buzz of voices.
Weslyn walked away with a three point win, thanks to Jill’s aggressive rebounding and unshakable accuracy on the free throw line. I held my own, contributing double digit points and multiple assists. I was relieved to walk away with the win.
I grabbed my things from the bench and heard “Emily!” among the crowd of faces. I turned to spot my mother walking toward me, and nearly fell over when I spotted Jonathan a few steps behind her.
“Hi,” she greeted with a smile. “So glad we came to this game. It was intense.”
I smiled awkwardly, my face fiery as I looked everywhere but at him.
"Nice game," Jonathan congratulated, moving in closer to my mother.
"Thanks," I replied, my pulse racing. I had no idea why I was so nervous to see him. It wasn't like I'd never met him before.
“I was hoping you were going to score more so Jonathan could see your outside shots, especially the three-pointers.”
“The defense was tough,” I returned with a shrug. “But thanks for coming.”
“Are you coming home?”
“Umm, I guess Sara wants to go to a party or something.” I wiped the sweat off my chin using my shoulder, scanning the gym for Sara and Evan. But I knew they’d be in the lobby like they usually were after my games, nowhere around to rescue me from the awkwardness.
“Have fun,” she replied. “See you later then?”
“Yeah.” I glanced up to catch his eye as he nodded with a smile. My mother took his hand and blended in with the remaining fans exiting the gym.
“ Who was that?”
I turned to find Jill and Casey standing behind me, practically drooling.
“My mother,” I responded casually, knowing exactly who they meant. That's when it occurred to me why I'd been so uncomfortable. Every girl in the school was ogling over him as he and my mother made their way out of the gym. It was kinda pathetic.
“And he’s her boyfriend?” Jill asked, still gawking after his perfectly placed hair.
“I guess,” I mumbled, shaking my head as they practically melted in front of me. I grabbed my warm ups and stranded them by the bench, staring.
“And why did you tell Evan he couldn’t hang out with us at the party?” I asked when we pulled out of the school parking lot.
“I need girl time,” Sara explained briefly. “And besides, does he always have to hang out with us?”
“We’re going to a party ,” I pointed out bluntly. “If you want girl time then we should do something else. And no , he does not always have to hang out with us, and he doesn’t. Did he do something wrong? What's going on with you? You've been acting kinda strange lately.”
"Nothing's wrong. I'm fine," she sighed impatiently. Her perpetual bad mood was so very confusing, and far from resembling my best friend―it was freaking me out. And what, if anything, did it have to do with Evan?
We walked in the side door between the house and the garage. Bass boomed from the basement; laughter and hollering could be heard further down the hall. This house was modest compared to some of the monstrosities in Weslyn. We were considered on “the other side of town,” closer to where I used to live.
We ventured toward the laughter to find a group sitting around the kitchen table with cards in their hands and red cups in front of them, demanding one another to drink for various absurd reasons. There were others crammed into the small kitchen, either leaning against the Formica counters or passing through to get to the keg.
Sara made her way to the back porch where the keg rested in a trash can filled with snow.
“Can you stay over tonight?” she asked before taking a cup from the stack.
“Sure,” I replied with a shrug, hugging myself with a shiver. I texted my mother as we walked back through the kitchen, then followed Sara down the shag carpeted stairs to the basement. I stopped at the bottom when I saw Evan playing pool to the right and hesitated long enough to wave and apologize with a grimace as I
Weslyn walked away with a three point win, thanks to Jill’s aggressive rebounding and unshakable accuracy on the free throw line. I held my own, contributing double digit points and multiple assists. I was relieved to walk away with the win.
I grabbed my things from the bench and heard “Emily!” among the crowd of faces. I turned to spot my mother walking toward me, and nearly fell over when I spotted Jonathan a few steps behind her.
“Hi,” she greeted with a smile. “So glad we came to this game. It was intense.”
I smiled awkwardly, my face fiery as I looked everywhere but at him.
"Nice game," Jonathan congratulated, moving in closer to my mother.
"Thanks," I replied, my pulse racing. I had no idea why I was so nervous to see him. It wasn't like I'd never met him before.
“I was hoping you were going to score more so Jonathan could see your outside shots, especially the three-pointers.”
“The defense was tough,” I returned with a shrug. “But thanks for coming.”
“Are you coming home?”
“Umm, I guess Sara wants to go to a party or something.” I wiped the sweat off my chin using my shoulder, scanning the gym for Sara and Evan. But I knew they’d be in the lobby like they usually were after my games, nowhere around to rescue me from the awkwardness.
“Have fun,” she replied. “See you later then?”
“Yeah.” I glanced up to catch his eye as he nodded with a smile. My mother took his hand and blended in with the remaining fans exiting the gym.
“ Who was that?”
I turned to find Jill and Casey standing behind me, practically drooling.
“My mother,” I responded casually, knowing exactly who they meant. That's when it occurred to me why I'd been so uncomfortable. Every girl in the school was ogling over him as he and my mother made their way out of the gym. It was kinda pathetic.
“And he’s her boyfriend?” Jill asked, still gawking after his perfectly placed hair.
“I guess,” I mumbled, shaking my head as they practically melted in front of me. I grabbed my warm ups and stranded them by the bench, staring.
“And why did you tell Evan he couldn’t hang out with us at the party?” I asked when we pulled out of the school parking lot.
“I need girl time,” Sara explained briefly. “And besides, does he always have to hang out with us?”
“We’re going to a party ,” I pointed out bluntly. “If you want girl time then we should do something else. And no , he does not always have to hang out with us, and he doesn’t. Did he do something wrong? What's going on with you? You've been acting kinda strange lately.”
"Nothing's wrong. I'm fine," she sighed impatiently. Her perpetual bad mood was so very confusing, and far from resembling my best friend―it was freaking me out. And what, if anything, did it have to do with Evan?
We walked in the side door between the house and the garage. Bass boomed from the basement; laughter and hollering could be heard further down the hall. This house was modest compared to some of the monstrosities in Weslyn. We were considered on “the other side of town,” closer to where I used to live.
We ventured toward the laughter to find a group sitting around the kitchen table with cards in their hands and red cups in front of them, demanding one another to drink for various absurd reasons. There were others crammed into the small kitchen, either leaning against the Formica counters or passing through to get to the keg.
Sara made her way to the back porch where the keg rested in a trash can filled with snow.
“Can you stay over tonight?” she asked before taking a cup from the stack.
“Sure,” I replied with a shrug, hugging myself with a shiver. I texted my mother as we walked back through the kitchen, then followed Sara down the shag carpeted stairs to the basement. I stopped at the bottom when I saw Evan playing pool to the right and hesitated long enough to wave and apologize with a grimace as I
Similar Books
