Worth Saving(42)

“Whatever, you should’ve been focused when you shot it.”

“I was focused . . . on your boobs,” he laughs as I grab the ball.

I let out another giggle, then I try to act serious. “Whatever. I told you, no excuses. You better focus or you’re gonna lose to a girl.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

This time, it’s me who turns around and tries to back him up, but as I put my pressure against him, I feel something thick on my leg. The second I feel it, I know what it is and I scream as I back away trying to keep from laughing.

“Oh my god, you pressed your penis against my leg!” I bellow. “You can’t do that, you cheater!”

“Yes I can. You’ve met your match, Layla Davison,” he exclaims in a weird, evil villain voice. We both have to take a break just so we can laugh at how ridiculous he is.

We spend the next fifteen minutes playing with the lead changing hands a bunch of times. I’m not even sure if we’re actually playing to win or just playing so we can flirt and grab at each other. All I know is that by the time the score is tied nine to nine, I don’t want it to end. I’m having a great time with him.

“Alright, nine to nine,” he says, tossing me the ball. “Your ball. Your last chance, don’t blow it.”

I bounce the ball between my legs back and forth like I never stopped doing it since high school, and I fake in one direction. Austin jumps to one side, but when I move to the other side, he trips and falls down. I start to laugh, but I need to score, so I run towards the hoop and lay it in. But, when the ball comes out of the net, I don’t feel excited. For one, I don’t want the game to be over, but I also don’t think he was playing real defense.

“Hey, did you just let me win?” I ask as he sits on his butt and puts his elbows on his knees.

“What? Of course not!” he replies, but then he grins and stands up. “You won fair and square.”

“Oh, you bastard, you let me win,” I say, frowning at him. “I don’t need you to let me win. Let’s play again.”

Austin smiles and then gives me a quick peck of a kiss on my lips. He does it so fast I don’t even have time to kiss him back.

“You won, BFF” he says. “I don’t mind losing to you. Now, let’s sit down and chill for a minute so I can catch my breath. You wore me out.”

Austin runs up the stairs to the car and grabs a small cooler out of the back. When he comes back down, I ask what’s in it.

“Just a couple of sandwiches and some Gatorade. Follow me.” I take his hand and he leads me over to the small pond. It’s so serene and beautiful, and as we walk, little ducks start to follow us around.

We sit down in the grass and Austin pulls out two sandwiches and two orange Gatorades. We open them up and start to eat, and after the first bite, I’m so glad he brought them because that basketball game took the food from Applebee’s right out of me.

“It’s really pretty out here,” I say as I chew the ham, turkey, and cheese sandwich.

“Yeah, it is. I like sitting here and watching the little ducks swim around.”

“I know. They’re so tiny and cute, I want to take one home to be my pet. I won’t though. I can resist.”

“I hope I didn’t interrupt the thing you had with your friend,” Austin says, his eyes fixated on the pond as he sips his drink.

“No, it’s okay. Marlene’s a great friend of mine. My best friend, actually. She understands, plus she had to go back to work.” I look over at Austin, and he’s glaring at me like something’s wrong. “What’s the matter?” I ask.

“Your best friend?” he jokes. “I thought you and me were BFF’s this whole time.”

I giggle to myself. “Me and you are friends, that’s for sure, but Marlene’s my closest friend. I’ve known her a long time.”

“I’m crushed. Crushed, I tell you!”

“Shut up,” I say behind a laugh. “I’ve been thinking about that, actually. I’m not trying to label this thing we have, but it’s definitely nothing like being BFF’s. I think we’re on a totally different road.”

Austin looks over at me and I can see he’s holding back a smile.

“I see,” he says, obviously trying to play it off. “Well, I don’t want to label us either, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love spending time with you and talking to you. I’m not trying to rush anything, I want us to have fun together. I just want to show you that not all men are like your father. I know you have big gigantic walls up, but I’m gonna keep on climbing them. I’m not gonna get tired of it. I don’t get tired of trying to make you smile.”

We stare into each other’s eyes for a while, something I’d usually be the first to pull away from, but this time I don’t. I look right back at him. I take a moment to admire the beauty in those big blue eyes, and try to let myself open up to the feelings I know are on the edge of breaking through. I can’t help but to acknowledge and be appreciative of how he has gone out of his way to do things that he heard me say I liked. He’s trying to make me happy, and someone who goes out of their way to make you happy is worth saving.

So, I place my hand on Austin’s chest, and I lean in. I touch my lips to his and my body explodes with excitement. I feel a fury of elation surge down my legs and back up to my head as our tongues touch. It only lasts a few seconds, but it was a really important few seconds to me.