False Starts

Chapter 2

RYAN rolled down his window and bumped fists with Michael as everyone piled into the car with greetings and giggles. “’Sup, Doggie,” said Michael, using his special name for Ryan. They were almost as close as Abbie and Ryan were, maybe even more because they spent more time together. He was the only other person that Ryan could talk to like he talked with Abbie. The champion swimmer had a quiet demeanour, but a playful soul and a kind heart. Michael greeted Abbie with a smile. “Hey, Abbie. It’s nice to see you.”

      “You, too,” she replied, smiling back. 

      “Get in, bro, we’re wasting precious time,” chided Ryan. Michael just smiled and sat in the spot behind him. “Everybody ready to party say, JEAH!” he yelled, putting the SUV in gear. Predictably, all the guys yelled, “Jeah!” back, while the girls giggled. The drive to the club was loud and laughter-filled and the rest of the night even more so. By the end of it, they were still at a high, releasing some pressure before buckling down again for training. 

      Ryan was riding piggyback on Nathan across the parking lot racing Allison with Rebecca on her back, Conor whooping at them from behind. Abbie watched them, walking at a more respectable pace with her hands in her coat pockets, laughing. She felt Michael fall into step beside her but didn’t say anything. Abbie always felt slightly nervous around Michael. She never told Ryan, but she’d had a crush on Michael for a while now. They met at a meet and had gotten to spend some time together since Abbie went to most of Ryan’s national meets when she could. They’d gotten to be friends but Michael always teased that he would officially ask her out someday. Abbie never knew if he was ever serious about that, but she knew that she hoped he was. The butterflies were always aflutter in Abbie’s stomach whenever Michael was in close proximity. 

      “So, did you have fun tonight?” Abbie said, finally breaking the silence between them.

      “I did,” Michael said, smiling at her. “It’s nice to have a little time to relax. Did you have fun? You looked like you’d rather be somewhere else.” 

      “Did I? Maybe it was just the effect of Ryan screaming ‘jeah-boi’ in my face every five minutes,” Abbie replied with a laugh. “I love him, but that word just drives me kind of nuts.” 

      “Hey, it’s his thing. We gotta let Reezy, do his thing right?” Both of them laughed while Abbie nodded her head in agreement.

      “I did have fun,” Abbie said, a second later. “I guess I’m just not as rowdy as I used to be. You know, like back when I was breaking bottles against walls.”

      Michael chuckled at that. “Oh, yeah, Ryan told me about that frat party. Have they let you back into their events?”

      “Oh, sure, they needed someone for entertainment,” Abbie joked. The butterflies were in full swing, but Abbie found it easy to talk to Michael now that she had made him laugh. “But then they got told off by the dean and my dad. Now they only let me drink from Solo cups, even in the bars and clubs.”

      That got another laugh from Michael. “Well, I guess it was the cups that calmed you down,” he said. “Where’s the thrill without the danger of broken glass?”

      “Damn straight,” she agreed, smiling widely while she sidestepped a crack in the asphalt. She’d been known to trip over her own feet and she was doing so well that she didn’t want to ruin the moment with Michael. She successfully avoided the crack… and promptly tripped over absolutely nothing. Michael caught her arm in one hand and his other arm went around her waist.

      “Careful, Abs,” he said, holding her steady against him.

      Abbie felt her face grow hot, not sure whether it was because she almost kissed the asphalt in front of Michael or because of the way he was holding her. Which was very, very close. The butterflies were going crazy! Then she heard Ryan say something, sounding like he was very far away, and things started coming back into focus.