Part One - Chapter Nine: The Next Step

                                    

                                          
Standing in Madrid–Barajas airport, Cristiano sighed as he waited for Eliana’s flight to arrive in from New York; he had missed her while she was away and they had so much to talk about. 
                          
It had been a couple of days since the story of them dating had reached the press and Cristiano was annoyed that someone behind the scenes at the VS show had spoken to the media about them dating.
                          
 Eliana had assured him that she trusted her close friends, they wouldn’t have gone to the press and told anyone since they knew what it was like to live in the media eye; however there had been a make-up artist standing close enough to hear them talk about Cristiano. 
                          
Shaking his head, Cristiano recalled the talk that he’d had with his agent and he had no idea how they could make this go away; they were going to have to release a statement about them even if they didn’t want to tell anyone that they were dating. 
                          
Cristiano tugged down his red baseball cap so it covered his face, he was trying to keep his head down knowing that he didn’t want to be seen; he had insisted on picking Eliana up since he knew how crazy the paparazzi could be once they had a story to chase. 
                          
His dark framed Armani sunglasses covered his face as Cristiano looked around the airport, it was about five in the morning and he was exhausted; he had the day off from training and he was going to enjoy it while he could with his girlfriend. 
                          
Cristiano smiled when he finally spotted Eliana walking out of the arrival lounge, he looked at his girlfriend who looked beautiful in her khaki V-neck T-shirt and black ripped knee skinny jeans paired with lace up pumps; he was glad that she was finally home. 
                          
“Olá,” Eliana greeted relieved to be home, it had been a nightmare since their relationship had been revealed and silence hadn’t helped it in anyway; she hugged Cristiano knowing that they had a lot to talk about.
                          
***
                          
“What are we going to do?” Eliana asked spotting the newspaper in Cristiano’s coffee table as she shrugged off her berry hooded quilted coat, she couldn’t believe that someone had told the papers about her and Cristiano.
                          
 It had been a long couple of days since the news had broken and Eliana was shocked at how crazy things had gotten; she had wanted to tell her parents when the time was right now she had been forced to tell them over the phone.
                          
Cristiano shook his head, he should have known that someone would want to make a quick bit of money and would use them to do it; they were still trying to work out which close source had talked about them. 
                          
“We’ll release a statement about our relationship,” Cristiano murmured, he was annoyed and he wished that he had more to do; she was important to him and he had no idea what was going to happen now. 
                          
Their relationship was out in the open now and there was no way to make it disappear, Cristiano wanted things to be as peaceful as possible but he didn’t know what he would do to make that happen; the press weren’t going to let them just be. 
                          
Eliana sat down on the couch, she was suddenly glad that she had another week before she was due back at university; she didn’t want to be stalked while attending her classes and reading week couldn’t have come at a better time. 
                          
“It’ll be okay,” Cristiano reassured sitting down beside his girlfriend, he wished that he could make this better but there was no way around it; it was the price that he paid for being a footballer. 
                          
Eliana shook her head, none of this was Cristiano’s fault and she’d had a word with the stage manager about the slip; she knew that the company would get to the bottom of it and she hoped they did it soon. 
                          
Cristiano wrapped an arm around Eliana and drew her close, they hadn’t been dating long but he knew they would be okay; he wasn’t going to let anything break up what they had.
                          
 The couple was silent for a while thinking about the mess that had been caused, they weren’t going to have any peace when the confirmed that they were dating yet they couldn’t deny it because they wouldn’t be able to see each other. 
                          
“I’ve been thinking,” Cristiano murmured looking at the television, it wasn’t turned on and he was enjoying the silence of having Eliana with him; the past four days had been a nightmare and he could only imagine what was going to happen when they confirmed things. 
                          
Eliana peeked up at Cristiano through her lashes, she could see that he had something on his mind and she had a feeling that she was going to like whatever he had to say; she rested her head on his shoulder and cuddled into his side with a smile. 
                          
“I want you to meet my family,” Cristiano said watching Eliana closely, he didn’t want to scare her off and his mother had demanded to meet the woman that the press claimed that he was dating; he had confirmed the story of course especially since he didn’t wish to lie to his mother. 
                          
Dolores Aveiro was not a woman that you wanted to upset and none of Cristiano’s past girlfriends had ever passed his mother’s approval; however he was fairly sure that Eliana would be the first to do so since she wasn’t like the others. 
                          
“You want me to meet your family?” Eliana squeaked looking at Cristiano, she knew her parents wanted the same but she hadn’t thought they were ready for that step now. 
                          
Cristiano chuckled and nodded his head, it was a sudden move but he didn’t see the point in waiting when he was certain about their relationship. 
                          

                          
“I know you plan to go back to Madeira maybe we could go together,” Cristiano mused softly, they were both free for the holidays and he didn’t have any plans; he didn’t fancy going on holiday alone this year. 
                          
Eliana had mentioned to him that she planned to return to Madeira to see her parents who still lived there, Cristiano wanted to meet her parents; he was sure that they would be interested in their daughter’s new boyfriend and he wanted to make a good impression.
                          
 “You want to meet my parents,” Eliana whispered in awe, she hadn’t expected him to do anything like that and she didn’t know what to say; her mother had pleaded with her to introduce them since she was curious about Cristiano.
                          
 Cristiano nodded his head, he leant forward and kissed Eliana wanting what they had to last; he liked how things were between them and couldn’t see himself with anyone else right now.
                          
 “Okay,” Eliana breathed brushing her fingers through Cristiano’s hair, she had no idea what her parents would think of the footballer; the press didn’t paint a pretty picture even if he wasn’t like that with her.
                          
 Cristiano grinned kissing Eliana, he was happy that she had agreed and he knew that his mother and sisters would adore Eliana when they met her; she was good for him and he needed her in his life. 
                          
Eliana wrapped her arms around Cristiano’s neck, they had been dating for two months and she hoped that her parents would be okay with this; she was happy and she knew how protective her father could be. 
                          
The couple continued to kiss, they had so much to do before Christmas arrived and it was going to be a long few weeks before they had to head back to Portugal and see their families.