by Sara Hess
“I’m going to have to drop you off at your seat and do a quick introduction, but don’t worry, Amanda’s real cool. You know for a girl and everything.” I teased.
Carrie laughed as she jogged to keep up. “I’m going to tell her you said that.”
“That’s okay, I tell her it all the time.” I saw Amanda already sitting in her seat, a blanket tucked around her legs. Girls were so cold blooded. I barely felt the slight chill in the air.
Amanda saw us and waved. “You’d better hurry up Nic. If you’re late Coach will rescind your captain position.”
Carrie looked aghast and gave me a push. “Oh my god, Nic, go.”
I laughed. An adrenaline high was already beginning to flow through my veins and Carrie’s presence hyped it up even further. Without conscious thought I leaned down and gave her a swift kiss on the lips. I spun away quickly to head for the locker room but still saw the surprised look on her face. I could live with surprise. Fear would have gutted me.
I hobbled down the bleacher isles with an erection that would hopefully deflate before reaching the locker rooms.
Chapter Eleven
Carrie
I stared after Nic’s retreating back in shock. He kissed me. My first kiss. It had been really quick; more like a peck, but still…his lips had touched mine. They had been firm, but also soft, and the feel of them still lingered. I hadn’t been afraid or alarmed. My breathing was a little irregular, but it wasn’t because I was having an episode.
I suddenly took note of the girl next to me. She was smiling, but there was caution in her eyes as she looked at me. My face turned red. I had to look like an idiot staring after Nic with a goofy look on my face.
“You look like that’s the first time he’s kissed you.” The girl laughed.
My cheeks reddened more and my eyes skittered from Nic’s retreating back to the girl’s face.
Her smile widened and her cautious look turned to amazement. “Are you shitting me?” She gasped. “You’ve been seeing Nic for a week and that is the first time he’s kissed you?
I had no idea what to say. “Uhm, we’re friends, so…well…” God, this was uncomfortable.
“You’re my hero. I don’t think there’s been a girl yet that’s made Nic wait…for anything.” She said
“I haven’t been…I mean he hasn’t tried…” I trailed off.
Her expression turned to shock . “He’s the one who’s been holding off? Oh, he’s got it bad.” Her gaze turned thoughtful as she looked at me. I was starting to think that coming to the game had been a mistake when she held out her hand. “I’m Amanda, and I think we’re going to be good friends.”
Really!
I hesitantly took her hand. “I’m Carrie.”
Amanda smiled as she shook my hand. She was really pretty with long blonde hair pulled up into a high pony tail and blue eyes. From her clothes I could tell she had money, at least more than me, but then most people at this school did.
“I’m Noah’s girlfriend. I’ve heard you’re acquainted with him. Come on and get comfortable. We have a half an hour before anything interesting happens.”
I sat down next to her on the cushion and wrapped the blanket Nic had given me under my bottom and around my legs. “I’m not sure which roommates of Nic’s your boyfriend is.” I admitted. “They were all in a group and I didn’t learn their names until Nic told me.”
“Noah is six foot one with light brown hair and amber eyes. He’ll say their just brown, but they’re not. Guys are so rudimentary with colors. He probably would have been the one joking around, he thinks of himself as quite a card.” Amanda said fondly.
Nic had been right, Amanda was nice.
“I think I remember him. He said I called him fat, but I just said he was big boned.”
Amanda burst out laughing. “Yeah, that sounds like him. I’ll give you a heads up on the others. Seth is the biggest, eats constantly, and grunts and grumbles a lot. Landon is always impeccable, from his blonde tipped hair to his designer shoes. Evan’s got brown hair and has the most energy.”
I pictured each of the guys as I remembered them from that night and it wasn’t difficult to sort out who each one was. Amanda had described them to a tee.
“How long have you and Noah been dating?” I asked curiously. She seemed to know them all really well.
“Two years, since our freshmen year of college and still going strong.” She said lovingly.
Envy settled in my heart at what Amanda and Noah had. I wondered if I would ever have that with someone. Nic’s image flashed through my head. I wasn’t sure what was going on between us. I knew we were friends, but he was also always touching me, and he’d kissed me. Did he want more?
Did I want more? And even if I did could I give him more? When I was with him I forgot that I wasn’t normal; I felt so much lighter and warmer. He made me happy, and I hadn’t been really happy in a long time. When I’d had my episode in front of him I’d expected him to be weirded out and run away from me as fast as he could, but instead he’d been patient and kind.
However, emotions and sensations I’d never experienced before overwhelmed me when I was with him, and this was what concerned me. I wasn’t sure if my battered heart could take it if I let it out of its cage in a bid for more only to be rejected again.
Suddenly screaming and yelling exploded around the stadium and I looked around to see the Cavalier’s running out onto the field. At the same time the player’s from Wesleyan College ran out from the opposite side. Our team was in blue, orange and white, while theirs were in white and black. The stadium was huge and it was about half-full with fans from both UVA and Wesleyan. I’d never been to anything like this before. It was hard to imagine the whole place filled up. It would be complete mayhem.
I noticed that the Cavalier’s benches were directly in front of Amanda and me giving us a great view. “Is the game starting already, I thought they had another half an hour.” I yelled looking for Nic’s number seven.
“They have a twenty minute warm up and then some official stuff first.” Amanda screamed back.
Behind me I could hear some girls screaming specific player’s names. I ignored them until I heard Nic’s name. Glancing behind me I scanned the multitude of girls sitting in the stands. Were these the groupie’s Nic had been talking about? I recognized one girl as the customer who’d come into the store talking about having had sex with Nic. I whipped back around and that nauseous feeling I’d had before when I’d overheard her discussing Nic washed over me again.
“What is it? You’ve gone sort of green.” Amanda asked me in concern.
Just than the girl, I remember her name was Beatrice, screamed Nic’s name a second time. I couldn’t stop my flinch and Amanda noticed. Making the connection she looked behind us and her eyes narrowed. “Yeah, I vaguely remember her. She’s been stalking Nic some. She hasn’t opened that big mouth around you has she? Because let me tell you she means nothing to Nic.”
I shrugged. “I’ve just heard some things.” I really didn’t want to go into what I’d heard.
Amanda’s face twisted sympathetically. “Yeah, I can guess what you’ve heard.” Her hand squeezed my arm. “You should know that Nic has never asked her or any other girl to come to one of his games. Those types of girls…” She waved her hand behind us with a look of disgust and irritation. “…they follow him around. They follow all the guys around. Nic doesn’t actively seek them out. He’s never made an effort for a girl in the two years I’ve known him, until you. Just try to remember she’s in his past and it’s futile to get upset about someone’s past. We all have them.”
Those were words I could relate to. I gave Amanda a heartfelt smile. “Thanks Amanda.”
She grinned widely and bumped my shoulder. “And anyway, you’re way prettier than that girl.”
I wasn’t sure if I believed that but it sounded like something a friend would say to make another friend feel better. Because all I could think was that ot
her girl’s hair wasn’t covered by a hat but was instead loose and curling down her back, she had make-up on, and the clothes she wore accentuated her figure. They weren’t a size too big and second hand.
God, I was depressing myself, and I was missing the action on the field. I’d come to see Nic play not ruminate on my pitiful looks and attire.
Searching the field I finally found Nic among the other players. He was working on some drills with his teammates, directing them as team captain. He looked so commanding and larger than normal out there with all his equipment on. That was saying a lot because the guy was already a foot taller than me and twice as broad. It was really exciting watching him work out there, or was it play? To him it was probably a little of both.
“Which one is Noah?” I asked Amanda.
She pointed at the field. “He’s number thirty-five. He’s a midfielder the same as Nic, and so is Landon. He’s number seventy-seven.” Amanda continued pointing. “Number forty-three is Seth; he’s a defenseman. Evan is number ninety-nine; he’s an attackman. Are you familiar with all the positions and what they do?”
“Nic’s told me some and I looked online too. I found most of my information under ‘Lacrosse for Dummies’.”
Amanda laughed. “That’s perfect. It gives you the basics which will help you a lot. I’ll explain any fouls or other calls you don’t know.”
A whistle sounded and the players ran off the field to their designated sides. Nic raised his helmet and looked up at me as he ran off the field. He gave me a smile and a wave. I gave him a quick wave back.
“Go, Nic!” Beatrice screamed behind me. I winced, both at her screech and because she was there.
Nic’s gaze rose past me and he frowned. His eyes shot back to me and even from this distance I could see the troubled look on his face. I gave him a smile and a shake of my head not wanting him to be concerned; it might mess up his game. His anxious look passed and a brilliant smile lit his face.
Clapping my hands I yelled. “Go Cavalier’s!”
Amanda clapped alongside me and yelled also.
The next few minutes consisted of the official stuff Amanda had talked about and then there was a big boom announcing the start of the game. Nic ran out on the field along with nine other players and they positioned themselves around the field. Nic went to stand in the center with a player from the other team. A referee placed the ball on the ground between them and they stooped over and locked shoulders. I knew this was called a face-off and it was where each player tried to get control of the ball for their team.
A whistle blew and it was game on. Nic and the other guy pushed back and forth against each other aggressively and then a second later Nic was running…and weaving…and throwing. Oh my god, it was awesome!
He was awesome!
The game flew by. I couldn’t believe how much running everyone did. It looked exhausting. Nic did most of the face-offs during the game and acquired the ball almost every time. The times that he didn’t the ball ended up skittering away and another player would run in and scoop it up. He had some moves out there that were just crazy to watch. Amanda informed me that his nickname was ninja-man, and I could see the basis on how it had come about.
UVA had a humungous mega-screen and whenever someone scored, assisted in scoring, or blocked a goal they would display the person’s picture and his stats. I got to see Nic up there quite a few times, as well as his roommates. It was extremely cool and Nic looked incredible all blown up like that.
Half-time came and Amanda and I ran for a bathroom break and to get something to eat and drink. I just grabbed a pretzel and water. It was amazing how much concession stand food cost. We dashed back to our seats but were a few minutes short of the of the games restart.
The second half was just as fast paced. It was unbelievable to me that no one was falling down and hyperventilating. The game finally ended with a score of UVA-12, Wesleyan-5. Nic had scored four of his teams points and assisted with four others.
The Cavalier’s were jumping, hugging and thumping each other on the backs. Amanda and I were jumping, screaming and hugging each other. It was amazing how comfortable I felt with her after only two hours, but it had been a frenzied two hours. It had been an incredible game.
After a while everyone, players and fans, started to come down a little from the victory high. The other team had walked off the field rather swiftly. It wasn’t their field and they probably wanted to be gone as soon as they could. The Cavalier’s lingered a little and then they too began filing into their locker room.
Nic jogged over taking his helmet off. His hair was plastered with sweat and his face was red from exertion, but the grin on his face was jubilant. I went up to the railing and looked down at him smiling just as widely.
“Congratulations! That was awesome. You were amazing out there.” I exclaimed leaning over the railing.
Amanda stood next to me. “Yeah Nic, that had to be one of the best games I’ve seen you play.” She called out.
Nic’s bright eyes held mine. “I had some inspiration today.” He gave me a wink.
I blushed and couldn’t help grinning stupidly at his words.
“Carrie, stay here with Amanda. I’ll be out as soon as I get a shower. Okay?”
I nodded. “Alright.”
He rushed off into the tunnel leading to the locker room getting more thumps on the back on the way. I smiled watching him. Even sweaty he was gorgeous.
“He has it so bad for you.” Amanda said with a grin as we sat back down.
I shook my head irresolute on what Nic and I had. “I don’t know. We’ve just been hanging out as friends.”
“Well, every good relationship should start out that way. He’s taking the time to get to know you. It shocks the crap out of me just thinking about Nic taking it slow with a girl, but from what I’m hearing and seeing that’s what he’s doing. It’s great.” She said, sounding excited for Nic and me.
“It sounds to me like Nic is slumming it for while before he moves on to someone more his style.”
Amanda and I twisted our heads at the spiteful words coming from behind us. Beatrice stood there with a nasty look on her face. It took away some of the attractiveness of her features. I was pretty comfortable with my station in life, but her words still hit me hard.
“No, he was ‘slumming’ it before, now he’s raised the bar and found someone worth his time.” Amanda retorted angrily. “It also says a lot about you that you’re eavesdropping on conversations.”
Beatrice gave Amanda a malicious glare. “I wasn’t eavesdropping; I saw Nic and I was coming to say hello.” Beatrice turned her attention back to me. “We know each other and I just wanted to congratulate him.”
The emphasis she put on ‘know’ wasn’t difficult to hear and catch the reference to. That nauseous feeling wanted to settle in my gut again at the thought of Nic ‘knowing’ this girl, or any girl for that matter, but I pushed it back.
Not wanting to get into some kind of nasty word slinging match with one of Nic’s past…whatever’s, I forced a smile. “I’m sure he would have appreciated it. Maybe next time you see him.”
In some way I commiserated with Beatrice; she must have feelings for Nic if she’d slept with him. Sure, she didn’t seem like a very nice person, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be hurt when he didn’t return her feelings.
Amanda gave me a look of surprise. Beatrice just looked spitefully baffled.
“Yes, I’m sure he will appreciate the congratulations I give him.” Beatrice said with a salacious grin.
Another sexual innuendo; did she take a class on them?
She turned to leave.
Amanda seemed to have one more thing on her mind. “I’m pretty sure the word was knew each other. You know, in the past tense of the expression.” She called out after Beatrice.
Beatrice threw her a glare but continued up the steps.
I couldn’t help grinning at Amanda’s comment.
She gr
inned back. “It was sitting on my tongue and it wasn’t going to be held back. I can’t believe you took the high road. I was so ready to give her a slap down.”
“She wasn’t worth it.” I shrugged it away.
“Truer words were never spoken.” Amanda state emphatically.
We switched our conversation to a better topic and I forgot about Beatrice. I learned that Amanda was going to school for advertising, Noah for business. I shared my major and told her about my scholarship. Time flew and before long we heard the tromping of feet and saw Nic and Noah making their way toward us. They were freshly showered and back in their dress clothes.
“You ready to go girls, because we’re starving. I need at least half a cow to replace what I’ve lost.” Noah gave me wink at the cow reference.
“I don’t know, I nice salad could do you wonders or maybe even a nice liquid drink.” I retorted.
He laughed and punched Nic. “Dude, your girl is calling me fat again.”
“Your hips are getting a little wide.” Nic remarked critically.
Noah threw up his hand. “Where’s the love.” He complained.
Amanda held out her arms. “I love you, babe.”
I made a totally fake gasp and looked at Nic. “You told me that Noah called Amanda babe. Your female truck argument has been totally shot.”
Nic gave Noah and Amanda a dirty glare. They looked at us in confusion. We then got into a huge debate as we all walked out of the stadium. It ended unresolved.
Chapter Twelve
NIC
After lunch I dropped Carrie off at work and initiated another kiss. This time I held it long enough to actually move my lips, but it was still short, albeit sweet. When I pulled away there was a blush to her cheeks and she’d fumbled for the door handle after stammering out a ‘bye’.
I watched her as she dashed toward the store with a ridiculous grin on my face and a set of tight aching balls. It was a great day besides those.