Chapter 345: Encounter 2 (ko-fi DanielPolo) 4/4

There was genuine disbelief in Lexi’s voice now.

Joanna laughed awkwardly. "You know him?"

Lexi stared at her for a second before laughing.

"Know him? Everybody knows him."

Joanna looked down slightly, still smiling.

"So that’s why you’re here," Lexi said. "Because of the Manchester City transfer."

"Yeah," Joanna admitted. "We came yesterday."

"That’s actually insane."

Lexi looked back at the picture again briefly before returning the phone.

The whole thing suddenly clicked in her head now.

The stress.

The traveling.

The football stuff.

This girl had probably spent the last week inside complete chaos.

"You know," Lexi said, "I actually wanted him at United."

Joanna immediately laughed.

"Of course you did."

"But honestly," Lexi continued, "he’s ridiculously good. So... painful as it is, I still wanna watch him play."

Joanna shook her head with amusement. "I’ll pretend I didn’t hear the United part."

Lexi grinned slightly.

"He seems nice though."

That made Joanna’s expression soften immediately.

Not dramatically.

Just naturally.

"He is," she said quietly.

And the way she said it made Lexi pause slightly.

There was something very genuine there.

Not celebrity worship.

Not obsession.

Just affection.

Like she truly knew him beyond all the football noise.

"Well," Lexi said after a moment, adjusting her bag over her shoulder, "if you’re gonna be around Manchester for a while, we should hang out sometime."

Joanna looked pleasantly surprised by that.

"I’d like that."

"I can show you places that aren’t football stadiums."

"That would help a lot actually."

"Good," Lexi replied. "Because this city already talks about football too much."

Joanna laughed softly again.

Then Lexi checked her phone and groaned.

"Oh no."

"What?"

"My friend is definitely angry at me now."

Joanna smiled apologetically. "Sorry."

"No, it’s not your fault."

Lexi stepped backward slightly toward the exit.

"But seriously, text me if you need anything while you’re here."

"I will."

"And tell your boyfriend congratulations."

Joanna smiled warmly. "I will."

They said goodbye properly this time before Lexi finally headed out onto the street.

Joanna stayed standing there for a few seconds after she left, still holding the water bottle loosely in her hands.

Then she smiled faintly to herself.

Funny.

Manchester already felt a little less unfamiliar now.

A moment later, she turned and started walking back toward the apartment.

* * *

By the time Lukas and Javi returned to the apartment that evening, the sky outside had already darkened into deep blue.

The day had gone by quicker than Lukas expected.

Most of it had been spent at the City Football Academy, finally getting the chance to properly look around everything he had been too busy to notice the previous day. Aaron had spent hours walking him through nearly every section of the facility.

The training pitches.

The gym.

The recovery pools.

The cafeteria.

The tactical rooms.

The academy section.

The indoor training dome.

And everywhere they went, Lukas had made sure to greet people properly.

Not just coaches or executives.

Everybody.

The kitchen staff preparing meals.

The cleaners moving equipment between rooms.

The workers maintaining the pitches outside.

The people handling laundry and preparing kits.

Even the groundskeepers cutting the grass outside.

At one point Aaron had laughed quietly after seeing Lukas stop to shake hands with one of the older janitors near the academy entrance.

"You know," Aaron had said with a smile, "most players usually don’t bother learning everybody’s names this quickly."

Lukas had shrugged casually.

"They’re part of the club too."

And honestly—

he meant it.

Now, back at the apartment, he dropped lightly onto the couch beside João, who hadn’t moved much from his earlier position in the living room.

The television was still on.

Still football.

Still transfer talk.

Lukas looked at him with disbelief.

"Bro... don’t tell me you’ve been sitting here this entire time."

João looked offended immediately.

"Of course not."

Then he pointed toward the kitchen.

"I got food."

Lukas laughed and shook his head.

"Right. Huge day."

"It was exhausting."

"You’re not even the one signing."

"That’s emotional support work."

Lukas chuckled under his breath before glancing around slightly.

"Where’s Jo?"

João tilted his head toward the hallway.

"She came back a while ago. I think she’s in the room."

Then he lowered his voice slightly. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"I think her cramps got worse."

Lukas’ expression softened immediately.

Without saying much else, he headed toward the bedroom quietly and pushed the door open gently.

The lights were dim inside.

Joanna was lying curled slightly on her side beneath the covers, one hand resting against her stomach. She looked up slowly when the door opened.

"You’re back," she murmured softly.

Lukas walked over immediately and sat carefully beside her on the bed.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "How are you feeling?"

Joanna exhaled softly.

"I’ll survive."

"You sure?"

She nodded faintly before wincing slightly again.

"I was just caught off guard by it coming this early."

Lukas frowned sympathetically.

"That bad?"

"A little."

He stayed quiet for a second before asking gently, "Is there anything I can do?"

Joanna smiled faintly at that.

"You already sound stressed enough."

"I’m serious."

"I know."

She shifted slightly against the pillows and looked up at him again.

"I actually met someone today."

Lukas blinked once.

"Someone?"

"Yeah. At the convenience store."

"She helped me out when everything started."

Lukas nodded slowly.

"What’s her name?"

"Lexi."

For a split second, something about the name tugged faintly at the back of his mind.

Lexi.

He frowned slightly without meaning to.

"Where have I heard that name before?"

"Isn’t that her kid?"

"Yeah, no way, what are the chances?" he concluded as he decided not to dwell on it too much. Lexi wasn’t exactly a rare name.

"What happened?" he asked instead.

Joanna explained briefly about the store, the bathroom, and how Lexi had helped her get supplies and painkillers when she got caught off guard.

Lukas listened quietly the entire time.

Then Joanna smiled slightly.

"She recognized you eventually."

Lukas blinked.

"She recognized you as my girlfriend?"

Joanna laughed softly.

"No. Not immediately."

"Then how?"

"She followed my Instagram."

Lukas groaned softly already.

"And?"

"And the latest post on my page was literally us standing beside the Europa League trophy."

"...Right."

"She figured it out pretty quickly after that."

Lukas shook his head slightly while laughing under his breath.

"That’ll do it."

"She seemed nice though," Joanna continued. "Really nice actually."

Lukas nodded absentmindedly.

"Good."

Then he looked at her again carefully.

"You should get some rest."

"I will."

"You sure you’re okay for tomorrow?"

Joanna looked at him with mild disbelief.

"Lukas. We’re flying on a private jet."

"That doesn’t answer the question."

She smiled slightly.

"I’ll be fine. Worst case, I’ll just sleep the whole flight."

Lukas studied her face for another moment before finally nodding.

"Alright."

Then he leaned down and kissed her forehead gently.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

He stood afterward and stretched slightly before heading toward the bathroom to shower, while behind him Joanna settled back deeper into the covers, already looking half-asleep again.

*******

Last DanielPolo Chapter! It took a while! Thanks a lot!

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Love for the love.

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