The second round took a couple of weeks to arrive. Due to Maite's demand, I had been forced to quit in the first battle, but I knew the war wasn't over when the three players reappeared, this time accompanied by Mariona.

In the closing hour of the previous week, I had passionately expressed the most derogatory yet sufficiently respectful words to my boss, who had ruined my only chance to exchange a couple of sentences with three of the world's best players. She looked at me perplexed and silent as I gestured and exaggerated expressions of displeasure.

Fernando, the owner of the establishment, and a man I rarely saw cleaning a table, taking out the trash, or doing any other kind of work that wasn't related to checking the cash register and security cameras, had decided that we had too few customers compared to the other bars on the street, and that the location being in a kind of dark corner of the avenue shouldn't be the reason for it.

And his incredible solution was to establish themed nights. A costume day, a karaoke day, an '80s night, a pirate night... It may seem nice, perhaps. Certainly not for the employees. And fortunately, none of those nights coincided with the one on which I she came back, which had ironically turned into a themed night anyway, the night I saw her again.

When they opened the door, the oxygen got stuck in my bronchi. Maite and I locked eyes. They had decided to come back, which meant they had enjoyed the service. Perhaps that was exactly what they wanted, a place where they wouldn't feel conspicuous.

Any of them would have excited me, but Alexia had returned. It was worth studying to what extent she could be hypnotic to me. That night, she had chosen to tie her hair up, wear a dark sweater with wide sleeves and drooping shoulders, black jeans, and long earrings. Nothing in itself could be classified as attention-grabbing, yet I couldn't take my eyes off her.

I instantly became nervous at the thought that she might turn around and discover me, as if I had something to hide in a gaze that I couldn't divert, without it being my desire or intention, and thus being the most innocent.

Maite also watched them, now aware of who she had served last time. She had done a couple of searches on the internet, marveled at the numbers, and then regretted not asking for a photo to show her husband, an avid FC Barcelona fan since birth.

"They're back..." the redhead finally said aloud, revealing that we shared the same thought.

Did she share the same feeling as me? Had she been trapped in the same way by the blonde's figure? It was something that must happen to everyone, it was impossible for me to conceive otherwise. Then, a fleeting thought crossed my mind, and I widened my eyes before grabbing my boss's arm tightly.

"Stop staring at them!" I exclaimed.

"What?" She complained, pulling away.

I glanced at them briefly for a few seconds. They had chosen the same table and hadn't noticed our little quarrel and, above all, the reason behind it.

"We have to act like we don't know them."

Maite, who hadn't had any reason to lie a couple of weeks before, looked at me as if I had completely lost my mind.

"Why would we do that? I want to ask them for a photo to send to Arnau."

"Come on, Maite, Arnau would prefer to see the kids in La Masia than a women's sport," the redhead frowned, annoyed. I was glad at least that my comment offended her husband rather than making sense to her. "I can assure you they're back because they can be left alone here. Especially Alexia."

"Alexia?"

I rolled my eyes. Did she really not get caught up by her in the same way as I did? I would have searched for her on Google, Yahoo, and even Bing just to find something of that girl after seeing her the first time.

"The blonde."

She looked at her closely for a few seconds, and I forcefully looked away to avoid appearing suspicious.

"And why is that?" she asked, genuinely interested.

"Do you seriously not know anything? Do you have any social media? Do you even watch sports?" Maite shook her head, still not taking her eyes off them. Probably she couldn't even do that, and for some reason, that reassured me. "Alexia has been a legend for a few years now, but she has been injured for a long time. Her supposed comeback is all over the news, they won't leave her alone," I grimaced. "She probably feels under a lot of pressure."

Maite sighed.

"Alright," she conceded, leaning against the bar. "They're all yours."

That's what I wanted to hear, and yet it was hard to swallow. Damn, was I really such a fan that I got so nervous? In part, it was understandable. It was in my hands to make this place continue to be comfortable for them, without intrusive staff trying to get their photos and autographs or talking to them too much to be able to tell all their acquaintances that they were friends. If I did well, it was possible that they would come back.

I grabbed the small notepad with extreme nervousness, and I was grateful that Alexia was facing away from me. At least she wouldn't see how I locked my eyes on hers and couldn't look away until I reached the table. She would probably find it a little creepy.

I moistened my lips and took a deep breath before starting to speak when I reached the table. I squeezed in between Mariona and Aitana. I knew Alexia would be facing me, but I preferred that to physical closeness, accidentally brushing her leg with my arm if she didn't realize I was approaching, who knows. It would probably be more difficult to hide the internal scream that would come out once I confirmed with a touch that her presence wasn't a product of my imagination.

"H-hello," I coughed forcefully, disguising how ridiculous my voice sounded.

"Hello!" Mariona turned almost half her body to look at me. I swallowed.

"I would want a cold water."

I nodded, trying to hide my nervousness. Mapi looked at me suspiciously.

"An orange juice," she said.

"Another water, please," Aitana glanced at me for a second before returning her attention to her mobile phone.

I became even more nervous knowing who was next. I closed my eyes tightly to reduce the anxiety and locked my gaze on hers, which were already focusing on me directly. She scrutinized me carefully, the different features of my face. She remained serious. Once she had finished scanning my entire face, she looked away, and I could breathe.

"A beer."

The other girls sitting at the table looked at her amused.

"You?" Mariona asked teasingly.

I finished writing the orders in the notepad. It wasn't very difficult; in a normal situation, I would have remembered them without any problems. But I wasn't going to let nerves play a bad trick on me and make a mistake at this moment.

"Yes," she crossed her arms.

"Considering you have training tomorrow..." Mapi teased as she repeatedly poked her with her index fingers, and she kept bending her torso in response, begging for mercy.

"It's the last one for a while," she said convincingly.

"I'll be right back with everything," I spoke before leaving.

I walked to the bar. "Walk normally. Damn, do you always walk like that? Why did you say that? What a weirdo. I'll bi right bick with ivirithing. I shook my head, trying to silence my own thoughts, and approached Maite, leaving the slip on the table with a huff. I leaned against the bar, hiding in the storage room for a few minutes.