Linger

S I X T Y

Daniel: HEY :) I'm playing soccer today!!! :) Come watch our game!!! :)

I knitted my eyebrows at Daniel's text before going to the phone app. His voice soon sounded over the line. 

"Hi, angel."

"Hi . . ." I replied, unable to bite back my smile. "I got your text about your soccer game. What time does it start?"

"My text."

"Yeah, you said you're playing later." I fiddled with my keys. 

There was a small pause before he spoke up. "I did?"

"That was me!!" Brandon's voice could be heard in the background with Daniel. 

"That was you??" Daniel asked him. 

"Are you cheering for us or what, Maddie?" Brandon called out.

I let out a laugh at the two. "I"ll be there." 

Tyler and I decided to leave the pep rally early. Nothing exciting was happening and we figured the history test we had to study for would be more eventful. But just as I reached my car, my phone lit up with Daniel's text and now I was pulling up to the soccer field, which already seemed much more lively than the pep rally and studying for history.

"There she is!!" 

I looked up to see Brandon and Daniel jogging up to me in matching green soccer jerseys. 

A wide smile lit up both of their faces. Daniel's blond hair appeared even more golden against the emerald green jersey, giving his skin an ethereal glow.  

Green was definitely his color.

"Glad you made it!" Daniel pulled me into his side.

I smiled up at him. "I couldn't miss your game!"

"Thank Brandon for sending you that text. That was all him." Daniel chuckled, nodding to his older brother. 

Brandon simply nodded, a proud grin on his face. "Gotta get this guy on the field somehow. Now I know his weakness." He gave me a wink.

I let out a laugh. "I knew something seemed different about that text."

"Aw, true love." Brandon beamed at us, a soccer ball tucked under his arm. "You know it's real when she even knows the way you text, bro!"

"Well, who uses that many smiley faces anyway?" Daniel asked him playfully.

"Hey, no such thing as too many smiley faces, right?" Brandon sent me a cheeky smile as we headed toward the field. 

I nodded. "He's right."

"See? I like her." Brandon held his hand up and I gave him a high-five. "If you do anything to mess this up, the two of us will make your life torture," he told Daniel sternly before turning to me. "Right?"

"Whoa." Daniel let out a slight chuckle as he ran his hand through his hair. "How did this get so dark so fast?"

"Just saying." Brandon held his hands up innocently, dropping the ball before kicking it off into the distance. "Last one on the field is goalie!!" he yelled before sprinting off after the ball. 

"Hey. Not fair. He's got a head start." Daniel pouted adorably as he watched Brandon. He then turned to me. "Oh, before I forget." He dug in his bag before pulling out a Kit Kat. 

I gasped as he handed it to me. "My favorite! Thank you." 

"Don't tell Bran." He winked. 

"His secret stash?" I guessed, looking up at him with a smile.