In Case of Heartbreak

21 | play

His teasing words reverberated off the gym walls, echoing across the room and gaining a few people's attention. Many of them turned away when they realized nothing of importance was happening, though I couldn't ignore the girls that were lingering in the gym, their gazes locked on Dean as they giggled and whispered amongst themselves.

I had no reason to be jealous however, because as Dean neared where the three of us sat on the bleachers, he rolled his eyes at Holden, and the moment he sat down next to me, his features softened.

"Hey," he said, the corners of his lips tilting upwards as he swiftly pulled me closer.

Freshly showered, his hair was damp and smelled of a citrus tree in the middle of a forest – a scent that suddenly appealed to me much more than it ever had before.

A smile matching his graced my lips, though before I could say anything, he leaned down to kiss me. Although a pleasant shiver trailed down my spine, I hadn't expected it, and raised one of my hands to his chest to push him back slightly. "People are watching."

"You care about that?" he asked, a slight teasing tone to his voice as he quirked an eyebrow.

I shrugged, a little self-conscious. "Not really, I just, I didn't..."

Noticing that I was stumbling on my words, Dean simply chuckled, pulling me closer again as he pressed his lips against my temple. "If you don't like PDA, all you had to do was say something," he said quietly, his breath fanning the skin next to my ear.

A soft blush spread across my cheeks as I scooted along the bench, putting a sliver of space between us in an attempt to recover a fraction of the dignity I was losing.

"Well, I think Stella and I are gonna head out now," Holden started, turning the attention off of me as he grinned at his best friend. "Congratulations on the game, and hopefully you didn't fuck up too much that the coach will actually let you play again."

Dean guffawed. "Thanks for the support," he mused.

Holden chuckled in response while my forehead frowned with curiosity. "You guys are leaving?"

Stella shrugged. "Not everyone wants to spends their night surrounded by a stream of sweaty basketball players," she said jokingly, casting her eyes towards Dean as she said, "No offense."

"Non-taken."

"Besides," she continued, a smirk on her face as she weaved her hand through Holden's and led him down the stairs of the bleachers, "It seems like you two need some time alone."

My blush intensified as the pair quickly disappeared, leaving Dean and I to ourselves as the rest of the stragglers slowly began to vacate the gym.

I cleared my throat, tilting my head upwards to catch Dean's eyes and said, "So, what do you – "

"Adams," I heard one of his teammates, Dillon, shout from across the court, cutting me off as he looked between the two of us, "You coming?"

I assumed he was talking about the inevitable after party that was happening to celebrate their victory, which, if I was being honest, didn't appeal to me in the slightest in that moment. I kept my thoughts to myself however, not wanting to influence Dean's decision. If he wanted to celebrate tonight, he deserved to.

"Not tonight," Dean responded, his voice loud enough for them to hear. My eyes widened with surprise, not expecting it as I saw him shrug his shoulders in a not-really-feeling-it sort of way.

I was very much aware that the guys were still watching us, and an uneasiness settled into the pit of my stomach, thinking they'd blame me for his sudden disinterest in partying or send a teasing jab our way. The wave settled just as fast as it grew however, as the reply he got was much more understanding than expected.