Page 8 of Entangled With You

Because you don’t deserve her, you already took too much from her—the little voice in my head replies, sneering at me. Ugh, fuck this shit. Getting up from bed and doing a few jumping jacks, I try to shake Cattleya out of my head. But if there’s something I’ve learned in these past four years since the night that changed my life, is that when it comes to a war between my brain and thoughts of Cattleya, the Queen of Orchids always wins.

What could have been if I wasn’t an idiot? If I had pursued her all those years ago? If I hadn’t left that island after the best sex of my life without even a glance back at her and had been man enough to face my fears? Now it looks like she’s moving to Buenos Aires, a rising star in women's soccer. I never doubted her; I knew it was a matter of time before she was scouted by a big team. I thought I’d see her playing in Europe, maybe Spain or even England. But I guess she still has time for that, she’s only twenty-two after all.

Before I can keep dwelling on the fact that the only mina that has made me feel something is moving to the city I live in, I put on sweatpants and a hoodie and go out for a run. Exercise has been my best remedy for when my mind is too loud and when my anxiety becomes overwhelming. I usually lift weights or use the treadmill in the gym of my apartment building, but today I need a change of scenery. The noise, the people, and the crisp bite of fall air hit my face like tiny needles as I run, making me feel something other than the longing I feel for her. I welcome the pain of the cold air filling my lungs, welcome the noise—it gives me something else to focus my mind on, something that doesn’t have a perfect body, the most gorgeous face I’ve ever seen, and a pair of big brown eyes full of curiosity and wonder.

Anything to take my mind off thinking of her, mi ángel (my angel).

I make it to the office, at seven-thirty in the morning, a half hour before my usual arrival time, and my boss is already here bustling around.

“Matías. Good thing you came in early. I just got word that the Golden Warriors are going to open a bid to build a stadium for their women’s team. If we manage to land it, it would be the biggest account this company has ever acquired.” Fuck, did he just say the Golden Warriors? I guess facing Cattleya will be inevitable this time around.

“Oh, that’s amazing, I’ll be happy to start looking into material cost and all that, but nothing will be final until we have the architectural design.” I make a mental note to start a list of materials needed and a backup list. One can never be too careful; I’d rather overdo it and have countless copies of the same lists saved on different drives than lose all the info I need to succeed on what probably will be the biggest job I’ll work on. Dismissing me with a nod, Luciano goes back to whatever documents he was checking out when I came in. I make my way to my desk, and after firing up my computer, I shoot a quick text.

Matías

Boludo, you up?

My phone pings with a notification instantly.

Luca

I’m a businessman, of course, I’m up. What’s up?

I chuckle at his response; sometimes, I forget we’re all grown-ups with real jobs now. Luca and his wife, Karina, own a vineyard in Chile. Our college days are long gone.

Matías

My angel… remember her? She’s moving to Argentina.

Luca

Yeah, I saw. I was wondering how you were feeling about that.

Matías

The only way I know how… I’m conflicted AF, but I think this time I can’t avoid her. My company is going to bid to build a stadium for her team…

Luca

WOW dude, that’s huge! You think Samuel has anything to do with it? I’d hate for people to doubt her talent…

I take a deep breath before replying because I know Luca has no ill intent, but it still pisses me off that people could think that her dad is buying her way into the Golden Warriors. The girl is a starter for both her current team and the Colombia national team. It shouldn’t matter that her family is probably one of the richest families in the country. Yeah, I know how rich, talented people are perceived, especially when it’s a woman. Does Taylor Swift ring a bell? Of course not! Everyone thinks like this, but the assholes who do are loud enough to cause chaos.

Matías

Nah, man, I think this is all her. And maybe the team is counting on Cattleya bringing a shit ton of revenue since they’ll have the Colombian fans rooting for them now.

Luca

Look at you, man. Thinking like a true businessman. Money talks.

Luca

So what are you going to do when you see her?

Isn’t that the million-dollar question. The thing is, I don’t know. I want to apologize for being a dumbass all those years ago, for letting my mind tell me that it was my fault that Cattleya wasn’t with her family when Sofi got kidnapped. But at the same time, who knows if she still remembers me? She’s a famous soccer player; I’m sure she has a line of men waiting for her to notice them.

Ruffling my hair in frustration, I glance at my phone once more, trying to come up with a witty response, but instead, I see a notification from Bleacher’s Pulse. When I click on it, it’s a video of Cattleya being approached by the media at Ezeiza (Buenos Aires airport). I quickly check to see if any of my coworkers are around, but somehow, no one has arrived yet.

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