Aftershocks by Monica Alexander Page A

want me there anymore than I wanted to be there. “I guess it’l just be us, then.” She looked back at Connor.
    “Yeah, I can’t convince Abby to go,” he said, looking over at me. He seemed visibly frustrated that I wasn’t going to be social that night.
    “Wel, work on that during the second half, okay? Alright, gotta go,” she said, and I had to commend her for her acting skils. It seemed she’d lost the battle when it came to keeping Connor away from me, so now she was going to play nice. She giggled as she kissed Connor once more, hopped off his lap and bounced back down to the sideline, and al I could think was how much I did not trust that girl.
    He looked over at me. “I’m not going to be able to convince you to go, am I?”
    I shook my head. “Nope, I’m definitely not in the mood for a party.” I left out the ‘with your friends’ that I desperately wanted to add since I figured it would be bitchy, and I’d have to explain why I’d said it which I wasn’t ready to do.
    “That’s too bad,” he said, putting his arm around me, puling me into a half-hug.
    The second half of the game was a bit more exciting. Both teams scored several times, and it looked like we were going to win. Then Jack threw an interception. It was his second one of the game which was incredibly unprecedented. He was usualy realy consistent.
    Maybe he was out of sync without his best receiver to pass to. Jack had a hard time adjusting his game after Wyatt had quit the team. It seemed he stil hadn’t found his rhythm.
    The first time Jack threw an interception the other team hadn’t scored, but this time they did, and the game was tied with two minutes to go. Luckily, our team ended up puling out the win at the last second. Jack threw a long pass to Cameron that hung in the air for a few seconds before landing right in his hands. He took off for the end zone and scored as he was tackled. Connor and I jumped up and down with the crowd as soon as the referee made the touchdown sign, and Connor surprised me by puling me into a hug, lifting me off my feet.
    “That was awesome!” he said, as he hugged me.
    “So cool,” I said, as he set me back down on my feet and smiled at me.
    “You love it, don’t you? Admit it. I got you excited about footbal.” He was gloating as he did a little victory dance.
    You got me excited about something, that’s for sure.
    “I love it,” I said, grinning back at him. I poked him in the stomach while he danced around like an idiot, feeling his taught stomach beneath my fingers.
    In response, Connor grabbed my hand and squeezed it for a few beats before he spun me around, puled me back against his back and started tickling me. I made every attempt to squirm out of his grasp, but he had me in an iron-grip.
    He finaly stopped, but didn’t release me right away. “Gotcha,” he whispered in my ear, his breath tickling my skin.
    “Jerk,” I said, playfuly as I spun out of his grip. He just grinned down at me and shook his head before taking my hand.
    He kept ahold of it as we fought our way through the crowd to the parking lot, but I told myself it was just so we wouldn’t get separated. It didn’t mean anything more.
    “So, we’re hanging out again,” I said, as he started the car. “You have to tel me something else about you.”
    Connor looked quizzicaly at me. “I already told you something today. You have to wait until tomorrow,” he chastised.
    I shook my head. “Nope, it’s each time we hang out. By leaving, you voided your answer from earlier. Now you have to share something.”
    He half-laughed at me. “Okay, I’l share, but for the record, I think you’re changing the rules on me.”
    I play punched him in the arm. “I just want to know more about you. You’re like a closed book.”
    I had changed the rules, but ever since my mom had revealed what she knew about him, I was dying to know the ful story.

    “I just don’t let many people in,” he said, turning to