An Impossible Attraction

Chapter twelve

Tracy dropped Nathan off at school three days later when she was sure his bruises weren’t that much visible. She smiled and glanced at the school, briefly remembering when she attended it as well, “so um…have a good day?”
Nathan glanced at her, “yeah, hopefully. I have missed practice for three days, I just hope coach won’t give me a punishment for it.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Nah, don’t worry about it, I will do it all over again if I have to,” he winked at her with a grin.
Tracy looked away from him seeing that because he looked so damn handsome winking at her, she licked her lips and breathed softly through the mouth, “so um…do you want me to pick you up after practice?”
“Sure, I will love that,” he smiled and she nodded, he leaned forward and kissed her cheek, “bye Trace, love you,” and he was out of the car before she could say any other thing.
Tracy touched her cheek where he kissed her and heard her heartbeat increasing, a smile curved on her lips remembering what he said to her, ‘love you’ and she felt her heart turning giddy. As if waking up from her stupidity, she groaned “fuck,” and slammed her hand on her steering wheel continuously, “what the heck is wrong with me?” she ran her fingers through her hair as an image from three nights ago flashed in her mind. Nathan eating the pork ribs she made so sexily with the oil draping on his hand and his lips and how he casually licked it off his lips and the insane urge she had gotten that night to be the one to do just that. “Oh help me God,” she wept and let her head fall on the wheel, shocking herself as well as the passing students with the unexpected honk.
She jerked up immediately and smiled apologetically to the students that were glaring at her, she turned to the side and saw Nathan staring at her worriedly and she could tell that he was just an inch from walking back to her. She smiled and waved at him, seeing him nod, she showed off her teeth in a forced smile and then drove off, hitting her hand on the steering as she did.
Nathan stared at the car till it out of his sight before he shook his head and went into the school, approaching his locker, he saw Steven leaning on it. He stood straight on seeing him and shook his hand when he was close, “what’s up man, you healed up pretty fast, I was surprised when I got your call,” Steven said.
“What did you expect from me when you called and told me Coach was angry,” Nathan replied, opening his locker and dumping his backpack in it.
“Yeah, who wouldn’t? His captain and favorite player has been gone for three days straight. Plus, we have that game coming up; he has been training us like mad.”
Nathan said nothing and just brought out his textbook and when he shut his locker, they heard the bell ringing. “It’s going to be tough this year.”
“I know right, it was hard wining against them last year, and I heard they won Western High,” Steven replied as they fell into steps together.
Nathan smiled and nudged him with his shoulders, “it doesn’t matter how good they get, we are the Eagles, we always win,” he grinned.
“Yeah, we do,” Steven chuckled.
***
During Lunch, Nathan sat alone in the cafeteria, his teammates always occupies two tables that were just for them but today, he felt like sitting alone, so getting his lunch, he took the table that was rarely occupied.
“Hey,” he heard and looked up; surprised to see Cindy but he shrugged it off and nodded at her.
“Hey,” he responded.
Cindy pulled out a chair and sat down, she tucked her blonde hair behind her hear and glanced around at the cafeteria then back at him, he was busy eating his food like no one just joined him. “Why are you alone?”
Nathan chewed the food in his mouth and looked up at her, “sometimes you just want to be alone.”
“Yeah, but you wouldn’t want to be alone if Tracy was here right?”
Nathan stared at her for a complete ten seconds without a reaction, “why would you say that,” he asked as emotionlessly as he could.
“You two are always together, everyone knows that. There is a rumor that if she was in our peer group, there is no doubt you two would end up together. Plus, I have seen how you act around her; you are in your best mood whenever she is around.”
“Well, you are in your best mood whenever Hansel is around,” he counterattacked.
“He is my elder brother.”
“She is my elder sister,” he said even though it pains him to, “so you see, we aren’t that much different.”
“True, except for the fact that she is not your biological sister, you aren’t even related in anyway.”
Nathan sighed, “what do you want Cindy, I mean, we both know you didn’t join me just to talk about Trace.”
“You have not been in school since Tuesday, I was just worried and now you showed up with healing bruises. Did you get into a fight or something?”
“Or something,” he responded.
“What?”
“I punched a boxer in the face.”
“What?” She was stunned, “goodness, why?”
“No reason, I have always wanted to.”
“And he did this to you?”
“I look better than him,” he gloated.
“Hey man, I have been looking all over for you,” Steven said, pulling a seat to join them, “oh hi Cindy.”
Cindy glanced at him and then at Nathan, “Nathan, I just want you to know that my offer still stand, if you change your mind or something,” she stood up and left.
Steven glanced at her leaving back and then at Nathan with a foolish grin, “what offer, dude?”
“I have no idea what she is talking about.”
“Damn man, tell me. When a girl like Cindy makes an offer, I would die to know, did she ask you to go over to her place?”
Nathan glared at him.
“Okay okay, her car then? Maybe you will like to use mine?”
“Are you stupid?” Nathan asked.
Steven grinned, “I’m just saying man, you know I’m worried about you. I’m just afraid you will die a virgin,” he shrugged.
Nathan rolled his eyes; he blew out breath from his mouth and said, “Something is going on.”
“What?” Steven asked as he pulled a slice of pizza from his box.
“Tracy.”
Pausing from taking a bite, Steven raised an eyebrow, “Tracy? What is wrong with her?”
“I don’t know,” Nathan scratched his head, “all I know is that she has been acting strange.”
“How strange,” Steven wondered, taking a bite of his pizza.
“It all started that night I had a fight with Gary. She stares at me a lot these days and sometimes it seems as if she zoned out, like she was staring at me but thinking about something else and then she started this ridiculous habit of tasking me to put on a shirt and then to make it all worse, last night, she suggested I should start sleeping in the guest room.”
Steven frowned, “how is that the worse? I mean, don’t you sleep alone in your house?”
Nathan rolled his eyes, “listen, all my life, as long as I’m in Tracy’s house, we sleep together. No matter what, neither her mother nor mine could separate us. So you can imagine my surprise and shock if she suddenly suggested that I should take the guest room whenever I’m there and you know that as long as she is in town, I stay with her.”
Steven scratched his head, “well, maybe she feels like you can’t be staying in the room with her again. I mean, you two aren’t even related. So what happened last night, did you move to the guest room?”
“Of course not,” Nathan said adamantly, “I refused it immediately she said it and then at the end, she let it go and just laughed, saying she was joking. But then I noticed she was trying her best not to get close to me. Which is also insane, I mean, she sleeps on me every time. I took the initiation to get close to her but I noticed she was stiff. Even when she would be relaxing, if I move in anyway, she would stiffen all up again. Also, did I add the fact that she hardly looks me in the eyes these days?”
Steven widened his eyes, “really?”
“Yeah, and also I have caught her staring at me and when I stare back, she would look away sharply. Oh and her constantly forcing me to put on a shirt, even wearing a vest is a problem now.”
Steven was chuckling really hard before he was done. Nathan glared at him, “I’m serious Steve, it’s not funny. I am on the verge of losing any point of contact I can have with her. Have I mentioned that sleeping on the same bed is the only intimate moment I can have with her?”
“Dude, what do you want me to say? I can’t force her to keep you in bed with her. What I find amusing is the fact that she forces you to put on a shirt.”
“Yes, the other night I wore a vest and she was like it was showing my biceps and body tone and that I should wear a big polo shirt or something.”
“Whoa, you serious man?” Steven sat up.
“Yeah.”
“And you said she doesn’t look you in the eye anymore and constantly zones out while staring at you?”
“Yes?” Nathan replied, wondering why he was now repeating his words at him.
“Damn dude, are you seriously telling me you don’t know what is going on? I mean I found it strange earlier but now putting two and two together, I think I may have an idea of what is going on here.”
“Then would you care to enlighten me?”
“Dude, have you considered the fact that maybe Tracy has started noticing you?”
“Noticing me, noticing me how? I mean, she sees me every damn time.”
“No dude, not that kind of noticing, noticing you as in being aware of your presence and not in a sisterly way.”
“What the heck?” Nathan was stunned.