unrequited love • tee higgins

001

MAKE A MOVE

march 13, 2022

"will you be my girlfriend, lily?" he asked, eyes fully of hope.

hold on, you may be wondering how we ended up here. let's rewind a little bit, my name is lily.

my brother is sam hubbard, defensive end for the cincinnati bengals. exactly a month ago, that very team lost the superbowl to the los angeles rams.

i had my hopes on them winning that game, not just because my brother is on the team, we've been fans of that team our entire lives.

we both were born and raised here, and i wouldn't change it for the world. he's the best brother ever although he can be over protective at times.

i live in an apartment in the city with my best friend, emily. we work at an upscale restaurant called boca, it's a steakhouse.

we met in college at ohio state, my brother also went there.

speaking of my brother, i spend almost all my time at football games or watching them. sports channels are all i watch unless emily forces me not to.

i know just about everyone on the bengals, most of them are my good friends. jamar chase and i are very close, he's like a brother to me.

jamar is always nagging me about tee, another wide receiver on the bengals who i've secretly been crushing on since the day i met him.

he always tells me that tee is in love with me or something, which is by far not true. we are great friends and i don't want to ruin that friendship by telling him how i feel.

it's currently off-season in the nfl and i'm going through withdrawl. i watch a lot of football, almost every game if i have the time. but considering the season doesn't start until august, i'm finding it hard to keep busy.

i work shifts at boca, every day except sunday from 4-9. they are very high staffed so it's not like i have to work long hours.

i get paid about $1, 200 a week, which is amazing considering i only work 30 hours a week. $40 an hour seems like a lot, which it is but i'm going to take my wins where i can get them.

i'm on my way to jamar's house at the moment, emily is coming with me. some of the guys from the team are going to be there too, sam, trey, tyler, and tee.

"are you going to make a move on tee tonight, lils?" emily asked as i rolled my eyes.

"we are just friends." i said for the millionth time since i've known him.

i don't know who pushes me about tee more, emily or jamar?

"if that's what you want to say." emily said putting her hands up in defense. "everyone knows you like him, just make a move. what's the worst that could happen?" she asked.

"i ruin our friendship by telling him i have a crush on him." i stated, the thought of not being friends with tee anymore wasn't a thought i wanted to have.

"just make a move, lils. just see what happens, for all you know he could feel the same way." emily said. as if that could ever happen.

"he's way out of my league, that's insane. i'm probably like a sister to him." i said, why would he like someone like me?

i'm not going to say i'm model attractive but i consider myself a 7. i've had boyfriends in the past but tee is a different level. and besides, they weren't super serious relationships anyway.

"you are lily hubbard, hubbards are just naturally attractive." emily said. "if anything, you're out of his league." she said.

"either way, i'm not making a move, em." i said, i know that wouldn't stop her from nagging me about it though.

🦋

once i pulled into jamar's driveway, which was huge, i turned the engine of and got out of the car.

"emily, good to see you." jamar said letting emily and i inside. i have a feeling he likes her, but i could be wrong.

"good to see you too, jamar." emily replies with a cheeky smile, i look between the pair trying to figure out what's going on.

"and i'm just chop liver?" i say, jamar finally acknowledges my presence.

jamar wraps his arms around me and gives me a hug. "sorry, lils." he said ruffling my hair that i was quick to pat down.

"she's trying to make sure she looks her best fit tee." emily said with a wide smirk.

"she's finally going for it?" jamar asked looking at me with an eager smile, waiting for an answer.

"no." i reply, his smile quickly fading. "i'm not trying to ruin our friendship, how many times to i have to say that." i say.

"later down the line, when you two get together, you're gonna thank me." jamar said, making sure to note that he said when and not if.

"everyone knows you like him." emily said, as jamar nodded. we were talking in the hallway, everyone was in the living room.

i am pretty sure that they were talking to loud and couldn't hear us.

jamar excused himself into the living room.

"yes, i like him." i said to emily. "but," i said before we were interrupted.

"like who?" tee asked appearing from the living room, hopefully he wasn't standing there too long.

"nobody, nothing." i was quick to say. "it's nothing." i stuttered, walking quickly past him into the living room.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

the ending to this chapter is kind of abrupt, but i wanted them hanging out to be in the next chapter