Lacrosse

5- Misses and Kisses

Josh

"Take your time. Focus on what's behind the goal, not the actual goal. If you aim for behind it, it'll go behind the goalie," I instruct, eyeing Kendall as she sets up to charge the eight meter arc. She lifts her stick to triple threat position, right a over her shoulder, and starts running. She cradles a few times and then releases the ball from her stick. The ball travels to the top right corner of the goal, dinging off the goal post and bouncing off. Kendall curses under her breath.

"You know the rules. Take off some clothes," I say. She shoots me an icy glare and steps on the back of one of her cleats, causing it to come off her foot.

"Happy?" she asks, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Well aren't you just a clever one," I sigh, unable to keep the disappointment out of my voice. I'm a seventeen year old boy. I want to see some skin. "Now go ahead and try again."

Kendall scoops one of the extra balls up from near her feet and cradles it up to above her shoulders. Her eyes narrow at the goal as she rushes toward it, her shot once again bouncing off the orange metal frame. She uses her bare foot to kick off her other cleat, leaving her high Nike socks exposed to the moisture in the turf.

"Try again. Believe in yourself Kendall. Shooting is your specialty. This is a piece of cake for you," I say, trying to boost her confidence.

She lines herself up at the top of the twelve meter arc again, cracking her neck softly in preparation, but to no avail. She still misses the sick and is forced to remove her socks from her feet.

"Nice tan line babe," I laugh, looking at her feet. They're at least three shades lighter than the rest of her legs, a classic lacrosse tan.

"Shut up," Kendall growls, clearly not in the mood.

She sets herself up to take another shot, this time on the off-center hash mark of the eight meter arc, as if she is taking a direct free possession penalty shot. Piece of cake for typical Kendall, but not tonight. She misses the goal by at least five feet to the right and two feet high.

My girlfriend tugs at her ponytail holder, removing it from her hair and allowing her long, chestnut hair to cascade down her back in slight waves. Technically the ponytail holder isn't clothing, but I don't bring it up. I don't want to annoy her anymore than she already is.

"Try another free possession shot, but start from the right hash instead," I instruct. That side is her 'sweet spot' and she almost always makes her shot from there.

But once again, she misses.

With no more small items to take off, Kendall is forced to either take off her shirt or her shorts. She chooses to slip the thin mesh tank top off over her head, revealing a black Under Armor sports bra that hugs her chest tightly.

"Let's go back to basics," I suggest. "Because it's getting dark and I just want to be a able to kiss you already."

"I just want to be able to make a stupid goal and then go home!" Kendall cries, her voice cracking slightly.

"Line yourself up. Put your left foot right outside the line and turn your hip to where you're aiming," I tell her. She follows my directions and I walk behind her to align her hips properly. I place my hand on the lower part of her stomach and turn her slightly, my other hand resting on her hip. I back away and nod my head, indicating that she should shoot.

She takes three steps toward the goal and fires, the ball landing in the back of the net for the first time all night.

"I did it!" she screams with the joy of a child in a candy store.

"I knew you could!" I cry, picking her up and spinning her around in the air. I place my lips on hers and let them linger for a while before pulling away. "Now get a few more and we can go."

Kendall clears her throat by coughing. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

I shrug my shoulders and pull off my cleats.

"Go again," I say.

She picks up another ball and shoots directly from the eight meter arc, the ball soaring into the goal at top speed. I yank my socks off my feet, revealing a tan line that matches Kendall's. She picks up another ball, this time starting from the twelve and running in towards the net. She makes it again. Then I pull my shirt off over my head, revealing my defined abs.

"Switch hands and then I'll pay up your reward and we can go get some food." Kendall nods and scoops the last ball resting at her feet into her stick. She starts running in towards the crease, cradling the ball in her left hand. Once she's a foot from where she wants to shoot from, she switches over to her right hand and lets the ball fly out of her stick, into the back of the goal.

She throws her stick up in the air and lets it fall to the ground, hollering in pure happiness. She runs to me faster than I've ever seen her run and jumps on me, tackling me to the ground.

My bare back lands on the dewy green turf, Kendall on top of me. I look up into her crystal clear eyes and she looks down into mine as she cups my face in her hands and pulls me to her lips. Our lips lock and I taste the sweet flavor of her Fruit Punch Gatorade lingering on her lips. My hands find their way to her exposed waist, nearly encircling the tiny figure.

We continue on like this, our lips interlocked and our bodies on top of each other, laying on the lacrosse field that started it all. My hands travel up her spine, raising the microscopic hairs covering her body, until they reach the bottom of her sports bra. She hesitates slightly, removing her lips from mine for a millisecond, before relaxing once again and putting her lips back on mine. My hands slip underneath the back of the black material and linger there, waiting for some sign from Kendall that she isn't okay with them being there and will chop my balls off if I move them to the front.

But there isn't one.