Chapter 13
After DeNunez had gotten back, truth or dare was officially over. Thank god.
We all looked up at Squints as he sat above us to tell us the legendary story of "The Beast". These were the answers of the questions I had asked earlier in the day when I apparently almost "died" trying to retrieve the ball Ham had hit over the fence. Scotty and I didn't believe them but after looking out the window our doubts were completely changed.
After the whole encounter, we were all exhausted. It had been a crazy day and we were all ready to call it a night. Everyone snuggled into their pillows and blankets.
"Guys..." Benny suddenly catches everyone's attention, stopping everyone's movements. He looks across the room at the gang
"Aren't you forgetting something?" he asks everyone.
"Oh, right...." Squints trails off.
"Oh yeah.." Yeah-Yeah says.
What is going on?
"Rayne, Scott...We're all really sorry." Someone apologizes.
"Truly."
"Completely"
"We were total assholes."
One by one, all of the guys apologized, to the both of us, for treating us like dirt when we first arrived here. I couldn't believe it. As the boys said their apologies, I glanced over at Benny. He had told me, no—promised me earlier this afternoon that he would speak to the group about this and he did.
I didn't actually believe it would happen. Hell, I had forgotten about it until now.
Slipping into my sleeping bag, a candle is blown out and the room becomes covered in darkness. I lay my head down, staring into the black emptiness. In no time, the only sound I hear are the soft chirping of the crickets outside and the very audible snoring of Ham to my left.
I sigh, frustrated, fidgeting around to try and get comfortable. To my dismay, I have no luck.
I rise out of my toasty blanket cocoon, tiptoeing to the exit. I reach it with no difficulty and mentally high five myself for being the skilled ninja that I am. I climb down the ladder, the sound of the crickets getting louder.
The air is windy and chilly, I rub my arms up and down with my hands. My steps go over to the tree with my bra, still, flapping away like a godamn banner. I roll my eyes, turning to lean my body against the oak and slide down.
The strong winds push my hair behind my shoulders. It's cold but I can't find myself to go back up.
The kindness of Benny Rodriguez was a constant reminder of how someone like me doesn't deserve his hospitality. A drained sigh escapes my lips as I sit and feel bad for myself once again tonight. I had let my anger and self pity affect the way I treated him. I pushed Benny away. I rest my head on my knees in shame.
Lifting my face back up, I spot legs coming down the the ladder. When reaches me, he stands off to the side a little. I do not look up. I only stare at his P.F Flyers.
"Hey," he greets, sending chills down my spin from the sound of his voice.
"Hi." I say awkwardly, still not finding the courage to look him in the eyes.
"No shoes?" he asks. I look down at my pale feet that were bare.
"Er...No." I confirm, sheepishly. "I want to avoid what happened earlier.." I internally wince referring to my face plant to the ground. I've embarrassed myself tonight more I have my entire time on earth.
"Right."
He sits down beside me and we stay there, sitting in sort of a comfortable silence, listening to the rushing wind and the chirping crickets.
"Look—" I begin.
"I wanted—" he starts.
We both smile at one another.
"You first." I tell him, rubbing my arms. He sighs deeply, closing his eyes then stares at me before speaking.
"I'm sorry."
Here we go AGAIN.
"Benny," I say, cutting him off. "Stop apologizing. I've heard that word so much lately I never want to hear it again." I admit.
"I just feel bad. I shouldn't of prodded into your business. I didn't mean to. I was just worried about you. You didn't seem like you were too happy earlier."
Well, he wasn't far off.
"Well, you were right. Thanks for showing that you care. I appreciate it." I tell him, smiling. Maybe that was why I freaked out on him. No one bothers to ever really ask me how I feel.
Benny stands, sighing and starts walking but instead of toward the tree house he walks to the road. My eyebrow raises.
"Where the hell are you going?" I question.
"A walk." he answers, simply.
"Now?" I stammer, gesturing around to the darkness. He grins, ironically.
"I take walks in the late evening all the time." He shrugs. "They're relaxing. And they help me get tired if I can't sleep. Plus, the road has a bunch of lampposts so I can see better."
"Huh..." Is all I say. We're quiet. He gazes at me.
"You're welcome to join me, if you want." he offers.
"You promise you won't murder me?" I joke.
He rolls his eyes. "I promise. Do you want me to snag your shoes?"
"Nah," I shrug, standing from my sitting position. "I can walk barefoot."
He gapes at me like I was crazy. "Rayne. No. You are not walking barefoot in the road. What if you step on a piece of glass or something?"
I laugh at his anxiety over something as simple as my feet. I pass him and start walking down the road.
"I'll be fine."
"Rayne! No! Let me get your shoes!"
"I can't walk in those things. I'll just end up falling again."
I feel Benny beside me for a moment before a small tug on my wrist stops me. He turns his back toward me.
"Hop on." he says, referring to his back. My mouth drops.
"You can't be serious." I ask, smiling ironically.
"I'm dead serious. There's no way I can let you walk like this. And don't try and tell me you can't cause you're too heavy. You're a total shortie. I bet you weigh fifty pounds soaking wet." he jokes, eyeing me.
"Benny," I smile. "You can't— You are not carrying me."
"Why not?"
"Because . . ." I searched for words. "It's impractical."
"Impractical? You know what's impractical? Taking a night walk without any shoes."
I laugh. God, he was stubborn.
"Okay. Okay . . . I'll 'hop on' but only if I get to carry you someday."
He only grins at me with a twinkle in his beautiful eyes. "Deal."
***
BENNY P.O.V.
I waltzed along the dimly lit road of our neighborhood with Rayne on my back and her arms around my neck. I've never felt warmer in my life that I do right now. I could feel her heartbeat against my back.
As I walked us around, we talked and to my to my utter surprise, Rayne spoke not only about random things but herself.
Here are some things I learned about Rayne Smalls:
She was deathly afraid of ladybugs.
She was allergic to bananas.
Her best friend from back home is named Travis.
Her middle name was Marie.
Her favorite color is purple.
She has more anxiety than she lets on.
The show 'The Flintstones' annoys her.
Her favorite song at the moment was 'Twist' by Chubby Checker.
She plays baseball, she's gorgeous, and she has great music taste. Could I just marry her already ??
"I could zoom past you anytime with two hands tied behind my back, no doubt." I playfully argue with her, a cocky grin on my face.
"Prove it." she challenges, jumping off my back without any warning. She starts backing away, gesturing to the grass on the side of the road ahead of us.
She meant now?
"Now? Are you sure? I feel like you keep forgetting that you're barefoot." I pointed out, raising a brow.
She shrugged. "It's just grass. I'll be okay. Promise!"
I loved her confidence. It reminded me of a few hours earlier when she had put Squints in his place with the whole bra situation.
I inhaled the fresh air. "Okay," I relent. "Prepare to be annihilated..." I warn.
"Pu-lease. You're not the only fast runner on this team, you know." she bragged as she started stretching her legs out.
"We'll see. See that trash can next to that lamppost? That's the finish line."
"You're on."
We take off into sprints, the wind slapping my face like a brick. My peripheral vision caught Rayne to the right of me as she pumped her arms in motivation. She was keeping up so far.
I was impressed but eventually, I got the best of her and she was trailing behind me before I reached the trash can. I slowed down and came to a stop. She panted heavily from behind me, her lengthy golden hair getting all in her face as she screeched to a stop.
"Well...Played....Rodriguez..." she gasps out, her hands on her knees. I bowed to her in irony as she grinned, walking over and hitting me on the chest in humor.
"Let's head back. I'm exhausted." she says.
"I can tell. I kicked your butt, Slow Poke."
"Oh, shut up."
RAYNE P.O.V.
"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked again, referring to my bare feet. I had a few scrapes caused by some twigs in the grass during our race.
"I'll live, Benny."
We approach the tree house and I jump off his back.
"Will you stay out here with me, for a sec?" he asks. "The stars are pretty tonight and I want to look for a few minutes."
My heart clenched. For once, my mind was telling me yes but my exposed toes said no.
"I would love that but . . . My feet are freezing." I admit.
"I can get your socks for you." he offers.
What a gentleman.
"O-Okay."
With that, he trotted off back to the treehouse and I turned, walking across the dirt, onto the grass. I plopped down clumsily under the oak tree and waited.
He came back moments later, carrying two blankets and my socks. He reaches his hand out and gives me my socks and my blanket from my sleeping bag. He settles down beside me. He was sitting a lot closer than he was last time. I put my right sock on first.
"I can't believe you thought you could beat me," he boasted.
"I let you win." I fib, grinning.
"Suuuure . . ." he drawls out. "I'll admit it though, you did amazing for no shoes and slippery grass."
I blushed at his compliment.
We both rest our heads on the grass and snuggled into our blankets, the tree branches above us but we could still see the sky. I thanked The Lord that my bra was on the other side of the tree so Benny couldn't see it.
"You were right about the stars. They are really pretty." I say.
"Thanks for staying out here with me." he whispered.
Our arms were touching.
"Thanks for getting my socks." I express, since my toes were all toasty now.
"Thanks for opening up to me. I know it was hard."
I paused before continuing, thinking of something to thank him for. The drowsiness was beginning to take over and it was harder for me to think.
"Thanks for not being a douche." I murmur, revering to the gang and I feel his body shake with laughter. I grin inwardly, making Benny laugh was like finding a curly fry in a basket of french fries.
Did I just compare food with Benny? Oy....
I felt him lean in from my left side, his warm breath tickling my ear. If I was more awake I'd be flipping out. I felt my eyes start to droop and my mind shut down.
"Thanks for trusting me." he breathed.
And then I was gone.
****************
GUYS!
I've spent the last two days listening to the 60's and can I say.....the music is FANTASTIC! I can't get enough, I'm making a playlist of my favorites!!!
So, if you did not know...The Sandlot movie was set in 1962. (You probably already knew that but whatever) And I felt like I sort of forgot about that. I know this is MY story and I can write it any way I want but I REALLY want to make this story as accurate as possible.
Like legit, I want to use music from the time period. Basically all things 60 related. I honestly can't tell you how excited I am about it ! :)
I'm definitely going to list more music in future chapters and I really hope you'll check them out too! It will definitely make the story more real to you. But farewell for now guys! Xoxo
-Relaxed Soul