Athena

38. Only In Bed

As I make my way across campus, afternoon sunlight shines brightly overhead. My senses kick into overdrive. The air that hits my nose feels crisp and cool. The last remnants of summer have faded away. Autumn is inching toward winter. Much like the seasons, something is shifting in me, too. 

For the first time since Sam's party, every step feels lighter in spite of my awful run-in with Chrissa, Leilani, and Whitney. 

Once I near the grassy green field, I spot Cruz in a throng of players. It looks like the junior varsity and the varsity teams are practicing together today. There are about twenty-ish guys scrimmaging alongside Cruz on the freshly mowed lawn and twenty-ish more doing stretches and drills on the track that wraps around the field. They're decked out in cleats and shin guards.

My man doesn't notice me right away. Cruz appears far too engrossed in what he's doing on the field. I simply stand there for a moment. To watch him. To admire him. Cruz seems to be outrunning, out-kicking, and out-dribbling the other athletes without even breaking a sweat, and his superior skill and speed kinda takes my breath away. Not to mention, the intense concentration on his face is so fucking attractive.

When I finally catch Cruz's eye, an instant smile lights up his face. I grin back at him. He acknowledges me with a quick nod and wink before turning his attention back to the scrimmage. It makes me feel like doing a happy, little cartwheel in delight.

I don't, though.

Because that would be beyond uncool.

Quietly, coolly, I climb up the bleachers with my backpack and take a seat next to three other girls.

The one sitting closest to me is a green-eyed redhead with a very pale, freckled complexion. The other two look like identical twins with the same facial features and the same curly black hair and the same honey-brown skin. The twin wearing a white hoodie has on a pair of trendy-looking glasses with clear see-through frames. The twin with a black hoodie is wearing a tennis skirt. There's a duffel bag shaped like a racket beside her. I assume she's a student athlete, too.

Their faces all look familiar. I'm sure I've seen them around campus, but I don't remember their names.

I wonder if these three might be the teammates' girlfriends that Cruz mentioned earlier?

Ignoring me, the twins continue watching the scrimmage in silence, but the redhead shuffles towards me and breaks the ice with an unsmiling expression, "Hey."

I glance at her warily. "Hey."

"You're Athena, right?"

My eyebrows rise up. I'm surprised that she knows me. "Yeah, that's me. What's up?"

"I dunno if you remember me," she says, introducing herself, "I'm Carly."

Carly?

A flicker of recognition emerges.

I exclaim, "Oh! Carly... McDaniels, right? I think we had P.E. together last year."

"Yeah, anyway," she coughs in dismissive tones, "you, uh, sell stuff, right?"

I don't trust this Carly girl, so I lie, "Not really."

"That's not what I've been hearing," Carly mutters with a frown.

"Well, you heard wrong."

"The whole team gets drug tested every week," Carly rambles on as though she doesn't believe me.

"Okay?"

She points to one of the players in front of us. My gaze follows her finger and lands on a tall, tanned, wholesome-looking blonde with braces.