Knock Me Down - [COMPLETE]

4 - Looking

Jasper above. Will be busy today this week so I prepared another update.

Translation/Notes:
Bene - Short for Benicio, pronounced Beh-Neh in Spanish accent
—

Jasper and I didn't spend much time around each other so I thought avoiding him would be easy. But the second I don't want to see him at all, I see him all the time.

I don't duck and cover at every corner. Of course not. That'd be too obvious.

I just do minuscule things. Like I go on runs at different times. I've been leaving the house a little earlier. We both had our first morning class on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the same hour. I don't know how to face him. How do I look at him? I caught him in a very intimate position. I pissed him off. Irritated him more than I already do.

I'm walking to my car when my brother jogs out the house calling my name, "Mateo!" He's in crusty, baggy trousers, a coffee stained t-shirt and slides. The epitome of elegance.

"Hm?" I spin around letting my hand that was holding the car remote to unlock the car, drop to my side.

"Can you give this to Jasper later?" He's holding a jersey. A track jersey.

"He lives right there. You can walk a few extra feet, Bene"

"He left already" Benicio points to the missing car next door. Huh. He was out before me.

"You have practice today. Why don't you give it to him?"

"I'm not going to practice today. Remember? Doctor?" He was having some problems with his knees. He's sure it's just the cartilage wearing between his bones but he wanted to make sure. Benicio loved track, an injury wouldn't stop him.

"Right. Um, you sure no one else can?"

"Dude. Come on. You're always there anyway. Watching us when you don't have practice. Today's Thursday. You're free. Just do it"

"I'm not always there" I haven't been there since the party! Benicio's too tired to care. He scratches his head and tosses the clean jersey into my arms to go back inside.

This is getting in the way of my plan. It's been a successful six days. I haven't even had to talk to Connor in class. He tried to but I wasn't ready to get called a pervert or deal with an uncomfortable conversation. I frown at the shirt.
—

I walk to the football field later in the day, careful to not be so obvious and make my way towards the lowest set of bleachers. Part of the team is cooling off at the far right end and don't get any view of me luckily. I sit down on the set of bleachers to the left of them, a couple rows back. Jasper isn't sitting with him. I scan the track and follow its shape.

I don't call out to him because I do like watching him practice hard. He's always practicing hard. I can tell what he's working on after awhile. He's doing three 1200 meter runs with rests of 5' in between.

His legs are long and powerful. He maneuvers around the others like it's an afternoon jog at the park. His face may be neutral most of the time but whenever he was enjoying what he was doing he wore a face of fearlessness.

He decelerates, stopping by the gate to grab his water bottle. He sets it down after a sip and massages his arm. I know that when he bends it too long his elbows start to ache with the rest of it. But he isn't wearing a compression sleeve. He underestimates the pain and never feels it until after he's done. Jasper glances at the stadium, searching through the boy's on the team and then he lands on me. I bite my lip and look at the jersey in my hand.