Chapter 261: Two Weeks in Lisbon, Fourth Week of Recovery
Chapter 261: Two Weeks in Lisbon, Fourth Week of Recovery
“Good one.”
Sofia went back to talking about what she was saying earlier, but her tone had noticeably softened.
The evening passed in a blur and Jason was already seeing improvements in their relationship, but it wasn’t yet time to move even further because, despite the improvements, he knew he could not be hasty.
Or at least that’s what the chronicles of romance that he was spending all his time researching pointed at.
*12th September 2020**
The days had passed by quickly for Jason.
For him, it was a cycle of waking up, doing a bit of training at the hotel gym, doing research on matters of romance, watching the occasional friendly match, making the occasional trip to Porto to get his shoulder checked by the team doctor, and finally, evening and weekend dates with Sofia.So far, everything had been going well with his shoulder steadily recovering and no longer hurting as much as before and he could already move his shoulder a bit, though it still hurt to move his shoulder.
The team doctor said that he would soon start physical conditioning to regain motion in his shoulder which meant that his holiday in Lisbon was coming to an end soon.
The Porto team had done well in pre-season, managing to win six out of seven games that they played, only losing one to Oliveireinse due to being hit with a lightning-fast attack in the first minute of the game and somehow being unable to return the favor due to Oliveirense defending all through the match.
Overall, the pre-season could be said to be a success.
The head manager had also completed the deals to bring in the two forwards Mehdi Taremi and Evanilson to the club, once again filling up the spaces available in the front of the team’s attack.
However, with the performance of Sergio Oliveira and Mylo in the striking position during the pre-season, the manager would have a headache setting the line-up as Mylo and Sergio Oliveira had more than proven themselves capable of being able to fit into the team and operate very well from upfront.
This was currently giving the head manager a headache because he now had a lot more considerations to make concerning the team’s line-up and game plans for the quickly approaching season, but Sergio Conceicao didn’t mind as this was a good kind of headache as far as he was concerned.
From worrying about lack to worrying about having too much, who wouldn’t like such a situation?
All this didn’t bother Jason as he didn’t feel that his position on the team could be in danger yet, because, despite the team’s current overpopulation in the attacking department, it was still a bit lacking in the wingers department which for Jason meant a quick return to the line-up after his recovery… hopefully
Leaving the matter of the team aside, Jason felt that the training he was subjecting his lower body to during this period would have helped him improve his motor skills and that his stamina had probably improved quite a bit, but so far he wasn’t able to test that yet as he did not dare to push himself too much at a time like this because of the risk it carried to his injury.
However, he was eagerly anticipating his full recovery so he could see how much improvement he had made.
Finally, regarding his relationship with Sofia, there had been some progress, but there had also been an unexpected hindrance.
Jason had kept meeting up with Sofia and they had progressed through all the stages according to the romance chronicles he had read.
Holding hands, putting his hand in her lap, first kiss… and then they had stopped.
The cause for the stop was a bit unclear, but also unclear to Jason.
This was a confusing way to say it, but it wasn’t wrong.
During the time that Jason had been in Lisbon, he had taken a few pictures at the instructions of Adele to post on social media.
Adele’s reasoning was that Jason needed to show his fans that he was recovering and he was fired up to get back on the field.
It was a purely business idea, and since it wasn’t good for a player building up his brand to avoid contact with his fans for too long, Jason had acquiesced and updated some aspects of his time in Lisbon.
He had made sure not to post any pictures of him training as it wasn’t appropriate for him to be training already, but he posted other pictures.
Jason had also posted a few pictures of him and Sofia together, though he always made sure to cover her face with a huge emoji at her bequest.
Apparently, Sofia didn’t want to be disturbed by reporters due to her relationship with Jason which was something Jason understood and respected.
He knew that some people didn’t want fame of any kind and just wanted a normal life far away from flashing cameras, constant interviews, and their every move being scrutinized by the public.
The problem had arisen on the night of their relationship’s greatest progress.
After grabbing something to eat, they were walking through the streets when someone bumped into Sofia and somehow spilled some alcohol from a flask he was holding onto Sofia’s face mask.
The culprit had apologized quickly on seeing what he had done, but neither Jason nor Sofia had reacted as they saw that it was an honest mistake and the guy was even apologizing.
Letting the guy off, they left him and continued their walk, but before long, the scent of strong alcohol started making Sofia uneasy so they moved to a less crowded place and Sofia had taken off the mask to breathe some fresh air and clean her face a bit.
Seeing Sofia’s pink lips on full display, Jason couldn’t resist making a move, or the temptation of her lips, and had slowly slid down his mask under a guise.
“I don’t think it smells that bad,” he had said as he brought his face closer seemingly to try and smell the alcohol, but once he was within striking range, his eyes locked on her eyes first and then on the target and in a split second he moved before she could catch on to his movements.
His agility came on full display as he captured her lips with his own, eliciting a shocked gasp from Sofia who was unable to respond and was seemingly in a daze.
After about three seconds, he pulled away from her, while keeping his eyes on her face as he muttered,
“Tastes as enticing as it looks.”
“Y-You, You kissed me,” Sofia muttered as her hands went to her lips with shock and surprise written all over her red face.
Jason’s response to her was another target lock and attack on her lips.
Sofia who was still in a daze from the earlier kiss was even more unprepared for Jason’s second kiss which was two seconds longer this time before he pulled away.
“Y-You did it again!?” Sofia stammered out with her tanned face showing a shade of red that was noticeable to Jason as her eyes darted around to ascertain if they were being looked at before her eyes fell on Jason’s face again, but before she could even react, Jason did it a third time.
This time, he slowly took his time nibbling her lips and employing his long dormant lip skills on Sofia who despite her reaction after Jason kissed her, was seemingly never able to react during the kiss and could only be a recipient of Jason’s smooth and caressing lips.
Jason’s tongue was about to lash out but he managed to control himself before he went past what was fitting for a first kiss… plus, they were still in the middle of the streets.
Pulling away for the third time, Jason’s face finally moved to a distance that was safe for Sofia’s lips and his right hand went up to his lips as he swiped his thumb across them.
“The first time was a taste, the second was a confirmation, and the third was simply for my enjoyment,”
“That’s the answer to the question swirling across your mind right now…” Jason said with a shifty smile, but the composure in his voice was fake.
He was internally feeling as anxious as when he was to take a penalty in the penalty shootout in the previous season.
“Y-Y-You!” Sofia didn’t have any words to say and just continually stammered as she glanced at Jason with indignation written all over her face.