Not What it Seems

Chapter Seventeen

~Cash~

I watched as the sophomores and juniors juggled the soccer balls against their knees.

"Switch!" Coach called, blowing a piercing whistle and grinning as the boys started passing the ball to whoever was beside them.

"Alright!" Chris yelled, out after five minutes. "Lets have a scrimmage! Cash, you and I are captains." I nodded, heading over to where the guys were grouped together. Chris numbered off the boys and I gathered up my team.

"Play hard," I said simply. "How you play now should represent how you play all season, if you make the team. What you do now matters, so make it count."

Chris and I met back in the middle and Coach stood on the sidelines, clip board in hand.

"Shirts and skins!" Coach hollered, "Cash, you got skins!"

I nodded, reaching behind me and pulling my shirt over my head. Chris tossed the ball to one of my trainees and told him to start the ball. He nodded and we all surrounded him and the matching player from Chris' side.

It was going to be a rough game.

~Jane~

Being in the house with my dysfunctional parents for more than three hours was becoming detrimental to my sanity, so I called Alex, no surprise, and asked him to pick me up.

"You're far too dependent on me," he joked when I swung into his car. I rolled my eyes.

"Without me, you'd be friendless."

He feigned hurt and idled at the curb. "Where to, Princess?" he asked and I thought momentarily.

"Oh!" I said, remembering that Cash had mentioned having soccer tryouts this afternoon. "Go to school."

He cocked an eyebrow at me as he headed down my road. "You skipped school, and now that it's over you want to go back?" I shrugged - it did sound a little counterintuitive.

"I guess so. Cash is running soccer tryouts today."

He nodded in understanding. "Ah, so that's why you want to go to school."

"No, I just -"

"Jane's in love," he teased and I slapped his arm.

"Shut up. Why don't you have a girlfriend I can make fun of you about?"

He laughed. "I dunno how to commit, girl. That relationship would be a mess."

"Aren't they all?"

~Cash~

I was dribbling the ball down the field, dancing through defenders easily. I knew I should leave the heavy work to the tryouts, but I wanted this one goal. My eyes stung, the breeze whipped past my ears as I ran towards the goal. Sweat rolling down my chest, heart pounding, this was what it was all about.

I had just scored, my arms flying up to cheer, when I saw Jane. The fact that she was here to watch me, regardless of whether or not Alex was accompanying her, made my heart thud in totally different way.

"Nice, man!" Chris called, slapping me on the back. He noticed my disgruntled state and raised his eyes to where I had been looking. "Yikes, look at those too. Two losers in a pod, huh?" Jane's eyes met mine and I swear I saw her hand twitch - I felt mine do the same, desperate to wave to her, show some recognition - but she sat on the top row with Alex, chatting lazily with him.

I knew I should defend them, at least Jane, from Chris. But I wasn't that strong. The fear of being treated the same as them overpowered all else, and I headed back onto the field without another glance at Jane.

~Jane~

This was too difficult, as I had known it would be from the start. Seeing Cash there, shirtless and sweaty, made my stomach coil with pleasure, but I couldn't do anything but stare at him. I wasn't afraid of people knowing about our relationship, but I knew Cash was. I knew he cared about his reputation, and being with me would ruin it.

Alex started talking about football and I zoned out, watching as Cash ran down the field, ball dribbled between his feet. He looked so focused, so content, and any idiot could see that this was exactly where his passion lay.

"Jane?" Alex called, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Hmm?" I said, still staring off into the trees.

"Jane, Cash is calling you." My head jerked down and I thought, momentarily, that he was done keeping our relationship a secret. I was wrong, of course, for the tryouts were already over, the field cleared save for the coach and Cash who was standing at the bottom of the bleachers, his shirt wrung tight in his hands.

I thumped down the bleachers, Alex close behind me, and Cash bit his lip. I stopped in front of him, unsure of what the protocol was for being together in a place like this. I was confused, momentarily, when he leaned over and kissed the corner of my mouth, but I soon understood. The locker room windows were in no way close enough to see us, and the coach wouldn't mention anything, considering he didn't know me.

I stepped closer to Cash but he held his hands up.

"I'm disgustingly sweaty," he told me and I laughed.

"Yes," Alex said, wrinkling his nose. "you are, man. Take a shower."

Cash rolled his eyes, lacing his fingers through mine.

"I will when I get home, but hey, thanks for taking care of her, bro," Cash said, and I saw a silent guy conversation going on between Cash and Alex. I hoped, silently, that they were making up in their weird guy language.

"Wanna go do something?" Alex asked and Cash nodded.

"Ice cream. It's too damn hot right now." We laughed, piling into his car. I couldn't help but check out his stomach while Alex ran to get his wallet from his own car.

"See something you like, babe?" he asked and I felt my face heat. Babe. I chewed my lip, bravely nodding. Cash leaned over, kissing me deeply, fingers sliding into my hair as the other hand tilted my head back, deepening the kiss.

"Woah!" Alex cried, startled when he slid into the backseat. "Didn't need to see that! Erase," he shrieked, rubbing violently at his eyes. "Erase, erase, erase!"

I laughed at him as Cash grinned, pulling out of the parking lot.

I had waited so long to have this - people who loved me, who I was happy with - and even with Jack it hadn't been completely there. I was never totally myself with Jack, for even with him there were reputations to be kept, and so many other things getting in the way.

In so many ways, our reputations meant practically nothing in this world - in high school. Because over poverty lines, and racial lines, and religious lines, crossings occurred simply because the heart had a mind of it's own. It could not be ignored, not easily and without pain, and so lines were crossed. But sometimes crossing lines was a good thing, for not all lines were made of police tape.