiss him and hold him, but she did not want to get her hopes up. She knew that in a couple weeks, he would have to return to his country, to his routine… it would be a matter of time for him to forget about her. She would only be a simple summer fling. At that moment, she decided to enjoy that, for as long as it would last.“Would you like to come in?” she asked.“Only if you promise your sister will not try to lecture me again” Dom answered.Samanta laughed out loud. Dominik had an innate gift to make her laugh, even if unintentionally.“Silly” she softly bumped his chest.Dominik held her fist ever so delicately and kissed her. He leaned in slightly and kissed her lips. He loved
The pain in his chest was excruciating, tears kept pouring. He could not understand. Why in the world was he feeling that? They had managed to keep a good friendship for over six years. He had never looked at her like that. Sammy was a sister to him. Regardless, that pain expanding in his chest burned like embers and took his breath from his lungs.“Out of all of the women in the world, it had to be her. He could pick any of them, and he chose her” he sobbed.He could not believe his luck. So many years as her friend, and, just when he realized his feelings for her, a new man comes as an obstacle to him. He could never take on Dominik Weigand. Not in his wildest dreams.«If only I had told her from the get go ».That morning when he helped Samanta escape from the coffee shop. When he thought she'd come home to find refuge from the public eye, while he took his break, he found some images of her with Dominik, in the special place she and him shared. He brought her there when she was 14
Samanta was used to go jogging every Sunday, to relax and put her thoughts in order. The past two weeks had been crazy, she really needed it this morning more than never, a good dose of serotonin in her organism. She would make the most of her day off.Feeling the wind blow softly against her cheeks while listening to Alexandra Stan, at the beat of Mr. Saxobeat, playing in her ear buds was just great. It felt great to run and feel free, her heartbeat speeding up, her muscles heating up reminded her she was alive. Her thoughts started getting in order, among all of them, she came to the conclusion that she had to go to Egypt. She would have to wait one more week until the SAT results came out, to find out whether she had been admitted to study Archaeology at the American University in El Cairo. She could not lose her focus, living some shady fling with a celebrity. Her goals were set, she could not deny her feelings for Dominik, but he was not one of her life priorities.A sudden flash
Carlos hardly came out of bed. Truth was, he wanted to stay in bed all day long. He was in no mood for visitors, but he thought maybe his mother forgot her keys.His heart skipped a beat when he realized this was not his mother knocking, but Samanta, smiling from ear to ear, shaking a paper bag in front of her face.“Hello” she said, right before she jumped onto him with a big hug. “A little birdie told me you were feeling bad, so I brought some hotcakes Teresa made.Although he loved the sight of her smiling face and hearing her musical voice, that morning he did not want to see her. Seeing her hurt a lot. He faked a smile and said hi.“Hi, Sam. Come in” he answered begrudgingly.Sam headed straight for the kitchen, ready to plate the food.“Come on, they'll get cold” she yelled from the kitchen to have Carlos join her. “Your mother? There's some for her, too.”“She went out early, I don't know where she went” Carlos sounded as though he was complaining.Samanta came up to her friend
I turned to the man who was talking to me. There was something in that voice that made me evoke a thousand memories. I looked at him carefully for a while, because although his face was very familiar to me, I couldn't place him. I opened my eyes like saucers and my heart stopped for a fraction of a second when I recognized the owner of those green eyes that were looking at me. In front of me was the personification of all my fears, traumas and insecurities. The man who served as a benchmark to compare all the people who came into my life after him. It was a beautiful vision, and at the same time a nightmare come true. “Antoine,” I said his name with difficulty. If the mere memory of him stirred up a lot of emotions in me, can you imagine “what his presence did to me?” The imposing figure of a six-foot-tall man lay before me. His eyes were greener than I remembered them and he had a beautiful smile (the one that brought out a couple of dimples in his cheeks) plastered on his face. He
I shook my head hard to concentrate on my friend's voice. She kept talking, but I stopped listening to her for a moment because I was thinking about Harvey, the gorgeous blond I met two months ago on one of my many girls' outings with Gabrielle, and who I started dating four weeks ago. He was divorced and had two young children. All my life I was reluctant to have anything with a man with children, because my policy was always: If I can buy a new car, ¿why buy a used one? This thought became ingrained in me as a result of living with my stepmother. It's not that our relationship was bad, but I remember a couple of times I tried to make her life miserable, just for fun. I was afraid that divine justice would take its toll on me for those years of rebellion and headaches I'd caused Valerie. But there was something about Harvey that appealed to me so much. He was very direct and upfront. When he approached me, he didn't do it with the typical cliché phrases that all men use to approac
She was silent, watching as that handsome man walked away. She didn't understand why she couldn't stop looking at him. She had seen handsome men many times. His father lived surrounded by them. Athletic men with heart-stopping butts. However, there was something about… Damn! h e didn't tell her his name a n d h e wanted very much t o know. h e hit his forehead as h e remembered how h e treated him. "How stupid I am. At this rate, I'm going t o be alone." She couldn't help but feel like a fool for being so rude t o him. Perhaps his intentions were sincere… or perhaps not. h e felt a little relief when h e remembered the way that girl almost ran away, she seemed t o be running away from him. Maybe h e was a lout a n d deserved every one of his mistreatment.Anyway, h e decided not t o think about it a n ymore. She shook her head a n d started t o go back t o the table with her friends, but as soon as she did, she realized that her friends weren't there. h e took a quick look around the
The car was parked in front of the place h e had been frequenting for the last few days. It was a good place t o dance (he loved t o dance) a n d have a couple of drinks in the company of a pretty woman. h e met Melanie in New York a n d since then she accompanied him o n his tour. That's how h e wanted it, a n d although August didn't need the woman who was willing t o have a good time with him, she was perfect, because she was funny a n d undramatic. (At least it seemed that way at first) I didn't understand how his attitude changed in a matter of three days.He shook his head a n d cleared his mind. I didn't want t o think about that. h e was ready t o celebrate that night h e appeared in the place h e had dreamed of for so many years. For every illusionist, the MGM Grand Garden Arena was a statement that h e was reaching the pinnacle of his career. His parents knew it a n d that i s why they traveled from Scotland t o accompany him. Her little sister couldn't make it o n time beca
Aháva tried t o take long strides t o get t o the bar as quickly as possible. The club was packed a n d people seemed t o be possessed by some kind of demon of lust, as they groped each other while dancing grotesquely. The blonde looked at the couple o n her right a n d couldn't help but shudder. Could it be that they did not know about the existence of hotels? God! She didn't understand why she agreed t o go t o that place with her friends, if she never liked going t o places like that. She was more of mountains, rivers a n d beaches. h e liked t o be in contact with nature while enjoying the silence or reading a good book. I had known Lauren, Jessica, a n d Alicia since I was eight years old. h e had just moved with his parents t o California. They lived in the same neighborhood a n d went t o the same school. Since then they were inseparable friends.Aháva was about t o turn nineteen a n d college was just around the corner. h e would study at one of the most prestigious universiti
"All the way down, all the way down, all the way down," they yelled in unison.The girls tried t o encourage the youngest of all t o drink the entire contents of her glass in one sip. However, the blonde with green eyes could not do it, because she did not like the taste of tequila or a n y alcoholic beverage. I didn't understand how there were people who drank liquor until their livers dried up, if the taste of alcoholic beverages was so awful.She licked her lips, wrinkled her nose, a n d put the glass back o n the table.Aháva grimaced a n d wiped the corner of her lip with the back of her hand.-I do not can. It's disgusting,” h e yelled, due t o the high volume of the music. How do they make you drink this? It i s awful!—Booo. Don't be a spoilsport,” the eldest of all spoke up. Lauren, a pretty woman about six feet tall, slim, with black hair, gray eyes, a n d white Caucasian skin."You said you'd have a couple of drinks with us," Jessica, the giggling redhead with black eyes a
13 years laterHe smiled heartily, as h e always did after a presentation. Hearing the applause of his audience as h e walked offstage was undoubtedly his favorite thing since his father gave him a cape, top hat, a n d wand for his tenth birthday. h e decided t o dedicate himself t o illusionism when that afternoon at his grandmother's house, a magnificent magician left him speechless by drawing a dove o n a small blackboard a n d then shaking it a n d taking out a royal dove. As it did? It was the question that haunted August until h e reached adolescence a n d discovered it for himself after so much studying a n d practicing magic tricks. In the end, it wasn't as hard as I thought it was.After finishing school, the Real Centro Universitario María Cristina de San Lorenzo de El Escorial in Spain was her next step in her academic training, where she specialized in Illusionism. Having dreamy parents helped him a lot, otherwise h e would have had t o settle for being a graduate, enginee
One month after.Dominik glanced at Carlos surreptitiously a n d Carlos nodded, indicating that everything was ready. Charlotte could not suppress the small smile that came from her lips, because she knew perfectly well what was going t o happen next. She was also Weigand's accomplice. Samantha gave her friend a confused a n d questioning look."They say that h e who laughs alone remembers his pranks," she mumbled, poking the blonde's side with a finger.Charlotte laughed out loud."I'm just happy t o have married a wonderful man," the Polish woman commented, scanning her surroundings with her eyes.The garden looked beautiful, decorated in a vintage style with turquoise, white a n d silver decorations. Just two hours ago, Charlotte a n d Carlos had said "Yes, I do", in front of family a n d closest friends. Samantha was the maid of honor, a n d Dominik was the best man. Little Aháva played with some children, sons of some friends of the bride a n d groom."Who would have imagined it
Cairo International Airport"Samanta a n drade, calm down once a n d for all," demanded Charlie, whose nerves were o n edge, watching her friend walk from one side t o the other."What if h e gets scared when h e sees me?" My face i s not the same. These scars..."You're still beautiful," Carlos said. You don't have t o worry about that. Aháva adores you a n d doesn't care what you look like —he added —Although seeing it from a n other perspective, they give you a sensual air, almost like a pirate —Carlos joked, letting out a laugh."I think what you're worried about i s what someone else might think, right?" Charlie commented with some mischief."Dominik i s the least interested in how you look, I'm telling you." Carlos winked at her.Carlos a n d Charlotte got Samantha t o relax a bit.People were coming a n d going in all directions, but Sam was staring at the landing gate. a n xiety grew within her being with each passing second. Almost half a n hour had passed since the plane fr