I pulled out my phone, expecting to see another text from Kyle. Every day, I got another note from him. This one was different.
This one said something that made my heart race and my throat dry.
I'm outside.
I sat straight up in my chair. If my dad saw him...
PING
Come on Bellie.
I looked down at myself. I was wearing bright green sweatpants and an ancient see through t-shirt that had been washed one thousand times. I groaned, running my hands through my hair. It was an unstyled mess, pulled back in a plain headband and loose over my shoulders.
Why did I care what I looked like anyway?
But I did.
A pebble hit my window. Argh! Dammit Kyle... I grabbed a sweatshirt and zipped it up to cover my chest. Then I ran a tube of lipgloss over my lips. I pulled the hood down over my messy hair.
Sad, but it would have to do.
Another pebble.
I'm coming damn you!
I put on my sneakers and tiptoed through the house to the front door. It was late so my parents were in bed. I thanked the lord for small favors as I reached for the doorknob. I was almost outside when I heard the floor creak behind me.
"Where are you going young lady?"
I turned quickly, coming face to face with my dad.
"I needed-some air!"
He just stared at me.
"It's not good for a girl your age to be alone outside in the middle of the night."
"I'm just going for a walk around the block, dad."
"Can't sleep? I'll make you some hot milk."
"Milk?"
He knew I didn't drink milk.
"Almost milk then."
He cocked his eyebrow and I lost patience. I wasn't a kid. I was having a kid.
"I'm not twelve dad. I don't need your permission to take a walk!"
Then I slammed the door in his surprised face.
Chapter Eleven Kyle
I bent low, hunched over behind the hedges of a house twenty feet from her front door. I felt ridiculous but it was also kind of hot, sneaking around this way. I just hoped nobody saw me and called the police.
That would not go over well with Coach. No, not at all.
I saw her the moment she stepped outside. I practically ate her up with my eyes. She was in her pajamas. I realize I must have woken her up. She looked sleepy, cozy, casual.
Adorable.
"Over here!"
She turned her head sharply, walking nonchalantly my way. For a minute I thought she did see me and then she paused, staring right past me, as if I wasn't there.
"Hiding in the bushes?"
Her voice was mocking as she kept walking, ignoring me completely. I jogged to catch up with her, staring down at her stunning profile. I wanted to scoop her up and run away with her. But she gave me a look that was anything but encouraging.
"My dad is watching so you better be quick."
There was something different about her tonight. She was fired up. Full of piss and vinegar.
I liked it.
"Hey."
She glanced at me, her eyes cool.
"You have exactly seven minutes."
"Seven?"
"Less if I decide to walk faster. Or if my dad decides to come looking for me."
"Maybe we should take a different route..."
She smirked.
"Finally, he gets it. Yeah, sure come on."
She turned at the next corner, leading us across the street towards another similarly charming block. All the houses around here were old and beautiful. Nothing like the town I'd grown up in. We didn't have colonials, or tudors or capes. Just modular homes and trailer parks, with a few old farmhouses and crumbling victorians here and there. This neighborhood was well kept, with pristine paint jobs and landscaping. Nothing too grand, but very pretty.
It almost looked like small town America, the kind you would see in a movie. But it wasn't. It was an upper middle-class neighborhood in California. Definitely not like the rest of America. Not what I'd seen so far anyway.
We didn't have a juice bar on every block back home in Virginia that was for sure.
"When can I see you?"
"You are seeing me right now."
"You know what I mean..."
She stopped walking and finally looked at me. I could see she was tired. Pent up. Angry about something. But also resigned.
"No Kyle, what do you mean?"
"I mean, I want to be alone with you."
"Sex. You mean sex."
I stared at her. She wasn't making it easy to woo her. Either that or I really, really sucked at it. And I didn't suck at anything.
To hell with it.
"Yes. I'm talking about sex. I want to fuck you. I want you so bad I can hardly think about anything else. I can't concentrate on anything."
"Except football."
I nodded.
"That's the only time I can't feel it."
"What?"
"It's like a gnawing feeling. Like I'm hungry."
I felt stupid trying to put my feelings into words. This was definitely new territory for me and I didn't like feeling so lost. I forged ahead, determined to convince her.
"But it's not for food. It's for you."
She stared at me, confused. Her huge eyes were searching. Then she shook her head.
"I don't understand. There are a thousand girls who would be with you in a heartbeat Kyle. Especially after that last game."