Kissing Frogs

THIRTEEN || The Only Thing I Intended to Steal Was One of These Jock's Hearts

|THIRTEEN|

           

The summer before high school, Hugo's mom decided that she was tired of his borderline clinical shyness. So, she gave him an ultimatum to pick a school activity to participate in or she would pick one for him. In a somewhat uncharacteristic turn of events, he decided to join a sport team, surprising everyone.

"It's fool proof," he told me as we entered a local sporting goods store to look for soccer cleats. "Only a chump would pick something like yearbook committee. This is only a three-month commitment, and almost half of it isn't even during the school year. No projects, no discussions, just minimal effort."

Hugo was a genius. I was impressed.

He picked soccer, a sport that began a month before school started, and as a freshman brought some unexpected perks. Like, for instance, he now hung around a group of other high school boys. And, because desperateness knows no bounds, if I came around to watch practice I would get to observe a small sample of the new dating pool.

I was kind of a genius, too. Hugo was less impressed.

"Have I ever told you that I think you might be crazy?" He asked in an unimpressed tone while he gathered all his gear into a bag. It was the night before his first soccer practice and he was only a little annoyed that he had to participate.

"Hugo, Hugo, Hugo," I sang, falling back onto his bed. "You have to be over the whole Love is for Grownups thing."

He scoffed and zipped his bag with exaggerated force. "It's less ridiculous, yes. However..."

I sat up grinning, ready to pounce on this little admission.

"I think what you've been doing is actually insane," he finished, and tossed his stuff aside to come sit next to me.

"Josie is worse," I pointed out defensively.

"You two are very different kinds of Boy Crazy," he told me. "Boys are like an accessory for her. You on the other hand-and don't get mad at me for saying this-you think you need a boyfriend because it's validating for you."

My features deepened into a scowl, and he put his hands up, a wall to protect himself.

"Hey, I said don't get mad, Ingrid. This is not the first time I've told you this."

I crossed my arms in annoyance. "It doesn't make it any less insulting."

He stood and went to his closet to pretend fiddle with things. 'It wasn't meant to be insulting."

I rolled my eyes and sunk back down onto his mattress. Boy, was I glad those butterflies I felt for him months ago during the Stella Incident didn't turn out to be anything. Hugo had a unique way of ruining that kind of thing. It was all circumstantial anyway, that's what I decided.

"I'm just saying-"

"Don't."

He sighed loudly, and the fiddling continued.

"Just out of curiosity," he said after a minute. "You've never, you know, felt stuff for me, have you?"

His ability to read my mind was becoming more and more horrifying, to be honest. I held my breath, but I don't know why. I caught feelings for a couple hours, and like a headache, it passed.

When no answer came, he continued almost jokingly. "I guess not, huh? I would have known about it. You're not exactly subtle."

I released the breath I was holding with an airy chuckle. Even I could admit at this point that I had not been blessed with the grace and poise of a beauty queen. Actually, I was a full-on mess. Some things you just must learn to wear proudly.