The Jock Neighbor

Chapter 9

Luke's POV

After all of my classes, I headed out to football practice for the night. The anticipation of seeing Briar again after practice making time go agonizingly slow. 

"Yo Luke, wait up." I hear my buddy Devon call out to me. He and I usually walk to practice together but I've been so distracted by Briar that I forgot.

"Hey man," He catches up to me and walks in stride with me. "Sorry I forgot to meet up with you. It's just Briar, she and I are supposed to meet later and I haven't been able to focus." I say sheepishly. 

"Hey it's all good. I know how long you've looked forward to this so there's no hard feelings." Devon says as he pats me on the back. After a moment of hesitation he says, "But, what are you going to say when you guys get together? Are you finally gonna confess?" 

I mull over his question for a few seconds, thinking about what it was I was actually planning on doing. I know that I came up with the plan for Briar and me to hangout, but I hadn't actually worked out what I was going to say to her.

"I'll be real with you D, I don't have the slightest fucking clue. My plan was to at least try to get together with her again so I could see her more than once in a week outside of school, but everything after that just hasn't really clicked. I want to tell her but- well you know." I say as I run a hand though my hair in frustration. 

"Yeah I get you. You're having a hard time telling her because you don't want to get rejected. It's really common, especially when you've been pining over this girl for the past, what, 3 years?" Devon says as he looks over at me. 

We finally start to near the stadium. At least I can work out my frustration in practice. 

"Yeah I guess. I just haven't met anybody like her. Obviously I've had a crush on her since freshman year, but I didn't know her until this year. I mean, I still don't really know her, but I have more information about her than I did last year, or the year before." This whole situation has me frustrated because I don't know what to do. I like her, but I just don't know how to tell her, and I definitely don't know what I'd do if she said she didn't feel the same. 

"Well hey, we have practice right now so you can work it off and think more constructively in a calm manner after practice. You still have to get home and shower so you have some time." Devon reassures me with a smile. 

"You're right, thanks D. I appreciate you." I say before we give each other a bro hug. 

After that, we went to practice and ran drills harder than we have since the beginning of the season, just like Coach said. I was able to implement some of the plays I worked on with Coach during practice and it was exhilarating. Being captain has been worth the years of hard work I put into this team. The thrill of watching my plays unfold before me and the adrenaline from the possibility of getting sacked always made me feel better. I didn't have to think about anything other than the game. 

Finally practice ended so I texted Briar letting her know that I was about to head home and needed to take a quick shower before we left. After I texted her, I hopped in my car and drove off. 

The drive home was nice because the weather was still warm enough to have the windows down but brisk enough to feel cooling on my heated post-game skin. The wind was rustling my sweaty hair, drying it in the process. I felt myself relax, my music blasting and the air refreshing. 

Once I made it home, I parked in my usual spot on the side of the road before getting out and heading into my house. As if on cue, I hear my mother's fast footsteps as she ran towards me. 

I turn around and give her a smile when I see the loving smile beaming from her face.

"It's about time, I needed my daily hug from you Mom." I pout as she nears me.