Chapter Text
Ava sits at my side, and in between a bunch of work driven maniacs sat our opponents. James and John. I know James, him and my sister were close. We never saw him again, after she passed. And he never came to the funeral. This is the first time I’ve seen him in years.
Suddenly, a lanky man came up to them. John stood up immediately, pulling him into a forced embrace. He was shorter than him, but his demeanor made him look bigger. Not scary, just burly.
I could hardly make out what he was saying, but I caught his name, Bobby, Or rather that's a nickname for him. Shorter for Robert, maybe.
At my side, Ava kicked my leg. “Something caught your eye?” Kicking her back, “It’s James, he’s here.” Her head turned to where he was sitting, curiously she asked “Natalia’s ex?”
Before I could respond James turned to our direction, he caught my eye. And I barely smiled at him. In between John’s embrace, he bowed his head slightly. As in to pay respects, for not showing up to the funeral.
Turning back to Ava, “yeah, it’s him.” All she said was damn, at least she went to the funeral. They knew each other somewhat, considering Ava would always come to my house. She said I wouldn’t like her parents, and she was right.
There isn’t much to do, but observe the opposing team and Bobby. He has a camera around his neck, blocking away from John’s aggressive demeanor. They seem somewhat close, except for James. He only listens to the others talking, nodding everytime someone looks his way.
Bobby tries shaking off John, and leaves smiling at both of them. He walks around talking to different people, and taking their pictures.
As soon as he’s done with someone, he jumps to the next person. A server passes by, and Ava grabs his attention. Asking for another drink, she looks at me and asks “What do you want?” Looking up at the server, “A water, thank you.”
As the server is walking away, Bobby bumps into him. His mouth moves, but I can’t catch the exchange between them. Tugging his camera, again. Almost like he’s checking on it, wondering if she’s hurt or not.
Suddenly, he’s walking towards our direction. “Excuse me…” barely speaking clearly, “May I take a picture of both of you, ladies?”
Ava looks at me and shrugs, so I'm the one to respond. “Yes, of course.” Standing up, and pushing my chair, Ava does the same.
If it weren’t for his slouchyness, he would be towering over me and Ava. “Should we do a pose, or something?”
Before he replies, his eyebrows jump as if he’s somewhat confused.
“Oh no, just do whatever feels comfortable.” Mumbling out okay, Ava grabs my waist. And he takes the photo.
He says thank you, and before he leaves I try to grab his attention. “Can I see it?”
He looks at me, and then back at the camera. “Um yeah, sorry” he stuttered.
Shifting his body near mine, so his arm brushed against mine. I didn’t even merely take a glare at the photography, yet his hands I did
Comparing his hands and his camera, they were rather small.
Out of the blue, he asks “Do you like it?” Shifting away from him, “Yes, of course I like it” I insisted.
He smiles, “Thank you.” I quickly responded,
“Yeah, you're welcome.” I haven’t noticed it, but Ava has taken her seat and began drinking her beverage.
“Uhm, I’ll be at your match, the tennis match,” he was mumbling, again.”
“That’s cool, will you be with your camera?”
He looks down at his side, where the camera rests. “Yeah, I have to. It’s my job,” he looks down again, mumbling.
I looked deeply into his eyes, and started snorting like a pig. It wasn’t even that funny. Now I’m the one who is acting awkward, “Don’t get my bad side.”
Now he’s laughing, we both look like idiots. “I won’t.” He smiles, and then remarks “Uhm, I have to get back to work, but uh I’ll try to find you, at the match.”
“Yeah, cool. Hopefully I win,” I exclaimed. He was already walking away, but at least he waved.