Falling for the Goalie and Other Dangerous Sports

Chapter 33 - Derek

dedicated to teampeeta because she is really sweet and nice and comments a lot too :D

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His hand clapped down on my shoulder, causing me to flinch. "Derek! This is your...friend?"

I silently cursed Dad before nervously stuttering out, "Yeah, um, this is Maddy." I tried to mouth her an "I'm sorry".

She shyly held her arm and said "Hi." She was cute when she was nervous.

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Derek's dad, by the way." He shook her hand and her nerves seemed to settle as she laughed lightly.

"Nice to meet you too."

"I've heard a lot about you."

As Dad said that, I knew things were going to take an embarrassing turn. I tried to push him away, but he leaned into me, still determined to make me as embarrassed as possible. "Okay, I'll meet up with you later." I stated.

"C'mon, I'm trying making small talk here." Dad whined.

"Later. Please, Dad."

He finally let up, allowing me to push him away. My desperate tone must have finally gotten to him. He said, "Fine, I'll go. Don't forget the room number."

As he walked away towards the car, I called out, "I won't." There was no hiding my smile, however. I was still excited he was home, and would probably be excited for the next two months.

Starting the cart towards the lobby, I thought about Dad again. I'll wake up tomorrow, and he'll be here. I'll wake up the next day, and he'll be here again. I'll wake up the day after that, and he would still be here. The simple thought made me ecstatic. But I had forgotten about Maddy padding softly beside me. "I'm sorry about that." I added.

She didn't say anything. I glanced over as her wide eyes scanned the lobby in awe. It was a pretty sweet place, I'll give her credit. I had been here for awhile and already took the time to explore the main floor. I hadn't gone downstairs yet however, where the arcade and actually water park entrance were. Mom was resting in the room at the moment, and I had come back out with Dad to help grab any last minute things from the car. That's when I found Maddy struggling to get a bag on the luggage cart, and decided to help her. Dad let me go, but not before bouncing back to embarrass me.

I pushed the button for the elevator and went inside, Maddy taking care of the floor number. All of our rooms were on the fifth and top most floor. Aimee, Wyatt, Jarod, Heather, and Kendall were here for sure, I knew that much. Silently, I wished for her room to be somewhat close to mine.

Her gentle hands found their way along the grooves in the elevator. "This place is amazing."

"I know." I replied, leaning back against the wall. God, was I still tired. I got to bed at about 3:40, and then had to turn around and wake up at 5 so we could leave at 5:30. I had forgotten to pack, so that didn't help my cause either. I tried to sleep on the way here to maybe catch an hour or two, but I know I can't sleep during car rides.

"Wait. Your dad..." Maddy started.

I opened my eyes and smiled, excited to tell her. "I forgot to tell you. He came home last night."

"What?" she exclaimed.

I pushed her cart out and down the hall. "When I got home from your place last night, he was in the kitchen. Max had gone to pick him up from the airport; none of us knew he was coming." No matter what, I couldn't suppress my smile.

"Wow. I'm really happy for you then."

"Thanks."

Finally coming to the furthest room down the hall (about four down from mine I realized), she pulled out a card and swiped it into the door while taking in the fresh, crisp air. I rolled the cart to my right and leaned against it, watching her take it all in. I loved looking at her, I loved the way she looked at everything like it was an entirely different planet or species. She looked like a child on Christmas, opening up the small but greatly appreciated gift. Her wide hazel eyes were my favorite feature as she scanned the room in her red converse, ripped-up jeans, and black shirt. I would take her looking like she did now instead of in some frilly dress or skirt any day. Closing the door as she explored the two bedrooms, I saw the room was set up exactly as mine. The only difference was that her room had an absolutely breathtaking view of the lake.

She finished examining what I assumed would be her and her sister's room. "This is so awesome." She laid down on the couch, closed her eyes, and rested her hands behind her head. "Feed me grapes, servant."

I smiled at her, taking in the perfection of each little curve of her body, each tear in the jeans, each scuff on the shoe. Almost pressured by just the sight of her, I planted a small kiss on her lips. I opened my eyes to meet hers and said, "Sorry, out of grapes."

She laughed and replied, "I guess that's okay." Her legs swung over my head and I felt her lean against my shoulder. "For now."

"I'll make sure to order you room service for the next three nights, my queen." I teased. "Nothing but a six-foot-high pile of grapes."

A silence settled in after she laughed a little, both of us staring at our feet. It was kind of weird to have the same shoes on, but mine were barely holding up. The laces were practically brown and fraying terribly; canvas a more brick red from dirt and dust. The rubber around the sides was starting to wear off, while Maddy's high tops looked beaten just right. The red color hadn't been my idea because I'm a more black and neutral kind of guy, but my aunt had given these to me as a gift. Mom complained about me bringing the ratty things on this trip, saying I'd look like a poor schoolboy with my hair that definitely needed cut, yet I couldn't leave them behind. My trusty black vans were stained anyway and Mom would kill me if she found out.

Maddy's voice interrupted my intense shoe-thinking. "Are you still nervous?"

My mouth twisted up a bit. I was very nervous truthfully, but I didn't want to come off that way. "I don't know. Kind of."

Out of the blue she kissed me this time, and I could sense her shrinking away in shyness at her bold move. I didn't want it to end just yet, so I slipped my hand across her cheek and pulled her mouth more towards mine, getting a little bit of confidence back. "She isn't running away and burning her face off," I thought as I continued to kiss her. "So I must be doing something right." Maddy had somehow become extremely tantalizing in the past five seconds, and I couldn't help sneaking in a little tongue. She jumped back.

I make terrible decisions, so I've come to realize.

Shutting my eyes in humiliation, I shamefully opened one to look at her. "Too soon? I'm so sorry. I shouldn't of. I'm really sorry." I dropped my hand and was going to make a run for it, but she responded before I could.

"No, I just didn't know what it was."

"Oh."

I sat, still prepared to run, but she seemed say in almost a smart-alecky tone, "Can you show me again?"

My thoughts swirled into complete, chaotic, confusion. "Uh, yeah. You're sure?" I finally managed to say.

"Positive." She poked me to loosen the nerves. "You aren't taking my virginity, so relax a little." I laughed hesitantly, trying to get some sense of serenity. Wow, am I bad at this. How does she remotely enjoy my existence.

I took a deep breath and looked her in the eye. "Fine," My heart rate began to speed up. "But if you're uncomfortable, just pull away." She nodded, and I tried to remind myself to relax. Leaning in, it started all over. I wanted to make sure it was perfect, that I wouldn't slip up one millisecond of this kiss. Carefully, carefully, carefully timed, I tried it again but couldn't force myself to go any further. My chest already felt like it had exploded.

I pulled back and asked, "Okay?"

Oddly, she frowned at me. "Yeah, but, that's it?"

I knew it, I knew it, when would I stop being such a coward and just do things the way they were supposed to be done. Dear God, I needed to get a hold of myself. Wringing my hands together, I responded apprehensively, "I feel I might combust if I try anything else. I'm just too nervous right now."

She suddenly grabbed my shoulders and shouted, "RELAX!" I froze up in confusion again and fear, strangely enough. "Stop stressing out Derek. We have four days of nothing but relaxation, enjoyment, and kicking ass on the field and I don't want you wasting time being anxious 24/7."

The click of the door immediately sent me into goody two-shoes mode. Maddy's mother and sister, Hannah I believe, walked in. Mrs. Gray went to pick up her bag, but I swiftly took it out of her hands. "I'll take this for you, Mrs. Gray." I said, going set it on the bed of her room.

"Oh, thank you," she responded. "What a sweet young man." I smiled to myself, knowing it was directed towards Maddy.

"Not a problem," I said, returning to the living room. I saw Hannah in the other room eye me suspiciously. "I should get going though, Mom's going to be frantically searching for me soon enough." I started to drag the cart with me out the door. "Bye Mrs. Gray, bye Hannah." I specifically made eye contact with Maddy, smirking a little to get to my old self after that disaster. "Bye Maddy." I heard her mom and sister call out goodbyes as she waved humbly. I winked, triumphantly seeing her face turn pink before shutting the door.

I dragged the cart to the elevators again, dropping it off and heading back a room or two to where we were staying, finally calming down. I knocked, hearing Mom shuffle inside. She opened the door and let me in. She was already in a swimsuit, sunglasses, and holding a ridiculously thick romance novel. "Your bag's in the your room, sweetheart. I'm going to rest out on the balcony for the afternoon, so you're free to do what you want."

"Except drugs!"

"Adam! The boy's fourteen!" Mom reprimanded.

"I was kidding. LSD's the only one worth his time anyway, and it's probably impossible to get around here." I heard Dad's laughter come from the main room as I walked in, going left to my room.

I fought hysterical laughter myself as Mom continually scolded Dad. He cackled at every feeble attempt she made to beat him up with her book. My cheeks were hurting from smiling so much now.

I rifled through my bag, trying to somewhat group the mass of clothes I had thrown in and put them in drawers. I pulled out my yellow goalie jersey, with a Weaver and 30 on the back. The faint grass stains Mom had continually tried to scrub out, the small tear in the elbow, it all felt like a piece of home. I pulled out my gloves too, black with small stripes of electric orange across the top. They smelled terrible, the padding was wearing off, and threads were dangling everywhere, but they were my prized possession. I remembered how mad Max was when I was little and tried his gloves on, but I could see why. There were a set of unspoken rules that you just had to follow. You had to keep them in the same pocket of your soccer bag, you can't let anyone else use them, you always have to flex your fingers when you put them on, the list continues. They were just things you did as a goalie. They became your second skin, they became your best friend.

I remembered back to Max's gloves championship year. They were so important to him that they absolutely did not come out of the bag until it was game time. They were completely black except for the bright orange Reusch logo on the index finger and stripe around the knuckle area. I dared not touch them, afraid I might break an unspoken rule. But those gloves caught the direct kick that would've let the Riverview Rockets win the state championship. They blocked five out of five penalty kicks to win the game. They held their own legacy, as I could only hope mine would. Eventually.

"Hey." I stopped examining my gloves and whipped around to find Dad in the doorway, smiling humbly. "What're you doing, kid?"

I threw my bag into the corner of the room and put my gloves in my soccer bag. "Just putting stuff away." I responded, tossing the jersey into the open drawer and kicking it shut. Dad stopped leaning in the doorway and closed the door behind him, making me a little nervous. He sat down on the other bed and motioned for me to sit across from him.

As soon as I sat down, he said, "I'm going to make this as less painful as possible for both of us. Understood?" His tone sounded rushed and exasperated.

"Um, sure, but what are you talking about?" I asked.

He shut his eyes. "Long story short, Mom wants me to give you the talk now that I'm home and you have a girlfriend."

"Wait wait wait wait -"

"Just don't have sex, and -"

"Please stop. Please, stop."

"I'll explain more about protection later, but just don't do it for now -"

"DAD."

He stopped his scripted ranting and looked up at me. I didn't really know where to begin after such a sudden shift. I felt mortified for one, and as if I was wandering in uncharted territory. Eventually, I said, "This is weird." And of all the more mature things I could've said to end the conversation, I came up with that. This is why I find it hard to believe I'm good at writing.

"I know. I don't feel like talking about it anymore, just tell your mother I gave you the run down and walk out looking mortified."

"Already there," I mumbled, flopping back on the bed. "Can I go now?" I asked, shuddering uncomfortably at the thought once again.

"I suppose. But do you want to talk about anything? I haven't seen you about two years, you know."

I chuckled as my rigid discomfort began to dissipate. "Not really."

Dad snickered once. "Sure. Tell me more about Maddy."

I sighed and launched into the whole story. About the fights and the good parts, and how terrible things were and then how they changed in a second, how we ended up where we were now. I could feel him listening attentively. I couldn't bother being hesitant about it, because I had to let someone know the whole story and I trusted no one more than Dad. After a long, long time of retelling, I finally ended with this morning. I closed my eyes for a second, just relieved to get it all off my chest in one entire piece, then sitting up and staring at my shoes to avoid eye contact. Although I trusted him, I was still highly embarrassed by all of it.

"That's brave of you. I didn't think you were capable of any other emotion besides pessimism." he said. I laughed a little and nervously kicked my feet together. "Really though...that's quite the love story."

I remained quiet and swallowed hard. I didn't really know what to say next.

"Hey."

I picked my head up. Dad gave a reassuring half-smile. "I don't think it's lame either. And you don't need to be embarrassed to tell me anything like this."

I nodded and gave a slight smile back. "Okay." Dropping my head again, I felt like there was more either I or he wanted to say, but I knew I was too timid to continue.

I heard him exhale tiredly, rubbing his face with his hands. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, Derek."

I looked at him again, caught off guard by the sudden mood change. "For what?"

"For leaving. And missing out on so much."

"It's okay, I don't think it's your fault."

"No, no..." He drifted off, sounding much older than he was. "I just wish I could of been here. It's hard being from your family for so long."

"Well you're here now. And Mom, Max, and I are too." I went to grab my phone and key card off the desk.

"Yes. Yes I know." He looked off into the distance, and there was something off about him. Extremely off. His eyes were glazed over, and the comforting grey started to look more like cloudy smoke. He was remembering something, but there was no way to tell if it was good or bad.

Abruptly, he sat up straight and took a deep breath. "Phew. Okay. You're heading out?"

I checked my phone again to find an expected message from Wyatt asking to meet down by the arcade. "Yeah." I stopped with my hand on the door handle. "You're...you're sure you're okay, Dad?" I asked. He didn't look right; he didn't look right at all. I probably should've stayed, looking back.

"I'm fine." He turned and smiled at me mischievously. "Don't forget, mortified."

I smiled back slightly and opened the door. Mom asked me where I was going, and I responded sharply, "To meet Wyatt", and shut the room door quickly behind me while heading towards the elevators once again. As I pressed the first floor button, Dad's glazed face couldn't get out of my mind. There was something terribly wrong about him in that moment, something that I hadn't seen in him before he left. It worried me a lot, but maybe it was just fatigue from the trip. Mom wanted him to stay home, but he insisted on coming anyway, so that had to be it. I began to desperately hope it was just fatigue and not something worse.

The elevator stopped on floor three, catching me by surprise. My thoughts of Dad disappearing, the doors opened to reveal a tall, tan, dirty blonde girl in a small bikini, carrying a towel and texting away like a maniac. Her deep blue, cat-like eyes were dramatically covered with makeup. The girl's wedged shoes clacked against the tile of the elevator as she went to choose floor one as well, but stopped after realizing it was already pressed. Despite having legs for miles, she was still maybe an inch shorter than me. Upon closer inspection, she couldn't be older than fifteen.

I scooted over, and messed with my feet, trying to pull a shoelace out of its bow. The elevator began to descend the next two floors. I could see her do a double take over at me however, then scan up and down. I wanted - no, needed - to get out of there.

"Hey," she said. "What's your name?"

Fuck.

The door opened and I hurriedly went to step out, responding quickly, "Derek." She grabbed my arm, pulled me back in and casually pressed the door closed button.

"Derek, I like it." She came uncomfortably close. "I'm Lacey."

"Nice to meet you. I should really get going though." I reached for the open door button. Again, she grabbed my arm.

"Why are you in such a rush? Don't you want to stay and...chat for a little?" Her hesitation on chat only meant one thing. She stepped closer, forcing me into the corner of the elevator. I pushed myself up against the elevator walls, extremely uncomfortable, starting to panic. I needed out of here, not because I was tempted, of course not, but because I could tell she was a very forceful person. She took a finger and traced across my jawline seductively. "Please? I'm just so bored," she said, coming closer and closer while glancing down at my lip.

I whipped my foot against the button panel, aiming for and miraculously hitting the door open button. "Sorry, gotta go." I said, slipping away as fast as I could. I stepped quickly down the stairs, pushing people out of the way until I was safely at the bottom, hidden from sight. My heart was pounding and head dizzy.

"Derek!"

I yelped a little and turned to find Aimee. She looked at me like I had two heads. "Jesus, all I said was your name."

"Oh. Aimee. It's just you." I breathed out, unaware I was holding my breath in the first place. Hands on my knees, I tried to calm down a little. "Thank God."

She hesitated. "Well, I'm not going to ask. Have you seen Maddy, by chance?"

I gradually recollected myself and brushed my shirt flat. "Yeah, earlier. Why?"

"Because I texted her awhile ago saying to meet me down here and she still hasn't shown up. Her mother said she was on her way more than five minutes ago."

"Huh," I searched about the room for a bun of brown hair or red Chuck Taylors, finding neither. "I don't know then, honestly."

We stayed in silence for a little bit, sitting on a bench by the stairs. Maddy couldn't be lost already, could she? And wasn't Wyatt supposed to be somewhere around here? I figured if I waited with Aimee long enough he'd show up.

In the meantime, I examined the arcade. It was absolutely gargantuan. Flashing lights and electronic music were in every nook and cranny as children teenagers, and adults alike greedily ripped off their tickets from the machines. It looked like a jungle, especially with the whole African theme around it. There was an indoor fountain that left a mist of cool water, the other side rounding a corner that I suspected led to the water park. The extensive prize counter was along the entire back wall, ranging from what looked like a miniature stuffed turkey-pig to a 62 inch 3D tv. Kids ran around frantically, trading tickets and tugging on mom's and dad's shirts asking for just a few more quarters. Reluctantly, they always gave in. I was never one of those kids when I was small; in fact, Dad and Mom usually had to force me to take money. I hated having my parent's spend money on me for things I didn't need. Of course, I was pretty good at arcade games, so it didn't take much to get what I wanted.

I heard frantic steps descending from the stairs beside me come closer and closer. I watched as Maddy skipped the last two stairs and came to a running stop, hands on her knees, breathing heavy as I did. "Maddy?" I asked.

"Ah!" She turned at lightning speed, eyes alarmingly wide.

I got up. "Relax, it's me."

She returned to huffing and puffing on with her hands on her knees. "Phew...I thought...you were..."

"Hey, baby." Some complete and idiotic douchebag in a snapback and muscle shirt walked casually down the stairs and slapped her butt, causing her to shoot straight up. He whispered in her ear, "Thought I lost you."

"You're about to lose your fucking life if you touch her again." I stated without hesitation. I had never reached that level of anger that quickly in my entire life.

He turned to me, replying sarcastically, "Really, now. And you are...?"

"Leave before I kill you."

"I see. Not one for answering questions, are you?"

Oh god, was I ready to kill a man. But Maddy made eye contact with me, held up a finger, then round-house kicked him in the most bad-ass manner I have ever witnessed in my life.

He smacked off the ground, clutching his head and dumbly searching for his snapback. A red, converse-patterned mark was already starting to form on his cheek as he groaned in pain. Without my noticing, a decent sized group had gathered to watch the affair go down, clapping as she kicked him again in a particularly painful spot on a male's body. "Pig." She spat, then looked at me, smiling almost for approval. I smiled back, and the crowd began to disperse, no one caring about the kid lying in pain on the floor.

I laughed. "Nice." Maddy smiled back, and began walking towards an arcade game. Aimee joined up with her, talking very excitedly, reenacting the entire thing with wild arm movements. I stared after her for a little bit in a dreamlike daze, until she glanced back at me. She raised an eyebrow and nodded her head towards the game, pulling me out of my trance. Maybe it was the heat of the moment, but I was certain I loved Maddy Gray.

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After what felt like several hours of arcade games, quarters, tickets, and occasionally sabotaged competitions with Maddy, I finally turned in enough tickets for a half-pound bag of tootsie rolls. Giving the left over tickets to the small girl behind me, I headed back where Maddy stood retelling the incident to Mark, Zane, Wyatt, Aimee, Heather, Jarod, and Oliver. I opened the bag and took one, putting the wrapper in my back pocket and savoring the candy, then offerred the bag to everyone.

"That's awesome. And no one even stopped you?"

"Nope."

"Damn, I wish I would've been there." Small talk ensued as I thought back tot he incident, realizing how I probably should of been a little more concerned. Or should've stopped Maddy and just dealt with him myself. The thought occured to me that maybe we would play against him, and I could beat his face in then.

"Derek, almost kill someone today?" Mark taunted, snapping me out of my violent fantasy.

I popped another tootsie roll into my mouth and shrugged. "Almost."

The small group laughed. "I pity whoever tries to hit on Maddy again."

"Or Derek, for that matter. I think we're forgetting she's the one who round-housed the guy in the face." I laughed with the group at Heather's comment.

"So," Wyatt started, breaking the settling silence. "How about we actually go to the water park portion of this whole thing?"

Mutual agreement went up, so I said I'd go get my swimsuit and meet up with them inside. Maddy hadn't brought hers either, so we headed up together. As we walked, I asked her about what happened with her and that douchebag. She had a story eerily similar to my encounter with the girl Lacey, except he was extremely desperate to pursue her. There was no way I would tell her about the girl, because I knew she would hunt her down or...no. I couldn't risk anything like Scarlett ever again. But I still wanted to find the idiot to beat him up myself. Maddy begged me not to go looking for him, however, and I had to agree grudgingly. If we ran into him and he said so much as one word to her though, I would put his head on a platter. No questions asked.

I came to my room again, seeing Mom and Dad casually sitting in the balcony talking. Mom looked so happy, listening attentively to Dad. It was weird to see them together again, but I loved it.

I quickly changed into swim trunks and a t shirt and started to head out the door again. Mom and Dad were still completely oblivious, talking their heads off to one another, catching up. I smiled and went out the door once again.

I went to the end of the hall and met Maddy, waiting patiently. She had short athletic shorts on and a t-shirt.

"Ready?" She asked sheepishly.

"Yeah, let's go."

I walked into the elevator and pressed floor one. Maddy turned and looked at me, saying suddenly, "You have really nice eyes."

I subconsciously rubbed my eyes in some desperate attempt to maybe subdue their ridiculously bright color. Personally, I hated them, but looking at Maddy again, I forgot what I was thinking. "Thanks."

She smiled. The door opened and we walked out, down the stairs and around the corner to the water park. The air was suffocatingly humid and smelled strongly of chlorine, so much I thought I was about to have a respiratory attack. But Wyatt was beckoning us further in, where the whole team now sat around, and I followed Maddy in her eager footsteps.

She stripped to nothing but her ridiculously awesome lightning printed swimsuit while I took my t-shirt off, slightly alleviating the suffocation. It quickly returned, but Maddy was already dragging me by the hand to a wave pool. Hopefully Maddy won't ever pick up on the daze she puts me in, because I could be her servant in moments like this if she wanted it.

She sat at the very edge of the wave pool, where they were nothing but ripples. I took her hand and dragged her inwards, where the real fun was.

"Derek, -"

"C'mon Maddy, you're missing out if you sit there."

"But I can't swim well."

"We won't go out any farther than where you can touch, okay?"

"Okay."

Everyone else had gone separate ways, so it was just Maddy and I exploring the place. If I thought the arcade was gargantuan, then the indoor water park was planetarian. It certainly felt like a whole different world, with colorful tubes going every which way and the sound of splashing water. I followed Maddy and went where she wanted to go. I learned that she was a thrill seeker, like me, after pushing us into the line for the speed ride.

I loved every second I spent with her. Every time she laughed, or smiled, or gently touched my wrist, just anything she did seemed to put me in a daze. Her wide hazel eyes, infectious smile, everything had me convinced I was falling in love with her.

We met up with Wyatt and Aimee later on, who liked the more subdued rides that Maddy and I had skipped over. It was nice to talk to Wyatt again. As the girls headed to a bathroom, we sat down at a table and talked. Well, mostly I talked. About Maddy. His grin grew wider and wider, until I had to ask, "Why are you smiling so much?"

He laughed at me before responding. "Because you look happy for the first time in weeks."

Maddy and Aimee came bounding back, leading us off to another ride, another adventure.