Love

The rain lashed against the large windows of Aleks’s apartment, blurring the lights of Munich into a smear of amber and grey. Inside, the only light came from the flickering television screen and the soft, warm glow of a lamp in the corner. For the last hour, neither of them had really been watching the movie.

Nini sat on the edge of the plush sofa, her long, curly brown hair spilling over her shoulders like dark silk. She felt Aleks’s presence beside her—a constant, magnetic pull that had been growing stronger with every passing week. They were friends. They had been "just friends" for a long time, sharing jokes after training sessions and grabbing coffee in the city. But lately, the air between them had thickened. Every brush of their shoulders felt like an electric shock, and every lingering look felt like a question neither was brave enough to answer.

Aleks shifted, his long frame taking up a significant portion of the couch. He was quiet, his gaze fixed on the screen, but Nini could see the tension in his jaw.

"You're not even watching," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the sound of a cinematic explosion.

Aleks turned his head slowly. In the dim light, his dark eyes were intense, searching hers. "Neither are you."

"I am," she lied, offering a small, playful smile that didn't quite reach her eyes because her heart was hammering against her ribs. "The plot is... very complex."

"Nini," he said, his voice dropping an octave. He leaned in closer, the scent of his cologne—something woody and clean—enveloping her. "Stop."

"Stop what?"

"Pretending that we’re actually interested in what happens to the main character," he murmured. He reached out, his fingers grazing the curls near her temple. "I haven't heard a word of the dialogue for twenty minutes."

Nini’s breath hitched. She was petite, almost dwarfed by his athletic build, and the way he looked at her made her feel both incredibly small and the center of the entire universe. "Then what have you been thinking about?"

Aleks didn't answer with words. The tension that had been stretching between them like a tightrope finally snapped. He leaned forward, closing the small gap, and pressed his lips to hers.

It wasn't a tentative kiss. It was a sudden, crashing wave of realization. Nini froze for a split second, her eyes widening, but as his hand moved to the back of her neck to pull her closer, she melted. She didn't refuse him; instead, she leaned into him, her hands finding purchase on his chest, feeling the steady, rapid thud of his heart.

The kiss deepened, turning hungry and desperate. Aleks groaned low in his throat, a sound of pure relief, as he moved his hands down to her waist. His palms were warm, even through the fabric of her shirt, and he squeezed gently before sliding his hands underneath the hem. His skin against hers sent a jolt of heat through her body.

With a fluid motion, he lifted her, guided by the instinct of months of suppressed desire. Nini wrapped her legs around his waist, straddling him as he pulled her flush against him. The height difference vanished as she looked down at him, her fingers tangling in his hair, pulling him back for more.

They were both out of breath, their gasps echoing in the quiet room between feverish kisses. Aleks moved his lips from her mouth to the sensitive skin of her jawline, then trailed down to her neck.

"Aleks," she breathed, her head falling back as he found a particularly sensitive spot.

A soft moan escaped her lips, and the sound seemed to break whatever restraint he had left. He shifted them both, laying her down onto the soft cushions of the sofa. He followed her down, his large frame hovering over her, his weight a comforting pressure. Nini’s legs immediately locked around his hips, pulling him as close as physically possible.

The world outside—the Bundesliga standings, the pressure of the next match at the Allianz Arena, the public eye—it all vanished. There was only the heat of his skin and the way his name felt on her tongue.

Just as Aleks buried his face in the crook of her neck, his hand sliding further up her back, a sharp, rhythmic buzzing cut through the silence.

It was coming from the coffee table.

Aleks ignored it, his kisses becoming more urgent, his breath hot against her skin. The phone stopped. A second later, it started again. The vibration rattled against the glass tabletop, the shrill ringtone echoing off the minimalist walls.

"Ignore it," Nini whispered, her voice thick with dazed longing, her fingers tracing the muscles of his shoulders.

"I am," he muttered against her skin, his voice muffled.

But the phone was persistent. It stopped for a heartbeat and then began to blare again. This wasn't a casual text; someone was calling repeatedly.

Aleks let out a frustrated growl, resting his forehead against hers for a moment. His eyes were dark with blown-out pupils, his hair a mess. The phone continued to scream for attention.

"It might be important," Nini said softly, though she reached up to pull him back down. "Your family? The club?"

Aleks sighed, the sound full of irritation. He reached out blindly, grabbing the device from the table without moving from his position over her. He glanced at the screen and his expression shifted from annoyance to professional obligation.

"It’s Thomas," he said, his voice rasping.

"Müller?" Nini asked, blinking as the haze of passion began to thin. "At this hour?"

"If he's calling three times in a row, someone’s probably dead or there’s a change in the morning schedule," Aleks muttered. He rolled off her, sitting up on the edge of the sofa and rubbing a hand over his face to steady his breathing.

Nini sat up slowly, smoothing her hair and pulling her shirt back down, feeling the sudden chill of the room now that his body heat was gone. She watched him press the phone to his ear.

"Thomas?" Aleks said, his voice surprisingly steady despite the fact that he was still flushed. "Is everything okay?"

Nini watched him, the way his shoulders squared as he listened. She felt a pang of longing, the interrupted moment hanging heavy in the air between them. Aleks glanced back at her, a look of profound apology in his eyes, even as he nodded to whatever the veteran player was telling him on the other end of the line.

"Yeah... yeah, I understand. Tomorrow at eight? Right. I'll be there. No, I wasn't sleeping. Just... watching a movie. Okay. See you then."

He hung up and tossed the phone back onto the table like it had burned him. He turned to Nini, who was clutching a throw pillow to her chest, looking cute and slightly disheveled.

"The meeting for the tactical briefing was moved up two hours," Aleks explained, his voice full of regret. "And apparently, there’s a leak about the starting lineup he wanted to warn the younger guys about before the press gets hold of it."

Nini offered a small, sympathetic smile. "The life of a star."

Aleks leaned over, placing his hands on either side of her hips, pinning her back against the cushions, though this time it was gentler. "I don't care about the press right now."

"You should," she teased, though her heart was still racing. "You have a big game."

"Nini," he said, his gaze dropping to her lips. The tension was back, vibrating between them. "We aren't finished with this conversation."

"Was it a conversation?" she asked, her eyebrows arching. "I thought it was a movie night."

Aleks leaned in, his nose brushing against hers. "It's whatever you want it to be. As long as I get to do that again."

"Well," Nini whispered, reaching up to touch his cheek, "the movie isn't over yet. And I don't think I'm going anywhere."

Aleks smiled, a genuine, warm expression that made Nini’s stomach flip. He didn't pull her back into a heated make-out session—not yet—but he sat back down and pulled her into his side, tucking her head under his chin.

"Thomas is going to pay for that timing," Aleks muttered, kissing the top of her head.

Nini laughed softly, snuggling into him. "I think you can handle one early morning. But Aleks?"

"Yeah?"

"Turn the phone on silent."

He reached out, grabbed the phone, and clicked the switch with a definitive snap. "Consider it done."

They sat there in the quiet of the apartment, the credits of the movie eventually rolling by unnoticed. The tension hadn't disappeared; it had simply transformed into a promise. For a young player in the spotlight, the world was loud and demanding, but in the sanctuary of his living room, with Nini’s curls against his chest, Aleks Pavlovic felt like he had finally found his rhythm.

The rain continued to fall over Munich, but inside, the fire had only just started to burn.