Unknowingly His

Chapter 9

It was near to impossible to sleep. No amount of time was going to ease my embarrassment of last night. The worst bit was that I couldn't even avoid him if I wanted to. I'd promised Gray I'd be at his try outs this afternoon and I wasn't going to back out.

The morning drop off was done with me wearing my biggest sunglasses and a borrowed baseball cap from my Dad. Anyone else would think I was some sort of celebrity and deep down I knew Luke probably didn't have any interest in watching me drop off my brother. I was putting way too much emphasis on Luke actually caring what I did when he most likely didn't have a care in the world.

My day was spent moving the furniture in my bedroom and putting the first coat of paint on. Dad managed the dinner rush with Rex by himself and the help of the chef who adored Rex. She'd never had any children but she was so kind and gentle with him, like she had all the patience in the world with him.

I'd managed to get the second coat of paint on and just had enough time to shower before I had to leave for the try outs at 3:00pm. I left my hair in its natural bronze curly mess down to the bottom of my waist and decided on some tinted moisturiser, blush and mascara. The thought of the reasoning behind my effort in my appearance was quickly shoved into the back of my mind because deep down I was worried about what the answer might be. I knew I liked Luke, but I also knew he was way out of my league and most importantly out of my reach because of his relationship with Gray.

I could already feel myself starting to panic as I sat in the car of the school car park, debating and then convincing myself that I needed to go in or I would regret it.

I strode out of the car with my head held high and walked over to the main entrance. It was a really pretty building for a school but nothing compared to ours back in Devon. Although I had a great time at high school, I knew Gray wasn't so fond of his old school. Once mum left all the teachers would ask if he was ok and would avoid giving him any of the homework and so lots of children had issues with the special treatment he was getting; even though he wasn't asking for it.

I followed the signs that were posted on A4 paper around the school. I'm guessing they were for parents or siblings like me who had no idea where they were going!

When I opened the door to the field grounds I gasped at the size of it all. It had such a big stand with a huge field littered with young men all waiting for their turn to try out. There were already lots of people on the stands or I suppose 'bleachers' as they say here. I wasn't really getting the hang of the American phrases yet.

It took me a while to find a space that I knew I'd be able to see from and then once I planted myself down, I searched quickly for Gray. It didn't take long. He was staring at me like I was his lifeline and the worry he wasn't going to do well was etched all over his face.

"You can do this!" I mouthed and I saw him smile slightly before shaking his head and smiling a nervous smile back.

My body sat a little straighter at the feeling of not only a Gray's eyes on me and I looked quickly to see Coach Lucas staring at me openly. There were whispers coming from around me but I couldn't bring myself to look away from those dark eyes of his. The depths of them were enough to make you want to drown in them and never look back.

A small tug of his lips caught my eye and I worried that he was replaying the events of last night in his head and the heat rose to my cheeks, flushing my face and neck to extreme shades of red.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I quickly tore my eyes away from his as I watched him release a low chuckle. I knew this was definitely linked to my Tina dancing! If it wasn't for Gray, I think I would happily have walked out and never shown my face around this town again.