BET

Chapter Eight

Henry

"Uhm... Simon said you wanted to speak with me?" I say, running a hand through my hair and looking down at her.

    She smiles, her hands gripping the links on the fence that separate us. "My name is Kasia. I'd shake your hand, but..." her voice trails off as she rattles the fence.

    I chuckle. "Yeah, that's fine..." I begin, my voice trailing off. "I, uh know who you are."

    Her eyes brighten. "You do?"

    I nod, glancing back at the field where the guys practice. I can see both Keagan and Simon watching me, but they try to play it off like they aren't when I turn to face them. I glance back at Kasia.

    "Yeah I saw you at the parties the other night when you talked to my friends."

    She nods her head. "I didn't think you noticed me at all."

    I nod back, wiping sweat off my forehead. "I did."

    "I noticed you too. I thought you were cute." she says with a smile.

My eyes widen slightly and I clear my throat quickly. "Oh, uh... really?"

She looks confused by my reaction, but her smile doesn't disappear from her lips. She peers up at me through the gaps in the fence.

"What, you don't agree?" she jokes.

I chuckle, rubbing the back of my neck. "No, I mean- I just didn't think you'd say that."

"Well it's true. I think you're very cute." she repeats the compliment.

I suddenly feel very guilty about standing here talking with Kasia when I remember what Keagan said the other day after Simon spent the night with her. My guilt must show all over my face because Kasia furrows her brows and tilts her head to try and meet my eyes.

"What's wrong, big guy?" she asks, looking genuinely worried.

"I'm sorry, it's just..." I pause, struggling to find the words. "My friends. They-"

She seems to relax in front of me, no longer worried and nods her head in understanding, pulling back on the fence and half looking over her shoulder.

"You're not interested because I slept with your teammates."

I shake my head. "No, that's not it. I mean... my friends- well Keagan, he said some things and-"

"What did he say?" Kasia asks.

"He- well he just said that you might, you know, try to get with me next. That you... that you were a homie hopper?" I say, shifting uncomfortably as I try to recall his exact words.

I'm not sure what I expected her reaction to be, but it definitely wasn't anything like what she does. Instead of cursing out my teammate or trying to slap me through the fence, her eyes seem to light up.

"Homie hopper?" she announces, her face lighting up in amusement as she chuckles. "I seriously hadn't thought of that one. Oh my god, I have to write that one down."

I watch as Kasia laughs again, pulling out her phone and typing the words out quickly before pushing her phone back into the pocket of her pants and looking up at me with a smile.

"I was thinking he'd come up with something more sport oriented like punt bunny or something. But homie hopper, that's kind of old school don't you think?"

"Uh..." I stare at her and shrug my shoulders, completely unsure of what to say.

She doesn't seem to mind too much and smiles again, blinking quickly as if to bring herself back to the previous conversation we were having before I used that term.

"Anyways, what do you say?" she asks, looking up at me.

    "W-What do you mean?"

    She smiles, her teeth sparkling in the sunlight. "Well I still think you're cute even if your friend is an idiot. I mean he was right, I am trying to get with you."

    "I just figured you'd want nothing to do with me after hearing that." I confess.

    "His words certainly don't change what I choose to do with my evenings." she says assuredly, then her face seems to soften as she scans my expression. "But if you're not interested, that's okay. I'm not trying to force you into doing something you're not comfortable with."

    I watch her face, the way she seems to look into my eyes like she is genuinely careful to not overstep any boundaries that I might have. I haven't had the chance to really look at her with any ideas in my mind except what Simon and Keagan had said. Now that she is standing in front of me, looking at me through the gaps in the fence, and asking me if I want to spend the evening with her, I feel myself speaking before I can even comprehend what I am going to say.

    "No, I'm interested." I say, feeling suddenly more confident. "I mean you're beautiful."

A smile spreads across her lips, her eyes lighting up with it too. I can feel a blush spreading across the tops of my cheeks as she looks up at me, reaching to touch my hand where it rests on the fence and placing her fingers over mine.

"What time is your practice over?" she asks.