Because of You, Well, Us

Chase

We had been right. At day four, I got up and could get around. At the end of the week, mom took me to get the stitches out. I wasn't quite ready to jump back on the field, but it had become time for something else.

That night, it started raining, which couldn't have had better timing. Then again, it felt like that kind of late summer where it seemed to rain all the time. While I sat at my desk, looking over college pamphlets, I saw Kate sitting at hers. I picked up my phone to give her a call.

"Hey Chase."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Meet you at my door in five."

Grabbing a sweatshirt, I went down the stairs as fast as I could, zipping it up as I went. Kate and I have this tradition where if one of us gets stressed out of our mind and it's raining, we head to the park and run around until we're soaked through and freezing. It's something we did as kids and had done it ever since. It may have seemed stupid since we'd gotten older, but it worked and neither of us seemed quite ready to give up on any of our traditions just yet.

Knocking on her door, Kate ran out just seconds later, grabbed my hand and headed straight for the park. I ran with her, wincing just a little bit.

As we got closer, Kate let go of my hand, running full force for the park. I couldn't believe how amazing she looked when she ran. I could tell that she had worked on her running this summer. Not in a creepy way, but in a way that I had known Kate forever and knew certain things about her. Once she got to the park, she started spinning like she did when we were younger. She looked soaking wet and freezing cold, but happy nonetheless.

In the middle of her turning and splashing, Kate turned to see me standing there, watching her.

Tripping over her own feet, she walked over to me and grabbed my arm. "Let's go sit on the bench under that tree. Sound good?" I could hardly hear her above the sounds of the rain.

"Sounds great." I shouted. Kate kept a hold on my arm as we walked. I could feel her run her hand down my arm into my pocket to hold my big, warm hand with her slight, freezing one.

Under the cover of the tree, I unzipped my sweatshirt and shook the water out of it as she sat in the bench. Both of us sat there, and I hoped she felt just as clueless about what to do as I did. I wanted to move towards her. I wanted her to know what I thought. I wanted Kate to know everything. I wanted her to know how I felt. I wanted Kate to call me her boyfriend.

"Maybe we should have done something different." Kate's voice snapped me out of my daze, "We could do something now. Let's go back to my house and watch a movie or something, okay? My dad wouldn't mind." She stood up to leave.

I stood up as well, "No, let's stay. Watching you have fun is more than enough for me."

"Are you sure? We're already up. You can't run like you used to right now, like I said, dad wouldn't mind if we did something. I don't mind. I'm freezing."

I could tell I'd made her nervous because of the rambling, something she only did when she felt nervous. I couldn't stand having Kate not know anymore, I knew I had to do something to let her know. Slowly, I pushed her against the trunk of the tree, which quickly shut her up. Kate looked at me in surprise, but for the first time since she got back, I knew what I wanted to do exactly where I wanted to go.

"Chase what are you-" But I didn't let her finished, but I barely even kissed her. It felt like a terrible first kiss. I had to try again.

I ran my hands up to her neck and pressed her deeper into the tree. Lightly brushing a piece of hair from her face, I inched my face nearer to hers. Kate had tried to say something again, but I ran my thumb over her mouth to stop her.

When I kissed Kate, Some kind of warmth kindled in my stomach. I felt her run her hands over my scar and settle on my hips. I winced at the pain, but I made sure not to let her go. I knew if I let her go, she would talk. And I wasn't so sure I wanted to hear what she had to say.

Kissing Kate felt like the most natural thing I had done in a long time. Her lips got soft and wet from the rain. I liked the feel of her face against my hand, and the way I could feel her smile against my lips. I knew water from my hair dripped onto her face, then something warm touched my hand. I pulled away and saw the culprit: Kate had started crying. I guess I hadn't felt her smile.

I wiped a tear away with my thumb and kissed the tip of her nose. Leaning my face towards her, I tried to kiss Kate again, but she shoved me away, pressing my scar. Let's just say, not the nicest feeling.

"I cannot believe you did that." She had bewildered look on her face, all wide eyes and dazed, so I thought she had liked it. I started to tilt forward again, but she pushed me away and ran.

I tried to go after her, calling her name, but it didn't matter. She had already left.