Spencer's Face (Buckeye Hawks)

by Autumn Brown

  “So you’re a farm girl? I’ve never dated a farm girl before.” He said, amused.

  “Have you dated a lot? Did you leave a girl behind in California?” I asked, suddenly very curious. Okay, it wasn’t very sudden. I’d been wondering since yesterday.

  “I had a girlfriend in California. We broke up right before I moved out here though. We didn’t think the long distance thing would work out.”

  “That’s sad, but I’m glad you don’t have a girlfriend.” I said. Was that way too forward? We turned down Bruner Road. “Which way from here?” I asked, trying to change the subject quickly.

  “Turn right after those houses.” He said as he pointed me in the right direction. “That’s my house.”

  Gosh. He had a nice house. We lived in a tiny house. His family must be rich to live in such a nice house. They had a garage. Not too many people had garages out this way. “Nice house.”

  “It’s okay. It’s bigger than the one we had in California.” He said nonchalantly. “Thanks for the ride.”

  “You’re welcome.” I said.

  “Thanks for getting Terri back for me today, too. That was really nice of you.”

  “She’s mean to everyone. It’s not just you, so don’t go thinking you’re all special or anything. She’s bitten me a few times too. And I swear the girl’s got venom.” I told him.

  “You? Why?” he asked as we sat in my car in his driveway.

  “Bad perm last year. What she said today, was nothing compared to what she did to me last year when she saw me the first time with that perm.”

  “Your hair looks great.” He said as if he didn’t see what the deal was.

  “Thanks for that. But after that perm, it looked horrible. I was so embarrassed to go to school, then she started in on me. She pointed and laughed out loud. Really loud. Then she started rolling on the ground because she was laughing so hard. The entire school looked and then laughed. Well it seemed like the entire school. All I could do was run and hide.”

  “Damn.” He said with sympathy.

  “Zane’s sister, Summer, fixed it for me. She’s a hairdresser in town.”

  “I know her. Zane took me to her salon. She cuts my hair now.”

  “I like your hair. It looks really good.”

  “Thanks.” He said sheepishly, then looked down as if I’d embarrassed him.

  “I didn’t mean to embarrass you. It just seems to me like you’re one of those guys who doesn’t really know how good he looks.”

  His face went totally blank. It was almost as if he’d never been complimented in his life.

  “Okay. That time, I meant to embarrass you.” I teased him, trying to ease the tension I’d caused.

  He halfway laughed. “You see the birthmark. Right?” he asked.

  “It makes you one of a kind. You know you’re absolutely gorgeous. Don’t you?” I asked him. I knew I was being extremely forward, but I wanted him to know that I really did think he was a great looking guy. And, if any guy in the world needed some building up, it was Spencer.

  He turned serious on me, then. “You see the birthmark. Right?” he asked.

  I laughed at him. I reached over and ran my hand through his hair. It felt as good as it looked. Smooth, soft, and silky. Then I ran my hand across his cheek, then rubbed it. “I see the birthmark, Spencer.” I said slowly, teasing him. I looked directly in his eyes, and held his gaze for a second. Something was happening to my heart. I looked down quickly.

  We stayed in the car talking for another thirty minutes. He told me how he used to play football and basketball in his old school. I told him my story, how I got into cheerleading this year, how I used to play sports instead, and about working with my dad a lot. He laughed at all my jokes and he told him some great ones too. I felt like we were already friends.

  A little before nine o’clock, he started to get out of the car, but I grabbed his hand quickly to stop him. That shocked him judging by the look on his face. “Wait. Can I give you a ride to school tomorrow?”

  “Sure. See you about seven?” he asked.

  “I’ll be here.” I said exuberantly.

  Gosh he was so nice. I really wanted to go out with him. This was going to take a little work though.

  Spencer POV.

  My world just slammed into a tailspin today. My head was still spinning. Taylor Hope liked me. She was the prettiest girl in school as far as I was concerned. I couldn’t believe it. In fact, I called Zane a liar when he told me that she liked me. She drove me home tonight, and she was definitely interested. She stood up for me at school against that bitchy girl, Terri. She even ran her hand through my hair tonight. My stomach did weird things when she touched my birthmark tonight. I couldn’t believe that she actually touched my face, and told me that I was gorgeous.

  She even invited me to milk the cows with her Saturday. I was excited about that. I’d never had a girlfriend before, even though I told her that I did. I felt like such a chump answering no to that question. Sometimes a guy has to lie.

  I walked in the kitchen to grab something to eat. I was always hungry after football practice for some reason. I grabbed all the sandwich meat and started fixing myself a sandwich. Aunt Janel walked in. My aunt Janel was the best aunt in the world. She’d inherited me when my parents were killed. She and Uncle Todd have been raising me since I was eleven. It hasn’t always been easy on them. I really tested their patience that first year.

  “Hey, who brought you home tonight? Did Zane get a new car? I didn’t recognize it. You sat in the driveway for quite a while.” Aunt Janel asked me.

  “A girl I met today.” I told her. That sounded funny coming from my mouth. I’d never said that before.

  “A girl?” she asked, excitedly. She was getting her hopes up.

  “A real girl, Aunt Janel.” I teased her.

  “Is she pretty?” she playfully interrogated me with even more excitement in her voice.

  “She’s really pretty.” I assured her. Oh man was she pretty. And, somehow she seemed even prettier to me tonight.

  “Really pretty?” she prodded me for more information.

  “Long reddish blonde hair, about five three or five four, cute face. She’s in shape. And, she’s a cheerleader.” I said, trying to impress her. I couldn’t go into detail about what a great body she had with my aunt.

  “Really? Hey Todd. Did you hear that?” she asked my uncle who had just joined us in the kitchen.

  I started eating my sandwich. I knew they were about to make a big deal out of it. I could tell by the excitement in their voices. This was a first for our family.

  “A pretty cheerleader. I knew he had it in him.” Todd teased me. “Are you going to ask her out? You can borrow my car. Take her out to eat, or to a movie.”

  I borrowed his car every once in a while. So far I’d only borrowed it to go see Zane. We took it to the mall once. Todd drove a nice Nissan Z. I loved driving his car. It was quick and sporty.

  “I don’t know. She asked me to milk cows with her Saturday.”

  “Milk cows?” Janel asked. The sudden change in her tone told me that she thought I was stupid for accepting that invitation.

  “It started as a joke, then turned serious. It’ll be fun, I hope. Anyway, it’s a chance to get to know her better. She’s driving me to school tomorrow too.” I told her.

  “Well, as long as she’s pretty. It needs to be worth it to milk cows.” Todd teased me. He was always joking with me.

  After my sandwich, and several other quick conversations about Taylor, I went to my room to work on my music. I started writing another song about a girl who finally noticed me. I felt like the luckiest guy alive. I wanted to ask her out, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. Maybe she just wanted to be friends. I would settle for that. She was fun to be around.

  Tomorrow night I would be starting in the game. I was a little nervous about that. It seemed like my life was turning around all of a sudden. In California, I started in every game
. Out here, I’d just now proven myself good enough to start in the games. The competition was a little tougher out here. I really hoped I wouldn’t choke on the field or with Taylor.

  Taylor picked me up at seven in the morning. She was right on time. She looked really pretty today, as always. She had on her Hawks cheerleading uniform. I really liked the cheerleading uniforms here. They showed the girls’ stomachs. Really sexy outfits, especially when they were cheering. I wanted to show her off to my aunt and uncle to prove to them that she was really pretty and actually existed. They’d already left for work though.

  “Thanks for picking me up this morning.” I told her as I put my football gear in the trunk of her car. I could start by being polite. At least it gave me something to say to her. After saying it, I was nervous again.

  When I sat down in her car, I saw a little girl in the back seat. “Hi.” I said to the little girl. She was really cute, with dark hair and big dark brown eyes.

  “I’ve got to run my little sister to the babysitter in town. My mom had to go to work at four this morning. Sorry.” She apologized.

  “She’s cute. I didn’t know you had a little sister. What’s her name?” I asked her.

  “That’s Cheryl. She’s girl number six. I’ve got five little sisters.”

  “Holy…cow.” I said. I started to curse. Not a smooth move, especially in front of her little sister. I was shocked by that fact. “Hi, Cheryl.”

  I made a show of saying hi to her. She smiled at me, then hid her face, as if she was really shy.

  “Hi.” She said in a tiny voice. “I like your face.”

  Taylor’s mouth dropped open, then she smiled quickly to cover her embarrassment. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay.” I told her. It was the nicest compliment I’d ever received on my face.

  “I like that color purple. It’s my favorite. Barney’s that color.” She said.

  Taylor halfway laughed as if she knew she couldn’t keep her sister quiet about my face.

  “Thanks.” I said. That was kind of cute. “Who’s Barney?”

  “You obviously don’t have little brothers or sisters. He’s a big purple dinosaur on the educational channel right after Sesame Street. He’s a really pretty shade of purple.” Taylor explained to me, with a laugh.

  “It’s almost like your butt, Taylor.” Cheryl said excitedly.

  “Cheryl!” Taylor shouted at her, then laughed, thoroughly embarrassed.

  “What?” Cheryl asked innocently.

  I laughed.

  Taylor laughed.

  “So you have a birthmark on your butt?” I asked her. I was teasing her. It was too good an opportunity to pass up.

  She laughed again. “You’ll never know for sure.”

  “Is that why you don’t have a problem with mine?” I asked her.

  “Maybe. I don’t know. I don’t see why anyone has a problem with it, to tell the truth.”

  I thought about what she was saying. I didn’t either. It didn’t change the facts though. People did have a problem with it. I was so glad that Taylor didn’t though. I was glad she was at least willing to treat me like a regular person.

  “Taylor. Can you put on my songs?” Cheryl asked her.

  “Hang on a second.” She said to her little sister, then handed me the iPod hooked to her radio. “Can you pull up the folder called Cheryl and start it? She can do it, if you don’t know how.”

  Taylor was busy driving. I flicked the tiny screen to the right folder then pressed play. Cheryl immediately started singing with the songs. They were Disney songs. Cute songs. She had a cute little voice, and she sang right on key.

  “Sing with me, Taylor.” She called out a few seconds later.

  “I’m sorry. This is embarrassing.” She said to me.

  “Why? Don’t you sing well?” I asked her, teasing her. I liked teasing her for some reason. She was really cute when I teased her.

  “No. I sing okay. It’s embarrassing that I know every word to a three year old’s favorite songs.” She laughed.

  She started singing. She did sing well, very well, in fact. She even did the head bopping that went with a few of the songs. She sang all the way to the babysitter’s house. She stepped out and pulled her little sister out of the car seat. I opened the door to help her out, even though I didn’t know what I was doing.

  “Tell Spencer bye.” Taylor said to her.

  “Bye, Spencer.” Cheryl said sweetly, then hugged my legs.

  That was unexpected. Taylor took her and her car seat to the door. I listened as she talked to the sitter for a few seconds, then left her sister and the car seat.

  “I’m sorry about that. It happens every so often. Mom doesn’t work all the time, but when she does, I have to take care of Cheryl. She’s the only one that isn’t old enough to go to school yet.”

  “That’s so cool. I’ve never had siblings.”

  “Count yourself lucky.” She joked with me. “Are you ready for the game tonight?”

  “I think so. A little nervous. I’m hoping I don’t fall flat on my face or something like that.”

  She laughed again. I loved her laugh. She was so cute. Hell she was adorable. “I was nervous when I started cheering this year. And, that’s exactly what I was afraid of.”

  I laughed. “You do really well out there. I think you’re the best gymnast on the team. Your flips are perfect.”

  “Thanks.” she said, suddenly embarrassed.

  Did I say something wrong? I knew I wasn’t exactly the smoothest guy in the world sometimes. I wasn’t used to talking to girls very often. I tried to change the subject. I was out of conversation already. Damn it. “Hey, this is a nice car.”

  “Thanks. You can drive it sometime if you want.” She offered as if we were old friends.

  “Sure. You don’t know what size engine I guess.” I ventured.

  “Why? Because I’m a girl?” she drug out the word girl, pretending that she was offended by the question, but teasing with me. She was a jokester.

  “I didn’t mean that exactly.” I said quickly.

  “It’s a V8, the five point o liter engine. Double overhead racing cam. Electronic fuel injection. And a posi-traction rear-end.”

  “Okay. Now I’m impressed.” I said. I was impressed. Did she know about cars?

  “I read the sales brochure. I wanted a pretty car that went fast.” She laughed at me. “I am a girl after all.”

  I laughed at her. She had a great sense of humor. “So why the Mustang?”

  “My dad said this was the best sports car for the money. He didn’t want me spending too much money. It goes pretty fast. You can drive if you want. I’ll pull over.” She offered.

  “No, maybe next time.” I told her. I didn’t want to look too eager, for her or her car.

  When we arrived at school, I felt a little uneasy. I felt like everyone was looking our way because we rode together and walked to Senior Pole together. I usually hated it when people looked my way, but today they were looking my way because I had Taylor by my side. It was a totally different feeling. Zane smiled at me as we walked up. I think I caught him winking at Taylor. What was that about? She slugged him in the stomach. She was really playful with him. They were good friends. I’d have to get used to that.

  The guys were playing Frisbee in the grass next to Senior Pole. The kids here had names for every place on campus and off campus. It was a little odd. Everyone always knew exactly where everything was because of the names. I stood with Ronnie, Grace, Sally, and Taylor talking about our History test we had coming up. Taylor was funny. I liked hanging out with her.

  Just then Zane yelled over to us. “Taylor, come over here. We need our Frisbee. Jose threw it on the roof again.” Zane pulled her over to the edge of the building.

  “What? You’re not tossing me up there again. I’m not risking this uniform for a two dollar Frisbee.” She griped at him.

  “We’ll be careful this time.” he said, then continued
pulling her. He cupped his two hands for her to step in.

  She gave him an annoyed look, then stepped into his hand, then up on his shoulders, then onto the roof. She looked around for the Frisbee then went to get it. She tossed it down, then came to the edge.

  “See ya.” Zane called to her, teasing her as he waved. He ducked back under the roof, pretending to leave. All the guys started laughing and teasing with Taylor about how she’d have to stay up there all day long. They said they’d send food up at lunch.