He walked and walked and walked. -He could not figure out what he was feeling. He had a whirlwind of feelings in his chest, he was about to cry. Not there, in the middle of the street.
People came and went, they didn't even look, albeit his fancy clothes, the same outfit he wore last night for his dinner with Karol.
How could he be feeling so bad?
How could he tell Samanta about his phobia towards people who used narcotics or drugs, without hurting her feelings?
What should he do to deal with the internal struggle he had going on, jeopardizing his morals and his feelings for Samanta?
He sat on a bench to think.
No one seemed to realize he was there. For the first time in his life, he felt invisible and it was very refreshing although, weird.
He put his hands on his head in frustration.
Was he going to let go of the woman he had experienced love for the first time ever, who gave him all those great feelings? A woman who made him reach Nirvana between moans and sweet kisses. Was he going to leave all that behind because of his silly prejudice?
He shook his head hard and stood up.
No.
He would not allow it.
He would go right back to that hotel room, make love to her once again and forget everything about this “dark past.” Anyway, he didn't care about her mistakes, he wanted to love each and every one of her virtues.
He slammed the suite door open and entered the room, with a broad smile. He looked around and noticed the silence.
“Samanta?” He called. “Samanta?”
Nothing. No answer.
He went in the room, but there was nobody in it. He went into the fancy living room and took his phone from the coffee table, dialed Sam's number, but it went straight to voice mail. He was about to call her again, when his phone buzzed. Dominik rolled his eyes when he read his manager's name on the screen.
The last person he wanted to talk to right now, was Friedrich Treadaway, but he decided to be a little considerate and answered the phone anyway, he already had 15 missed calls from him.
“Before you start with your verbiage, I'll be honest, I don’t care what the media is saying about me, or whatever it is they are saying about Samanta. Also, yes, I did punch a jerk who tried to cross the line with her and, I am very proud of it. Now, go ahead, what do you want to say.”
“Where the hell are you?” Was all Friedrich said, upset.
“Come on! You know that.”
“Have you gone crazy?”
“Here comes the verbiage” Dominik teased.
“Do you not realize the consequences of your actions?”
“What actions, Friedrich? You sound like I killed somebody. I only took a flight to Los Angeles. I'll be back in a couple hours.”
“You must be here now!” Treadaway stated.
“I will take the noon flight” responded Weigand.
“Fuck, Dominik! You must be here before noon.”
“What for? You have no one to have lunch with?” He was not being sarcastic, it was an honest question.
“I have been in meetings since six am with the federation's committee. They are fining you 250.000 Euros for your constant absence in practice.”
“Fine. I will pay it” said Dominik. “Something else?”
“Dominik, this is serious. During the period of a championship, the champion team must be focused one hundred percent, when I mean the champion team I mean, the whole team.”
“I am focused. I always give my all during every practice and every game.”
“Since we came to America you have surrounded yourself with trouble, conflict and gossip. That does not help you focus.”
“I am fine, Friedrich” he responded nonchalantly.
“Something else” said Friedrich before Dominik hung up.
Weigand rolled his eyes.
“Say it already” he huffed.
“Whatever transpired in Los Angeles, has come to the ears of the executives of the federation, and there is word you possibly getting suspended for the rest of the World Cup…”
“What? That is absurd. They would not make it to quarter finals without me.”
“Dom. Being the star of the team does not make you irreplaceable. One more strike and you'll be out. You cannot be late for today's practice.”
Dominik felt his blood pressure drop. Hearing these things affected him.
“Bu-but” he mumbled. “Ewald. He has always kept the federation at bay.”
“Ewald did not have a say in this. You got this out of our hands. Now get your ass on that plane, right now, or you can kiss your dream of holding the World Cup goodbye.”
Dominik gulped and rushed to take his things out of the room.
There was nothing more right now.
He had to go back stat.
He called his sister and asked her to meet him at the airport. She would bring the bag he left at her hotel.
The first thing he did when he came to the LAX was buying his ticket back to Santa Clara. Luckily, the flight was taking off twenty minutes later. He would have the chance to stop by the coffee shop and tell Samanta he did not care about her past, all he cared about was planning their future.
He didn't have to go near the coffee shop, he could tell from far away, Sam was not there. IT didn't take him long to think she'd be at home. After what happened, who would want to go to work?
Some people stopped and stared and Dominik knew why. They recognized him.
As soon as his sister came, he rushed to put on his gray hoodie and his shades. HE said goodbye to Karol with a tight hug.
On his way to boarding, Dominik tried calling Samanta, once again, but to no avail.
HE gave up, for the time being, and decided he would “focus” on how he would sort out whatever issue he was into with the federation, all just because he decided to listen to his heart for once.
Carlos stayed in silence on the whole way home, listening to Samanta. He knew how badly she needed to vent, the past two weeks had been complete madness. A little bit of everything happened. Starting with the fact that she met one of the most admirable footballers of all time, and not only that, she had a sentimental relationship with him. On top of that, her ex-boyfriend, the man who marked her life, returned. She wondered if Teresa knew about that. If she wasn't, he wouldn't be the one to tell her. That would be another problem to add to the pile. To top it all off, those damn scavengers dug in her trash, bringing back out all that crap Samanta thought was long forgotten.Thinking of all of this made him feel guilty he confessed. Unwillingly, he had become one of the reasons Samanta was now crying.«Poor thing. It's been too much for her», he thought.The taxi stopped in front of Samanta's house, wasting no time, they got off the car.When they came into the house, Teresa welcomed t
His eyes wandered between the clouds in the beautiful American sky. This went on for almost one hour, he was only thinking. The horizon passed before his eyes, and he seemed to not care.Two days went by without hearing from Samanta, that made him very cranky, also, all those tedious norms he had to keep up with to avoid suspension for any additional time.As soon as he arrived to Santa Clara, Friedrich rushed him to the conference hall at the local Hilton, where the German Football Federation along with the team to discuss certain aspects of the players' behavior. Specifically, Dominik. Threats were very clear. Weigand would be suspended for the rest of the season if he committed another fault against the team. Although Friedrich and Ewald tried to mediate between the players and the board, but they still suspended him for a game.That same day he attended the corresponding practice, where he did double the usual workout as long as he could prove Ewald what he could do when it came t
3 days ago.It was 1pm and Samanta was sitting on a couch drinking some iced tea while she stared at the two suit cases sitting by the door. She let out a sigh and put her cup on the table. She took the note she had such a hard time writing last night. Teresa stuck to watching her in silence.Undoubtedly, this was a tough call to make. Although she had made it a long time ago, a variant came into the equation, making her doubt even her own decisions.Her feelings for Dominik were intense, considering the time they had known each other. Things happened too fast, and, although she felt terrible by the way it ended, she did not regret anything. She enjoyed every second of it.“I don't get it” Teresa stood up and walked up to her little sister. “You should be so happy. Yet, you're so sad” she ran her hand through Samanta's brown hair.“I am happy. Very” Sam opened her eyes, faking excitement.“Cut the crap. I heard you last night. You were crying.”“Tears of joy!”“Samanta” Teresa gave he
Dominik turned around feeling defeated. How could a couple plain words make him feel so miserable? It was beyond him how he was still standing, feeling as he was, like he was dying.None the less, there were no tears. No wailing, no complaining. He swallowed his pain like a champion.«It is over», he said to himself. «I lost her forever ».“Dominik” Carlos' voice made him stop and turn back to him.I need him to know I love him and what I am doing is for both our sakes. Can you hand it over to him?Samanta's request replayed in Carlos' mind, almost like she was his consciousness.«The letter». He thought of giving it to him.“What is up?” Inquired Dom.“Good luck on your next game” responded Carlos, deciding not to hand over the letter he got from Samanta.Dominik turned around and walked away from that place that had given him so many memories, and it gave him such a strange feeling. It was almost as if somebody was putting their hand in his chest and squeezed his heart. However, tea
El Cairo, Egypt.Days went by, one after the next and Samanta seemed to have found the peace she so much needed. She took refuge in her history books, between her Latin class and that spectacular world that offered endless opportunities.In just one week, she made a couple of friends, among whom, her roommate, Charlotte, or as Sam called her, Charlie. They got along so well, starting with how talkative Charlotte was, crazy and peculiarly good at ancient languages.Among her new group of friends, there were also Amir and Maher, the Mobarek twins. Amir was a very intelligent and dedicated boy, good-looking, the typical local beauty with deep, green eyes that made Samanta nervous to even look at.To Amir, Samanta was not irrelevant, from the first time he saw her, he noticed her innate innocence, the kind you no longer find in a woman from the New World.On the other side, there was also his sister Maher. Identical twins, but she was his exact opposite. She was care-free, a little absent
“We have here the two teams who have proven to deserve to bring the Cup home” said one of the commentators. “An undefeated Spain who classified as top of their group.”“Without a doubt, a relentless team who have done a great job all throughout this championship” agreed his co-host.“But we also have a Germany who, in spite of the controversy around one of their most outstanding players, has remained favorite.”“And, coming from the premise that this championship represents the consolidation of Dominik Weigand as the only man to ever manage a clubs championship, a European championship and a World Cup on the same year… we are about to witness history being made.”“We have been offered some unforgettable ninety minutes, with ups and downs and lots to see…”“A German team who have been on the offense right off the bat, attacking and pushing a well centered Spanish team, whom have also had their shots to score, but had to stick to the back to play on.”“Anything could happen during this
The whistle marked the end of the game. Dominik was petrified on his spot, looking around, hearing the fans roar. He could not believe it. He made it. He won the cup, actually, the Germany team.“Dominik!” Brauer's voice made him come back to reality. “We made it. We did it.”Dom had to shake his head hard to snap out of it.He put his arms up and gave in to the celebration.Hugs, screams, cheers and lots of joy.He noticed someone was pulling his jersey and dragged him towards a group of players, hugging one another. They were jumping around and cheering to Oe Oe, along with the fans.The whole world was paralyzed, watching them and celebrating their victory.Dominik could not stop smiling remembering all the work he had put into this and seeing it all pay off.In a matter of seconds, he was surrounded by all his team whom hugged him and congratulated him for scoring the victory goal.Hugs everywhere.The Germans could not hold their happiness.Tears rolled everywhere.On the field,
Munich, Germany. Three months later.I've paid my duesTime after time.I've done my sentenceBut committed no crime.And bad mistakesI've made a few.I've had my share of sand kicked in my faceBut I've come through.Dominik opened his eyes and let the song keep playing. For some reason, he enjoyed it this time. He got out of bed slowly, trying not to wake the woman sleeping next to him. He headed for the bathroom, he took a quick shower, brushed his teeth and put on a black sweatshirt, his favorite jogging pants and a pair of black Nike boots, his favorite. He made one of his delicious energy shakes and drank it in one sip.He loved fall in Munich, the colorful landscapes, having to put on a coat to head outside to jog and disconnecting from the world, at least for the hour his session lasted.It had been three months since the Germany team had become world champions and Dominik was enjoying his vacation. The day after he would leave for Stockholm, to meet his sister and the week a
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