"Oh, this place is so cozy, I've never been here before. How did you find out about it?" She asked, casually looking through the menu.
"I've been going here forever; my parents are friends with the owners. The food's great," he said, already knowing what he was going to order. They waited patiently for the waiter to arrive. To Abigail's surprise, the owner himself came out to serve the couple.
"Brian! My favorite customer, it's been a while since I've seen you here. Where've you been? And I'm assuming this beautiful girl is your date?"
"I've been trying to stay off the Italian for a bit, it's football season, after all. This is Abigail."
"Oh, then this is a very special occasion indeed! Very nice to meet you, Abigail. My name is Anthony, same as this strapping young man's middle name! Sorry for taking time for your date, are you two ready to order?"
"Um… I think I'll just have a Caesar salad and the manicotti. I'll have a water with that," she said, folding the menu.
"Ya, I'll have a pepperoni calzone, and a coke," Brian said, anticipation on his face.
"Very good, the food will be out shortly." With that, he walked back into the kitchen, giving the new couple some breathing room.
"He was sweet. I guess you're really famous around here, huh?"
"Not really. He just likes to embarrass me. Back in the day, he used to have me try all of his new recipes, so I guess that goes to show how often I came."
She smiled warmly, enamored by how genuine this guy was. Abigail wasn't a stupid girl, she knew that love at first sight is a pointless concept. But after tonight, maybe she'd have to change her mind. Once the food came out, they ate in silence, mostly because Brian was shoveling down the sizable calzone with reckless abandon. When she laughed, he looked up, concerned that he was doing something wrong.
"Oh, don't mind me. You sure have a healthy appetite. You must work pretty hard to keep that physique of yours."
He swallowed, and wiped his mouth with a napkin before he spoke. "Ya, it's a lot of work in the gym, but I can't help it, the food here is amazing."
He gave her a grin, then proceeded to gorge himself to the rest of the meal. She laughed again, thoroughly enjoying herself.
"I'm so glad that you don't feel like you have to be anyone different just to impress me. Just to let you know, I'm already really impressed..."
--
"Brian, make sure to tell your folks I said hello," the owner said as they left, smiling warmly as always.
"Will do. Thanks for the food."
As they left the restaurant, she gave him a tight hug, which quickly turned into soft kissing. Before it got any heavier, she paused, cocking her head to the side.
"Don't tell me, you've never kissed a girl before, too, " she stated, matter-of-factly.
"Um… could you tell that easily?" He asked, his confidence waning again.
"Don't worry about it. And to think I actually assumed you were trying to hook up with me by treating me to Italian... Oh, Brian, there's so much to teach you, and so little time…"
They made it to the car before she resumed their previous activity. Maybe it was from inexperience, but Brian wasn't enjoying the kissing as much as he was enjoying the fact that she got off on it so much. It gave him a great rush to know that he was affecting her like that. After they stopped for air, he saw that her tan skin was red, and she was breathing a lot more heavily than he was. Abigail put her arms around his neck, nibbling at his earlobe suggestively. She stopped abruptly, earning herself a slight moan of disappointment from Brian.
"You can have me if you want," she whispered, having lost all of her inhibitions by then.
Brian was enjoying the ministrations to his ear, but when she stopped to whisper, he opened his eyes, and saw the clock on his car, shining '11:30'. "Oh, shit! You're going to be late!" Not registering what she just said, he started his car and rushed out of the parking lot, intent on getting her home as soon as possible.
Having been unintentionally rejected sex, but out of concern for her curfew, Abigail crossed her arms and decided that he was worth being patient for. After all, with her looks, she could get sex anywhere, but her looks almost always attracted the wrong kind of guy. She definitely knew she caught the right one this time though, and she wasn't going to let hormones ruins that for her. The sex would come eventually. It always did with her.
Within ten minutes, he managed to pull over by her yard, and breathed again. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for you to be late. I guess I got carried away," he lied, accepting the blame to try to make her feel better. He wanted this relationship to work out just as badly as she did, but worrying that intimidating father of hers wasn't a good place to start.
"Oh, don't worry about it. It was my fault entirely, I guess I don't know how good of a kisser I am. I'll take the heat from my dad, he's not as tough as he seems." She got out of the car, waiting for him to follow her, and clung to his arm as he walked her to her door. "You know, I'm going to hit myself for sounding so cliché, but I don't think I've ever had the pleasure of saying this to a guy honestly before. You're really special Brian. I don't think you know it just yet, but you're going to make someone very happy someday. I just hope that someone is me, and that someday is soon," she said suggestively, giving him one final kiss before pulling out the keys for her house.
"Goodnight Abigail," he said, not sure how to take what she said, but ecstatic nevertheless that he got a compliment like that from a girl like her.
"I'll see you later. You can count on it."
--
Brian dialed Christine's cell phone number, eager to tell her about the date.
"Ungh, what is it, Brian? Sleep, woke me up, you jerk…" she said, with slurred words.
"Christine, oh my god, it went great. She really liked me, and I got my first kiss!" Brian yelled, actually jumping up and down as he spoke.
"Urgh, you called me for that? Congratulations, kid, I knew you would do well. I have to ask a question though… did you get laid?" She asked, irritated, but waking up slowly from interest.
"What? No, it was the first date," he said, laughing at her question.
"I didn't mention it earlier before because you probably wouldn't have believed me then, but I'm relieved for you, you'd be the first boyfriend ever to not get into her pants from the get go. Word gets around; I wondered if you were getting in to something way over you head. Now that I have that off of my chest, goodnight."
She hung up, leaving Brian thoroughly confused by her cryptic words.
"What could she mean by that? Was it a good thing I didn't sleep with her, or not?"
CHAPTER TWO
"…I'm relieved for you, you'd be the first boyfriend ever to not get into her pants from the get go. Word gets around; I wondered if you were getting in to something way over you head."
Christine's words echoed through Brian's head as he stared intently at the clock, counting the seconds until seventh period was over, and he could get out of this math class. There was no eighth period that day. Instead, there was a pep rally, to get the get the school's blood pumping before the final game of the year, the last regionals game that the Liberty High School Porcupines would have to win to become state champions.
As the bell rang, he bolted out of the classroom, too fast for anyone in the class to wish him good luck. His pre-calculus teacher, Mrs. Yang, only shook her head, forcing the other students to stay behind a little bit longer for her to put the homework up on the board.
He made his way to the main gym, shoving people out of the way to get the back corner of the court, where the rest of his team was accumulating, while waiting for the cheerleaders to start the rally.
Five minutes in, the whole school was crammed into the bleachers that bordered the basketball court, and the music started to blare, cuing Corey Towers, the quarterback, and captain of the team to start.
"What's up, Liberty High School! Let's hear some NOISE!" He screamed into his megaphone, signaling for the team to run
around the perimeter of the gym and get people to stand up and scream. Brian's thoughts concerning Christine's words left him immediately, getting caught up in the mass hysteria.
And scream they did. Liberty was well known for being fanatical about their football program, and this year was no exception. The faculty turned a blind eye and ear to the antics. Some even joined the students. In no time, the screams of the crowd drowned out the music and the cheerleaders altogether, forcing Corey to get them under control. But instead, he chose to get them even crazier than they already were.
"Who are we?"
"THE PORCUPINES!"
"Are we gonna lose?"
"HELL, NO!"
"Who're we gonna beat?"
"THE WILDCATS!"
"We're gonna kill 'em…"
"DEAD!"
Satisfied with the crowd's spirit, Corey decided to change focus while the noise started to wind down a little bit. Now was the time to kick the first step of his plan into action.
"Listen up, Porcupines! If we win tonight, and I know we will, I'll be hosting a party at my place tomorrow night. Everyone's invited!"
"My place" was a little bit of an understatement, and the school knew it. The Towers were well-known for being the richest family in the area, and the area was already well known for its affluence. Their mansion was surrounded by several acres of land, adorned with exotic plants from all around the world, complete with a full sized swimming pool. Corey was the youngest child of the family, and the only one that lived at home, since his parents were almost indefinitely out of town, maintaining their pharmaceutical business.
With his invitation to the school given, the faculty finally started putting an effort into calming down the crowd enough to leave the gym in one piece. Everyone in the school was thinking the same thing as the festivities transferred to the senior parking lot for a school-wide tailgate party. "This is going to be a crazy weekend."
--
The cold, crisp air of that cloudless November night was permeated with the smells of food, sweat, and excitement. Halogen lights illuminated the Porcupines' field as if it were midday. The cheerful songs of the marching bands were accompanied by the dull roar of both the home team and the visiting team's supporters, occasionally overruled by the amplified voice of the announcer.
It was the end of the fourth quarter of the game, and the Porcupines were down by five points. If this last play didn't work, all of the team's work and the school's spirit would be for naught. The ball was snapped to Corey. His plan hinged on this very moment. No matter what, they had to win, and Brian, the school's premiere running back had to be the one to win it. He wasn't worried. As long as his offensive line did their job and blocked for him, Corey was absolutely sure that Brian's legs could carry him away from anyone who tried to tackle him down.
Corey couldn't have been more right. In a moment worthy of a feature film, Brian took the handoff and ran as far as he could, forty yards into the end zone, just at the timer turned to zero. Liberty's side of the field erupted into a deafening, chaotic roar, food and other objects flying in all directions. The Wildcats sat in stunned silence, some of them complaining loudly.
After the teams shook hands, most of the Liberty students started moving towards the parking lot to start an afterparty, while a few stayed behind to personally congratulate the still celebrating team.
"Yo! Corey, that was some crazy last ditch play you called back there," Brian shouted, ignoring the pair of girls his long-time friend has around both arms. "How did you know that would work?"
"Ha, I've got faith in my offensive line, and especially in Brian Mannus. That guy can play." He said, still high from winning the title of state champion.
"Brian, the game's done, let's go back to your place. I believe you owe me a game of Rainbow Six Vegas 2 for even coming here. I've wasted hours of perfectly good gaming time!" Lee, Brian's Chinese best friend complained.
"We've got all weekend to play games, " Brian retorted, running his hands through his spiky black hair and rolling his eyes in contempt and slight embarrassment. He glanced behind himself, and like he thought, in the time it took him to talk to Lee, Corey already managed to weasel himself away to play with his two new friends. "Well, nevermind then, I guess I've got nothing better to do. But… I heard that some people snuck some booze into the parking lot…"
"What?!" Lee shouted, a huge grin on his face. "Um… ya… changed my mind, suddenly. Why play games. We can hang out here for a little bit longer."
Brian smiled, knowing that he won this round.
--
Christine was doing her fair share of insane screaming as she saw her best friend score the winning touchdown. Even if she was contemptuous towards the sport in general and what it was doing to her friend, she couldn't help but feel extremely happy and proud. When the crowd was given a signal that they were allowed to go onto the field, she quickly said goodbye to Brian and Lee before she stormed the field, searching out for Brian.
It didn't take Christine very long. A veritable mob of people was around him, briefly congratulating him before moving along to get to the afterparty. From a distance, their eyes connected, and he gave her one of his trademark smiles, his eyes pleading for her to get him out of there. Pushing through the masses of moving people, she was about to make it to him, when a familiar voice rang through the crowd.
"Brian! Oh my god, you did amazing! Guys, give him some breathing room, will ya?" Abigail said, putting both arms around his waist and landing a huge kiss on the dumbfounded running back.
Christine stared in mild irritation as the kiss turned more serious, leaving with the rest of the people who wanted to give the busy couple some space.
"Abig… mrmph… air…" Brian stumbled out between kisses, softly pushing against her, his eyes scanning around for his friend. She stopped, smiling sweetly, not relenting her grip on his waist.
"Haha, sorry about that. Got carried away again. I've got your back. I saw you needed a little bit of help there. Sheesh, people can be so annoying. Did you plan on going to the afterparty?"
"No… I was going to save it for Corey's party tomorrow. I think right now, I need some sleep." Brian said, to give himself an excuse to look for or at least call Christine, who would be without a doubt, fuming by now.
"Alright. I'll see you there then. You don't have to worry about me, I've already got a ride to his place. The school's new big hero needs his rest too."
"I really don't think it was that big of a deal…" Brian said, watching Abigail joining her cheerleader friends. He wasn't used to all of this attention.
"Team, I don't have much to say to you, except that I'm proud of you guys. This was our last game of the year," Coach Stewart said, wiping a tear from his eye, "And you guys came through for me again. This is three consecutive years you've won the school the title of state champion. Our seniors are leaving this year, like they do every year, and I've rarely had the honor of being as confident as am now, that tonight, the game ball belongs to our own Corey Towers."
The coach, head swimming with pride and joy, backed up to give Corey the spotlight. The entire team stood up, shouting and yelling praise. Corey wasn't the type to be distracted from his goals though. He raised a single hand up, and signaled for the team to sit down and give him a chance to speak.
"My team, don't offer me praise tonight. It wasn't me that scored the game-winning touchdown tonight. It was Brian Mannus. For that, I pass on the game ball to him."
With that said, he nonchalantly held the ball in the direction of the open mouthed Brian, totally dumbfounded by his captain's offer. His speechlessness was immediately interrupted by the team's resounding applause though, being pushed on all sides to stand up and accept the prize. With the ball in his hands, Corey took advantage of the moment to give him a bear hug, earning extra whoops of applause from the team.
"Good job, Brian, you definitely deserved it, " Corey stated, loud enough so that Brian could hear it over the celebratory noise
s in the locker room.
Within a few minutes, most of the players were either still in the showers, or already finished, preparing to meet the crowd in the afterparty. Corey took a careful glance around to make sure no one was following him, before going to Coach Stewart's office. He knocked politely, until he heard the grunt that meant he could come in.
"What is it you want, Corey?" The coach said, still beaming from the win.
"I have a request, sir, regarding the future leadership of this team," Corey said humbly.
"Speak up then, no need to be shy."
"I would like to recommend Brian Mannus to be captain for next year's team," he stated bluntly, trying to appear as serious as possible. The coach looked at him with surprise, chewing on his words for a few seconds, before speaking.
"I can't make that guarantee Corey. It's tradition here in Liberty for a senior quarterback to be captain. It makes the most sense. I'm not blind. I see that Brian's got amazing potential as a running back, and he's naturally popular with the team and the school, especially now. But I can't promise you anything."
"Coach, with all due respect, I know the players on my team just as well as you do. I've been keeping my eyes open, there's not a single junior that would earn the same amount of respect as Brian, not to mention that none of our junior quarterbacks are cut out for the job," he said, surprised that the coach didn't just acquiesce to his request. This wasn't going according to plan.
"I see where you're coming from, but I still can't make any promises. The decision won't be made until this summer. I'm not bending on this one, Corey, I'm sorry."
Corey nodded in defeat, changing some things around in his head. He still had time to make sure that Brian would get his position, no matter what his coach said.
--
Brian took his time in the shower, getting out well past anyone else. He was still processing everything that happened that night. He didn't see how scoring a touchdown was that big of a deal, he was just doing his job, and it was Corey's call, so why was the world turning over on itself to get his attention? It didn't make any sense. Corey Towers was not the type to let go of such an honor, when he definitely deserved it.
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