Preath: Head In The Game [Complete]

6: The Fence

The thought of going back hadn't even crossed my mind. My heart would've broken at her words if it weren't for the fact that she was my roommate. This wasn't goodbye. On the contrary, we were required to keep spending time with each other throughout tonight, tomorrow, to the World Cup and probably beyond.

Shoot. We were required to keep spending time with each other throughout tonight, tomorrow, to the World Cup and probably beyond.

All in a moment the ethereal angel wings I'd appeared to have acquired earlier that night crumbled like porcelain and I hit the ground in a pile of dust. I had all but exploded inside over her eyes alone since the beginning of the walk. The force that drew me from the moment I met her was not one to be reckoned with. As gravity insists, I was doomed to fall faster than I could climb and sink faster than I could swim.

This was dangerous territory. Of course, everyone knew about Ashlyn and Ali having a thing for each other. There were other rumours within the club too, as there would be when you put together a large group of girls and a good quarter of them like girls. The L Word has its accuracies. But... me liking Christen? That would be bad publicity for both of us; probably even more for her because she was the new player being talked about.

I stuffed my hands in my pocket and kept my head down a bit as we walked. I knew that accidentally brushing against her or looking at her for too long would distract me from trying to think of a way to get over myself, at least for tonight.

"You're so quiet," Christen said, giving me a light punch in the arm. I bit my lip and Christen stopped walking. "Where are you, Tobin?"

I looked back at her. "Whaddaya mean? I'm right here."

She shrugged. "You look like you're somewhere else."

"I'm just getting tired, that's all." As soon as I said it, I felt like a jerk. Christen could read me like a book.

She kept her eyes fixed on me for a while. "Okay."

I resumed walking while she seemed to be giving me more space. I was conflicted with the desire to have her closer and the need to keep her away. I thought of the repercussions. I knew about the hate that my gay teammates received, especially Pinoe. I could deal with it, but Christen didn't deserve to be put in that position if the press saw us hanging out together. Plus, I had no reason to believe Christen wasn't straight. Even when she smiled coquettishly as she had been, I had no reason to believe she didn't do that to everybody.

Still, I had to wonder if her becoming interested in me before any of the others was purely coincidental. If it was all just a result of where she happened to sit in the morning.

"Tobin," said a sudden voice. "Did I... do something?"

Shoot. I didn't realize in all of my thinking the impression I was giving Christen. "No," I said. "God, no, Chris. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel like that."

"But your whole manner just changed," she said, placing her hand on my arm. "You might not realize it, but you wear your heart on your sleeve, Tobin." Almost as if on cue, her phone started to ring. "It's my sister," she said.

"You have a sister?"

"Two. I'll just be a sec."

"Of course, go."

My arm was still pulsating from where she touched me. I couldn't remember a time I was touched so gently. Definitely not after being splashed in the face, if she thought my whole manner changed.

My mind began to drift as I pictured what tomorrow would be like. Maybe I could still enjoy the ecstasy of being near Chris without anybody knowing. I mean, there was no way I wore my heart on my sleeve that much...right? Or maybe that was a hopeless thought. Maybe I was just going gay-delusional. I couldn't help it. Friends could still cuddle. Maybe I had that to look forward to.

"Hey Tobin, want to tell Channing about how you shit yourself earlier?" Christen announced loudly, pulling me straight out of my gay delusion.

My jaw dropped. "Are you goddamn kidding me!?" I chased her down the road as she laughed like crazy. I couldn't believe the guts this girl had. The only reason I ever told her my embarrassing story in the first place was to give her a bit more confidence in herself, but now it appeared she had too much. "You'd better tell her that was a lie!" I called.

"Too late!"

"How immature are you? Hang up!" She kept running. I was trying to keep up, but she had me laughing at the same time. "You're the worst!" I shouted. Eventually, she cornered herself between a metal fence and some shrubs growing behind a lit-up sign advertising a different hotel from the one we were staying at.

I caught up to her and tried to grab her phone. She wouldn't let go, so we were left with the phone sandwiched between our hands, panting on each other while I had her pressed against the fence. The feeling had my body burning for a moment until Chris' serious look curled up into a grin.

"What?" I asked.

She turned my hand over to reveal her phone, which showed nothing but her home screen.

"You're such a witch!" I teased as I easily took the phone from her now. I went into her call history which said the call had ended four minutes ago.

"I'd already hung up," Christen said, folding her hands together and smiling sweetly. I squinted at her, searching for a drop of remorse in her face but found none.

"You've gotta be a spawn," I said. "A spawn of something. Not of Satan, prob'ly something a lot worse-"

"Come on," she said, "I made you smile, didn't I?"

"That's what that was about?" I scoffed in disbelief as I returned her phone to her. "You just continue to surprise me, Chris."

"I believe you said my creativity was why I was chosen for the team."

"Oh, for sure," I said. "I never said it wasn't both a blessing and a curse."

"It's only a curse for you."

"Stop cursing me then!"

"Never. That's what witches do."

Her gleaming green eyes looked to me like two ancient marbles, embedded side by side in the wall of a forest cavern, kept sparkling all those years due to the magic of the nymphs residing in the Persian gardens nearby. They were out of the ordinary, in everlasting condition, and by my estimation, sought after by many.