Loving A Deformity

Chapter 23

***

"Where's coach? I saw him a minute ago..." one of the girls in Cera's class asked while they were stretching. The question wasn't directed at Cera but she listened in as two girls talked, like she usually did. Cera got bored easily so it was her way of keeping stretching entertaining. It may be gossip but, hey, fun is fun, right?
"I don't know. I think I saw a new guy come in. Maybe we got a new student." One of the girls said. New student? Cera thought. No way- can't be! Cera smiled to herself but kept her mouth shut. Just then, a tan, built man in his forties walked up. He had short messy hair that laid every which way and hardly stayed out of his brown eyes. His hair was a light brown- mostly. Grey was scattered throughout his hair, making him look even older than he actually was. Behind him, stood Alec, looking more handsome than ever. It was odd but, despite seeing him so many times before, she never saw him like he was then. His brown wavy hair was more curly than usual and his eyes seemed more of a light brown versus the darker brown she remembered seeing. His jaw looked more defined and his lips plump. Wearing black basketball shorts and a black tank top, his muscles showed- very apparently- making him look very attractive and masculine.
"Who is that?" One of the girls whispered to another. Cera smiled, knowingly before deciding to use it for her amusement.
"Hey, Alec!" Cera practically yelled. He chuckled and waved back at her.
"You two know each other?" The coach asked.
"We're very close." Alec nodded, grinning.
"Well, I guess I didn't have much trouble convincing her to be your partner." Coach laughed. "Well, go stretch together. We'll start in a few minutes." The coach nodded and walked off. Cera excitedly grabbed Alec's hand and pulled him to a more secluded spot. Alec was a little confused by her behavior but didn't say anything. Luckily, Cera was going to explain anyway. They sat down in front of each other and started stretching their legs by reaching for their toes.
"See those girls that are staring at you?" Cera whispered to him. Alec looked back for a split second.
"Yeah."
"Yeah, well... I got some beef with them. They weren't mean to me but they weren't nice either. If they had, maybe I would have slipped them the phone number of my best friend who happens to be hot." She shrugged. Alec only heard one thing.
"You think I'm hot?" He smiled at her. She blushed but tried to mask it with a smile.
"They sure seem to think so." She laughed. Alec wasn't thinking properly anymore. He started saying the first thing that came to mind.
"You seem to think so." Alec chuckled.
"Shut up. You know that's not what I meant."
"You think I'm hot." He insisted. Cera felt her face heat up. I shouldn't have said anything, she regretted. "A little inappropriate to think that about your best friend, don't you think?" He chuckled, teasing her. He leaned towards her and spoke quietly. He was embarrassing her but had enough sense to keep himself quiet. Cera shoved him playfully.
"Shut up! I said they think you're hot- not me!" Her heart beat quickly in nervousness. It felt like she was caught doing something.
"No, you called me hot!" He pressed. "Is there something you wanna share with me, Ceratops?" He joked. Cera glared at him with a red face. He even used her little nickname he came up with as a joke not long after becoming official friends. "Do you have a crush on me again?" Alec was putting her in a crowded corner.
"No way!" She scoffed and looked away. "Been there, got over that." Cera shrugged, indifferently. She tried to shrug off his comment and dismiss the idea as soon as it came. "I just happen to have the ability to see, is all." Strangely, Alec was both flattered and offended. She wasn't remotely interested in him, which stung, but she did find him physically appealing which was... something to be happy about... right? "C'mon. Stop stalling. We need to get into the real stretches." Cera smiled and stood up.

***

By the end of the class, Cera and Alec were covered in sweat- along with the rest of the class. Cera's crazy curly hair was tied back in a ponytail but didn't protect the hair that was drenched in sweat around her face. Alec would occasionally use his shirt to wipe his face which would give all the girls in the class the opportunity to look at his abs... including Cera. She may be his best friend, but she wasn't immune to abs. Alec thought he caught her staring at one point but didn't say anything. He only enjoyed the fact she was looking at him as something other than a friend. Even in the state they were in, Cera was physically attracted to Alec and he was in almost every way attracted to her.

After class, Cera went to the girls showers and Alec went to the guys. Alec told Cera's mom he'd drive her home so he decided to wait for her out front since he knew he'd be out first. That girl takes the longest showers...

Alec sat outside patiently and waited for her. He wasn't expecting it when one of the girls from the class walked up with her friends not far behind her.
"Hi." She smiled. He looked at her and nodded. "So, uh, are you going to be coming to class regularly?"
"Planning on it." Alec said before shoving his hands in his pockets.
"That's cool!" She nodded and smiled. Following that, was an awkward moment. Alec wondered why the girl didn't leave already but she was still standing there. "Sorry you're stuck with Cera for a partner." She said after a moment.
"Excuse me?" Alec asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
"I mean, it must be difficult, working with her."
"No. We know each other very well. We know how to work with each other so it isn't difficult."
"It still might be easier with a normal partner-"
"It disagree." Alec glared, clenching his teeth. "Cera and I are in sync. Working with someone else at this point would really throw me off. I'd have to get to know someone completely in order to work with someone the way I do with Cera- on anything."
"Wow. You two sound really close."
"We are." Alec said coldly. Suddenly, he spotted Cera as she was leaving and immediately went to her side. The girl watched as he said, "hey, I already called your mom- I'm your ride. Wanna go grab something to eat?" He's totally into her, the girl thought. Originally, she wanted to hit on him but in that moment, accepted defeat. No point in fighting for someone who already let your opponent win the war, right?
"That was kinda rude." One of the girls friends glared at Alec and crossed her arms.
"Yeah, well, he's not interested." The girl sighed and walked away with her workout bag over her shoulder.