You can Bet on Me

Part 30 ~ I fucking love you - will you be my girlfriend?

Maddison
The ball went in and the crowd went wild. Everyone was standing up and cheering loudly, the cheerleaders that were on the court rushing to kiss and hug their boyfriends from the basketball team. I smiled sadly – Michael truly never cared at all for me. He was happy and smiling and his eyes were full of life with me gone and out of the picture, but me? I was sad, broken, and miserable. Why oh why did I have to go and fall in love with a heartbreaker? A player?
I knew very well that he was mean, rude, and toyed with girls' hearts, and yet I said yes. I replayed that memory in my head, a small smile forming on my lips. It was my fault. I fell for it; the joke, the trap – I said yes. The joke was on me; the blame was all on me because I said yes. Why couldn't I have said no? Or even better, why couldn't I have just not fallen for someone like him?
He caused so many problems and pain in my life, and I had let him into my heart. I had opened up to him and revealed my dreams, hopes, and plans for the future. I had willingly given him my heart, and he hadn't hesitated to crush it.
I watched as Michael went around the court, high-fiving people and being swarmed by cheerleaders. Even if I had promised to myself that I wouldn't feel sad or still let his sorry ass hold a place in my heart, I couldn't help the twinge of jealousy. That should have been me. I should have been running up to Michael to hug and kiss him after an amazing win, as his girlfriend.
Just then, he ran out of the court, pushing all the girls who were swarming him away as he ran. Where was he going now? Whatever. I shouldn't care. And yet I did – my eyes always unwillingly found him in the room; tracked him as if he was a magnet for me.
He soon came back with a bouquet of flowers – pretty red roses that I would have loved to receive from him. I sighed. Which girl was he aiming for next? Was it that beautiful, curvy, blonde cheerleader that always practically kissed the ground he walked on? Or was it the ten thousand other girls prying for his attention?
I couldn't stop the sadness from seeping into me. He had moved on so quickly, and was now going to play another girl. Break another girl's heart as if he hadn't just broken mine a few days ago. It hadn't even been a week, and he was already ready to move on from me. I knew that I would never get over him, and my heart would always twinge at the sight of him with another girl. I had let myself fall for him, and I had fell hard. It was just some little crush – I full-on loved him. I was head-over-heels for him, even if he felt absolutely nothing for me.
Michael began walking towards me, and I felt my heartbeat increase. No, the flowers couldn't possibly be for me. Probably some girl close to me. I looked in a panic to my left and right and mentally face-palmed – of course he was coming this way. There were so many girls here. How naïve and stupid was I to have believed that he was going to give those flowers to me?
But the way he looked at me made my stomach flutter and my heart stop. He maintained eye-contact with me, and his heated gaze made me shiver. I couldn't help but love the way I felt whenever he looked at me, as much as I didn't want to still be in love with him. Why couldn't I just get over him already? He had clearly already gotten over me – he was already looking for his next victim, the next girl's heart that he's going to break just like he did to mine. I almost laughed to myself – he had probably made another stupid bet with his stupid friends and was fully ready and smiling on his way to break another girl's heart.
The stupidity and uselessness of love. I promised myself I would never fall into its cruel, evil grasps, but here I was, absolutely heartbroken over some stupid guy.
"Maddison," I shot back to reality when I heard my name. The deep voice which had called my name – I recognized it all too well. Michael. I looked up into his eyes to see so much tenderness and guilt that it took me aback. A player like him who was used to using girls and then tossing them aside was feeling guilty? Even more so, why was he looking at me like that? What did it mean?
He walked towards me until he was right in front of me and gave me the bouquet of roses. I was too shocked to move or react – what was I supposed to do?
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for hurting you – I didn't mean to. I'll admit. It was a game to me at first – for the money. But now it's so much more; I've realised, Maddison, and believe me when I say it even if I don't deserve your trust, I love you. I love you so much and I was an absolute idiot for hurting you like I did. This time, I absolutely mean it – I love the way you smile, laugh, and your sweet voice. Wherever you are, your smile lights up the entire room. You make me want to be a better person. I love you, and so, Maddison Reed, will you be my real, not-for-a-bet, amazing girlfriend?" Michael sounded so sincere that I could hardly believe that he was the same cocky guy who had been ever so confident about his own looks to make a bet about a girl with his friends. From the look in his eyes, the sincerity they held, I knew that he was not the same person as he was in the beginning. Now, he was serious. He was dead serious. And he wanted me as his girlfriend – he freaking loved me.
I could have cried in happiness and relief.
"So... what's your answer?" Michael asked, almost sheepishly.
I nodded. "Yes. Yes. Yes! I'll be your girlfriend, for real this time. As long as this isn't another one of your bets, I'll be your girlfriend! I fucking love you too, Michael Peterson."
Michael broke out into a wide smile. I ran at him and jumped on him. He spun me into a hug and when we pulled apart, he kissed me. I felt a million sparks explode all over my body and I felt as though I didn't ever want to stop. I really did love him. And now I realised that wasn't such a bad thing – I loved Michael Peterson, the fucking asshole who broke my heart, and I still do.
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