[ siebzehn ]

Thomas was returning home from practice in the afternoon and opened the front door to his house when he saw Erik and Lolita in the living room, making out on the couch. He had taken a flight to Dortmund right after practice ended because he wanted to be there for Lolita now that her mother was in the hospital. But that was only his excuse to see her. Erik was slowly, but surely, falling in love with Lolita Gallegos. The two stopped and pulled away from each other when they heard the door open. Erik looked embarrassed, a blush made its way onto his cheeks, but Lolita was calm and on her face was a polite smile.

Since they had made their pact to get along better, she no longer had a reason to glare at him or act in a rude way towards him. He was her mother's husband and she was going to make an effort to get along with him.

The seventeen year old didn't seem to notice the way Thomas shot daggers at his team mate from the national team. But Erik sure noticed and he shrunk in his seat on the couch. He figured that Thomas was just being an overprotective step father since Lolita was very beautiful. 

"How was training, Thomas?" She asked him, and was about to get up from her spot on the couch to greet him properly. But he just strode past them without saying anything. He went down the hall to his office and slammed the door shut. The Bayern footballer knew that if he said anything, she would become upset with him and he would probably lose the progress he was making with her.

Throwing his training bag onto one of the chairs in front of his desk, he roared angrily. "I hate Erik!"

He had never hated anyone so much before, but Erik was slowly getting on his nerves. He was always there, always around Lolita. And a lot of times when they were together, Thomas would catch them making out. It hadn't really been too long since Lolita and Erik had started seeing each other, but to Thomas it felt like ages.

Lolita was young, and perhaps, he hoped, she would get over Erik quickly. At seventeen, there might have been a chance that a relationship between them wouldn't be entirely serious.

Thomas sat at his chair and brought his hands to his head, tangling into his hair. 

He would need to talk to Erik, and really talk to him in order to try to get him to stay away from his step daughter. And he would talk to her as well. Lolita would probably dislike it, she would maybe even hate him for it. But the last thing he wanted was for her to get hurt.

-

The Bayern footballer stayed locked in his office, hoping to avoid Erik and Lolita, until it was time for dinner. By that time, he knew Erik would be gone because he still had practice the next day and had to be back in Dortmund.

He left his office toward the kitchen and saw Lolita sat by herself on the living room couch. Her cellphone was in her hands and she was typing away on it with a huge smile on her face. She looked up from her screen when she heard the footsteps approaching. She set her phone faced down on the couch and smiled at him, "Hey Thomas."

"Hallo Lolita." He said, giving an awkward wave of his hand.

"Why were you so upset earlier?" She wondered. She was still surprised to see him like that, since she had always known Thomas to be a happy person.

Shaking his head, he explained to her, "Nothing. I just had a problem with someone at training." He lied.

"Oh." She raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Lolita..." He began, taking a few steps closer to her. Now he was standing just a few feet from where she was sitting. There was an open spot on the couch, but he didn't know if she would mind him sitting next to her. Just a few days before she hated him. "Can we talk?" He asked her.

She nodded. "Sure."

Lolita grabbed her cellphone off the couch and stuffed it into her pocket. She then patted the space next to her on the couch and offered it to him. He half-smiled at her and sat down by her side. 

He hesitated for a second before starting. "I know I said I wanted us to get along better. And I'm trying really hard for that to happen. I also understand that you and Erik are getting to know each other and are at that stage in a relationship where everything you want in that moment is to kiss him, and touch him." He paused for a breath, but it was also to calm himself again. Just thinking of them on the couch earlier making out made his blood boil. "But I think the house is a place you need to respect. Lolita, you're beautiful...I just want you to take care of yourself."

"Don't worry about me, Thomas." She assured him.

"Look, sometimes we...as men, don't know when to control ourselves-"

"Don't worry." She assured him again. "We were just saying goodbye because Erik said he won't be able to visit me on weekdays anymore because of his training."

Thomas muttered, more to himself. "That's good."

"Shall we go to dinner then?" She placed her hand on his knee and a smile formed on her lips.

He nodded and they went to the dining room together.

-

After their dinner together, Lolita went to the hospital to visit Gabriella. Thomas wanted to go with her, but he had things to handle at the ranch. Since Gabriella was in the hospital and could not take care of her business, Thomas had offered to take over until she were well enough to return to her home. Then he would go visit her, after he was sure that everything was in order.

Lolita entered her mother's hospital room and was glad to see her looking so healthy and optimistic now. What had happened during her birthday party had just been a scare.

She went to her mother's side and pulled her in for a hug. 

"How are you feeling, mum?" Lolita asked.

"So much better." Gabriella smiled, hugging her daughter back. Her green eyed looked over Lolita's shoulder at the door which was closed now. "Did Thomas come with you?"

Lolita bit down on her lip and gave a shake of her head. "No, he had some things to do at the ranch. He said he'll be here later tonight before you fall asleep. But in case he doesn't make it, he says he misses you loads."

"I miss him more." Gabriella sighed. Suddenly remembering something, she said to her daughter, "Guess who came to visit me today?"

"Who?" Lolita wondered. 

"Marco." Her mother responded with a smile. "He was hoping you would be here. He really hinted at me that he's in love with you." 

Lolita crinkled up her nose. "Marco and I are just friends. We grew up together, he's like a brother to me. Besides, Elsa has a crush on him." Marco and Elsa had been her first two friends when she moved to Germany and though she had only been there for two years, Lolita cared about them both as though they were her siblings.

"Well, if you're in love with someone else you should clear things out with him." Gabriella suggested. It was clear to her that Marco really liked Lolita.

The corners of Lolita's lips curled into a smile. "I'm in love with Erik, mum."

"Is he your boyfriend now?" asked her mother.

"We haven't really talked about it." Lolita let out a sigh. "But I know he feels the same way about me."

"It would still be a good idea to talk about it with him. Let him know that you want a serious relationship with him, and what you want in a boyfriend. Also, listen to what he has to say. Communicating is one of the most important things in a relationship." Gabriella explained to her daughter. It was the same way her relationship worked with Thomas, and they were perfectly happy.

"And I want Erik to talk to Thomas about our relationship." Lolita added with an excited smile. "Now that we're getting on so well, I want Thomas to approve of us dating."

Gabriella nodded her head in agreement. "Once you've sorted everything out and made things official, let us know and we'll invite him to dinner. I'm sure Thomas would love to have you date one of his friends because we know Erik is a good boy."

What Lolita and Gabriella didn't imagine was that it would actually drive a wedge between Erik and Thomas.

-

finally an update.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE! im going to start cooking dinner with my sister now, so i dont want to write too long of an author's note. 

thank you so much for reading and supporting this story.

blessings for this holiday season.

-clary xx