3 days ago.
Barracuda by Heart was playing in his ear buds as he ran as fast as his legs allowed, trying to drain out all those feelings, but he couldn't. His subconscious was doing its best to remind him falling in love was stupid. And there he was, acting the part. The scene kept playing in his mind time and time again. That guy kissed her. She allowed him.
«Who is that?» The question rumbled in his head for the thousandth time. The same question he had been asking himself the past 12 hours.
It was only six am and Dominik did his typical warm up before practice. Unable to comprehend how Samanta could turn his world upside down. He always procured keeping a distance from the women he dated. At that moment in his life, he could not afford to waste his time in relationships, emotional conflicts, let alone thinking about a girl who had a boyfriend already, or, at least, so he thought seeing how this guy smooched her outside her house.
«Alan». He remembered the name. «Darn! Who the heck is he?». He shook his head, trying to shake that feeling out of his head. He could not waste any more energy trying to understand this matter.
Ewald Metzler signaled him to stop running and come closer, but Dominik decided to take two more laps around the stadium. He never did what he was asked.
During that whole morning, he was focused on his practice.
At noon, after an abundant lunch, le Germany team headed for their next destination, the San Jose International Airport.
Staying at the beautiful city of Santa Clara was an amazing experience. The team would have 3 days to recover and leisure. When Dominik was not thinking of Samanta, he would be practicing or taking long strolls with Rodríguez, one of his closest mates, and Friedrich, with the sole intention of keeping Dominik under his radar, or so thought Dominik.
Deep down, Treadaway's real objective was to not leave him alone with the defense, he had heard the rumors about his preference for the company of men. If Friedrich kept one young Latina from getting in between him and Dominik, he was not about to allow a Costa Rican turned German do it. But his efforts for keeping Dominik away from any person with a romantic motive were in vain. During one of his many strolls down the Californian city, Dom met his former girlfriend, Dihanna. And social media collapsed shortly after, guessing whether they were back together, but this was just old friends having lunch.
*****
The game of the very much expected game arrived. Only three points were keeping them from the next round, although they were already on the elimination rounds, Ewald wanted to make sure the Germany team were leaders of group A, that would give them the opportunity to face the second place in group B, Uruguay. Otherwise, if they lost, they'd be second place of their group and face the leader of group B, Spain. Going against Uruguay, rather than Spain was more a matter of comfort, not to underestimate the South American team, but, facing Spain meant defying one of the other favorite squads to win the World Cup, besides "La Roja" had had an amazing season as well, being a strong competitor also during the European championship.
Dominik owned an innate gift for soccer. As soon as he set foot on the playing field, he forgot everything that took his calmness, his brain worked to remember the moves they had practiced, the strategies Ewald had come up with and synch with all the movements his team mates did.
Cameroon turned out to be a tough contestant, that made them suffer in four chances, with clear shots to score, but Ahren Degener, German goal keeper, played his part, becoming an impenetrable wall. “The wall from Berlin” said the commentators.
The first half had been ruled by the African squad, facing a German team focused on defense. Metzler was very clear to point out they had to wear the Africans out, they had remarkable endurance, and so they did.
Once the second half started, the Germans begun their strategic offense, weakening the opponent's defense. The first goal came in 72 minutes into the game, placing Germany as leaders of group A. Then a second and third goal came in. By the final seven minutes of the game, the Germans were rather relaxed once again.
The joy that came over Dominik was so great he even forgot what had happened in LA right before he had come to Santa Clara. He was ecstatic, he needed to share his happiness with somebody. With Samanta. So he took a moment to sneak away from the celebration going on in the German dressing room to go call Sam. He had to tell her. Tell her he was even closer to achieving his dream.
Nerves took their toll on Dominik, that was a very strange feeling, It was very rare in him. He waited a couple seconds until that voice finally answered, making him forget all the discomfort he had been going through the past four days.
“Yes, Dominik. I forgive” said Samanta When she answered. “I love the dress. How did you know I love Amaretto? 8 sounds great. Are you picking me up?” She was very excited.
“What? What are you talking about?” Dominik took the phone off his ear, frowning. «Forgive what?» he wondered.
“Oh, please! Don't play dumb. I just received your package, it's beautiful. Really, you shouldn't have.”
“Wait a minute, Samanta. I don’t know what the heck you are talking about. What package? I just called to say hi, ask how you are doing.”
“Bu…but, it says here: “Forgive me, give me a chance blah blah blah”. It wasn't you?”
“No” Dominik started losing his temper, guessing who could have sent that package. Anger took over Dom, remembering that guy kissing her with her consent.
“Then, who…”
“Must have been that guy kissing you outside your house the other night” he could not escape the tone of a child throwing a hissy fit.
Without another word, he hung up. He felt like the stupidest of all the men in the world.
Who was he kidding? Every time he tried to get near her, something worse happened. It was like destiny was trying to keep them apart. SIF he was trying to spread his joy with that call, he got the exact opposite.
He joined his team mates in celebration, but it only took ten minutes for him to get his fill of happy faces while he was feeling so blue, he decided to retreat to the hotel, claiming he had a terrible headache.
He lied. Also unusual in him.
Once again, feeling surprised of the negative influence Samanta had in him.
*****
The next day was very frustrating for Dominik, who had to put on a smiling face for the new Pepsi ad, which he starred in with two other team mates. He had to look his best in front of the camera, it was in his contract.
The commercial feature was shot on a beautiful beach in Santa Clara, specifically, the California Spa, and it consisted of beach soccer players defying the star footballers, who lost, not having had a refreshing drink of the famous brand.
By the end of the morning, Dominik and his mates joined the rest of the team for practice. Dom tried to concentrate as best as he could, but it was a challenge, Samanta kept popping up in his thoughts, interrupting them.
That afternoon, as he was about to take a shower after a long practice, he received a phone call. He rushed to answer it, thinking maybe it was Samanta, but his disappointment was such when he realized this was… his sister. Not that he didn't want to talk to Karol, he loved his sister. However, he was very illusioned in speaking with the woman who stole his calm. He needed to see her, talk to her…
“Little brother” his older sister's lovely voice put a smile on his face.
“Karol” greeted Dominik. “How are you?”
“Drained! I just came back in town and I thought I should let you know so we can go have lunch together, but I was kind of hesitant, I don't know If you could sneak out for a while?…”
“Oh, great! I am staying at the Hilton Santa Clara, if you want…”
“Santa Clara? I thought you were in Los Angeles. I'm in LA.”
“I was there, until recently. We had to come here for the third game.”
“What a pity! I was hoping, maybe I could get to see you for at least a couple minutes. This congress lasts 2 days and then I must go back to Germany for two weeks. I'm going to Asia and part of Africa.”
Karol Weigand, was a journalist and she was working on this article about early childhood in under developed countries. For the past year, she had been visiting different countries all around the world. She made a brief stop in the United States, to attend a UNICEF congress. She wanted to see her little brother, they hadn't met in a year.
Dominik noticed his sister's disappointment being unable to meet with him, and, in a matter of seconds, a crazy idea came to mind. This was the perfect excuse to go back to LA.
He looked at the clock on the wall, it was 4pm. If he hurried, he could catch the 5pm flight and be in La before 7. He could have dinner with Karol and before going back to Santa Clara, he could stop by the coffee shop, see Samanta and his heart could get some peace. He would be back in time for the 2pm practice. It was perfect.
“Karol? I'll see you at nine o'clock.”
“But you said…”
“I know what I said, I'll be there. I promise.”
They hung up and he rushed to put together a bag with what he needed for a day.
His specialty was sneaking out from highly guarded places, the Hilton Santa Clara wouldn't be the exception.
At 5:23 pm, flight 0520 of American Airlines took off from the International San Jose airport, heading for the LAX airport in Los Angeles. If everything went as planned, neither Ewald nor Friedrich would notice his absence.
On the corner of 448 Hill St, right in front of the Downtown, Alan waited for Samanta. He looked at his watch and saw it was 7:53 pm. His date would be there any minute. He told her they would be having dinner at the spot they shared so many times before. The Hill Street Pizza. Where Samanta had the pleasure of devouring all sorts of pizza. Her favorite, the Burrata Pizza. He smiled melancholically remembering that time, when they had just started dating and he loved taking her to dinner here. But in reality, his plan, that night, was another.Samanta always mentioned how she wanted to go to a specific restaurant, one of the most exclusive restaurants in town, and it was on the terrace of that very building. She longed to try those delicious looking dishes, prepared by culinary experts, and delight on exquisite cocktails. However, he never managed to land a reservation at the Perch LA.That night, he would grant her the evening she had always wanted.He fixed his waist coat and checke
The flight coming from Santa Clara, arrived to Los Angeles, at 7:12 pm exactly. Dominik got off the plane and called his sister immediately. She indicated she was staying at the Crowne Plaza, so Dominik headed there right away to change his clothes.First thing he did when he met his sister was to ask to use the restroom. However, , Karol jumped on him, holding him tight. Although they hadn't met in months and how much Dom loved his sister, he was not the type to hug people. His sister knew that, so it was always only her, adoring him like another one of his fans, and, she loved him. A love pure and strong. A love only an older sister who watched him grow, learn to walk and take his first steps could only feel. Karol saw the clear resemblance of their father in Dominik.After a couple minutes and a last minute reservation of the most exclusive spots in town by miss Weigand, Dominik and her left towards what would become an unforgettable evening.“How did you find this place?” Asked Do
Samanta couldn't stop staring at her sweaty, shaky hands. It was beyond her how in the world she agreed to come here, why she had accepted Alan's invite when all she could ever think about was Dominik.She shook her head and forced herself to focus in the present time. She looked around and a smile came to her lips. They were in the place she had dreamed of for so long.“Wow! I can't believe you landed a reservation here. What if I had said no?” She asked.“I would have been a fool eating by myself” he replied.Samanta laughed silently and Alan did, too.“It is just what I imagined. Stunning” said Sam, indulging in the beautiful sight of town.“The most precious part is right before my eyes” said Alan in a whisper and Sam blushed when she realized he was looking at her. “Sam… I…” Alan stuttered, while holding Sam's hand, who pulled her hand back right away.“Alan, please, I don't want to lead you on. I don't…” Alan set his fingers on Samanta's lips.“Shhh… Please, Sam, let me talk” Sa
While Karol conversed with the hostess and she looked their names in the guest list, Dominik grabbed his phone, tempted to text Samanta, but he refrained.The pretty lady who identified as Amanda, asked them to wait for 15 minutes while their table was ready. The Weigands agreed and headed for the waiting lounge. Regardless, the girl could not stop staring at Dom, wondering "Where have I seen that face before?" This went on for five minutes until she remembered. Her eyes opened up big like plates when she realized this was one of the biggest celebrities in every sense.Dominik Weigand was not only captain of the Germany football team and the one player who had scored more goals this season. He was a beacon between hot guys. There is a phrase: “Hotter than Dominik Weigand in his underpants” it was one of her most used phrases with her friends. She had to go up to him and apologize, claiming she had not recognized him. Dominik asked for her discretion, he did not want anyone else recogn
Friedrich pushed the door to make sure, although he knew it was true what they said on TV. He did not watch this kind of shows, but lately, he was paying attention to all the gossip shows, since Dominik had decided to act like a true celebrity. After getting a copy of his client's key and persuading the manager to break his privacy policy, he managed to get the door open.He grabbed his head with both hands and cursed under his breath.The room is empty.“Damn it!” He shouted and kicked the bed.“What is going on?” Ewald asked from the door.“Dominik's gone.”“What do you mean he's gone?”“He went back to Los Angeles looking for that girl.”“How come?” Ewald looked around the room, hoping this was some kind of prank.“Just like he did at the airport when we came to America, same as he did during that press conference. Dominik in an escape artist” Friedrich broke a sweat.“Excuse me, sir” somebody's voice said from the door that made him look. “They left this at the front desk for Frie
The moonlight seeped in through the window of the JW Marriot Chairman suite, lighting the lovers who were about to consummate their love. Their eyes could not decide where to look, there was so much to behold, but, albeit the nudity, there lingered a certain degree of shyness. Thousands of emotions made, little by little, to both, man and woman, join in tender kisses that became wild indulgence of passion. Unique sensations that pushed them to the brink of sanity, threatening with addiction of tasting the body of a significant other.Samanta bit her lips when she noticed Dominik's tattoos. Tribals covered his arms and some greek lettering crossed his lower abdomen. He was a stunning man. Every muscle was defined, he had such a white skin he seemed made of white chocolate.“You're the most beautiful thing I have ever seen” whispered Dominik, pulling Sam out of her dreamland.He came closer to her and leaned in, spreading kisses along her neck.“Thank you” she muttered, unable to stop a
Tears poured from her eyes. It was hard to breathe. Her heart was racing, but she felt life escaping her body. She could not believe, once again, Alan's shadow was hurting her. Her past came back, like a voracious beast, trying to destroy the happiness she had worked so hard to rebuild.She dried her tears in anger and headed towards the room. She picked her clothes off the floor and got dressed. She needed to get out.Remembering the look in Dominik's eyes made her heart split in two. IT was charged with disappointment and he wouldn't even let hr explain herself. That hurt. Even more than all those horrible memories.«How did they even know?», she wondered.The people who knew she went to Narconon were Teresa and Carlos.She opened her eyes in awe, contemplating the possibilities.«Carlos».She felt rage taking over her. He had betrayed her because she rejected him. She was feeling a mix of sadness and anger, and, it certainly, did not feel good.She left the hotel fast as she could
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 goin