penny.

4; Drunken man's thoughts

Once we arrived at the stadium, I had five minutes to make my way to the team for warm ups. Most of the girls were finding their positions by the time I got there so I quickly stretched out my muscles and took my spot at the front of the formation.

"Let's run it!" I heard my instructor yell from above us. Currently we were standing on the track, directly in front of Jace and Eli. Owen had run to the sidelines before the car was even in park. I could sense Eli's eyes on me without having to look, making me nervous for taking centerfield in half an hour. My forehead gleamed with sweat after running through the entire routine, my hand pointing straight up as the music cut off.

I kept my eyes on the game, sitting on the track with the rest of the team as we drank from our water bottles. I didn't need to know anything about football to know Owen was a star player. He caught a pass from halfway across the field before sprinting into the end zone with barely a second to spare before the buzzer rang. Both teams made their way to the bench as we ran onto the field, earning ear-splitting cheers from the huge crowd. My head stayed down until the first beat rang out, my body already knowing how to move. With each turn and flip the crowd got even louder until we finally stopped in our final pose. My chest was heaving by the time I got back to my water bottle, chugging the contents greedily.

Jace and Eli were paying close attention to the game once I got up to them in the bleachers. I took a seat next to Eli and threw my duffel down by my feet with a loud clank, making them turn to me.

"Oh hey! Nice job out there, I didn't know you could move like that." Jace wiggled his brows when he finished talking.

"I can do a lot more than that, Jacey." I batted my eyelashes innocently as Eli cackled at his friend. I was getting used to the dirty jokes and innuendos, but they were still surprised everytime I fired one back at them.

"Do you need a ride to the party?" Eli asked me, angling his body towards mine. I shook my head and nodded towards the board my feet were resting on.

"Nah, I have to go back to my house anyways and get ready." He didn't seem satisfied with my answer. He stood up, throwing my duffel over his shoulder and holding out his hand.

"Come on, I hate football." He scrunched up his nose in faux disgust. "Jace we'll see u at the party." Jace barely even acknowledged us leaving, his eyes never leaving the field. I knew Eli wouldn't take no for an answer so I took his hand and let him lead us to his car.

"Wait the guys aren't going to have a ride." I said, not making a move to slip into the passenger side. His hand was still in mine, warmth radiating off his skin.

"Owen's mom comes to every game, she always takes him home," He noticed my hesitation before continuing, "It's cool Isabella, let's go." He pushed me into the seat and walked around the front of the car to get in the drivers seat, my hand cooling off from his heat as he let go.

"I haven't seen you on your early morning jogs lately." He said after he pulled out of the parking lot. I was kind of surprised he remembered considering he hadn't even spoken to me until this morning.

"Yeah, I guess I've been trying to stay away from creepy guys in the dark." I shrugged, earning me a small smirk from the driver.

"You don't sleep much do you?" I asked him. I mean he had obviously been expecting me to come outside again, which meant he must have been waiting out there like he had the first night.

He shook his head. "Are you staying in Ridgecrest this weekend?" He changed the subject, turning into our neighborhood. I dug in the duffel bag by my feet for the training schedule Jay had dropped by earlier.

"I have training Saturday and Sunday morning so I'll probably be back Sunday afternoon." He looked confused as he pulled into my driveway.

"Training?" He asked.