Playing For Love

by Dana Burkey

  Well, I saw Corra and Beth and chatted with them for a little and also said hello to Trey and some other people I had hung out with at Skyler’s yesterday, then we started heading for the car. We were giving Corra a ride so I was talking with her about how cute Beth and Trey were when I heard someone running up to us calling my name.

  “I thought I was going to miss you!” Jordan laughed as he attempted to catch his breath. “I went to the bathroom for like a minute and when I came back you guys were all gone.”

  I didn’t know what to say in reply, so I took a second to open the door and toss my gym bag into the car. It was extra heavy thanks to my school books, so setting it down felt really great.

  “You were great out there,” Jordan finally said, pulling me closer for a hug. “That kick was perfect.”

  “Thanks!” I grinned, enjoying the warmth of his embrace in the cold rain that was just starting to fall.

  “Okay,” he finally said as he pulled back. “I better let you get out of the rain before you get sick again.”

  “See you in the morning Jord,” Ross called as Jordan gave him a quick nod then took off towards Beth and Trey who were waiting to give Jordan a ride home.

  I flashed Corra a big smile then climbed into the car. It was a short moment with Jordan, but it was perfect. And according to Beth, who saw the whole thing, she said it looked super adorable to watch him chase after me just for a hug. It felt like I really was in a romantic movie or something. At least for a few seconds there!

  So that was it, but it was great all the same! I'll try to write more tomorrow, but after the game today someone mentioned that we all needed to “brace ourselves.” I guess the next few games coming up are pretty important, so practice might be pretty rough. I guess I'll find out tomorrow! I'll write afterwards to let you know how it goes, but after all the hard practices we've had this year so far I don’t think it will be all that bad.

  OCTOBER 14TH-TUESDAY

  I was wrong!!!! It was terrible!!!! I think my leg just fall off, so I'm going to go and make sure it's okay, and then like die!!!!!

  OCTOBER 16TH-THURSDAY

  Wow. Okay. My last journal entry was a bit dramatic. I don’t honestly even remembering writing that, so I know it means I really was tired, but I totally didn't die, and my legs are both still attached! But I do have a lot to write about!

  I should start with saying that Tuesday was a rather normal day at school. I have a test tomorrow in Biology so I have that to study for, but thankfully I was able to work on that during my study period yesterday and today so I feel pretty good about it and everything. Well, Tuesday when I found out about the test I was a little stressed that I wouldn't have time to study with the busy week of soccer I have, so by the time practice came around I was already getting a little dramatic about it all.

  When practice finally started it came with a warning. Coach Gary explained that the game this Saturday was suddenly the most important game of the year since it is against the only other school with almost undefeated teams. Apparently Grayland’s JV team had only lost two games, and their varsity team had only lost one so far. Beating them this weekend is super important to set the tone for the end of the season. So, with that in mind, Coach Gary told us that we'd be working super hard to make sure we're ready for anything a team of our level might put up against us.

  That meant we started with running and more running! Thanks to the hard running a few weeks ago I feel like we all held it together pretty well. But then we got on to some drills. We were doing some really hard drills where we ran a 5-2 defense and offence back and forth. It felt really good when I was with 5 other forwards against two defenders, but when it was just me and Torri or Hayley going against 5 varsity defenders it was super hard! We were all sweating and hurting by the end of the practice.

  So, that's when I went home and wrote about dying since my legs were super sore from not just running but also changing direction a lot and always being on my toes and all that. It made getting up the next morning not the easiest task, but still better than I thought it would be. Thanks to some of the late nights I’ve had lately I have mastered the art of putting on my uniform, doing my hair, and making my makeup look pretty good all in about 20 minutes. So, yesterday morning I managed all of that and even made some coffee. I've been drinking it more and more recently, so my mom even bought me some awesome creamer. By the time Jordan got in the car, the smell of cinnamon and caramel was obvious to us all.

  “What are you drinking?” Jordan asked, leaning closer to me to get an even better smell of what was in my tumbler.

  “Coffee,” I smiled, holding it out for him.

  Jordan wrapped his hands around the mug, covering mine in the process. He took in a deep breath of the coffee mist that was floating above it’s lid and grinned.

  “You can try some of it if you want,” I offered, laughing at the faces he was making as a result of the scent of the coffee.

  “No,” he said with a shake of his head. “I think I 'd end up drinking the whole cup if I tried any of it at all. I was up pretty late working on an paper.”

  “Should I make a Starbucks run?” Ross asked, having heard Jordan’s comment.

  “That'd be perfect!” he replied immediately. “I don’t know how I’m going to stay awake all day, even with coffee.”

  The rest of the conversation for the ride there was all about the paper Jordan and Ross had both been working on. It was for their History class and sounded like a lot of work in a short amount of time. Honestly, hearing about it made me feel a little better about my bio test. Sure, it was a lot of studying to do, but was not as much work as their research paper.

  When we got to school, we all went our separate ways, all with our coffees in hand. Sure, mine wasn't from Starbucks, but it did it’s job all the same. It was the pick me up I needed to make it through a long morning and a longer afternoon as I started to get more exhausted from the long practice Tuesday. It had me worried for the game after school, but on the bus ride over to the stadium at St. Brendan’s, everyone was talking about how easy the game was going to be. Not that the team was bad, it was just that with how our season was going all we needed to do was what we had been training and practicing to do, and we were the logical choice for the win.

  By the time the game started it was super windy outside. I think it kept a lot of people from coming out for the game, but even with that the stands were pretty full of supporters wearing nose guards. Beth assured me at lunch she would be there with Trey, but I knew Corra was at home studying her brains out. And thanks to the paper they were both working on, I knew I wasn't likely to see Jordan and Ross at the game. It was a little bit of a bummer to think about it, since I wanted to see Jordan as often as possible, obviously, but I knew they'd be dead men walking if they didn't get their papers finished and get some real sleep.

  When the games were over, wins for both JV and varsity, I loaded onto the bus for the ride home. My mom and dad were at the game but I was going to get a ride from Skyler. It gave me time to celebrate the wins on the bus trip, and also for us to all hang out as a team. It was usually a lot of talking through the games and reliving the best moments, and it was always super fun! Corra and Beth are awesome for sure, but I really love all my new soccer friends too!

  I was so distracted by how much fun we were having talking about the game that I didn't notice that my phone went off at some point. In fact, I was at home and about to get into bed when I remembered that my phone was still in my gym bag. Well, I pulled it out and saw there was a text from Jordan!

  “Sorry, I missed your game. Trey said it was a good one. Maybe I'll maybe it up to you with another practice this Friday. No gym this time. Promise!”

  I read his text about 5 times before it all sunk in! He clearly asked Trey about me and the game, took the time to text me, and wanted to hang out with me! Oh, and he ended it with a winky face too. That made it even more exciting! I was going to text him back, but since it was so long
after he sent it I decided I would bring it up on the car ride to school in the morning. And that's exactly what I did.

  “Sorry I didn’t text you back last night,” I said after Jordan got into the car this morning. “I didn’t hear my phone go off.”

  “That’s okay,” Jordan said with a fake sigh. “I just sat up all night waiting and crying since you didn’t reply.”

  “Will it make you feel better if I told you I liked the idea of working out tomorrow?” I asked, giving him an extra big grin to counteract his pouting.

  “Maybe,” he laughed. “So you weren't planning on going to the game?”

  “Nope,” I said with a shake of my head. “I feel like getting ready for Saturday is a little more important than watching the game. I want to support them and everything, but I think missing this game will be okay.”

  “Want to work out at school again?” Jordan asked instantly.

  “Sounds good,” I agreed easily. “I can ride my bike over again so I have a chance to eat something after school. I don’t want to try running on an empty stomach like last time.”

  “Good thinking Fabulous Fiona.”

  Even if I knew what to say in reply, we had reached the school by that point and were all climbing out of the car and heading to school. Jordan’s words still had me stunned or something since I walked the whole way inside totally silent. Thankfully I at least managed to say goodbye to him and Ross and Skyler before heading to my locker. Corra was waiting for me, and I happily filled her in before the bell.

  “If this doesn't prove he likes you then I don’t know what will!” she assured me before heading off down the hall to her first class.

  I managed to also head to my morning classes and more or less focus on my teachers and work. The day went by really slow, and only slower after lunch when I told Beth all the good news. She agreed that Jordan was showing a lot of signs of really liking me, so that made our practice tomorrow feel a million years away. Thankfully Beth had a lot of fun stories about Trey to distract me. Hearing about her amazing new relationship could've made me jealous, but instead it just made me super happy for her and also happy about what I could maybe one day have once I start actually dating Jordan. Hopefully. One day.

  OCTOBER 17TH-FRIDAY

  Practice last night was hard, and school was whatever, but the important thing is that I just had the best time ever with Jordan!! I'm super tired and know I need to get sleep for the game tomorrow, but I need to write all this down so when I wake up tomorrow morning and think it was all some amazing dream I have proof that it all happened!

  So, when I got home from school I actually sat down and ate something so I had food in me, and even drank some Gatorade before I changed and loaded up my backpack. I brought water and my soccer ball with me, and even an energy bar in case I needed it after working out for a little while. I got the school a little bit after Jordan, so once I put my bike and bag down we started running right away.

  To warm up, we started out pretty slow and were chatting casually while we ran. At first it was just about the game tomorrow, but then we started talking about Thanksgiving and somehow Christmas too. I think this one was my fault since I told Jordan I was excited to go on our Christmas trip, but first we had a long weekend trip to visit my grandparents for Thanksgiving. Don’t ask me how we got to that subject in the first place, since everything after that got so great that I can’t really remember little things like what we chatted about while we ran! And before you start to think that I must be crazy or something, let me explain just how good tonight got!

  “That’s so cool you guys get to go somewhere nice for Christmas,” Jordan said while jogging next to me. Again, I don’t know how we got to this, but it was worth it. “We were going to visit my sister Susie in Texas, but now she’s coming here so I’ll be stuck freezing at home all during break instead.”

  “I’ll bring you back some sand if it'll help any,” I offered, smiling despite my burning muscles. We were already on our seventh lap around the track.

  “I’m going to hold you to that one,” he grinned back at me, before taking off around the bend in the track.

  Pumping my legs to keep up with him I tried to not put too much pressure on him...yet. He sped up some but didn't sjet forward like last time since I wasn't getting ahead. We ran like that for a few more seconds, speeding up slowly, but not really racing. I tried to make my breathing heavy, so he would hopefully think I was exhausted. But then, as we made the final turn and headed for our agreed upon “finish line,” I started to really run. Jordan immediately kept pace with me, a serious look on his face. Finally, when we were almost back to our stuff, I pushed as hard as I could go, refusing to let Jordan beat me this time.

  I just barely beat him out, but then regretted it immediately. My legs were burning and my lungs felt like they were going to explode and my heart was beating faster than I thought possible. Not to mention that I was covered with sweat and still had a long practice to go. The only thing that made it worth it was seeing the look on Jordan’s face when I finally sat up from my spot lying on the field.

  “When did you get so fast?” he asked, using the bottom of his shirt to wipe sweat off of his face. “I don’t remember you being this fast last time.”

  “That was weeks ago,” I shrugged, failing to keep a grin from spreading across my face.

  In reply Jordan just laughed and downed some of his water. I did the same, knowing that we were just getting started. Thankfully we took a little bit of time to recover before we started a game on 1-on-1. When we did play it was much like the last time, only a little harder since Jordan didn’t need to get to know my moves. He already knew what to expect from me, so right from the start I had to do my best to outsmart him.

  After almost an hour of playing, we decided to call it quits. It was starting to get dark, and I knew I didn’t want to be totally exhausted for the game tomorrow. Jordan was the one who suggested we end for the night, thinking about the game as well.

  “We can’t have you too tired for the big game tomorrow,” he explained as we walked one lap around the track to cool down.

  “I think it’s a bit late for that,” I laughed.

  “Well then I guess I better give you a ride home again so you don’t fall asleep on your bike,” Jordan offered, giving me a quick smile before drinking the last of his water.

  I, of course, agreed right away. Once again Jordan grabbed my bike for me and took it to his truck when we decided to finally leave. I was trying to think through a way to bring up getting ice cream or a smoothie on the way home, but when we got in the car, I chickened out completely. Instead, I listened to the music on the radio and did my best to just be happy with the practice. Thankfully when we got to my house and Jordan was taking my bike out of the back of the truck, Ross walked out onto the porch.

  “Jordan, you need to help me, dude,” he said with a groan. “Skyler's making me do crafts!”

  “What?” Jordan asked, turning to face my brother with a face that was a mix between a laugh and a look of horror.

  “I’m making treats for the game tomorrow, but I need help!” Skyler added, pushing Ross out of the doorway so she could see Jordan and me.

  “Treats did you say?” Jordan asked, walking onto the porch as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

  “You’re going to regret it, man,” Ross warned as him and Skyler moved so first Jordan and then I could enter the house. “There's glitter glue involved.”

  “Uh oh,” Jordan said, coming to a stop.

  Suddenly feeling rather bold, I grabbed Jordan by the arm and tugged him towards the living room. “You don’t get treats if you leave now. And you already basically promised Skyler!”

  Hanging his head in mock defeat Jordan allowed me to lead him into the room where we both came to a sudden stop. Stilling holding onto his arm I looked around the room at the mess that was now covering every available surface. Skyler was making each team member a green trucker hat decora
ted with swirls of glitter glue to match our nose guards, and then their name in black puffy paint. There were also piles of candy and mini gifts heaped around on the floor. On the coffee table, there was a large pile of tissue paper and gift bags, along with soccer ball stickers that were being used with team numbers to label each bag. It was a lot to take in to say the least. Deciding it was maybe too much, I dropped Jordan’s arm and turned to leave the living room. Catching on quickly Jordan reached out and grabbed my hand to stop me from moving.

  “If I’m staying, you’re staying,” he warned, pulling me closer to him and also the variety of gift bag items. I gave him an exaggerated frown to which he just smiled. Giving my hand a little squeeze, he let go of it and moved to take a seat near one of the piles of candy. With my hand still warm from his touch I followed after him heading for the hats that still needed a lot of work.

  As we all began working on filling the bags then decorating both the bags and the hats, Skyler explained that everyone would get the bags on the way home from the game. That way it would either be in celebration or to help cheer us up if either team lost. The idea was great, and showed that Skyler was really thinking about both teams in a big way! That wasn't all she planned, though.

  “I’m going to send a text in a little bit, but I just found out my mom is letting the team come over after the game tomorrow too,” she explained while decorating another bag. “We finally got the heater in our pool fixed so people can swim and we're going to get a bunch of food catered in. Oh, and my dad said he's going to film the games so if we win we can watch them on the big screen. If we lose, we'll just watch a movie or stay outside in the pool and hot tub and stuff.”

  “That’s going to be awesome!” I grinned, super excited about the idea of hanging out with the team and actually watching to see how JV looked on the field.

  “And anyone can come,” Skyler continued. “So you should text Corra and Beth. I don’t have their numbers, but I’ll text Trey so Beth will probably already know.”