Playing For Love

by Dana Burkey

  “Then you better start practicing running now,” I shrugged, joining in his laughter.

  “Well, I should head home so you can get some rest,” Jordan said standing up.

  I stood up to, knowing it would be polite to walk him to the door, even though it was just a few steps away. I was trying to think of something to say to him as a goodbye, but instead I was suddenly super distracted when Jordan took a step towards me and wrapped his arms around me in a massive bear hug. Even sweaty and gross from the gym, it was still really nice to hug him. I wanted the hug to keep going, but it was kind of good he stepped back when he did. Dad came back into the living room, just seconds after we parted, carrying a Gatorade for me as well as some crackers and a cold cloth to put on my forehead.

  “Thanks for getting her home safely Jordan,” my dad said warmly after he had given me the drink and insisted I sit back done on the couch.

  “You’re welcome,” Jordan smiled. “See you later Fabulous Fiona.”

  And with that Jordan was gone. I was in the middle of drinking my Gatorade so I didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye to him, but I think in a way it was okay. At least I gave him somewhat of a smile before he slipped outside and raced to his truck through the rain. I replayed all the sweet moments from our afternoon together as I laid on the couch for the next few hours resting. Getting some liquid into me as well as some crackers helped, and the cool cloth on my forehead was really nice. Eventually, I made it off the couch to shower and put on some clean clothes.

  It’s getting pretty late now, but I'm feeling good. I was able to eat dinner with my mom and dad since my stomach was feeling good enough to try some chicken and rice, both pretty safe foods. And then I even spend a little bit of time on homework. But now, I'm going to get some sleep. I don’t feel like the workout or getting sick from earlier is still affecting me, I just know I need to sleep right about now. It’s been a long day, but was totally worth it to see how much Jordan cared about me, without even one mentioning I was like his little sister!

  OCTOBER 12TH-SUNDAY

  I have so much to write down about today, but first I should say that yesterday was super boring! I did homework all morning and worked on cleaning my room since I have just been throwing all my soccer things on the ground all week. Then, I went to Corra’s for a little while in the afternoon and finally had the chance to catch her up on everything that happened Friday with Jordan and I. Sadly Corra was going to see a play her cousin was in so I didn't get to hang out with her too long. And Beth was swamped with homework so I only got to text with her a few times through the day. Oh, and I send Jordan a text or two, but every time he wrote back it was at least an hour after I would text him. Clearly he was serious when he said he was going to be helping his dad with stuff all day.

  Well, this morning I woke up and remembered that we were all going to the pumpkin patch! So, I took the time to curl my hair and put on some nice makeup that would go with the fall look I put together. I was wearing jeans with brown boots over then so I wouldn’t get super muddy at the farm. Then I wore a flower print button up shirt with a blue cardigan over it and a light brown scarf to tie the whole look together. I was feeling really confident in how cute I looked, and was hoping that Jordan would think so as well. And I also knew we would be taking a LOT of pictures since the fall colors were always great out near where the farm was, so I wanted to look nice for those as well.

  Beth and Corra both walked over to my house, and I was glad to see they also went with cute fall outfits. In fact, Beth was wearing new boots and a new bright green cardigan I'd never seen before as well as a lot of shimmery eye shadow. It was pretty clear that she was trying to look nice for Trey, and it was perfect! As soon as I saw her I knew that if Trey didn't serious like her yet, he was going to for sure after seeing how great she looked.

  Ross drove the group of us to the farm, stopping to pick up Skyler on the way. Sunday was her actual birthday, although we had celebrated with cupcakes on Friday, so she was wearing a little tiara to complete her cute dress outfit. It made me feel good to know that even if I was pretty dressed up, I wasn't going to outshine Skyler on her birthday! When we finally reached Glen Meadows and parked, I noticed there were a lot of people waiting for us. There were girls from the soccer team, and then a lot of friends of Skyler’s that were upperclassmen. But, the one person I wanted to see was right there to welcome me with a hug.

  “How are you feeling?” Jordan asked, wrapping an arm around me for a quick side hug.

  “Great,” I smiled at him. “I think if I wanted I could even run today...if I wanted.”

  Jordan laughed then turned to ask Ross something while I flashed a smile at Beth and Corra. Corra gave me a grin in reply, but I noticed that Beth was already distracted by Trey. And by the look on his face, it was clear that he liked the cute outfit Beth had chosen, and it wasn't long before I saw that they were holding hands! I couldn't have been happier for her, and seeing them together made me remember that today I needed to focus on spending some time with Jordan. I figured if I was able to have more one on one time with him then it would give us a chance to talk about “us.” Not like meaning we were going to start dating or something, but just that it might give me an opportunity to start a conversation about how great we work together, or the fact that Jordan keeps spending time with me. I was a little afraid if I tried he would call me a “sister” type again, but I still felt like I needed to try.

  After another car load of Skyler’s friends showed up, we decided to head to the corn maze. At first we all kind of stuck together, but then Ross and Trey announced that we should try to race through the whole thing. It sounded like a kind of good idea, except for the fact that it was a 5-acre corn maze with only one right way out. That meant that even if we knew the way out it would take a while just to get through it. I was about to explain that to everyone when Jordan turned to me with a grin.

  “With the way you've been running I bet we could beat everyone,” he grinned at me.

  “Aside from the fact that I'd likely get lost the whole time!” I frowned. “This maze is way too big to just make the right turns and get lucky.”

  “Unless you downloaded the map,” Corra grinned, holding up her phone. “They had a QR code at the entrance so I snapped it and downloaded the map. I might not be a fast runner like you two, but with the map I can get us through in record time.”

  “Corra, you're a lifesaver!” Jordan laughed, wrapping one arm around each of us girls. “Looks like I found the perfect team!”

  “Well, let’s get started then,” I said to him, watching as a few teams began to form and head off into the maze. Nobody else seemed to have their phones out, so it looked like no one else noticed the map like Corra had.

  “Alright, lead the way,” Jordan directed Corra, letting go of her but leaving his arm around me for another second. “If you start feeling sick while we’re running you'll let me know immediately, right?”

  “I will, I promise,” I smiled up to him, wishing just a little bit that it was just Jordan and I on the team. Sure, Corra was going to get us through the maze quickly, but I wouldn't mind being lost in the maze for a few hours if I had Jordan to keep me company. But, I had to admit, the idea of skipping the whole getting lost thing all together was going to be kind of nice too!

  Corra took off at a jog with Jordan and I right behind her. She seemed to be checking her phone for a few directions at a time and then keeping her phone out of view. It was a good idea since it meant that no one would see us and immediately figure out that we were more or less “cheating.” Okay, not cheating, since no one said we couldn’t use the map, mostly since no one else really knew it was there. Either way, as we raced along it was nice to know we actually knew where we were going. Any time we passed other teams they looked like they were having fun and all, but it was clear they weren't sure where to go at all.

  “Are we getting close?” I asked, starting to feel tired after so many turns. Each one w
as making me feel a little dizzy and turned around with the walls of corn of both sides.

  “We still have a ways to go, but we can walk for a little,” Corra mentioned, slowing down right away.

  It was easy to see she was more tired after the run than Jordan and I were. Corra was pretty athletic, but running wasn't even close to her favorite thing! But, she was doing a good job of getting us ahead everyone else better than anything we would've come up with. Honestly, I wasn’t sure who was in each of the other groups, or how many groups there even were, but I started to notice that it had been a while since we'd seen anyone else we knew when Corra finally decide to slow down for a bit.

  “So once we get out of the maze what should we do?” I asked, trying to make small talk while we continued to walk towards the exit.

  “It might be a while until anyone else finishes,” Corra commented.

  “We can get hot cider,” Jordan suggested. “Or we could hide and scare people when they're getting close.”

  “That might be a good idea,” I nodded, knowing everyone would have their guard down as they were about to exit the maze.

  “Okay,” Corra breathed after a minute. “Let’s keep going. I really want to make sure we get there in plenty of time.”

  The idea of us hanging out and waiting for people seemed to light a fire under Corra. She was still going at about the same speed, but this time she didn't stop after a little bit. We jogged on and on until we made a final turn and just like that we were out in the open. It'd been a long time since we'd seen anyone, let alone people we knew, so it was clear we'd have quite a while until any of our friends would be exiting the maze as well.

  “I’ll go get us snacks, you girls stay here,” Jordan said to us after we found a picnic table where we could camp sit.

  As soon as he was out of earshot Corra turned to me. “You’re welcome.”

  “Um, thanks?” I replied, not really sure what I was thanking her for.

  “Now you get to hang out with Jordan here without having to worry about focusing on the maze or anything. And if you want, I'm more than willing to go use the restroom for a long time or something so you two can be alone.”

  “You're the best,” I laughed. “But I think it'll be good if you stay. Then you can let me know if he’s really flirting with me or not. I feel like sometimes it’s in my head or something. Ya know?”

  “No,” Corra said with a shake of her head. “I don’t know. Based on everything I've seen and heard so far he totally likes you!”

  “Well, let’s just see what you think after today,” I said with a sign. “I don’t want to look like a total idiot flirting with him all the time when he doesn’t like me or anything.”

  Corra just shook her head at me then began chatting about how cute Beth and Trey were. I of course agreed completely! They were adorable together, and it was super obvious that they liked each other. Usually, I would be bummed to not be hanging out with both of my best friends, but it was fine by me considering Beth was getting a chance to be with Trey more. I thought about sending her a text to ask her how her trip through the maze was going, but decided not to interrupt their time.

  “Who’s hungry?” Jordan asked, returning back to the table finally with three cups hot cider and a box of cake donuts.

  “Okay, you’re my new favorite person,” Corra announced.

  “What?” I asked her, pretending to be deeply offended

  “Second favorite,” Corra tried again, before grabbing one of the drinks as Jordan handed it to her.

  “I’m okay with second,” Jordan laughed, handing me a drink as well before taking a seat next to me at the picnic table. “I asked the lady at the food stand how long it takes most people to finish the maze and she said about half an hour. So, we have at least another fifteen minutes until anyone even gets close.”

  “We did the maze that fast?” I asked, taking a sip of my cider.

  “Kind of,” Jordan explained. “We finished it in about 20 minutes. So normally that would mean everyone else would be done in 10, but they were all fooling around and having fun I bet, so it'll take longer. Even if they were really trying to get out, without the map they're going to end up turned around and confused at least a little bit!”

  “Good point,” I nodded. “Should I text them about the map?”

  “Let’s give them a little bit longer,” Corra said with a smile. “Then we still look nice, but also way smarter than them when we explain we assumed they knew and were only waiting to tell them since we thought they'd figure it out.”

  “You never told me how smart she was,” Jordan said to me as he opened up the box of donuts and pulled one out. “But I guess you don’t pick friends that can’t hold their own.”

  “For the most part,” I corrected him, immediately thinking of Taylor.

  “Oh yeah, well let’s not think about that anymore,” Jordan said with the shake of his head, clearly thinking of her as well. “Today's supposed to a fun day. No use bringing up people that aren’t even here.”

  “Well, then we better start the fun right now,” Corra announced pulling out her phone right away.

  As I expected, Corra pulled up her Heads Up app and was preparing for a game. It was what we usually did if we were waiting for a long time somewhere. In fact, it was the only thing that had gotten us through our two hour wait at the mall last year on Black Friday to get Corra's cousin some random toy.

  “Oh, I love this game,” Jordan grinned as soon as he saw it. “Are we on teams or playing for fun?”

  “Just for fun,” I shrugged, although the idea of being on the same team as Jordan was fine by me!

  As we started playing the game and laughing at the various things we had to make one another guess, I was really happy that I had the chance to just have fun with Jordan. Up until then we hadn't hung out and just for fun. Sure, we watched movies and football games, but this was something different. This was a silly game and was a cool way to just hang out with Jordan like a friend. Or maybe more.

  As we continued to play the game others slowly began to join us. As they finished the maze, a few of Skyler’s friends that Jordan knew sat with us for a donut and to also play. Then, Torri and some of the girls I knew from soccer also made it to our table. And the more people that joins us, the closer I smooshed to Jordan. It was a little distracting to be so close to him with the scent of his cologne right there for me to notice, but we were all still playing Heads Up so I tried my best to give clues so whoever was going could guess the word that was on Corra’s phone.

  “Are we the last ones?” Skyler asked, as her and Ross finally joined the others standing around the table. Glancing around I realized that everyone that I remembered seeing on the way into the maze was now standing around us. The last few rounds of the game had been intense enough that I was no longer looking to see who else had wandered up to join us at the table every time someone arrived.

  “Who made it out first?” someone asked. Everyone began looking around and more or less guessing while Jordan, Corra and I just grinned.

  “I think that would be us,” Jordan said as he put an arm around my shoulder and held up a hand for a high five from Corra.

  “How long did it take you?” Skyler asked, stepping forward to snag a donut from the box on the table.

  “About 20 minutes,” Corra explained, her grin growing by the second. As everyone around her began thoroughly freaking out Corra added, “We used the map online.”

  Once again everyone was left in shock and began announcing that we had cheated or that they wished they'd seen the map as well. Thankfully, the half full box of donuts seemed to makes things better and smooth over any ruffled feathers. Once the grumbling had died down and the snacks were gone we headed over to the large red barn that was full of food tables and craft stations where local artists were selling items. There was also a large pumpkin patch outside the back of the barn and a rustic looking playground. On the walk over I managed to walk with both Beth and Corr
a, since Trey was chatting with some of his other friends of his.

  “So how'd the maze go?” I asked, bumping shoulders with Beth.

  “It was fun,” she blushed instantly.

  “What does that mean?” Corra asked, the three of us slowing down to give us a little space from the people around us.

  “Well…” Beth finally began. “Trey asked me to be his girlfriend!”

  Now, I know we were kind of away from everyone else at that point, but we for sure screamed loud enough that we got a few odd looks from other people! It was just such good news there was no way I was able to just stand there and not reply. I was so happy for them both, especially since I knew Beth really liked Trey for a while so it was cool to see things work out with them. In a way, it was nice to see them end up together since it gave me even more hope that I would end up with Jordan.

  We spent the rest of the walk to the barn listening to Beth explain how they have been texting a lot lately and getting to know each other. She also told us that he offered to start driving her to school now they are official, but she isn't sure if her mom's going to be okay with that. Driving with Ross is one thing since Beth’s mom and my parents have been friends for a while and everything, but Beth's worried her mom might demand to see his licenses, and ask him a million questions and get like a blood sample or something first!

  Once we made it to the barn everyone more or less spread out to see everything that was there. I hung out with Corra and Beth for a little while until Trent snagged Beth away from us. They went off to find a pumpkin since Syler was mentioning having everyone over her house after to carve them. It was the first I'd heard of the idea, but it made me excited to go pick out a pumpkin. Corra and I looked for a while, but without a clear idea of what to carve it made it hard to pick a good one.

  “You heard about going to Skyler’s after this, right?” Ross asked me as he passed Corra and I in the pumpkin patch as we were still searching.

  “Yup,” I nodded.