Breathe

by Tania Trozzo

  Gabe tensed for a second reminding himself this was Connor and this is what he did. He was a constant flirt. The girl previously sitting on his lap, was easily forgotten and glared at Clara. But Clara, seemed oblivious to that fact or just ignored her.

  “Back off Con, I told you she’s my cousin,” Sal said. Gabe’s tension eased. Cousin? She then turned to Sal, and shook her head.

  “Thank you, Connor, don’t mind him, he likes to overreact.”

  “Hey, Gabe. Finally, you’re here.” Gabe tensed as Kristin walked up behind him and smoothed her hand down his back.

  “I’ve been waiting. I was worried you weren’t going to show.”

  She batted her eyes and pretended to do a pout. Of course she said it loud enough for everyone to hear so it seemed they had agreed meeting here. Gabe looked at Kristin to his left, stood back and removed her hand.

  “I didn’t realize you would be here. Do you know my cousin Sonia? I’m going to grab a drink.”

  He motioned Sonia towards Kristin and walked away from the group, dismissing her. Heading towards the keg, he hoped Sonia would get rid of her. As he turned he looked behind his shoulder and he noticed Clara looking at him. He smiled slightly and turned to head inside. He needed some liquid courage. He didn’t know what is was about this girl. Any other girl, cousin or no cousin, he would have walked up to her. He wasn’t a flirt like Connor but he had no problems getting a girl when he wanted. But with her it was different. He continued to hesitate. While Gabe had noticed her, he wanted Clara to notice him. Tonight, was the night to do that. He just needed some help.

  He went inside and noticed quite a few of his other friends and team members. He grabbed a beer from the keg, joked around a bit and came back out. He headed back towards the group. Sal had his arm around some girl while talking to Connor and Alex. Sonia was nowhere to be seen, as well as Kristin. His eyes darted around looking for Clara but she was no longer there. Alex just sat there smirking at him and nudged his head to the back. Sure enough there she was, playing beer pong in the backyard with David Rade and two others. He nodded to Alex and turned to Sal and Connor.

  “Hey,” Gabe said as he approached them and Connor immediately took the cue.

  “Sal, this is Gabe, co-captain on the soccer team. He’s Alex’s cousin.”

  “Hey, so you’re co-captain of the soccer team and your cousin is captain of the lacrosse team, huh? I’ve heard about both of you,” Sal commented, “your rep precedes you both on the field.”

  Sonia decided to rejoin the group and walked up to Gabe and Sal, “And I’m Sonia, Alex’s sister. I’m not captain of anything. Yet.” Everyone laughed but Sonia decided to ask Sal a question, “So your cousin over there, she’s new?”

  Sal tilted his head and looked at Sonia, trying to figure something out. “Yeah, she’s new this year, why?” He was noticeably tense while responding.

  “Just wondering. I’m new too. I went to a boarding school up until last week so I’ll be starting on Monday. Since there are a bunch of catty princesses and stuck up snobs at this school, I figured I’d introduce myself.”

  Sal instantly seemed to relax some but looked at Connor and Alex for confirmation. “Well, Clara certainly doesn’t do catty. She had enough of that at her old school. If you are looking for someone who is real, that’s her. You girls should talk.”

  “Cool. I’ll go introduce myself to her and her boyfriend,” Sonia stated with just a bit of hesitation as if asking it as a question.

  Sal smiled. “Boyfriend? Not her boyfriend or I’d have to beat the shit out of him. Too womanizing. But you are more than welcome to try with David although, your brother seems protective of you as I am of Clara so you may want to reconsider. But I warned you, total womanizer.”

  “You got that right,” Alex laughed. He narrowed his eyes at Sonia trying to figure out what she was doing. Connor also was looking at Sonia.

  Sonia looked at Gabe and winked. “Nope, not interested, I just presumed. I’m going to say hello now.”

  As Sonia spoke he turned to the backyard and noticed a lot of people were paying attention to the game or most likely to Clara. It was the first time he noticed her laughing and obviously so did everyone else. David Rade certainly did, as he was laughing and pulled Clara to him and kissed her head. Gabe’s hands automatically balled up in fists.

  Sonia noticing the entire exchange turned to Gabe, “Come on cuz, let’s go introduce ourselves and challenge them.” She pulled him by his arm and smiled.

  “You can thank me later,” she whispered.

  Alex shook his head and laughed, “I have a feeling the real party is going to start now.”

  They went down the steps towards the table. Sonia, leading the way, stepped right up to them. “Hey Clara, David. I was just talking to Sal over there. I’m Sonia, this bozo is my cousin, Gabe.”

  “Hey guys!” answered David presenting his hand but he stepped forward as to shield Clara. This pissed Gabe off. He shook their hands and then Clara stepped forward.

  “Hi guys,” Clara glanced down, took a breath and looked up. She looked at Sonia and smiled and then turned her attention to Gabe. As their hands touched, their gazes locked.

  “Hi,” Clara said quietly, almost timidly.

  “Hey,” Gabe responded.

  Her smile took on a different look and her striking green eyes broke down his walls. Was he the only one feeling that she could look right to his soul? He wracked his brain thinking of something to say.

  Sonia cleared her throat as Gabe and Clara broke away. “I thought we could have a friendly competition, what do you say? How about girls vs. guys?” Sonia said. Everyone looked at her. It was totally not what Gabe had in mind and obviously not what Clara and David thought she would say by their expressions. But then again, Sonia always managed to keep everyone on their toes.

  “Um, sure,” responded Clara hesitantly, “David are you ok with that?” Clara asked. Gabe clenched his fists. Why was she asking him for permission?

  “Sure.”

  “Cool. We are on this side, you boys on that side. Are you guys ready for us ladies to kick your ass?” Sonia declared, smiling at Clara.

  As the boys walked to the other side of the table she said, “I start school on Monday, I heard you were new too so I figured we should meet. Plus, I wanted to see what all the commotion was about.”

  Gabe couldn’t hear Clara’s entire response but initially she looked a bit confused. He smiled. She really had no clue. Guys were wondering if they had a chance, but she had walked in with Sal and David so they were scared. Didn’t get them to stop leering at her though. The girls on the other hand were mixed. Some looked at her with curiosity while others glared at her with jealousy. There was a group of them to the corner that he noticed had just taken court and were observing both Clara and Sonia. The fact that Sonia and Clara had paired up, put them on alert. He smiled and glanced at Alex. Alex flicked his gaze past Gabe to where Kristin and Sarah were openly observing the two girls. Sarah especially seemed concerned and looked at Jamie who walked up to her and they spoke in low voices. Sonia didn’t give her attention freely to other girls, or openly be nice to them as she had with Clara. Hell, she usually stuck with Gabe and Alex. Of course, the vultures would notice that. Gabe shook his head and looked at Alex for a brief moment. Alex nodded.

  “Game on,” Gabe responded and made sure to glance in the direction of Sarah, Jamie and Kristin.

  As they began to play Gabe thought about his earlier conversation with Alex and realized he was right. This year was going to be interesting. He just didn’t know how much.

  8

  Clara

  Clara was a bit confused. “Commotion? I am going to admit that you caught me a bit off guard.” She looked at Sonia while putting her hands on her hips. “Just to warn you, I am not great at this, but I am highly competitive. Not sure ab
out your motives yet but I can decide on that later.” She was not sure where her moment of confidence came from but Clara decided to roll with it.

  “Good, but with me what you see is what you get. Now, let’s play. Maybe, we’ll even like each other by the end of the game.” Sonia told her.

  “Deal. Game on.” They looked at each other and both faced forward. Clara knew everyone was looking at them. Gabe was at the top of the social chain at school and David, well he was a big deal period and he came with her. Everyone thought she didn’t notice them whispering or their questionable looks, but she had. She wasn’t sure about why Sonia had chosen her. She obviously came from high social status and everyone must be practically wanting to kiss her ass. But unlike some of the girls she noticed at school this week, Sonia seemed real, not fake. She was listening to her gut.

  After they had been playing beer pong for some time, Clara slowly began to relax. Although she was still a bit hesitant towards Sonia, she had to admit the girl seemed cool. A lot of people were observing the game making her feel a bit in the spotlight, but it was Gabe’s gaze that made her nervous the most. Every time she looked up, their gazes locked. Most of the time Clara was the one to look away because it seemed as if he was trying to see past her walls and it bothered, yet excited her.

  They had gotten to a point where they were pretty much tied. It was Clara against Gabe, she concentrated holding the ball in her hand, lifted her head, and she looked straight in his gorgeous blue eyes. She had tried to avoid looking at them for too long so she never noticed just how blue they actually were until that moment. She saw him take a shaky breath, as though he was just as affected as she was. Could that be possible? She noticed him observing her here and there but to be honest, everyone did that. She was new so many were curious, but she knew sooner or later it would die down. She was hoping for sooner. He nodded at her ready to take the shot, she pulled her lip between her teeth and took the shot. Both of them missed the shot. Sonia groaned as did David and they all burst out laughing. Gabe tilted his head and smiled at her as though thinking of something, but then shook his head and turned his attention to David.

  “What the hell? You guys both suck. Don’t you both play soccer? This is like a missed goal right in front of the net,” David laughed.

  In that moment Alex walked up to Gabe and whispered in his ear. Gabe tensed up. He nodded and looked behind him. “Great game, I’m considering requesting a rematch. But I have to help Alex take care of something first,” Gabe said. Alex looked at Sonia and told her he would be right back. She nodded and then looked at Clara and rolled her eyes. The three of them headed to where Sal and a few others were sitting.

  Clara excused herself to go grab a bottle of water inside and she needed to go to the bathroom. Sal looked over at her and opened his mouth to say something but she patted his shoulder bending down and quietly said to him, “I’ll be right back. If anyone bothers me I’ll just use my ninja skills. Relax.” Sal nodded. Connor told her to use one of the bathrooms upstairs and not to worry.

  She headed inside and noticed Gabe talking to Alex and another guy that she believed was on the soccer team. They were huddled together whispering. Gabe looked upset as he was speaking. She went upstairs to the first bathroom and after waiting outside of it she realized that there were 2 people inside and that they would probably take a while. They could probably use a room and no one would notice instead of the freaking bathroom, she laughed to herself. She continued down the hall, where Connor said there was another one. After she used the bathroom, she glanced at herself in the mirror and studied herself for a minute before shaking her head. She presumed she looked fine or at least she hoped so. She began to open the door when she heard a bunch of voices outside.

  “What the hell? You told me that he was ok. Did you look at him? Not only is he wasted he’s high.”

  They paused as another voice approached laughing, “Chill out, he’ll be fine. It’s just some weed.”

  “Just some weed? It may be just some weed to you, Bruno, but he’s on the soccer team. They drug test regularly and typically by surprise. Henry and I can’t help him if it shows up and you know this! Are you trying to ruin his season?” Clara knew instantly this was Gabe talking and he seemed really mad.

  “Dude, chill out. It’s none of your freaking business what he does or what I do so back off.” She did not recognize this voice.

  “You’re right it’s not my business what you do, but it is my business what he does since he is on my team and you are bringing him down a dangerous road. This is his future, man. He has a chance to get out of that hell hole and make something of himself and help his mom. You’re the one who should mind his own business and back off. If you want to ruin your life go ahead but leave him out of it,” Gabe exclaimed.

  “Have you ever heard of free will? He can do whatever he wants. We grew up together so don’t tell me that he isn’t my business. I just gave him a few hits. I didn’t realize that it would affect him like this. The stuff I have is good stuff not laced with crap.”

  “You mean the stuff you sell, don’t you? Are you selling here in Connor’s house? He will kick your ass here to God knows where, that is if I don’t do it first.” This sounded like Alex.

  Clara could almost hear the other guy grit his teeth. “I only have a bit on me. I did not sell in Connor’s home, alright?” For some reason, the way he emphasized the words in Connor’s home, it didn’t sound very truthful. Rather, it sounded like he made sure to sell outside of the house. Clara started to get nervous. She needed to get out of the bathroom.

  Gabe immediately challenged him, “I don’t trust you so if you only have a few hits, then you have no problem handing what you have over. Give it to me.”

  “No problem, Caruso. If you wanted to smoke it up, you just had to ask. Consider these on the house.”

  “I swear, I am two beats away from…”

  “Enough, guys. Both of you are raising your voices and everyone is going to hear. Right now, we have to help Leo. Let’s move him to a guest bedroom and get him some coffee or a soda and lots of water. You guys can argue about this later.”

  The voices moved away and Clara slowly opened the door and peaked out to the hallway. Connor had explained to her that if she continued down the hallway, she would end up at the back staircase to go downstairs. As she began walking she heard female voices giggling. She knew instantly that one of them was Sarah. She was in a few of her classes and she could pinpoint her giggle anywhere and usually it was at someone’s expense. She turned around quickly. If she ran into the guys again, then hopefully they would think she came from the other staircase. As she turned the corner she ran into someone’s chest.

  “Well, who the hell do we have here?” Two strong hands grabbed her upper arms to steady her. ”What sky did you fall from, angel? Although,” and he made sure to look at her from head to toe, “I’m pretty sure you got the body of a sexy devil.”

  Next to him were Alex and Henry and they were carrying one of their teammates. Leo, she believed was his name. Gabe was on the other side. Clara cringed, it was obvious the guy was a total douche. She tilted her head, “I don’t think you want to know what a devil I can be. Sorry I walked into you, but hands off.” She stepped back and pulled her arms out of his reach and crossed them in front of her chest.

  He laughed, “Oh, I wouldn’t mind finding out how naughty you can be, trust me.“

  As he started to continue to say something, Alex came to her rescue and interrupted, “Dude, back the fuck off. I don’t think you want to know who she came here with and I’m pretty sure there are others here willing to back her up. Let’s help Leo, before I lose my patience with you.”

  “I’m just having some fun, or starting to at least. Did you see this beauty or what?”

  At that moment, Clara stepped back again and turned away from him and she turned toward Alex and Gabe. “There are a f
ew others coming up that way, so if you’re trying to hide him, I would duck in a bedroom now.”

  Gabe nodded and thanked her. He looked tense, his hands were fisted. He moved in front of Leo in a way that she would have to go around Gabe and avoid the other guy with the big mouth. She was thankful. She headed downstairs but had to calm down a minute, or Sal would notice instantly that something was wrong. She walked into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water, even though she could probably use a shot right now. She was on her way out when David walked up to her.

  “Hey, where did you disappear to gorgeous?”

  “Just went to the bathroom. Where’s Sal?”

  “He’s outside. Let me grab a drink and we’ll head back out.”

  He grabbed her hand and pulled her back into the kitchen, not really giving her the opportunity to reply. He was always trying to touch her. He was a natural flirt but occasionally he tried to get a little too close. Thankfully she didn’t see him often enough and he never really crossed the line. But she was sure that if she did give him the ok, he would. He grabbed a beer and went to grab her hand again to head outside when Alex and Gabe walked in. David was saying something and he looked at her with a question mark. He had obviously asked her a question and she had totally missed it.

  “I’m sorry, David. What did you say?”

  “I asked, if you wanted to go to the back yard for a few minutes or go straight back to the deck. Maybe one of your new friends is here.”

  “No, Rosie texted me earlier that she wouldn’t be coming tonight and I’m really not in the mood to mingle. Let’s just go back to where we were, please.”

  If David was disappointed, he didn’t show it. He nodded but started to speak again. “Clara, you know that you can count on me too, right? If you need anything and Sal isn’t there, just call me.”

  “Thanks David. I appreciate it,” Clara answered.