The Hookup

Seventy five

There's a chill in the air, but the sun is warm on my face as I pull my denim jacket tighter around my chest. Hero took me to a cafe in a busy part of the city once we left his parents place. On the way, he pointed out landmarks that we were able to see during the drive. My own personal tour guide for the day, and a pretty damn good looking one if I do say so myself.

It's the middle of the afternoon now and we've found our way to a community park in a quiet suburb of the city. Since it's the middle of the week, the park is mostly bare. Just a few people walking, soaking up the sunshine, which apparently is rare this time of year.

"Did you guys come here a lot?" I ask as I meet Hero at the trunk of the car and he pulls out his soccer bag from the back as well as a plush checkered blanket.

"Will grew up just down the street," Hero points towards a row of mansion like houses just down the block. All with pristine yards and fences keeping them in. "We came here almost every day during the summer when we were kids."

As soon as Hero closes the trunk, he slides the strap of his black and white adidas bag over his shoulder, tucking the blanket underneath the same arm and takes my hand in his as we begin to walk towards the park. In the distance, I can see a few guys kicking a ball around, playfully pushing each other out of the way in order to take control of it. Laughter can be heard over the sound of a few cars driving down the street.

"I'm going to feel like a creeper just watching you guys," I laugh as I squeeze his hand tighter as we start approaching them. My nerves suddenly getting the best of me.

"You'll be fine," he says as he leans down and kisses my temple as we come to a large grassy area.

"HT!!" Someone shouts once we are close enough. A guy, the same age as us, comes jogging over, breaking away from the group. He's wearing tight fitting joggers and a navy blue hoodie. His sandy blonde hair cropped short on the sides and left a little longer at the top. A massive grin on his face, which is covered in light stubble around his jawline and a trimmed mustache as well. He looks like he just walked off of a photoshoot for some sports magazine spread. Of course I'll always think Hero is the most attractive man to walk the planet to date, but this guy's a close second.

"My man!" He pulls Hero in for a hug when he comes to a stop. They slap each other on the back a few times. "It's been so long, mate. You look good!" His blue eyes find me standing a little off to the side. He quickly sidesteps Hero and reaches for my hand. "You must be Josephine. So nice to meet you," I glance at Hero as his friend kisses my cheek as he pulls me in for a light hug.

"Hi," I awkwardly tuck my hair behind my ear and Hero pulls me into his side.

"Babe, this is Will. One of my oldest friends."

"Nice to meet you."

"Wifed up now, huh?" Will says with a smirk and Hero just chuckles. I feel my cheeks redden from his words.

"You're one to talk. Where's Maci at?" Hero asks. My ears perk up at the potential of not being the only girl.

"Working. She'll be off tonight though if you guys are down to go out?" Will asks as he checks his phone.

Before Hero can answer, the rest of the guys make their way over to us. All embracing Hero and exchanging bro hugs, also including me.

"This is Ben," Hero points to the shortest guy in the group, even though I'd bet he's no shorter than six foot, with chocolate brown hair tied back in a messy bun at the nape of his neck. "Dez," he moves onto another friend. With a darker complexion than the rest, leading me to believe he's mixed. He smiles at me from behind his ray ban sunglasses. "And Arlow," he says to the last guy in the group, who's built like a professional athlete and has a shaved head.

It's a lot to take in. Usually, there's that token friend who's not necessarily as good looking as the rest, but when it comes to Hero's group of friends, that's not the case at all. They're all tall, all athletic, and have the ability to make a girl brush with nothing more than a simple hello. I lied before.. now my nerves are kicking in.

"When'd you get back?" Dez asks, his accent much thicker than Hero's from what I can tell.

"A couple days ago. Kind of a spur of the moment trip."

"You staying at the mansion?" Ben jokes and the guys all laugh. Hero swipes the soccer ball from him as he tries to balance it on his knee.

"Yes, we are."

"Even though our guy was born with a gold plated spoon in his mouth, he's not all that bad," Will winks at me and I try to hide my laugh.

"Very funny," Hero rolls his eyes. "Coming from the guy who had a Bentley as his first car."

As the guys take turns roasting each other, I spread the blanket out on the lush grass, and pull my hair back into a loose pony to keep the wind from blowing it around.

I watch as Dez and Arlow take off jogging down further away from the group as I sit down and lean back on my palms to get comfortable.

"You need anything?" Hero appears by my side again, stripping off his hoodie and tossing it next to his bag.

"I'm good," i smile up at him. "Go enjoy your friends."

"I love you," he crouches down and kisses me quickly. The taste of mint gum on his tongue from earlier still.

"Love you."

Giving me a wink over his shoulder, he jogs to the group and they divide into teams before they're charging at one another for the ball. Hero's in his element, the sun shining down on his thick arms underneath his plain white tee. His hair partially in his eyes as he dribbles the ball before passing it to Will. I may be biased, but he puts a younger David Beckham to shame.

And the best part? He's all mine.