Authors: Stella White
I nodded.
“I wonder what else I’ve been
missing,
” he said.
We stood there, arms wrapped together, for what seemed like hours. I watched the clouds crawl overhead, and soaked in the autumn air.
It wasn’t until the sun began to creep over the horizon that we both planted ourselves back in the truck. Chris looked like he’d
been drained
, emotionally.
Once we were back in the
truck
, he started leaning towards me, begging for a kiss. I met his lips with my fingers.
“Don’t confuse a caring friend with a lover, Chris. Let’s just get back to town,” I said.
He let out another long sigh as he started the car. We pulled away and rumbled down the road in utter silence. Both of us
were trapped
inside our heads.
I wondered if I was handling everything the way I should be. I almost never thought of Brad while Chris and I were together, maybe that was a good thing. He was still a massive
womanizer,
though, and he hadn’t shown any sign of change in the slightest. I
really
didn’t want to get involved.
He dropped me off in front of my apartment again.
“Thanks for the ride,” I said.
“Lucy,” he said.
“What’s up,” I asked.
“Would you come to my next game, tomorrow night?” he requested.
“Or course, I’d be happy to cheer you
on,
” I said with a smile.
He smiled back at me as I shut the door. With that, he sped off down the road.
6.
“Something was left for you, Lucy,” Tiffany said.
At least,
she was wearing
pants,
this
time;
I thought to myself.
She gestured towards a bundle of flowers that were laid out on the table. A card
was tucked
between a couple of them, which I promptly pulled free and examined.
‘To
Lucy, in the hopes that she might be willing to forgive me. Love: Brad.”
They were quite
nice
; I always did have a thing for lilies.
I had spent so much time avoiding Brad, and I was finally starting to come to my senses. He did deserve a chance to explain himself. But, I had no intention to let him back into my life.
I grabbed my phone and dialed my old flame.
“Okay, Brad. Let’s meet up and talk. You deserve that much,” I said to him over the phone.
“You won’t regret this, Lucy. I’ll see you tomorrow night,” he said, hanging up the phone.
I paused after he ended the call. I forgot, during out small conversation, that I had already made plans for Friday night. I immediately called Brad back.
“Brad, I can’t do tomorrow night,” I said.
“Don’t you want to get together and hash this out, though? Wouldn’t sooner be better than later?”
“It would be, but I have plans for tomorrow night,” I said.
He scoffed over the phone.
“Then let’s get together in the early evening, you’ll still have your night free for your date, or whatever it
is,
” He replied.
“Fine,” I said.
I didn’t know what a terrible idea it was until I showed up the next evening. He wore his best clothes, and I had a feeling he thought this had the possibility of becoming a date.
I wore something simple but
warm
since I’d be at the game later. I wanted to be
anywhere,
but here, just the sight of his face was making my stomach churn.
“Hey Lucy,” he said.
I nodded my hello and sat down at the table. We had decided to meet at one of our old date night locations, which was a
really bad
idea. The nights we spent just sitting around drinking coffee, working on homework, and trying to avoid starvation; those memories all started flooding
back,
and I felt trapped.
“Can I start,” he said.
I nodded another yes.
“That girl didn’t mean anything to me,” he said.
“Then why were you sleeping with her,” I asked.
“I was having a moment of weakness. I’m only human, after all,” he said.
“Then as
a human
, you should learn to deal with the consequences,” I replied.
“Are you
really
going to play that ‘holier than thou’ card?” he asked, in a bit of rage.
“What are you trying to say, Brad,” I asked, calmly.
“You slept with that man-whore Chris the same night you ran off,” he said, “don’t say you didn’t. Do you know how that makes me feel?
Watching the person, I love sleep with some guy that isn’t even interested in her at all?”
I laughed; it was almost unbearable to
listen to
.
“You
really
are something else,” I said, “you accuse me of sleeping around after you I catch you in the act. I’m amazed I stayed with you as long as I did. I even have a feeling that she wasn’t the first person you were sleeping with behind my back.”
He leaned over the table and stole a kiss. I went to push him away, but he pulled me in tightly. It
took
a second before I managed to pry his face off mine, and I knew
then,
and there this would be the last time I would see him.
I shot from my seat, narrowly avoiding his searching arms trying to get a hold of me again.
“
Goodbye,
Brad,
” I said.
I started walking towards the
exit
but turned just before I did.
“I don’t regret it when I say that Chris is and always will be a better man than
you
because at least he knows what he is. He doesn’t slink around pretending to be something he isn’t.
“Don’t call me, because I won’t call you.”
I walked out of the restaurant, somehow feeling a sense of finality. It was the closure that I
was lacking
from our previous encounter. I wanted to go back in there and swear at him for another hour. I wanted to scream until my lungs belted fire. I wanted to do so many things that I knew would be bad for me. So, instead, I went to the game.
7.
Tiffany and I sat behind the team, just a few rows back. I hadn’t
really
gone to any sporting events this season. The games rarely held my interest for long.
Still, I wanted to cheer Chris
on;
he needed more cheerleaders in his corner. I knew what he was trying to
achieve;
he was just like me. He wanted to follow his dreams and become a pro player. I just wanted to find
a dream
to follow.
He turned back a few times during the game and made eye contact. His expression remained mostly jovial with his fellow players.
“He’s acting different,” Tiffany said.
“How so,” I asked.
“I haven’t seen him so talkative with his teammates. He’s usually a guy that keeps his head in the game until it’s over.”
She would know; she was probably one of his biggest fans.
“I wonder
what’s gotten
into him,” she asked.
Our team, led by Chris, crushed the other team. I cheered until I could barely speak.
The field started clearing out, Chris didn’t head to the lockers with the team. He waited on the bench, deep in thought.
I waited in the
stands;
Tiffany decided to head home for the
night,
and I told her I’d manage a way home myself, later. All that remained were a few staff members cleaning, me, and Chris.
I walked down to the field to join him, but he was pulled aside by the coach before I could catch up. I managed
to just barely overhear
their conversation.
“They were impressed tonight,” he said.
“Yeah? I thought I’d rely more on my team than try to win it by myself,” Chris replied.
“They’re still a little slow to decide, but they said that it looks promising. I’ll keep my ear to the ground for you,” the coach said.
“Thanks,” Chris said.
“Get out there and party, tonight. You earned this one,” the coach slapped him hard
in
the arm and walked off toward the locker room.
Chris snatched his helmet from the bench then looked over at me. He almost looked a little disgusted, but I couldn’t tell.
“Hey,” I said.
“Did you enjoy the game,” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said, “you looked
really good
, and it sounds like those scouts liked you a little better this week, too.”
“I’d be lying if I said I
wasn't
a little excited.”
I laughed and walked over to join him.
I wrapped my arms around him, giving him another big hug.
“Are you sure Brad won’t get jealous,” he asked.
“Why would Brad be jealous,” I questioned.
“I saw you guys at the restaurant earlier. I saw you guys making out.” Chris said.
I wanted to
laugh
but stifled it as best I could.
“Brad ambushed me with a kiss,” I said, “I wish I hadn’t even gone to meet up with him.”
“I was hoping that I’d get to talk to you before the game,” Chris said.
“What about,” I asked.
“I have started to see things in a much different light,
since
the other day. I’ve tried to do everything alone, and I had it
handled
until I met you.” He said.
“What are you trying to say,” I asked.
“I’m saying
that
my outlook has changed. I don’t want to sleep around with a bunch of girls; that part of me has died over the last week. I’ve had a lot of offers, believe me.”
I laughed at the idea of him turning down sex. He joined in and pulled me in for a hug.
“I want someone who’ll be there when I’m sad, someone who will cozy up
with
me and watch TV on
a boring
night. I think I just want someone I can go
home to
. And, I was hoping it would be you.”
I could feel tears begin to well up behind my eyes. He was baring his soul to
me,
and it was hard to deny him. I pressed my head
to
his chest and pulled him in tight.
“Would you like to go out on a date with me? It’ll be my first,” he asked.
I pulled myself away.
“Sure,
but, this time,
I get to take you to my favorite spot,” I replied.
He threw his arm around me and we walked off the field, together.
We had each other, and that was more than either of us needed.
*****
THE END
Chapter One
Faith Fisher stood in front of the mirror, running her hands down her sides and over her hips. Her new jeans fit very well. She could see herself walking next to Ethan Ronan, star halfback, at the next after game party. She straightened her glasses, then took them off to see what she looked like without them. But then she couldn’t see. She squinted to try and see better. It didn’t help.
She sighed and slipped on her glasses again. She needed to ask her mother if she could get contacts. Or she could just buy them herself with her tutoring money. She brushed her fingers through her blond hair, pulling it down in its natural waves over her chest. It came down just below her breasts, which were not too big, not too small, one of the few things she was satisfied with when it came to her body. She didn’t want to think she was frumpy and
heavy,
but she was a tad
overweight,
and most of her clothes were not the best style ever.
In fact, did she even have a style?
Ethan wasn’t going to go out with her unless she figured out her style and dressed herself up a bit. She turned and threw herself on her stomach on the big bed, kicking her legs up behind her. She half-crawled on the bed and grabbed her cell phone off the night table.
WHATCHA DOIN? She texted her best friend, Stacy Thorn. Then she set the phone back down and scooted down on the bed to open her laptop and scan Facebook. Her phone beeped almost
immediately,
and she grabbed it up.
TALKIN’
TO MOM AND DAD. WE STILL ON FOR SPRING BREAK?
Faith smiled and texted back that they were
definitely
still on. She and Stacy were planning on heading out to the beach with half the football team and some of the cheerleaders on a quick weekend trip. She hadn’t told Stacy about her crush on
Ethan,
but she suspected her friend new
anyway
. They had been best friends since grade
school,
and there was
very little
they could keep from each other. She didn’t see that they would ever be apart. College was coming
up,
and they would be attending the same school
…
just the community college for the first two years. They had both been given two free years as a scholarship because of their grades.
CAN YOU COME OVER LATER AND WATCH A MOVIE? She texted. She held her phone in her hand and waited for the response.
YEAH, MOM AND DAD SAID I CAN STAY THE NIGHT. I’LL BE OVER IN A HALF HOUR.
She smiled. She dropped back down on her bed, looking up at the ceiling. The trip was coming up faster than she expected. It was finally this Friday. She’d been waiting for weeks. She wanted to make a good impression on Ethan. Stacy would help. She would make sure that Faith didn’t come off as some
kind of
geeky nerd. That surely wouldn’t attract Ethan.
Stacy came over just as she said, in a half hours’ time. She lived fifteen minutes away by bike
ride,
but her father brought her over in his car.
She
came
in
Faith’s room and tossed her bag on the floor by the bed. She wrapped her arms around her friend and hugged her tight. “Faith!
You’re looking so good, girl!”
Faith laughed. “Better than I was yesterday when you saw me?”
Stacy’s smile was
wide
.
“Yes,
of course, darling,
yes, of course!
” She faked a British accent and rolled her eyes in a haughty manner. “I know you’re as excited as I am about the trip this weekend! And guess what! We’re gonna leave on Thursday instead of Friday!”
Both girls squealed and Faith bounced on the bed on her knees, clapping her hands. “No way! How did that happen and how come I didn’t know!”
“You know now! The girls just called and told me.” Stacy was good friends with several of the cheerleaders. She had been on the team during the first two years of high school but gave it up for their junior year to concentrate on her studies. She was brilliant and beautiful at the same time. Faith always felt lucky to be her friend. She had no idea why Stacy remained friends with her despite her popularity.
Stacy dropped onto the bed and leaned back on her elbows. “You know, Faith, they told me to
tell you
. They want you to come along.”
Faith blushed slightly and bit her bottom lip. “Did you tell them about Ethan?” She suspected Stacy knew. She might as well come out with it.
Stacy stuck her tongue through her teeth, smiling big. “Of course not, Faith. I know you. You don’t want your feelings broadcast all over. Besides, Heather would
tell,
and we don’t want that right off, do we?”
Faith shook her head, hiding her grin behind her hand. “No. I want to try to talk to him myself before anybody finds out.”
Stacy turned over on her stomach and hunched her shoulders. “You’re gonna talk to him? What are you
gonna
say? Do you know? I bet you’re gonna need to drink a beer before you do that!”
Faith shook her head. “Oh no! I hope they aren’t gonna be drinking!”
Stacy laughed loudly. “Of course not! Those guys don’t drink. Their dads would kill them, every last one of them! If one dad didn’t, another one would. Imagine that! Ruining a perfectly good football career by drinking alcohol and getting all messed up. I can’t imagine.”
“I think it’s one of the only reasons the team is as good as they are.”
“You mean cuz they don’t drink?”
“Yeah. I think that’s why they win so many games.”
Stacy nodded. “I would put bets on that, Faith. Now let’s see. What are we
gonna
do? Mom says I can stay the night. We got lots of time.”
“Awesome!”
Thursday morning, Faith woke up to the bright sun streaming through her open window, letting in a cool breeze with it. She slid out of bed and closed the window, pulling the blinds so she could get dressed without thinking the entire neighborhood was watching. Her mother often came in and opened the window while she was sleeping because her room was always the hottest in the house.
She dressed quickly. Stacy would be there to pick her up in her dad’s car by
9,
and they would be meeting the rest of the group at the school by 9:30. She was as excited as she’d ever been in her 17 years of living.
She
could see herself swimming with Ethan and splashing him and going for a piggy-back ride on his back, playing chicken with their friends.
She took a shower, got dressed as quickly as she could and was standing outside waiting when Stacy pulled up. Her friend leaned over and yelled through the window.
“Let’s go, girl, we don’t have all day!”
“I’m not the one who’s late.” Faith grinned wide as she threw her duffel bag in the back seat and climbed into the front. “What happened? I figured you’d be here early.”
Stacy shook her head. “It takes
time
to look this good, sweetie.”
They both
laughed,
and Faith responded, “Really? It didn’t take long to look
this
good.” She looked up and pressed one index finger under her chin. They both laughed
again,
and Stacy pulled out into the street.
“We are going to have a
great time
, Faith.”
“I know it!”
Faith rolled down the window and put her hand out, letting it ride on the wind. “It’s such a beautiful spring break week. It
’s too bad
we couldn’t go earlier in the
week,
but I’m glad we get to go now.”
Stacy nodded, glancing over at her. “Yeah, I don’t think everybody’s parents would have gone for having us all gone that long. Not enough supervision. You know they all grew up back in the ‘80s when Freddy Krueger was all the rage.”
The girls laughed again and Faith pretended to be scared.
“So did you bring along any books to read?” Stacy asked in a teasing voice.
Faith flushed but smiled back at Stacy. “Maybe.” She
had
brought along a
couple of
books. It was always good to be prepared if she was left sitting on the beach alone. She planned to do plenty of swimming and volleyball and talking to
Ethan,
but there was always a chance she wouldn’t be able to do at least two of those things. She couldn’t help thinking what if she was stung by a jellyfish and couldn’t go back in the water or what if she twisted her ankle and couldn’t play volleyball? She didn’t even want to think about not being able to talk to Ethan. She pictured him in her mind and knew her face was flushing even more.
“Good grief, your face is all red, Faith. Whatever are you thinking about?”
Faith just gave her a look. Stacy burst out laughing.
“Ethan!” She said. “Well, I wish you luck, honey. He’s a tough nut to crack.”
“Why do you say that?”
Stacy shrugged. “I don’t want to be the one to burst your
bubble,
but you’re not exactly his type.”
“What’s his type? And what type am I?”
Stacy raised her eyebrows. “Well, you aren’t
his
type, at least, not that I can see. He doesn’t go for the brainy beauties. He
goes for the
brain
less
beauties. You know, the ones who don’t care whether he cheats or not or goes out with his friends more often. Or doesn’t introduce you when you go out and meet someone new. Or…”
“Okay, okay, I get it. You sure don’t make him sound very attractive.”
Stacy looked at her. “You can’t judge someone by their looks, Faith. You gotta see what’s underneath, too.”
Faith didn’t look back at her. She looked out the window, letting her hand ride on the wind and thinking about what Stacy had said.
When they reached the school, most of the other students were already there, talking and laughing excitedly. The beach they were going to was an hour and a half away. They had all pitched in several hundred dollars to reserve large suites in a hotel that was right on the shorefront. Faith watched two of the football players loading coolers into the back of the SUV they were taking and gave Stacy a look. Her friend just shrugged as if to say, “what they do is their business.”
She didn’t want to judge and decided the coolers
were probably filled
with Coke and Pepsi. She wasn’t riding with them
anyway
. She saw Ethan but didn’t go over to him. He was with four girls and his best friend, Darryl. She and Darryl locked eyes for a moment and nodded at each other. They didn’t know each other well either but he was the only one on the football team she had
classes with
. In fact, she shared three classes with him. He was tall and muscular, the star quarterback. From what she’d heard about him, he planned to go to college on a football scholarship and someday play
for
the pros.
She was surprised when he left the group he was with and approached her and Stacy.
“
Hey,
ladies.” He said.
“
Hey,
Darryl.” Both Faith and Stacy replied at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed. Darryl’s smile spread across his face, revealing bright white, straight teeth.
“Excited yet?” He asked.
“Yeah, very!” Stacy said, openly flirting with the boy. “You?”
Darryl nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. “Yeah, I get to drive a bunch of dumb jocks across the state and watch them get wasted all weekend. Sounds like a
great time
.”
Faith raised her eyebrows. “You don’t sound serious. You’re not gonna drink, too?”
He shook his head. “Beer is nasty, girl. Don’t drink. It turns people into classless, moral-less fools.”
“Is moral-less a word?” Stacy asked, teasing him. He smiled at her.
“Does it matter?”