Chapter Thirteen

                                    

                                          
Now that more people knew about them, Lucía and Rúben felt more comfortable being seen in public. It's not as if anyone was going to recognise who she was. They'll just think she was his girlfriend and not care about much else.
So they went on all the dates they had mentioned. Cinema, dinners...they even went to an arcade once and Lucía was extremely happy when she managed to beat Rúben at every game.
But they also started to go out with other friends or couples. The first thing on the agenda was a double date with Claudia and Diogo. They had actually helped them both get back together, so it was only fair.
They met at a lovely restaurant in Manchester and even though Lucía feared some awkwardness at first, the whole dinner went really well. By the time dessert was being served, they were already planning what to do together next.
"Votes aren't fair", said Lucía. "It's 3 against 1 in this Portugal vs Spain table. You might gang up on me".
"Yeah, and it's 3 against 1 for me, being the only one from City. You'll definitely gang up on me".
"Oh, I like the way you see it a lot better", she responded.
The second was the one Lucía was really worried about...a party at Bernardo Silva's. Rúben thought it would be a good way to show her off to his teammates and if she didn't want to meet most of them again after that, at least they had seen her once
"Lucy? What are you doing here?", asked Jack when he saw them entering the house.
Wasn't it obvious that she was there with Rúben? Lucía lifted their hands that were linked together, so he could see them but it wasn't enough.
"Are you friends with Bernardo?"
"Jack", said Rúben with a sigh. "She's my girlfriend".
"Ahh, good job mate, she's hot".
"I'm also standing right here", she said, before she and Rúben left to say hello to everyone else.
"You were right about him being oblivious. Good lord!", she said, making Rúben snort.
They ended up spending most of their time with Cancelo and his wife. Not only did they feel the most welcoming, but Lucía also knew they were good friends of Rúben and she was more likely to meet them in the future.
Slowly, her nerves got better and she started to act more like herself.
That included how she behaved around Rúben. He understood and respected her, but he couldn't deny he was a lot happier when she started to be more affectionate with him again. Not caring about the crowd around them.
So, now that the people around them knew, it was time for everyone else to know. 
**
The second round of the Manchester derby arrived. And as Lucía was making her way back to the dressing room after making sure the goalies were ok, she found Pep.
"Let's see if this time we leave as friends".
"Probably not because we are beating you today", she told him.
"What a way to talk about your boyfriend's team. Wouldn't you be sad seeing him concede goals?"
"I know how to make him feel better so", she shrugged.
"Yeah, we are not having this conversation", he said, grimacing and making her laugh. "Good luck".
"Good luck to you too", she said, hugging him.
"Do I get some luck too?", asked Rúben, approaching them both.
"I'll let you two have a moment. But then ready for the match, Dias", said Pep.