Hotel Ferrero (Chapter 4)
Title: Hotel Ferrero
Pairings: Gasquet/Nadal, Djokovic/Roddick
Other characters: Andy Murray
Rating: PG-13 (Never know the appropriate rating, sorry)
Warnings: Vampires, mentions of blood
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and this is a fiction.
Summary: Rafael tries to be friends with Richard while Andy decides to go watch Novak's match.
From the previous chapter:
Richard wanted to drink human blood for the first time in his life and Rafael wanted to be friends with the stringer. Andy couldn’t believe that he was interested in a vampire and Novak wasn’t sure what Andy meant by the word "interested."
Chapter 4: One step closer
Rafael was holding his tennis racquet tightly in his left hand, ready to swing at any time. His eyes were focused on the unidentifiable snack that kept moving on the coffee table. A bead of sweat started to form on his forehead but he didn’t move an inch.
‘What is that thing? It moves, no?’
He had ordered some vampire snacks from the hotel in hopes of getting friendly with his favorite stringer who was supposed to come in his room at any moment. But after the hotel clerk had put the bag full of snacks on the table and left, Rafael had found out that the bag was moving. He hadn’t had the courage to open the bag so he had rather picked up his racquet and was on high alert.
Knock-knock.
“Come in! It’s open!” Rafael shouted out loud so whoever was at the door could let himself in.
“Good evening, Mr. Nadal.” Richard walked in the room and was surprised at his customer standing alert with a racquet in his hand.
“Good evening to you too.” The Spaniard greeted him with his eyes still on the moving snack.
“May I ask if everything’s okay, sir?”
Rafael pointed at the coffee table with his right hand. “That thing moves.”
Richard closed the door and took a few steps to get closer to the table. “Would you mind if I open this?”
The human shook his head. “Be careful. It moves.”
The French just opened the bag and found a couple of snacks that he usually enjoyed. “Oh, these are vampire snacks. Expecting a vampire guest, sir?”
Then he quickly turned even paler and apologized. “Oh, I’m very sorry, sir. It was certainly not my place to ask.”
“It’s okay. That was for you.”
Richard opened his eyes wide. “For me, sir?”
“Yes, I want to be friends with you.” Fear made Rafael brave enough to tell the blunt truth.
The vampire couldn’t help smiling. “I’m very flattered, sir, but I might not be the most interesting vampire to hang out with.”
Rafael finally fixed his eyes on Richard while the French pulled out the dangerous snack.
“These are beetles, sir. They’re covered in butter and in a special ingredient that the food company probably won’t want to give up.” Richard chuckled at the thoughts of his old friend Gael who still loved this snack. His friend had bought boxes of those in order to find out what that special ingredient was.
“Do you eat that?” Rafael asked.
“Ha-ha, no, sir. I don’t particularly like this one.”
“Good. You’re normal.”
Rafael was more than pleased to know that his soon-to-be friend didn’t enjoy snacks that were alive.
“Would you like me to get rid of this one, sir?” Richard offered.
“Yes, please.”
The hotelier made a quick phone call and soon the same hotel clerk that had brought the snack disappeared in a hurry with the moving one.
“Now would you feel more comfortable talking about racquets, sir?”
“Yes, please sit.”
Rafael offered him to sit down but Richard hesitated. “It’s okay. Nothing moves now.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about, sir. I think it’s against our policy to have tea time with a customer during work.”
“I won’t tell anyone.” The Spaniard grinned, finally leaving his racquet on the couch and sitting next to it. “Come on, I’ve got warm tea.”
He poured himself a cup of rosemary tea and poured another one for the stringer. “You want your guests to be happy, no?”
“Of course, sir.”
“Then please sit down and drink this. Or I will be very unhappy.”
Richard was still standing near the couch, afraid to sit down.
“Richard.” When his customer called his name and wriggled his eyebrows, the French didn’t say another word and sat down like a good child.
“Good. Now we can drink. I hope you like tea.”
“I love tea, sir.”
Rafael grinned. It seemed that he had made the right move. In his book, if you wanted to make new friends, you should always share something to eat.
“Do vampires eat potato chips too?” The Spaniard opened a bag of chips and offered some.
“Yes, they do, sir. Actually they’re my favorite.”
Rafael almost jumped up in glee. “It’s my favorite too, no? We have something we like together!”
Richard smiled and tried his best not to stare too much at the strong biceps right across the table.
“So if you’re a stringer, do you also watch human matches?”
“Only when they play after 8 o’clock, sir.”
“Richard, if we’re going to be friends, I think ‘sir’ is not good, no?”
“Then, what would you like me to call you?”
“Rafa. Everyone calls me Rafa.”
The French would love to call him Rafa, but he wasn’t sure if he was really allowed to.
“Why? You don’t like my name?” Rafael pretended to look hurt.
“No! No, your name’s beautiful, si... um... Rafa.”
“See? Easy, no?” The Spaniard smiled and Richard smiled even brighter.
“If you really want to be friends with me, I guess you should call me Richie.” The half-vampire wasn’t sure if he wanted to be just friends with the sexy lefty but he thought that it was a good start to whatever kind of relationship they would be having in the future.
“Ok, I call you Richie then. Very cute name.”
Richard blushed much more than he should’ve and it didn’t go unnoticed by his customer. The tennis player had almost said ‘You look even cuter than your name.’ but had managed to hold his tongue in the right moment.
‘You don’t say things like that to a new friend, no?’
Rafael wasn’t sure why he had even thought of saying those words and was glad that he didn’t let his mouth open.
“So who’s your favorite human player?” The Spaniard asked, grinning. “It’s okay even if it’s not me.”
Richard felt guilty but had to tell the truth. “It’s Roger Federer but you’re my second favorite!”
“Thank you. I feel much better.” Rafael exaggerated and poured some more tea for the cute guy across the table.
“I heard from Roger that you make sculptures.”
“Yes, I do. Well, these days, I haven’t really made anything but yes, I like making things.”
“You have to show me some time.”
“Ha-ha, you’ll probably be very disappointed.”
“I don’t think so. Roger said that he even bought some. I believe he has a good taste.”
“I think he only bought them because he felt that my work was too bad to be bought by anyone else.”
Richard giggled and as he stole another quick glance at the famous biceps sticking out of the T-shirt, he thought about shaping plaster or clay into those beautiful muscles.
“Have you ever modeled before, Rafa?”
Rafael ate a couple of more chips and shook his head. “Some Spanish magazines asked me to pose nude. They said it was for charity but I was too shy. I said no.”
“Oh...” Richard tried to picture a nude Rafael in his atelier. That would be too much for him to handle even if he could get the inspiration of his life. He quickly grabbed the tea and drank it in one sip.
“You really love tea, no?”
Rafael poured him some more and watched him drink. It was good to have someone in the room. In fact, he was so desperate to find a friend recently that he wouldn’t have cared if Richard was the name of a frog. Species really didn’t matter to the Spaniard at this point and he was thrilled to have found such a cute and talented creature as his new friend.
“Now we should definitely talk about racquets and strings, Rafa.” Richard felt bare under the gaze of the Spaniard and he knew that it was best to get out of this room as quickly as possible.
“Ok. But there’s not much to talk about. You’ve done the strings perfectly so I can only hope you could do the same again.”
Richard nodded his gratitude, said a few words and grabbed several racquets before storming out of the room.
Rafael wondered what had gotten into him but he was relieved that everything turned out well.
“Maybe next time if I play late, I can invite him to my match, no?’
The Spaniard was looking forward to do plenty of things together with his new friend.
Andy was watching TV in his hotel room, bored to death. He had to retire during yesterday’s third round match because of the pain in his shoulder so he was thinking about going straight to England.
‘I need at least a week of rest, though. Too short to fly home and come back.’
Andy turned the TV off and decided to take full advantage of his situation.
‘Well, my shoulder won’t affect my night performances, so I’d better start looking for a cute one around.’
Now the word cute seemed to direct his thoughts straight to a certain vampire.
‘Why do that face and those fangs keep following me? It’s annoying.’
The American got up from the couch and grabbed his cell phone. When Andy Roddick had problems, he didn’t go hide under the covers. He tackled them head on.
‘It’s simple. Either I just grab him and sleep with him or I watch him play tennis and sleep with him.’
He figured that the latter option sounded better and quickly dialed Roger’s number.
“Hello, Andy.”
“Hi, Roger. I hope I didn’t wake you up or something.”
“No, it’s fine. What can I do for you? Let me guess. Another round of questions about vampires. Am I wrong?”
Andy could hear the Swiss giggle.
“Well... um, yes. But I don’t know what’s so funny about that.”
“My my my... Andy Roddick’s got a thing for a vamp! Breaking news. So who’s the cutie that caught your heart? Or your bed, I should say.”
“I’m not answering anything. All I need to know is if vampires play tennis like we do. You know, during Slams, one day off and so on.”
“So he or she’s a tennis player.”
“Just answer me, Roger.”
“They’ve got one day off during Slams, just like us. Now since I’ve answered, tell me who it is. I could make Carlos put in some good words for you.”
By the excitement flashing in Roger’s voice, Andy could tell that he was enjoying this teasing way too much.
“You’re evil, Roger. Tennis fans should know about this side of yours. They’d be so shocked.”
“I think they’ll be more shocked to find out that you want a vampire in bed.”
“I don’t want him in bed.” Andy lied.
“Oh, so it’s a he. Is he a top ten player?”
“I don’t know.”
“So he is a top ten player.”
“I said I don’t know.”
“You’re lying. I live with a vampire, remember? My hearing’s getting better by the month.”
“What does that have anything to do with my lies?”
“So you admit that you lied.”
“No!” Andy thought that he should hang up.
“Well, I’d like to tease you some more but I’ve got to go out with Carlos so I’ll just let you off the hook for now.”
“How generous of you.” The sarcasm was obvious in Andy’s voice.
“By the way, I think he plays tonight since he’s on the other side of Carlos’ draw.”
“Huh?”
“I think I have a pretty good idea of who it is, Andy. You always go for the same type. Oh, if you want match tickets, you should ask the front desk. Last time I checked, they had VIP tickets. Have fun but I’m not sure it’ll be that easy to get him into bed. You might have a rival.”
Roger giggled some more and finally hung up.
‘A rival? Does Roger even know what he’s talking about?’
Andy thought for a minute. ‘Well, if Novak’s number two, he would definitely be on the other side of the draw from Moya. But that doesn’t prove anything that Roger knows.’
He shrugged and picked up the phone to reach the front desk.
Andy was standing in front of court Philippe Chatrier around 1 o’clock in the morning.
‘Didn’t James say that they mostly used outside courts? Maybe they don’t for quarterfinals.’
The American checked his ticket and headed for the VIP entrance.
“Good night, sir. Tickets please.”
He showed his ticket to the attractive pale young lady who gave him a black muffler in return.
“I don’t think it’s that cold.” Andy just looked at the muffler.
The lady vampire laughed. “It’s for your protection, sir. We wouldn’t want anything to happen to our human guests.”
Andy couldn’t understand. “Protect me from what?”
“There might be indecent vampires that would want your blood, sir. We suggest you wrap this around your neck so they won’t be tempted in the first place.”
“You’re not serious, are you? I’m an athlete in case you don’t know me. I think I can protect myself without the help of a ridiculous scarf.”
“We are very serious, sir. Please.” The lady held out the muffler and Andy sighed, snatching it from her hands.
“Thank you, sir. Enjoy your match!”
Andy walked into the stadium and saw all sorts of vampires sitting on the stands. Some had purple or blue hair, some were yelling at the staff with bloody eyes and some were eating something that looked alive.
‘Wow, welcome to the vampire world.’
He found his seat in the section where there was a sign written human protection area.
‘Is that really necessary? It makes us sound so weak.’
Andy sat at the last row of that section and was within earshot of two male vampires behind him.
“Hey, what do you think about that one? The blond one with the white cap. His neck looks yummy.”
“Wooo, that looks like a fresh one. He must be young. I bet his blood tastes like lemonade.”
“Maybe we should ask him for a drink.”
“We have to ask him outside the stadium. He’s in the VIP area. I don’t want to pay another fine.”
Andy shuddered and quickly wrapped the muffler around his neck. Never in his short life had he been compared to lemonade.
‘I guess they really had a good reason to hand me this.’
The American’s thought were soon interrupted as Novak and Robin Soderling stepped on the court and the match began.
Andy was now standing in the hallway, waiting for Novak to finish his press conference.
‘I’m surely dedicating so much effort to this one. I could’ve already got someone and enjoy the night.’
He hoped that his efforts would be highly appreciated.
“Oh, Andy, you’re here.”
Andy looked up and was about to smile when he found out that Novak wasn’t talking to him. He was greeting a very pale skinny guy who must have the same first name as his. The paler guy gave a peck on the Serb’s cheek which made him frown.
‘Perhaps Roger was right after all. Maybe I do have a rival. Not that I don’t look much better than that skinny guy.’
As soon as the American took a few steps forward with his charming smile on his face, Novak recognized him and grinned widely.
“Andy! What a pleasant surprise!”
Andy didn’t mind Novak rushing over and hugging him as if they knew each other quite well but he felt someone stare at him with hate and jealousy. He looked up while he hugged the Serb back and saw a pair of bloody eyes staring right into his soul.
“Oh, where are my manners? Sorry.” When Novak pulled himself out of the American’s arms and was about to introduce the two Andys to each other, Andy Murray held his hand out for a handshake.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Andy Murray, Novak’s ex-lover by the way.”
The message was clear not only by the tone but also by the firmness of the handshake. The Scottish vampire didn’t like the presence of the American human.
“Hi, there, I’m just a new friend. Andy Roddick.”
“Oh, he’s being polite. He’s the one I’m seeing these days.” Novak took one of Andy’s arms and the other Andy almost shot fire from his eyes.
“Hey, Andy, you don’t mind me leaving right now, right? I got a little date as you can see.” The Serb stressed the word date and the American was soon dragged out of the hall into the vampire’s car.
“Thanks for saving me there. You have no idea how annoying he can be.” Novak spoke as he started the engine of the silver Ferrari.
“No problem. But you might want to tell him the truth. You’re not seeing me.” Andy wanted to add yet at the end.
“I’ve already tried the truth. It’s not working. I’ve ended with him a year ago and he still lingers around me.”
“How long have you two been going out? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“Hmm, let’s see... I met him during high school so I think it was about nineteen years.”
Andy was dumbfounded. “Nine... nineteen years? Dude! You guys were practically married!”
“Nope, we weren’t even close to getting married.” Novak made a left turn and focused on his driving.
“Can I ask why you ended it?”
“Long story but I guess I just wanted someone who would be more open. He always kept too many thoughts to himself and he never wanted to hold my hand in public.” The Serb smiled bitterly but put on a bright voice. “Would you like to have a quick bite with me? Probably with some beer?”
“I’d love to.”
“Good. I’ll pay for it. Consider it as an apology for hugging you without asking.”
“I didn’t mind at all.”
Novak’s eyes were on the road but Andy could see that his ears were slightly red.
“It looks like you’re blushing.”
“Am not. It’s just hot in here.”
“Why? Because of me?”
“Don’t flatter yourself, Andy.”
“That’s what they all say but they eventually end up in my bed.”
Novak’s expression became serious. Andy regretted what he had just said. He had gone too far.
“I’m sorry if I misunderstood but I’m not interested in one-night stands.”
Andy didn’t know how to react. He wasn’t even sure himself what he exactly wanted from the Serb.
“And I thought that you might actually be interested in me.” The bitterness in the vampire’s voice made the human ache.
“I am interested in you.”
“You’re interested in my body.”
“I admit that I was when I first saw you but perhaps things have changed now.”
“What do you mean by perhaps? You don’t know what you want?”
“I’ve never been that good in relationships. Never really worked out that well.”
“Sorry to hear that. Do you want me to drop you off somewhere or are you still willing to eat with me?”
“I’m still willing to eat with you.”
Novak nodded and parked his rented car in front of a cozy bistro.
The atmosphere became more comfortable as Andy had desperately tried to make the Serbian laugh. Surprisingly, Novak was eating human food and the American had to ask.
“You can eat human stuff?”
“I enjoy beef. We don’t have problem eating human food. It’s just that most of us prefer our own stuff.”
“I have to say that I was a bit worried inside the car.”
“You thought I might have you eat crazy things?” Novak’s laughter rang in the air and Andy liked the light sound of it.
“So have you ever gone out with a human being before?” The American asked.
“No, never. Murray was pretty much the only person I really dated.”
“Lucky him.”
Andy didn’t know what he was doing with all the small talk. The first time he had met this vampire, all he could think about was luring him into bed. That was still a big idea in his mind but now it seemed that he wanted much more.
“Um... Andy?”
“Yeah?”
“How do like your beer?”
“Beer’s fine. Why do you ask?”
“Because you’re stroking my fingers instead of your own glass.”
Andy looked down at his hands. Novak was right. His right hand was on top of Novak’s left hand on the table.
“Sorry! I swear I don’t know when that happened!”
The vampire chuckled. “You didn’t have to tell everyone in the bistro, Andy.”
Andy finished his beer in one gulp. He was embarrassed.
“Well, I’m happy to know that someone’s not afraid to hold my hand in public.”
Novak smiled and now Andy was sure that he wanted more than one drunken night.