The New Kid (Book 1)

Chapter 15

Elliot

I didn't see Colton at all the rest of the day, and I couldn't help but wonder if he was ignoring me again.

We were really starting this whole relationship off well, weren't we?

I still didn't know what possessed me to tell him that I love him this morning, but the more I thought about how I really felt, and what Josh said, the more I was sure that I was really falling in love with Colton.

I just didn't know what he was thinking about it. Probably not the same thing, if he really was avoiding me. But I didn't care if he says he doesn't love me yet. I just wanted him to talk to me again.

Jared and I walked together to the locker room after the school day ended. He was excitedly talking about something, I think his game today, but I wasn't really listening. I was trying to figure out what I was going to say to Colton in twenty seconds when we walked through that door.

Turns out, I didn't have to immediately talk to my boyfriend because he wasn't in the locker room. His backpack was here, leaning against the bench next to his locker. But he wasn't.

Which meant he didn't bother waiting for me because he knew I'd be back at practice today. He probably rushed out of here to continue avoiding me, without even stopping to waste time sticking his backpack into his locker like he usually does.

But maybe he was just too focused on his first game to remember. It could happen, right?

I sighed, unlocking my locker.

"What's wrong with you, dude?" Jared asked, pulling his own locker open a few away from mine. "Please don't tell me you're thinking of Colton again. You need a better excuse for not listening to me at all for the last five minutes."

"What do I say to him?" I asked, ignoring the eye roll he gave me. "I really think he heard me say it this morning and now he's mad at me."

"I don't think he's mad, Elliot."

"Yeah? Then why haven't I seen him since then? He wasn't even at lunch and now he didn't wait for me!"

"Jesus. Calm down." Jared shook his head and I realized that he was already changed and lacing up his cleats. "If you had been listening to me, you would have known that Coach G asked us all to be there early today. Which is why I gotta go." He stood up and patted my back before walking towards the door.

"Oh, and Elliot?" I turned to face him. "You'll know what to say to him when the time comes." Without another word, Jared left me alone to finish getting changed for practice by myself.

I just really hoped he was right.

Three hours later, when practice finally ended, I still didn't know what to say to Colton when I saw him next. Okay, well, saw meaning being able to have an actual conversation with him. I had seen him a couple times during practice, but we were both with our own teams on separate fields.

But he did smile at me a couple of times and even waved the first time.

That's got to mean something good, right?

As soon as the coaches let us go for the day, I got back to the locker room as fast as my exhausted body would carry me to change and grab my stuff. The soccer game had already started, and I didn't want to miss any more than I had to.