The Jet (A Sandlot Story) Benny Rodriguez

Chapter 5

So now Benny knew. He knew your secret and he was going to keep it. Still you had conflicted feelings. Even though he now knew you were a girl would he think it was weird if you liked him? It wasn't like you were ugly or anything. In fact, you'd actually be a very attractive girl, not that you liked that sort of thing.

Problem was, you couldn't necessarily tell if Benny reciprocated these feelings or not. He gave you a hug.... Big deal. He kissed your cheek.... Maybe it was how he was raised to treat girls. You had no idea. One of the worst parts of all this was that even if you never ended up telling him how you feel, you would still have to look him in his beautiful, big, hazel brown eyes, and try not to fall further.

He was absolutely stunning, and everything he did made you feel like you were burning up on the inside. You kept a good mask on in front of the other boys, but that wasn't hard. This morning though, when he brought you out to look at the sunrise, you thought you were completely gone.

You finished pulling on your shirt and tucked it into your jeans. You grabbed your hat and raked your hair into place very meticulously, now a bit more self conscious about the boys finding out. Once you were sure it looked alright, you grabbed your glove and hopped out the window. You were sure to remember your baseball bucket, knowing that Benny had hit his ball over the fence this morning.

You still had him in your mind the whole way there, thinking back to the conversation you both had shared just a few minutes prior. The way he held you made you get chills all over your body, and you didn't really know how to explain it, not even to yourself. It definitely wasn't something you'd felt for anyone else in your life.

When you finally got there, the boys were all horsing around, trying to tackle each other in the outfield. You set the bucket by home plate, running up to Benny and passing him one of the balls you pulled from the bucket.

He soon got everyone's attention, and you all scrambled to your positions so you could start playing.

-

Less than a week later, you all were done playing for the day, and rushing home to get things for the campout. You and Benny were walking together like you always did, but something was different this time.

"Ya know, Mack. I know you already agreed to come to this sleepover thing, but you don't have to if you don't want to." He glanced over at you, the sunset lighting his face just right.

"Why wouldn't I want to?" You looked puzzled at his question and rightfully so, but there was a good reason for him to ask.

"I just thought that you might think it's weird for a girl to go to an all boy sleepover." He said respectfully. He was trying to make sure you were comfortable with being there, and that you wouldn't feel awkward. Even though the other boys didn't know, he knew, and he wanted to let you know he thought about those things.

"Benny we've talked about this. I'm not even really a girl at all, and for the most part I'm a boy, remember?" You nudged him in the side as you kept walking down the street.

"I just want to make sure." He held his hands up in defense, making you giggle. You definitely were able to let your guard down around Benny, and you really appreciated that.

"Well you're sweet, but I'll be fine." You patted his shoulder, and before you could pull your hand away, he pulled you close, picking you up and throwing you over his shoulder. You kicked and yelled for him to put you down, but to no avail. You laughed at his childish antics, and tried to get him to drop you. Of course you should have known he would never drop you in a million years.

He didn't let you off until you got to your house. He still had his hands on your waist, and your arms were on his shoulders. You both were just staring at each other with wide smiles on your faces. It's like no matter how badly you tried to look away, you just couldn't. That was until your mom came busting through the front door, startling you both.