Her shift was finally over and she was drained. Fridays were overwhelming. She made a hand gesture for Carlos, letting him know she'd be expecting him at their wardrobe, but he was not off yet.“Overtime” he mouthed to her with a stern look.Sam nodded and went to pick up her stuff. On her way out, she came near her friend.“How long are you staying?” She asked.“Don't know, Gordon asked me to help so…”“Fine. I'll wait.”“You don't have to, Sam.”Samanta checked her watch and realized it was almost 5pm and remembered her sister was having dinner at a friend's house, so Sam didn't have to make dinner.“Teresa's not coming for dinner tonight, I can wait a couple hours. I can use them to catch up on my reading” She said showing him her copy of “A Thousand Miles up the Nile” by Amelia B. Edwards.Carlos smiled and nodded.“Alright. I'm off at 7. Will you wait?”Samanta responded with an ear to ear smile.She walked away from her work place, sat on a metallic bench and proceeded to catch

The first thing he did as he left the room was to let out a long sigh, shut his eyes tight to hold back the longing, that almost superhuman longing to yell it to his face, to tell Dominik how he felt.He had loved him since childhood, and he had to live in the shadow of a friendship where he had to conform to a hug or a "well done, buddy." It was so frustrating and he was about to burst, but he could not dare leave. Thinking of not seeing him at all, simply terrifying. He would have to keep conforming to the brotherly love the man that made him lose his breath had to offer.«It won't be long, Friedrich», he said to himself, trying to find courage.He decided he would come out after the World Cup was over, let whatever had to happen, happen. If he was not corresponded, at least he had been brave enough to say it. His only hope was to keep their friendship after telling him. Now, if Dominik gave signs of feeling something more than friendship, that would be a completely different story.

A couple hours went by since Samanta began her shift at work and she could not stop looking at the huge LCD screen in the sporting goods store. People gathered around to watch the World Cup opening ceremony, although Samanta wasn't particularly keen on the World Cup, nor soccer, nor the $200 Carlos bet on Germany. She only cared about one thing, actually, one single person.Sam was serving coffee and cleaning tables out of inertia, she was good at her job, but mechanically. Her mind was not there, but at the Stub Hub.“Your man better win” Carlos told Samanta, as a joke.“Not my man” she cleared that out and cleared her throat, “besides, I would appreciate it if you were not spreading it” she turned her head slightly and noticed the two girls dispatching a couple customers at the bar. “I wouldn't like those two finding out.”Carlos followed Sam's stare and saw Megan and Stacy, who seemed immerse in their own worlds. He laughed remembering how Samanta loathed them, a feeling that grew

4 days before.Dominik managed to sneak away from his team mates, he had had enough flattery for a day. They won by a difference of 2 goals, adding up to the first 3 points on the tournamentAlthough they were used to winning, every victory was worth a celebration, the only difference being he kept the champagne for the finals.He headed for his locker and put his hand in his bag, looking for his phone. He felt an impulse to write to Samanta, to let her know they had won the game. He did not know why, but he felt like he needed to let her know.He took his phone and slid his finger to unlock it.He frowned when he noticed.Samanta's number was gone.“What the..?” he muttered.This was very strange. He was looking at that number not an hour ago on his phone screen and now it was gone. It did not disappear by magic…“Hurry up, Dominik. It's time for the press conference” one of his team mates reminded him.Dom shut his eyes tight, and let out a sigh in frustration. Al he wanted was to g

«What am I doing?», Dominik asked himself for the fifth time in a row. He knew this was completely insane, but he was, none the less, delighted to be doing it. He went way past the limit of what he thought he could do for a woman. Point being, he had never done anything like this.After Rodríguez managed to recover Samanta's number, Dom started sketching a plan. That afternoon he finally had some time to himself, rest and take his mind off his sports and advertising engagements, therefore he snuck Friedrich's ID while they were in his room, overlooking some documents Adidas sent him, in order to renew the contract they had going on. He used said ID to rent a vehicle after sneaking out of the hotel, he knew if he used his own, it would be a matter of minutes before the press would find and chase him.Outside the airport, there was an impatient and very nervous Dominik, who, by whatever strange reason, did not understand how come this girl made him feel so good, so free … so him. It was