I pull the vanilla covered sheets off my relaxed body and throw my legs over the side of my bed in urgency. My bare manicured feet make contact with the freezing caramel wooden floor and a profanity slips out of my mouth too quickly before I could suppress. I must’ve forgotten to switch the AC to auto instead of on.
I scurry into my dark ridden bathroom as my finger flicks the light switch on and light engulfs the area before I close the door behind me, earning a clicking sound to invade the once soundless room. I act quickly in removing my oversized Nirvana tee shirt and undergarments that produces a soft thud once it hits the tiled floor before jumping into the shower.
It’s already nearing two-thirty and I have to be at the school in a quarter to three to meet up with Tony after school for his basketball tryouts. I promised him that I wouldn’t be late and here I am rushing like a manic because I somehow overslept. He formerly was apprehensive about the whole trying out thing and now he must be stressing now. I should’ve texted him saying that I was on my way or something to some degree so he could get some relief.
The cascading of hot water comes to a halt and pulling the black and white polka dotted shower curtain back, I step foot onto the fluffy rosy bathmat. Drying off quickly, I exit the steamed filled bathroom and literally run to my closet in search of something to wear, my wet feet smacking against the floor.
I decided on wearing a sleeveless white shirt that had a Chanel bottle on it and a pair of denim jeans with my white converse.
It’ll have to do, I thought while gathering all my hair up into messy ponytail, leaving the bangs out to contour my face. I used a scarce amount of foundation to cover up the almost invisible bruises from four days ago on my face; Neosporin works miracles.
I close the front door behind me and welcome the fresh air before I get in my car and drive off. I’ve been craned up in my house for four days and it has been misery since I was the only person there. Harry would stop by every day after school, giving me my homework and from there on we’d hang out and he’d leave when I was sound asleep.
Speaking of him, he’s probably going to be upset once he sees me in the gym with Tony. He wants me to stay home until next week, to make sure I’m fully okay. I’ve been fine since yesterday, I swear he acts like a dad and I’m his daughter.
I glance down at the time on my screen before turning in into an empty parking spot and getting out and closing the door behind me. I was almost near the entrance when my phone began vibrating in my back pocket.
“I didn’t forget, I’m here Tony” I say into the phone, a chuckle leaving my lips. A sigh is heard on the opposite side of the line.
“Thank god, I thought you forgot and weren’t going to show up. Where are you?”
“On my way to your locker. I’m guessing you’re there, right?” I ask while weaving through people, some occasionally staring at me.
“Yeah, I’m putting some of my things up”
“Alright, I’ll meet you there in a minute” I say and he responds with an “okay” and I end the phone call.
I slip my phone into my back pocket when I proceed in his direction. He slings his black and white Adidas duffel bag over his shoulder and for a second he could pass as a jock despite the specs that framed his ocean blue eyes. If he was too get rid of those glasses he’d be so much more attractive and have girls falling for him; he has the whole package. I need to give him a transformation and I won’t take no for an answer.
“School sucked without you London” Tony says while pulling me into a welcoming hug and I wince when his arm squeezes over my upper left side. I’ve missed him and his amazing company.
I remove my arms from around him and step back, smiling up at him. “I’ve missed you this whole week Tony. I’m not missing school ever again and thanks so much for giving Harry all my homework, I truly appreciate it” I thanked. I was so glad when Harry brought home all of my assignments. It actually gave me something to do instead of sleeping and being lazy. I took my free time to read over the chapter lessons and study for the upcoming tests next week. Self-learning wasn’t as bad as I thought.
“It’s nothing really, I didn’t want you to fall behind just because you were absent” he says, brushing it off with a shrug when we turn the corner and walk towards the gym entrance. He’s so sweet and I love how he thought about me like that when I was absent. Some people wouldn’t even do that and be like “you missed a lot of work when you were absent” and not give you any work.
“Tony, you’re the best, I swear. So how many days is tryout going to last for?” I ask while stepping foot into the gym and looking up at him.
“I think next Friday is when coach makes the cut on who makes the team and who doesn’t” he said and I nodded my head.
“Well, I think next Friday you’re going to be one of those lucky players who make the team” I say with a smile. He rolls his eyes but I see a slight smile forming on his lips.
“Thanks London. Well, I’m going to go change down in the locker rooms now so just find a seat somewhere” he says while backing away slowly waving with a smile.
I wave back at him before turning around and walking towards the maroon stained bleachers and taking a seat. I crossed my leg over the other and examine the brightly lit gymnasium before my eyes. Half court has three sections guarded off with color coordinated cones where most likely they’d practice on dribbling balls around the cones, form shooting, and chest passes. The other side of the court is where they’d probably practice layups and have a two on three match; offense verses defense.
I snap out of it when the ear piercing sound of the coach’s whistle floods the air. I dart my eyes over to the area where all the boys are circled around the coach. There are about 75 boys in this gym dressed in basketball shorts and tanks and majority of them are brunet and blonde.
The whistle sounds again and all the boys separate themselves on the court and began stretching on the polished wooden floor. Some of them are doing groin stretches and it looks hilarious. Their knees are so high up off the ground when they bend forward. A few of them stand up from the floor and start doing shoulder stretches along with arm stretches.
I scan the gym and stop when my eyes land on a pair of tattooed arms doing arm circles with their back turned to me.
It’s him.
His back muscles are literally protruding through the white fabric of his shirt and I want run my fingers down his toned back. He looks so hot and I’m just looking at the back of his physique and that says a lot. He turns around towards Liam and they both share a laugh at something. As much as I want to know what they’re laughing about, all I’m focused on is the stripped bandana that has his chocolate curls pushed back away from his perfectly chiseled face. It’s more of a girl thing but it looks undeniably sexy on him and I’m finding myself swooning. He looks so much different right now than he does on a daily basis but I like it. I think I love it?
An hour and fifteen minutes has passed and I finally found Tony. I couldn’t find him before because he took his glasses off, so he basically blended in with all of the boys in the gym. I want him to keep his glasses off for forever—he needs to invest in contacts. Besides all of that, I’ve been watching him for twenty minutes and he’s phenomenal at basketball. Almost every shot he takes he makes it into the basket and I’ve caught glimpse of the coach talking to his partner and pointing towards him in astonishment. It’s like he’s finally pushed away his anxiety and is giving it his all and I’m so proud of him. I’ve caught glances of boys staring over at him in jealousy and some in respect. I thought it was so sweet when Harry helped him up off the floor after being tripped by some jerk. He mumbled something to him and Tony smiled. Tony would make an exceptional player on the team and if he doesn’t make the cut, they’d be missing out of an amazing player.
“I thought I told you to stay home” Harry says before taking a gulp of his fruit punch flavored Gatorade. His whole face was glistening with sweat, making some loose strands of his hair stick to his forehead. I scrunch my face up at the sight and remove the white towel dangling around his neck, placing it in my right hand.
“You did? I must’ve forgotten” I tease while bringing the towel up to his face and patting it. Why do boys sweat so much? I shake my head at the thought and place the towel on my lap when his face is sweat free.
“Thanks babe and I didn’t think your friend Tony was that great at playing basketball. I stand corrected with everyone else in this room” he admits and I nod my head in agreement.
“He told me he was good but I was completely blown away when I saw him on court.”
“Same here, he’s bound to make the team hands down” Harry says and the whistle sounds. He rolls his eyes and I laugh.
“Practice is going to be over in twenty so maybe after this we can go to the movies, dinner or something together?” he suggests while looking down at me, half smiling.
“Yeah sure, that’d be amazing. Either one is fine with me” I say smiling. He grins down at me and plants a kiss on my lips before jogging back onto the court.
*****
Three weeks has passed since basketball tryouts and Tony made the team. It was probably the best day of his life and mine too somewhat. They announced his name over the intercom at the end of the day and he found me in the hallway at my locker and attacked me with hug, sweeping me off my feet in the action. It was probably the most excited that I’ve seen him act let alone out of character. He got numerous congratulations from people including teachers and it was nice to see people acknowledge him as a human being and not a punching bag. I think him being on the team might change his whole school year around for the better. He’s already making new friends and is getting attention from girls too, but he’s smart to know which are for him and who aren’t.
“London” my mom’s angelic voice called from downstairs. My parents came back a week and a half ago and I’m glad they’re back. I hate being home alone and it sucks because I have to make my own food but I don’t have to now that my mom’s here. I missed her cooking.
I climb off my bed, leaving my laptop opened and walk down the stairs. I walk into the kitchen and the aroma of baked ziti fills my nostrils and my stomach growls along with my mouth watering. I glance at the clock and it’s three in the afternoon, it’s too early for dinner, shit.
But why is she cooking dinner so early?
“Yes mom?” I ask while walking next to her figure in front of the stove. She turns around and smiles widely and walks over to the kitchen table. Her hands pick up a freshly made pie and she places it in my hand.
I furrow my eyebrows down at it and look back up at her in confusion.
“What is this for?”
“Our new neighbors that moved in two days ago. I want you to give this to them and see if they’d like to come over for dinner tonight at ours” she beams. I look at her, at the pie, then back up at her.
We have new neighbors, since when?
“Since when did people move into that house?” I questioned.
“You were at school when they moved in sweetie” she answered and I nodded.
I looked down at the pie and shook my head. I don’t want to give them the pie and invite them over to dinner. I hate being the spokesperson for the family. It’s embarrassing and awkward.
“Why can’t dad do it instead?” I ask hopeful.
“Sweetie, you know how your dad acts. He rambles on for hours and by the time he gets to the point, dinner would be over” she explains and I laugh.
“Fine, just hold on. I need to put some shoes on” I say while handing her back the pie and walking back up to my room. I grab the first thing I see and it’s a pair of black Toms. I walk back down the stairs and grab the pie from her.
“Tell them dinner should be ready at around 6” she calls from the door and I nod my head at her before she closes the door.
It’s nice day out for the park.
I near the house and realize it has an in ground pool in the backyard and I’m jealous. I wish we had a pool.
I raise my hand up to the door and knock three times. I wait there patiently while swaying on my feet and looking around. I furrow my eyebrows and knock again harder against the door. I search the door for a doorbell but there isn’t one. Are you serious?
I walk down the stairs and look up at the house, a light is on but I don’t think anyone is inside.
I shrug and walk onto the sidewalk, about to go back to my house when I hear splashing of water. I glance in the direction of the pool and see someone getting out of it?. I huff and walk back towards the house and open the gate that leads to the backyard.
I hold the pie in my hand while stopping in front of someone who’s drying themself off with a black towel. I gawk at the tattoo that covers his whole back and half and extends onto his whole arm. Its black wings and it’s the sexiest thing I’ve seen in my life. The curve of his back looks divine and he has deep back dimples.
“Enjoying the view darling?” his voice interrupts and it sounds so raspy. My eyes scan up his chiseled torso that is glistening with specs of water. I lock eyes with him and his hazel ones are burning it mine and I’m suddenly brought back into reality.
“I-I.. Um we live next door and this is for your family” I stammer while gesturing towards the pie in my quivering hands. He looks down at it and his tongue glides across his lips before it tugs it into a smirk.
“It looks rather appetizing just like you if I must say” he comments and I blush even redder. His hand brushes against mine as he takes it from my hand I gasp from the shock that runs through my hand
“We’re having dinner around s-six and my mom invites you guys over” I say smiling and taking a step back.
“Sounds perfect, I’m Zayn by the way” he gestures his hand out for me to shake and I hesitantly shake his hand in mine that sends a jolt of electricity through my body. I look up at him and he doesn’t seem to be affected like I am.
“I’m London” I mumble while placing my hand back at my side.
“London,” he says and my name just rolls off his tongue like velvet. “What a lovely name”
“Thanks” I say smiling.
“Well, London, tell you parents that my sister, parents, and I will most definitely be over at six for dinner”
I nod and walk back to my house.
What the fuck was that