I hated Friday practices. It was the end of the week and this week had been particularly stressful. What with me inheriting 254 million dollars and a company. As practice started to end, Coach Hodge called us over. "Okay, listen up guys!"
Marcus skated over to me before we skated over to where Coach was.
"As you probably already know, we have a huge game coming up in a couple weeks." He said in his Scottish accent. A mutter of agreement sounded. This was no new information. "What you may not know is that this game will also determine for me, who the next Captain will be." This got a couple people's attentions, including mine.
"Now, unlike other schools, we do not discriminate. We base our decisions off of talent. This means that yes, while there are only three freshman on the team, the Captain position is just as likely to go to one of you."
"He means you, by the way." Marcus whispered to me.
"Thanks for clearing up the confusion." I said sarcastically.
"Always a pleasure." Marcus grinned.
"Now fuck off and get changed." Coach finished and we all skated off.
After I had showered, I was putting on my grey sweatpants when Marcus said from next to me, "By the way, I invited Mable to the game."
Of course he did. I nodded in response.
"She's probably going to bring Val."
This got my attention. I turned to him.
"Yeah, yeah, I know you don't like me calling her that but it's like free entertainment watching your face turn all grumpy. Well, grumpier than usual." He laughed.
"My face does not 'turn grumpy'." I defended.
"I think you'll find that it does." Toby replied from opposite us. "It went grumpy when I shook hands with Val."
"Oh look, it's going grumpy right now." Marcus said, laughing.
"Stay out of this, Toby." I actually liked Toby even if he was in the year above. He was sensible and clever and a good guy. Right now though, not so much.
"It's why I opted for shaking hands. Didn't want to upset you, man." Toby clapped me on the shoulder.
"Upset me? Why would I get upset?" What the fuck?
Marcus and Toby exchanged looks before it dawned on me. "You told him."
"I did not!" Marcus claimed at the same time that Toby said, "He did."
"For fuck's sake." I sighed, my patience wearing thin.
"I didn't." Marcus tried again but I ignored him, we both knew that that wasn't true.
"It's not true. I don't like her." I tried to salvage this situation.
"Sure you don't." Toby said with a knowing smile.
"Fuck off the pair of you." I said, turning away to find my t-shirt.
"It's alright that you do." Toby reasoned.
"If I do, Toby. If."
"It's a pretty weak if. Once Marcus pointed it out, it was kind of obvious. Like painfully obvious. I'd be surprised if she didn't know." Shit, did Valerie know? Did I want her to know?
"It can't be a weak if because I've never liked anyone." I said.
"There's a first for everything." Marcus chimed in because of course he had to add fuel to the fire.
"That's also why it's obvious." Toby said. "You like... smile around her. It's weird. I didn't know your face could do that."
"You should enter comedy." I said dryly.
"Wow, Thomas Verner cracked a joke." Toby said laughing.
I ignored him. "And I do smile."
"Not really. I think I've seen it happen twice." Marcus said.
"Thank you so much Marcus, for always gracing us with your intelligent thoughts and comments." I said wryly.
"You are absolutely welcome, Mr Verner." Marcus grinned.
I grabbed my duffel bag and hauled it over my shoulder. "What time is it?" I asked.
"6:42pm, why?" Toby responded.
"Shit, Valerie is tutoring me at 7." I said.
"Not really helping out your case here." Toby said.
Whatever. They could think what they wanted. Yes, I liked spending time with Valerie, yes I liked sitting next to her in class, yes I guess I had smiled a few times around her but-
Oh.
---
I was outside the front door of Valerie's apartment when my phone started buzzing. I looked down to see my brother's name. Since the will reading last week, I have not reached out to my family and they have not tried to reach me. It has been bliss.
What would've been my family's dinner is now my tutoring with Valerie which was why I purposely asked to do Fridays.
I did not want to see my family at all and I didn't know when I would be ready to again. I stared at my phone for a few seconds, arguing with myself on whether or not I should pick it up.
Fuck him. I switched off my phone and pressed the buzzer for the apartment I knew was Valerie's.
I expected a fuzzy voice to sound over the intercom on the door but instead I heard a window open upstairs and found a familiar face poking out.
Valerie was looking down at me, her hair falling in a way that framed her face perfectly.
"Hi Thomas." She called down.
I smiled, I couldn't help it. "Hi Valerie."
"I'll let you in." Then she disappeared from view and I heard a clicking sound and the door was open.
Once I had made it up to her apartment, I found the door wide open and Valerie standing in the doorframe.
Oh, fuck.
She was wearing these tiny grey shorts with a white tank top and it took all of my strength to not let my eyes wander all over her.
I was losing the battle with my eyes and couldn't help myself. She was gorgeous. When my eyes made their way back to her face, I noticed that her hair, that hair, was damp and fuck me.
"Are you okay?" Valerie asked me, a confused look on her face.
I swallowed thickly, "Uh- yeah. Fine."
"Well we should..." She trailed off.
"Right yeah." I said, because I seemed to only be able to get one-syllable words out of my mouth at the moment.
She gave me another funny look, a tentative smile pulling at her pink lips and all my senses seemed to hone in on that mouth, as she started to walk into the apartment, her back to me, which did not help at all with me trying to take my mind off of her body.
I needed to get my shit together.
She sat down at her small round table that was in between the living area and the kitchen. I stupidly chose to sit in the seat next to her instead of opposite her which gave me full view of the way her shorts rode up slightly. I quickly looked away.
She shoved a packet of Marlboro Golds out of the way and said sheepishly, "Sorry."
"You smoke?" I asked as if I didn't already know this about her.
"Yes but I'm trying to quit." She shrugged. "What about you?"
"Sometimes." I said, which was true.
She smiled a little and it caused her brown eyes to warm.
"When was the last time you smoked?" I asked because I just wanted to talk to her. I didn't want to actually study.
Valerie glanced at her copy of 1984 by George Orwell before looking back at me and saying, "About a week or so ago. I'm doing pretty well." She beamed proudly. "I think it's because my brother's coming to visit. I'm happy."
I frowned, "You smoke when you aren't happy?"
She hesitated before saying, "When I'm anxious."
"Are you anxious often?" I asked, becoming increasingly more worried that being anxious and sad was her norm.
"Why do you care?" She surprised me by asking.
I had no clue why I cared. Well, I had a few guesses. When I couldn't reply she shook her head and said, "I should actually do what you're paying me for. I'm sorry. We can study now." There she goes again with all of her sorrys. I nodded.
She cleared her throat. "I read your essay and well, it's proper shit." She said, looking me dead in the eye.
There was a beat of silence and then I started laughing. I couldn't help it. The sudden realisation that I had probably laughed more these past few weeks than my whole life hit me and now nothing was funny.
"What's so funny?" She asked, arching a brow.
"You." I replied, a grin still on my lips.
"Me?"
"You." I repeated, smiling more now.
"Why am I funny?" She asked honestly.
"You're just quite blunt." I shrugged.
"I'm honest." She corrected.
"I like that." I said and smirked when I saw her cheeks go slightly pink. I was making her flustered and I was fucking enjoying it.
"Whatever." She shook her head. "Your essay was really shit and you misquoted even though you've definitely read the book which is just downright disrespectful."
"How do you know I've read the book?" I asked, interested because I had read the book.
Her cheeks pinked again and I decided that I really, really liked it when they did that.
"I saw it in your bag a couple weeks back and the book was definitely used." She tried to play her observation off.
"Staring at me in class are we?" I teased. Completely ironic, considering I spent 2/3 of those lessons looking at her.
"You wish." She rolled her eyes. I did.
"You're right, I have read it. I just couldn't be bothered to get my book and find quotes since I was doing it the night before." I admitted.
"The night before?! That's making me anxious just thinking about it." Was she anxious this often? I frowned at the thought.
"You're not going to light one up are you?" I joked.
"I might if you misquote ever again." She fired back. She was teasing me. I liked that. I really liked that.
She had absent-mindedly shifted closer to me so that our faces were inches apart and I could see her individual lashes, void of mascara as she had obviously just gotten out of the shower. I could see the damp strands of that hair I seemed to be obsessed with.
Maybe Toby and Marcus were right. And maybe I didn't care.
My eyes darted to her lips and then back up to her eyes again.
---
Hey, I know it's been a couple of days (I've been travelling) but more updates will come in the next few days. I also want to say tysm for 5K reads!!!
Word count: 1728