World's Worst Sleep Over: Part 2
William Saliba x Personal Chef
Summary: As William recovers from his concussion, he begins to feel aimless. To cure his boredom, he seeks out the company of Y/N which leaves the both of them questioning the limits of their relationship.
a/n: Can y'all tell where I'm from? I'm trying to make the readers ethnicity kind of vague, so she fits people from different countries/cultures but I'm not sure if its working or not.
No one was more restless than a man that was supposed to be recovering from a brain injury Y/N learned as William came into the kitchen for the 10th time since she began working on making lunch.
“Let me do something. I’m bored.” “Wilo, you pay me to cook, remember?” “But I don’t have anything to do. I’m so bored.”
“You could play video games.”
“I’ve already watched too much TV” he whined.
“Read a book.” “Head injury” he said tapping his temple. Y/N pursed her lips at him, “You can still read William.” “No, it will make my head hurt more.” Y/N rolled her eyes but gave in.
“Okay, here.” She grabbed a produce bag and handed it to him. “Peel these for me." William reached into the bag and pulled out a clove of garlic. “I need all of them peeled.” “Oui madam,” William said, feeling grateful to have something to do.
“What are we having today?” “Pizza” she said, dumping the dough out onto the floured kitchen island and kneading it. “Buffalo chicken pizza with stuffed crust.” “Why is it called buffalo? I thought buffalo is an animal?” “I have no clue. It tastes good though."
Quiet days like this were Williams favorites. Discussing random things while she cooked and then talking even more until it was time for her to go home. He liked how she took interest in him outside of his life as a professional athlete. To Y/N, he wasn't William Saliba: world class center back for Arsenal and the French National team. He was Wilo: croissant critic and the sexiest man alive (but she would never admit it).
In the first week that she began cooking for him, she started off with common topics. She asked him questions about his childhood in France and what kind of music he liked. After they became comfortable with each other, she questioned him about his thoughts and opinions and provoked him to come up with theories about things he’d never even considered.
“Do you think that crabs and spiders would swap positions if humans lived in the water instead of on land?”
“Huh?” “Crabs are like the marine version of spiders. Most people are afraid of spiders, but they like to eat crabs. So, if we lived in the water, do you think that we would be afraid of crabs and we would eat spiders?” “I don't know.” “Come on, Wilo. Use your imagination.”
He took an interest in her life as well because the life of a woman in her early 20’s is absolutely fascinating. Awkward first dates, girls' nights out, even a night in with Chinese takeout and binging Gilmore girls sounded interesting to William. Or at least it did when Y/N was the one telling him about it. The sound of her voice alone was enough to captivate his attention. He hated being injured but Y/N made the healing process more enjoyable.
“What are you using the garlic for?” “The Caesar dressing for the salad. Have to have a little healthy with the bad stuff.” “Pizza is not that bad for you. There is carbs, protein..."
WIlliam looked up to think about what other benefits pizza had to offer. “If you put vegetables on it then it is even better for you.” “Oh yeah, definitely.” Y/N said sarcastically. “Pizza is sooo healthy. What do you think the Victoria's Secret models eat every day?” “Well, there are worse foods to eat.”
They were quiet for a moment as Y/N put the dough back in the bowl to rise. “You're still not done with those garlic cloves? Jesus Wilo, you would not survive in a commercial kitchen.” “I am a footballer. I'm not very fast with my hands.” Y/N snorted at his statement.
“Whatever you do: do not tell any woman that on the first date.” William repeated his sentence in his head and then it dawned on him. He pointed to his head grimacing. “The concussion, it is making me stupid.” Y/N snickered and started washing lettuce.
She was still giggling when she turned around and placed the lettuce on the cutting board. William smiled. He couldn't help but smile when she was smiling.
"Are you busy on Sunday?" He blurted without thinking. "Well, I have to cook for you." "You don't have any other plans?" "Nope." "Do you want to come see an Arsenal game with me?" She hid her reaction well, but not well enough for William to miss the look of shock on her face.
"Like, in person?" He nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds fun." She thought for moment, furrowing her brows. "Are you sure that's a good idea though?" She asked cautiously.
"Well, what about all your female fans? Wont they get mad at you if they see you with another woman?" She asked sounding a little worried.
"Not like were together or anything!" She quickly added seeing William's eyebrows raise.
"I don't care. They don't control my life." He said with a shrug.
"Okay. If you have any issues, you can just say that I'm your temporary caretaker."
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"Have you ever been to an Arsenal game?" "No, I've been to a lot of Liverpool games though." William wrinkled his nose at her. "What? I can't help that I'm a Liverpool fan Wilo, football clubs are like Hogwarts houses; you don't get to pick which one you get."
He rolled his eyes dramatically as they entered the elevator to reach the seats he reserved at the top of the stadium. When they sat down, Y/N could feel eyes on her. It wasn't often that William Saliba was seen with anyone, much less a woman.
Throughout the game, she asked William questions about different aspects of the game. She already knew how the sport worked but it was fascinating to hear the perspective of someone who is usually on the pitch.
After a hard fought 3-2 win, William led her down to the pitch to congratulate his teammates who were extremely interested in the nervous looking woman at WIlliams side.
"Who's this?" Declan Rice asked with amused interest after greeting WIlliam with a hug. "This is Y/N. She is my personal chef." "Hi" she said smiling politely.
"So, you're the reason why he's been in such a good mood lately." Declan said with a knowing smile. " Y/N laughed lightly. "I try my best."
"Wilo!" Gabriel called. Willian waved and reached back taking Y/N's hand as to not lose her in the crowd. "Ah! I finally get to meet you!" Gaby said happily. "I have heard so much about you." "Really?" "He never shuts up about you." Y/N wore an expression of surprise while William gave him a stern look. Soon enough, Y/N was introduced to several other players along with their wives. They teased Willaim for needing a babysitter and asked Y/N if she had any embarrassing photos of him.
"So how long have you two been goin' at it?" Declan asked curiously as Y/N spoke to Bakayo. "She has been my chef for almost a year." "I mean how long have you two been together?" "We're not." Declan looked at him in disappointment. "Why the hell not?" "It's complicated" Wilo responded, his eyes not leaving her form. "How is that complicated? You like her, she likes you. Boom, together." William shook his head and returned to her side.
After meeting even more people, Y/N joined William for dinner. He insisted that she relax and let someone else do the cooking tonight. Over dinner they discussed different parts of the game and Y/N's fascination with how football was played differently in different countries. After talking for over two hours, William drove her to her apartment and parked outside. They'd spent the majority of the day together but neither one of them were ready to say goodbye.
"So, how was your first Arsenal game?" "It was fun. I really liked it." "More fun than seeing a Liverpool game?" Y/N sucked her teeth and shook her head, "not quite." William huffed and gave her a look while she laughed. "I will convince you one day." "I don't think so, Wilo. Liverpool is the team for me. I never walk alone."
He squinted at her and made frustrated French noises. "You think I would ever let you walk alone?"
"Why do I have to like the whole arsenal team? Why can't I just like you?" She asked without thinking first.
A smile spread over Williams face as she tried to hide how frustrated she felt. "I don't think Hugo would like that very much" he said a little quieter. "So?" she said with newfound courage. She swallowed at the way Williams eyes moved between her eyes and her lips. "I thought you liked Hugo."
Y/N was incredibly aware of how close they were now. "He's cute."
"Cute? You don't like cute."
She furrowed her brows at him, spurred on by the way he leaned closer to her. "How do you know what I like?" She replied with a sassy tone. William tapped his temple. "Because I'm smart" he said smugly.
This game of cat and mouse seemed to be coming to an end as William backed her into an imaginary corner. He was waiting patiently for her to give him a witty comeback like she usually did but tonight she was fresh out. Goosebumps rose on her skin, and she involuntarily shivered as a result of the nervousness building inside her. "Are you cold?"
"That just happens sometimes."
William reached across and gently grabbed her hands in his own. "Your hands are cold. Let me warm them up." Y/N felt intoxicated as she watched him rub her hands with his own. She sucked in a large breath of air when he cupped her hands and blew on them before rubbing some more. He looked up at her with a watchful expression then back down to her hands.
He looked over them. They were soft but scarred. Marked from years of working with sharp knives and hot pans that Y/N didn't know were hot when she grabbed them.
Williams fatal blow came when he lowered his head and kissed the back of each hand. Now Y/N was really shivering. "William" she breathed out.
"Hmm?" He hummed and kissed her thumb. "Um, I- eh..." "What happened?" He asked in amusement. "You were so bold and now you can't speak?" She didn't respond, not by choice but because her brain had seemingly lost its ability to produce words as a direct result of feeling his lips pressed against her hands.
Logic finally broke through her clouded mind, and she snapped back to reality. William was her boss and no number of friendly conversations and evenings spent watching Netflix in his living room was going to change that.
"I'm really tired. I'm gonna go to bed" she said gently pulling her hands from his grasp. She didn't miss the disappointment that flashed across his face. She grabbed her purse and gripped the handle tightly to ground herself as she reached for the door handle. "I had a really nice time. Thank you for inviting me."
