“And that’s for what you’ve done to Luciano! That’s for being the biggest asshole of a stepfather, for being fucking jealous of your own stepson! You said he’s pathetic, you’re pathetic!”
I’m breathing hard, my heart is pounding in my ears, I feel eyes from all around watching us.
And there’s his stepfather, covered in beer, and when he looks up from his ruined suit and meets my eyes, I see a man who wants to kill me. All danger and malice and revenge.
“You,” he says snidely. He slowly wipes the beer from his forehead, his eyes never leaving mine. I want to run. I should run. But all I can do is stay here, frozen in fear, in disbelief over what I’ve done.
“You’re her.” He smirks at me. “You’re the one that my son tossed to the side like the tacky American trash that you are.”
Aw, hell no.
“No, I’m the one who’s in love with your stepson!” I yell. “The bigger man. The better man.”
And that’s when I realize what I’ve said.
That I’m in love with Luciano.
And worse than that, I just admitted it to his stepfather before I had a chance to say it to him.
But from the way his stepfather’s face is growing red and crumbling in rage and bitter defeat, it might have been worth it. Just to see him take the hits, to know that Luciano won.
And that’s when I start running.
I run past him, nearly slipping on the beer, and then I book it to the stairs and up to the second floor, my bad leg screaming at me in pain as I try and take the stairs two at a time. I run around the corner and through the stands until I plunk down in my seat beside Elena, just as the first period comes to a close.
“Where’s the beer?” she asks, but I don’t answer. Instead I quickly pull my jersey off so I’m just in my bra.
“Oh my god, Ruby, did you drink all the beer? How much did you have? Why are you getting naked?”
I don’t look at her, don’t look at anyone, just brush my hair in my face and pull on my leather jacket, wrapping my scarf so it falls down my chest, covering me up.
“Ruby. Ruby what is happening?” Elena says, shaking me.
“I fucked up,” I manage to say, trying to keep my voice low, trying to hide. “I fucked up real bad.”
“Ruby. Helvitti. Look at me.”
I gradually raise my head, peering at her through my hair.
“I saw his stepfather,” I whisper.
“Oh. Shit. Really? Did he see you?”
I wince. I feel like crying. “I threw the beers in his face and told him I was in love with Luciano.”
Her brows raise. She blinks hard. “You what?”
I nod, pressing my lips together. “I know. I don’t know what came over me. I just saw him there and I was so fucking mad, I just hated him so much. I threw the beers and then…”
“You said you loved Luciano.”
“Something like that. I may have also said that Luciano was the bigger and better man than Marco.”
“Oh my god, Ruby,” she gasps, her hand at her chest. “I can’t believe you.”
“I know. But it’s true.”
“I know, but, shit, isn’t throwing beers in someone’s face assault?”
“Back home it is. But I saw two old men headbutt each other on the street the other day, so I’m not sure what the rules in Portugal are.”
“Ruby, this is crazy.”
“I’m fucked. What if he’s looking for me?”
“Well, then we’ll leave the game early.” She gestures to the pitch. “No one has scored.”
“We should leave now,” I tell her.
“What if he’s still down there, now that it’s the break between periods?”
“What am I going to do? Luciano is going to kill me.”
“From what you’ve told me, it sounds like he’s going to understand.”
I’m not so sure about that.
But what I am sure about now is that I’m in love with him.
Absolutely, truly in love with that man.
I fell in love with him years ago, but I dismissed it. Decided it wasn’t real. That it was a burden. I buried it deep down, covered it up, and moved on with my life.
Being here with him has unearthed it, like finding a diamond when you’re digging a fucking grave. It was the last thing I thought I’d find, but it’s mine now all the same.
I love him.
Holy shit.
It’s all I can think about for the next period. I’m watching Luciano play, trying so hard to score, trying so hard to win, and I’m just hit with the realization that he’s the one my heart belongs to, after pretending it didn’t. That man right down there.
Of course I’m also freaking the fuck out about his father, so when there’s twenty minutes left in the game, I decide it’s the right time for Elena and I to sneak out.
We move along the rows of people, everyone annoyed since it’s still tied zero-zero, and then down the stairs, making sure to take a different set than before.
We’re almost at the exit on the main floor when a security guard steps in front of me.
He says something in Portuguese, so of course I have no idea what he’s saying.
Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck.
I shake my head, my hand growing clammy, and tell him I don’t understand. “Eu não falo Português.”
He holds out his hand. “Passaporte por favor.”
Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck!
I understood that. My passport.
“I-I don’t have it with me.”
“ID.”
“She doesn’t have to give you anything, you’re not a cop,” Elena sneers at him. Finn’s have a word for this type of ballsy behaviour. It’s called sisu, and she has a ton of it.
I kick her lightly, giving her a look. A look that says, don’t you dare get the cops involved because once they find out I’m here illegally, I’m in real shit.
“You don’t need
