The Nerd [BXB]

17 𖠇 If Time Travel Was Possible

   "Are you sure you don't want the flannel?" Oscar asks me for the third time as we get down the bleachers. Al is in his arms, beginning to drift to sleep. "I am pretty much cold-resistant, Theo."

   I shake my head, rubbing my arms. "No need," I let him know. "I will go straight home after meeting up with Harvey."

   He nods, chewing the inside of his cheek. "The star of the night," he says.

   "Some would say," I tell him.

   "Well," he adds, ready to turn around, "congratulate him for me."

   "Of course, Oscar," I say before he walks away.

   With Oscar and Al heading back home, I decide to roam around the soccer field for a while. For an instant, I was considering entering the locker room, but it might not be such a good idea. Besides, Harvey has to come out at some point.

   About twenty minutes later, I spot him step out of the building wearing a navy blue sweatshirt and grey sweatpants. A bag slings over his shoulder as his eyes travel his surroundings. Once they meet with me, a smile spreads across his shiny, red face.

   "How was it?" he calls out while walking my way.

   I swing myself side to side. "You were pretty good," I admit.

   He comes to a stop feet apart from me. "Thanks," he says. Out of nowhere, he rests a hand over my exposed arm. "Did you not bring a sweatshirt, Theo?"

   "Not this time," I say.

   Harvey grins. "That's a first."

   I chuckle, keeping my arms at my sides with my hands inside my pockets.

   Without asking, he drops his bag and begins to pull off his sweatshirt. As he does that, his shirt lifts a little just enough to offer me a glimpse of his pelvic V-line. I instantly turn away as he fully removes his jacket, afraid that he would catch me looking at that part of his body.

   "I am alright—"

   "Take it," Harvey insists, extending his hand holding the jacket. "I am wearing a long-sleeved. Besides, I am all worked up from running left and right across the field."

   I decide not to argue anymore over a jacket and simply grab it to put it on. The scent of strong cologne wraps me as I put it on. On him, his biceps and chest pecks were still noticeable underneath the material. However, on me, it looks saggy and oversized. Thankfully, that is exactly how I like them. It makes them feel more comfortable and cozy.

"Thank you," I say, hugging myself.

"No problem," he says, the wind blowing his light brown hair to the side. "Plus, you have my name written on your back."

I tilt my head over my shoulder, trying to peek behind me unsuccessfully. "Are you serious?" I tell him.

"Yeah," he says, chuckling. "The coach hands all the athletes one of these every year with our names printed on the back."

"Harvey!"

Someone calls out for his attention.

A dark-skinned guy with a sparkling smile waves at him. "Nice game, man!" he yells out. "See you tomorrow."

"Thanks, dude!" Harvey responds, waving back. "You too."

I can't help but scoff with a short laugh following along.

Harvey looks at me. "What?"

I shake my head. "I just never experienced the 'bro' talk in person ever. . . until now."

"It is a little bit weird, isn't it?" he says, smiling with his eyes glued on me.

"I have not been socializing these last few years in high school so any teenage interaction is strange for me," I confess, suddenly realizing how depressing it sounds even though it truly isn't as bad as some might suspect. "I don't mind it, though."

He laughs for a while before saying, "Would you like to go somewhere?"

I raise an eyebrow. "Where?"

He grips my hand and pulls me along. "You'll see."

"How will I know that you are not kidnapping me right now?" I say, secretly enjoying the warm touch of our hands.

"You just have to trust me on this, Theo," he tells me. "Someday, you'll learn that trust is a crucial yet delicate thing in life, so why not start now?"

Something inside my stomach churns. Trust. Trust goes hand in hand with truth—something I am failing miserably at by not confessing to him my deal with his exes. For a second, I question whether telling him is the best thing right now. But as he holds my hand firmly with a grin pasted on his face every time he glances at me, I swallow my words and smile back.

We hop inside his truck and he drives me out of town. "Should I be scared?" I bring up as soon as we pass the Leaving Sunset City sign.

   He drops a hand from the steering wheel and finds itself wrapping around mine. "Don't be," he murmurs.

   He takes a left turn, entering an isolated, dirt road. We pass trees and more trees until they are gone and are replaced by the view of Sunset City. All I can see are the colorful lights of every home and a few vehicles here and there. The best thing is not the land, but what lies above it, where the black sky is overpowered by the bright stars and crescent moon.

   He stops the vehicle and makes a turn so he drives in reverse towards the end of the cliff. The truck is only a few feet away from the edge when he comes to a stop. "Here we are," he says, unlocking the doors.

   I get off and instantly walk to the edge, eyes on the quiet city. "You are the only one that knows about this place?" I ask him, still bewildered by the beauty from up here.

   "I wish," he says. "I am actually surprised there is no one up here with a beautiful night like this."

   As I look at the tiny houses, I wonder what Oscar is doing right now. Has he tucked Al in her bed by now? Is he smoking a cigarette on the front porch before going to sleep? Or maybe, just maybe, he is also wondering about me as he drifts to sleep.

   My thoughts are interrupted when Harvey's hand wraps around mine. "Mesmerizing," he says, looking up. Then, his eyes come down to land on me. "Just like you, Theodore Walker."

   His words make me smile.

   Hazel eyes glance down at my lips and then back up to my eyes. I already know what is going to happen when he rests his other hand on my neck and begins to come closer and closer to me. With each heartbeat of mine, he comes an inch closer until there is slightly a gap between our lips.

I look down as the guilt eats me from the inside, forcing his lips to land on my forehead.

He sighs loudly, placing another peck on my forehead. After, he uses the hand that was resting on my neck to bring my chin up so I am looking straight at him. "Why do I feel like there is something bothering you, Theo?"

It takes everything inside of me to not look away. "There is nothing bothering me, Harvey," I lie to his face, feeling a pang in my chest. "I am okay."

With that, we spend the rest of the night sitting on the grass with our eyes on the sky. And as much as I wanted to enjoy the view Harvey had shared with me, all I truly wanted to do was go back in time and take back the deal I foolishly agreed to so this moment could feel genuine and worthy.

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