After half an hour, I start to get exhausted. It's been a long day and I can't believe that Nadja still has enough energy to keep playing. Yes, I know that I’m not very sporty compared to the others here but at least I tried. Ayden notices my exhaustion pretty quickly and stops next to me while the others continue chasing the ball. "Are you okay?" he asks and I nod, reassuring him that I’m fine. He looks like he just relaxed the past half an hour, he’s not even sweating! He probably wonders why I’m so exhausted already. Why can’t I be a bit more like Nadja and go for a run every now and then? That would’ve helped me greatly in this situation. Should I just continue playing to show Ayden I enjoy playing soccer? But why would I pretend to be someone I’m not? He’ll still talk to me even if I’m not as sporty as his friends, right? Come on, I don’t even know this guy. Why do I want him to like me?

While my brain gets stuck in overthinking, one of the younger guys kicks the ball to Ayden but hits the back of my knee instead. At that moment, I lose my balance and instinctively grab Ayden’s arm to stop myself from falling. Suddenly, a weird feeling rushes through my body. It feels as if I got an electric shock but a lot less uncomfortable. Slightly surprised but also ashamed, I stare at Ayden who's staring back at me and the world seems to get a bit brighter around me again. It’s in the middle of the day, why do my eyes tell me everything just got brighter? And why do his eyes look even brighter now?

I’m still trying to figure out what's happening when two of the guys run to me and pretend to catch me. Nadja comes over as well, her eyes focused on me while the boys seem to want to cover Ayden. I let go of Ayden's arm as I notice that it's getting awkward but I see the meaningful look the three guys share before Ayden looks at me with a slight smile. Then he kicks the ball to Nadja. She just looks at me quickly to check if I’m really okay and then keeps playing. 

What just happened? This feeling seemed so surreal but I’m almost 100% sure that Ayden felt it too. I try to focus on the game again, but it doesn't work. Ayden takes a step away without me noticing right away but he doesn’t continue playing. Do I look pale or why is everyone giving me weird looks? I just got hit with a ball, that’s nothing too serious, right?

Feeling exhausted and confused by whatever is going on, I sit down and get my camera out of Ayden’s bag. The first picture I take shows the jet trails in the sky. Looking around for another photogenic motif, I see Ayden looking at me. I turn my camera to him and take a picture which makes him chuckle. Smiling brightly, I give him a thumbs-up to show him that he can continue playing. However, he makes a silly face instead, prompting me to take another picture. Trying to hold back a giggle, I let the camera focus on his face. Exactly at the same moment when I take the picture, the ball hits Ayden’s shoulder. The others laugh and I can’t help but join in when I see the photo on my camera. The blue-eyed guy seems rather embarrassed and, unfortunately, turns away to get back into the game.

We stay with the group of locals for a bit longer until Nadja decides that she’s done for the day. They ask us to stay for dinner but Nadja drags me away. “You can’t give in to him that quickly, even if it’s just a holiday fling!” she says when we’re far enough away from the others.

I roll my eyes, “I’m not giving in to him, he didn’t even try anything.”

“No, he definitely wasn’t flirting with you and tried to stay close so he can continue staring at you like you stared at him,” Nadja mumbles sarcastically. I can’t really disagree with her. I did look at him quite a lot and often saw him looking at me. Even though I didn’t notice him flirting with me, I feel something like an urge to be closer to him. Just a holiday fling? This is starting to feel like something much better and I’m not sure if I, the normally very careful romantic, am ready for that.