Stepping Out of Me

21

LANCE

Lance closed his eyes as the warm water ran down his face. It was Monday yet again and another day of Kiera making sure they were never alone. He played it cool for months, especially with the fact that he told his friends that he'd give up. But there was still a part of him that wondered, what if. That part secretly still wanted her and it was slowly clawing to the top.

His mind kept replaying the sound of her laughter as he tickled her. The way her body fit right into his arms. The look in her eyes as they stood together. How close he was to kissing her.

By the time he got out of the shower his fingers were fully pruned. Lance quickly got ready and headed downstairs for breakfast. His eyes scanned the vicinity before Halle walked out of the kitchen.

"Dad's gone." She told him as she sat down at the table.

Lance nodded then made his way to the kitchen. He quickly toasted some bread, put some toppings on and scarfed it down. He then left the house and arrived at school in quick time.

"Yo, I can't wait for the game on Friday," Kyle raved. "Those college scouts won't know what hit 'em."

"Coach said they're gonna pick three this year," Dylan stated. "Me, you and lover boy over here."

Kyle chuckled as Lance took some books from his locker. When he didn't reply they continued.

"Lance, bro. What's going on?" Dylan asked him.

Lance sighed then closed his locker. He thought about whether or not he really wanted to bring up the Kiera thing again. After all, he hadn't said anything about it since the last time they told him to give up.

"I'm excited too." He forced his voice to sound more enthusiastic.

Dylan raised a brow at him. "Yea, and I'm LeBron James."

Lance slightly turned his body to avoid bumping into another student as they walked through the busy hallway. "I've been waiting for this for years. I'm excited, okay?"

Dylan held up his hands in surrender. "If you say so, man."

They parted ways as Dylan and Kyle went to their classes. Lance adjusted his bag on his shoulder and tried to keep her out of his mind for the next couple of hours.

* * *

When Friday rolled around Lance was pumped for the game that would start in a couple minutes. He sat on the bench in the locker room as his teammates joked around and hyped each other up. They already saw the college scouts who sat front and center waiting for those three best players. Lance leaned so that his back rested on the locker behind him and waited. He had nothing else to do, since they were already dress. His heart was racing so much but he reminded himself that he had been training for this day for so long. There's no way he would miss out on that scholarship.

"Bro, don't fall asleep now." Kyle's voice said out of nowhere.

Lance realized he had closed his eyes then looked around at Kyle and Dylan who stood behind him. "Actually, I'm imagining the moment they call me after the game and tell me they have a scholarship with my name written on it."

Kyle chuckled and nudged Lance on the shoulder. "That's what I'm talking about."

"It's good to see you're yourself again." Dylan inputted.

Lance shook his head and smiled. "I've always been myself. All this greatness was just waiting till the right time to come out."

As they chuckled, the coach walked into the room and clapped to get everyone's attention. "Listen, before you all go out there I want to tell you how proud I am of you. You guys stayed motivated and pushed through this term. That's what I always like to see in a team." He paused and sighed as he glanced at them one by one. "I know not everyone will get scouted tonight but every one of you is still skilled and talented enough to get that scholarship. So go out there, play like nobody's watching, and do your best."