[ dreizehn ] 

Mats was delighted when all it took for her to open up to him was inviting her out for some icecream. Surely it wasn't exactly the icecream, he concluded, but she was more cheerful towards him wheras she was always sulking before. He let her tell him what she wanted to let out, which was not too much information. He learned that Genavee was from Berlin and had left her home, but she wouldn't tell him the reason. She told him about how she met Lolita on the train on her way to Munich and they became instant friends. 

When she had no more to say, she opted for asking Mats some questions. He was genuinely surprised upon learning that Gena wasn't aware he was a famous footballer. 

As the sun began to set in Munich, Mats offered to accompany her back to the Gallegos ranch by taxi since Erik had taken the rental car. She accepted and both made conversation the whole way back during which they exchanged phone numbers. Mats even walked her to the front door when they arrived.

"Maybe we can go out some time," Mats started, trying to keep cool, "you know, before I return to Dortmund."

Gena nodded nervously. "Maybe." She was certain she could feel her heart pounding in her chest.

He was only seconds from leaning in to kiss her when she quickly turned and headed into the house, leaving Mats out there in shock. 

It was dark in the mansion. All the lights were off, and outside Genavee would hear the taxi leaving with Mats in it. She flipped the livingroom light switch on at the entrance to let out a scream when she saw Thomas sitting on one of the couches, a serious expression on his face. From what Gena could gather from his expression, he was just about ready to scold her to death. Gabriella was nowhere to be found, but since the sun was setting, Gena knew this was the time when she was in the kitchen, helping prepare dinner.

"Oh my gosh, you scared me!" She brought her hands to her face in shock.

Thomas sighed. "Oh, its only you, Gen. I was waiting for Lolita."

Genavee shrugged, informing him as though he had forgotten, "She told me she was going to the movies with Erik and then they were going out to eat together. She won't be back until around midnight."

His expression dropped down into a frown. Lolita even told Genavee where she was going. "She never tells me anything." He sulked. He was certain that Lolita enjoyed making him suffer. He was making an effort to be her friend again and she had no interest in a relationship with Thomas.

From the kitchen soon emerged Gabriella with a warm smile on her face. Genavee noticed that whenever she smiled at him, no matter what mood he was in, she could always make him crack a smile. They loved each other that much. Gena sighed as Thomas cut the distance between himself and his wife, pulling her into his strong arms. She wanted a relationship like that, someone who could make her happy when she could find no reason to smile.

Gabriella annouced dinner was ready and the three went to eat together as a family.

The only one missing at the table was Lolita, and it seemed to bother Thomas more than anyone else.

-

Lolita returned to the ranch at half past eleven, Erik dropped her off right at her door. Thomas was out with the foreman, as was routine. They would go around the ranch together, making sure everything was okay before heading to sleep for the night. Though Thomas had chosen a career in football, the ranch was another of the things that was his passion. He enjoyed the fresh air, the smell of flowers, and the fruits they planted. He liked the way their land went on for miles and miles, and that it was all his and Gabriella's. 

Just as he was returning from the final run through of the night, he stopped when he saw, in the distance, a car pull up to the house.

Erik got out and went around to get the door for Lolita. 

They said a few words to each other, which Thomas would have killed to know what was exchanged, and then he pulled her in for a hug. All the while, the smile on her face was unmistakeable, and he noticed the way it touched her eyes. 

The two said their final goodbyes before she ran into the mansion with excitement and Erik's car left the property. Thomas went into the house soon after, and opted to avoid an argument with her. Instead, he would just talk to Erik and let him know that Lolita was important and he would not stand to see her get hurt.

But who was he kidding, his own thoughts told him.

Erik would never hurt anyone, he was one of the nicest people Thomas knew.

Still, he would have a talk with him.

-

When Lolita woke up the next morning, she was in a great mood. The previous day with Erik made her think that maybe staying in Germany wouldn't be so bad. As she got out of bed, her green eyes darted to her window, where Thomas often left presents for her. There was yet another clown pop and she took it without hesitation. The one thing she liked about all his groveling for her attention was that he knew what she liked and she got several clown pops out of it. 

But she also wondered why he cared so much?

Anyone else would have gotten tired and stopped by now.

Maybe he loved her mother so much that he would stop at nothing to get Lolita's approval. But Lolita just wasn't ready to grant it.

Since it was a warm morning in Munich, she decided to go for a swim by the lake where she had taken Erik. Lolita normally didn't like going alone, but the ranch was safe and she knew no one would harm her.

She changed out of her pajamas and wore a bikini under her clothes. She would take the service door out of the house, which was in the kitchen. By now, her mother and Thomas were probably having breakfast together. She didn't have the energy or patience to greet him. She had promised Gabriella she would be polite, but it was genuinely difficult for her.

Elsa and her grandmother were there cooking breakfast.

"Goodmorning, Miss Lolita." Gretta, Elsa's grandmother, greeted cheerfully.

"Goodmorning Gretta." Lolita replied with a bright smile.

"Are you going to get some breakfast?" Gretta wondered.

Lolits shook her head, and only grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl in the middle of the kitchen table where the service ate breakfast. "Nope, I'm going swimming." Linking arms with Elsa, she grinned, "And Elsa's coming with me, so we'll see you at lunch, Gretta."

Elsa was thankful that Lolita had gone to get her. Otherwise, her granmother would have never allowed her to go with Loltia. Elsa knew there was a scolding coming upon her return, but she didn't care. She was young and she wanted to have fun. 

The two girls were on their way to the horse stalls when they were stopped by the ranch foreman. "Hey, where are you two going?" He asked them with much authority in his voice.

Elsa shrunk back behind Lolita, who stood up to him bravely. "We're going for a swim."

"There's a lot of work to do today." The foreman told them with a shake of his head. "The boss' daughter is arriving from Spain today and everything needs to be ready for her."

Lolita finally understood. The foreman thought both girls were employees of the ranch. "Who are you to speak to me like this?" She asked.

A smirk formed on his lips as he gave his reply. "I'm the foreman of this ranch." He told her proudly.

"Well, I'm Dolores Gallegos, and my mother owns this ranch." Lolita said. Upon hearing her words, his expression dropped into a look of fear. It was fear of losing his job. "Your boss, Thomas, might not have informed you that I was already here, but my decisions are to be respected and I want Elsa to go to the lake with me."

The foreman bowed his head. "Yes, Miss Gallegos." And he walked off quickly before she could say anything else to him.

-

There was a knock on the door to his office inside the mansion. He still had a couple more hours before he was supposed to be at practice for the day. "Come in." Thomas called to the person knocking and the door opened to reveal the ranch foreman. "What do you want, Mauritzio?"

The foreman entered the office and closed the door behind himself, "I think I just screwed up." He confessed.

"What did you do?" Thomas eyed him suspiciously.

Mauritzio began to tell the story. "I saw two girls coming out of the service area door that comes from the kitchen, so I thought they were both employees of the ranch. I was just doing my job; I asked them where they were going and told them to get back to work. But one of them was Miss Lolita and now she's mad at me. They were going to the lake, but I'm sure she'll probably complain to her mother when she returns and I really don't want to lose my job."

"You won't." Thomas assured him. "I'll have a talk with her."

The foreman nodded, a look of relief on his face, and he left the office. Thomas left soon after and asked for his horse, he would go find Lolita and talk to her before things could get blown out of proportion. 

He knew a shortcut to the lake and arrived in a matter of ten minutes. His black horse weaved expertly in betweent he thick tree trunks in the forest until he stopped just a couple of feet from her. Lolita's back was turned to him and she was stripping down to her swimsuit. Elsa was further off, hidden in between the trees, doing the same. The thought of making a sound to let her know he was there didn't even cross his mind. He only watched her for as long as he could.

She turned and jumped back startled when she realized she wasn't alone. "What are you doing here watching me?" She glared.

He quickly shook his head. "I'm only here because I was looking for you and I was told you were here."

"And what do you want?" She asked, her eyes genuinely curious. Finally remembering the incident from earlier, she added, "Your foreman must have gone to you, snitching about how I brought Elsa to the river with me."

"That's why I'm here." He nodded in affirmation.

"Now you're going to tell me I can't make decisions in my own ranch." She guessed.

"Of course not." He shook his head once more. He swung his leg around to climb off his horse and took a few steps towards her. "I'm just here to apologize. It was my fault he was unaware of your presence." He explained. "You see, when your mother and I found out you were coming to visit, we wanted to organize a special dinner for you. But since you came before the date we planned, none of the workers were told you were here. I already talked to all of them and told them your orders are to be followed just as mine and your mother's are."

"I see," She nodded, but by the looks of her piercing green eyes, he could already see she was about to start an argument with him. With her hands on the bare skin of her hips, she continued, "So you, the boss around here, let everyone know that everyone is to treat me as though I were the owner of these lands."

"Lolita," Thomas sighed, "I can see your objective is to start an argument with me. But I'm not going to let that happen. I want to get along."

"Then stay out of my way." She told him.

"I could never do that." He said, before getting back on his horse and heading back for the house.

-

an update for lolita! things are beginning to get interesting, it seems. i hope you all like the update, i'll try to post another one soon. thank you so much for reading and supporting this story. i love you!

-clary xx