The Heart of the Team

Chapter Six

"Beth! Why is someone at the door?" I heard my mother yell.
The yelling ripped me from my realization.
I quickly got up and headed out to the hall.
"Oh its just one of my friends from the Sandlot." I quickly opened the door.
"You better not be doing anything bad. And keep it down my show is on!"
I waved Benny inside.
"Come on."
I dragged him down the hall and into my room.
"Your Mothers okay with this?" He asked as soon as we were in my room.
"She doesn't care." I ran a hand through my wet hair.
I sat down in the window seat with the book.
"You sure?"
"Yeah. Come sit down."
I was already mildly panicking as he came and sat down next to me.
"Is this okay?" He asked as he wrapped an arm around me.
"Y.yeah." I stuttered.
"Okay aliens then."
I opened the book to the first page and felt myself lean into him.
"No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water." I began.
"Wait I thought you said it was the 1800s, this said the nineteenth century."
"Benny they're the same thing."
"Oh."

A while later after the first chapter i turned to Benny.
"What do you think?"
He just smiled and kept staring at me with that same look in his eyes.
"What?"
"Oh uh. I like the way you read it."
I rolled my eyes "But what about the story? Do you like the story?"
"Yeah.  I do."
"Okay shall we continue?" I tucked my legs up under myself. Benny adjusted his arm so that I was leaning into his chest and his arm was around my waist.
Talk about butterflies in your stomach.
"We shall." He joked.

"And that is the end of chapter two."
"How many chapters are there?"
I flipped to the back of the book, "16, and they're long."
Benny picked his chin  up off the top of my head "Good, more time to spend with you."
Minor panic, or just panic in general.
"I don't know why you'd want to spend time with me."
He laughed
"Why would I not? Your the the most amazing girl I know, and spending time with you is like living in a dream cause you're so perfect-" He trailed off. "Sorry. I forgot you don't like when i talk good  about you."
"I'm sorry, I just, I just can't, when you say things like that, or do certain things. Just makes me jittery I guess."
Instead of responding he just sat there for a moment.
"What things do I do that make you feel like that. I'll stop doing them."
"Well it's not like there bad things are hey just make me jittery but like when you take care of me and the way you ask me if it's okay before you put your arms around me and the way you keep looking at me lately"
He laughed kind of nervously "Well I was willing to cut things out but those are mostly important things so I can't."
I leaned my head back into his chest.
By now he was stretched out across the window seat and I was almost in his lap leaning against him.
"This is gonna sound bad but, if just the way i look at you makes you jittery why are you still able to be here practically laying on me?"
"I never said i wasn't jittery now."
"Well if your uncomfortable-"
"No it's fine, i kind of like it."
He glanced at his watch "Unfortunately i have to leave in about 10 minutes."
I sighed and sat up climbing out of the window seat.
Benny sat up too swinging his legs down over the side.
"What are the odds you play something right now?" he said gesturing to my piano.
"1 out of 15."
He nodded "ready?" I nodded "1..2...3... 13."
We both said at the same time.
"Damn it."
I sighed and walked over to the piano and sat down.
"What should i play?"
He shrugged.
I rolled my eyes and began to play clair de la lune. I hate playing in front of people.
When i finished Benny clapped.
"Wooo! You should sing next time."
"Benny you cant sing a song that has no words."
He shrugged "So play a song with words."
I sighed "Like what?"
"I dunno."
I racked my brain for a moment then began to play.
"Love me tender/ love me sweet/never let me go/you make my life complete.
Love me tender/love me true/all my dreams fulfilled/for my darlin i love you/and i always will.
Love me tender/love me long/ take me to your heart/ thats where i belong/ and we'll never part.
Love me tender/ love me me dear/ tell me you are mine/ and i'll be yours through all the years/ till the end of time."
I opened my eyes as i finished to see Benny giving me that look again.
"What?"
"Who is it for?"
"What?" I said again.
"It's a love song, who is it for?"
Panic. Thats how things were for a moment.
It was him but he couldn't know that.
"Uh, no one."
"Well I uh gotta go. Bye."
As Benny walked out of my room i detected a look of slight disappointment on his face.

I fell back onto my bed after i heard the door close.
What was happening?
How long did i have a crush on him without realizing?"
Uhhhg.
I wish my life was like in my books.
I would get to go on adventures, be pretty and if this was a book i would end up with Benny.
(Looks directly into camera like i'm on the office)
If only.