The Royal Crush

26

Saturday afternoon rolled around with much anticipation. Stafford High was playing against Northridge High and while we were hopeful that we'd win, we couldn't be sure.

I wore a cute off-white top and beige linen pants. I added a loose-knit woollen cardigan and left my hair open. Frank Turner would be here any minute now. Cedric had left earlier with George.

The doorbell rang just as I spritzed on some perfume. I grabbed my purse and went downstairs.

Frank looked cute in a black sweatshirt and skinny jeans. His eyes widened slightly when he saw me.

"Hey," I smiled.

"Hi," he smiled at me. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks! Shall we go?"

"Yeah, sure."

We walked outside to his car and Frank held the door open for me. Keith got in the back and we drove away. Frank fiddled with the radio and some station played an Ed Sheeran song. I could tell he was nervous by the way his finger kept tapping against the steering wheel. It was kinda cute.

"So," I said, trying to make conversation. "How did you get into swimming?"

He relaxed a bit. "Oh, I grew up at a lakeside so I'd go swimming with my mother. Mom grew up on a coast, and she's an excellent swimmer. So yeah, that's how I got into swimming."

"Wow," I said. That was interesting.

"What about you? Do you play any sports?" Frank asked.

"Unless you count running away from my problems, nope."

He laughed. I looked over at him unconsciously running a hand through his curly blond hair. He was a nice guy, and he liked me. Why couldn't I like him back? Why did I always go after the problematic ones?

Frank noticed me staring and raised an eyebrow, turning slightly red.

I cleared my throat. "Who do you think will win?"

"Stafford High, definitely. We have a good team, Northridge doesn't stand a chance. But you probably know that, you're close with half the team."

I raised an eyebrow. "Half the team? Just Cedric and George."

"Winters and Eaton."

"Oh please, I'm not "close" with Adrian or Caleb."

Frank shrugged. "Sure."

He parked the car and hurried over to open the door for me. We walked to the field and saw that the bleachers were almost full. I spotted Vivi and Alexa and headed over. They'd probably come together. Vivi was wearing Cedric's letterman jacket and Alexa was wearing George's. It was sweet how Alexa always came to the games with George, even if they were dating other people. 

"Girls!" I exclaimed, holding my arms out.

Vivi squealed and hugged me. "Hi!"

"Damn, girl," I told Alexa. "You look good!"

She was wearing a red leather crop top and low rise shorts with white sneakers. She had red lipstick on and her dark red hair was in space buns.

"Yeah, I'm trying to bag a Northridge hottie tonight," she winked.

I laughed. "Aren't you cold?"

"A hoe never gets cold, Chloe," she said in a diva impression and we laughed.

"Oh by the way, this is Frank Turner," I said, gesturing to Frank.

"Hey," Vivi said. "Have you been good to Chloe?"