Try and Catch Me: A Young Adult Fiction

by Sarah Kirchner

  Aspen sighed, seeing my reaction. “Look Ella, I’m really sorry that I offended you. It’s not that you’re a game. It’s just that I want to be the one who makes the first move when we do kiss.”

  I finally looked at him now. After all that just happened, he still wanted to kiss me? If I were him, I would have run. Seeing my shocked expression, he chuckled. “Let’s go out on a real date, Branson,” he said. “To make up for everything.” He winked at me just as the bell rang.

  I didn’t say yes—well, not aloud—but Aspen knew. He knew that in my head, I was considering it, and that was practically the same as yes aloud.

  ***

  I decided that I would go to Aspen’s game. It wasn’t like I wouldn’t have gone even if we were still in a fight. After my own soccer practice, the whole girls’ team was going to cheer on the guys.

  Would it be weird if I said that my parents were at the game also? Because they were. And of course, they were sitting right on the front row seats of the bleachers.

  “I’m surprise you didn’t wear your matching ‘I heart Aspen’ shirts,” I teased, laughing at them.

  My parents met each other’s eyes. “I told you we should have worn them, Patrick!” Mom joked.

  “But Mary, they’re in the wash. We wore them last game.” Dad played along.

  “You guys are the worst,” I said and sat in between them. Mom had brought some almonds, and I was in desperate need of a snack after my long practice. It was nearly ninety degrees and I wouldn’t be surprised if I’ll faint or suffer from heat stroke at any moment now.

  “Well, we were going to come anyway, especially now that he’s your boyfriend.” Mom smiled.

  “We are not dating!”

  “Whatever you say, sweetie.” Dad chuckled and threw an almond into his mouth.

  I ignored them and began to watch the soccer game. Aspen had the ball and was heading down the sideline. He was fast, so he could get the ball passed mostly to everyone. Aspen was nearing the net, but a large player (the number 22 on his back) from the other team pushed his body off the ball and seized it. Many people on the bleachers screamed at the referee saying that was a foul. Even Aspen had a wild look in his eye when number 22 pushed him.

  “Come on, Aspen!” Taylor shouted from behind me.

  Aspen looked at her and smiled, and then he kicked his feet and sprinted to the ball.

  Taylor looked at me, but I didn’t look back. It didn’t bother me that she was cheering on Aspen. He deserved to be cheered on. He was a great player.

  Greg had the ball now and was fighting to get it up to Aspen. Greg dodged other players as he swept the ball up the field.

  “Aspen!” he shouted and launched the ball toward Aspen.

  Aspen stood a couple feet outside the penalty box. He jumped to trap the ball with his chest and wasted no time before driving the ball into the net and making the score 1-0.

  I jumped up and down, clapping, and yelled loudly, “You go Aspen! That’s my boy!” I covered my mouth with my hand. Had I seriously just said that? “That’s my boy”? Ugh, I was so stupid. I sat down before I’d say any more stupid things. I could feel eyes all around, watching me.

  Aspen heard what I said and caught my eye. He smiled before winking at me. His finger pointed at me as he ran back down to the center circle to restart the game.

  “And you said you’re not dating.” Mom chuckled next to me.

  “Because we’re not, Mom!”

  Mom raised her hands in surrender and then got back into game mode.

  * * *

  “I liked how into the game you were,” Aspen said after he finished freshening up after the game.

  “That was probably the most embarrassing game I’ve ever attended,” I confessed and leaned against his shoulder. There was still a little sweat on him, but it didn’t matter at all to me.

  “It was probably the best game I’ve ever played in. I always have people cheering me on, but never you.” He looked down at me. “I like it when it’s you cheering me on.”

  “Oh please,” I snorted.

  “It’s true!”

  “Sure, it is.” I rolled my eyes. Plenty of girls scream for him on the sideline, so why would he like it when I’d do most of it?

  “Come on,” he said, nudging my shoulder. “I’ll take you home.”

  I nodded and we walked to the car together, holding hands.

  ***

  “Here we are. Casa de la Branson’s,” Aspen said and pointed toward my white picket fenced house.

  “Thanks, Aspen.” I laughed.

  “Where the hell have you been?” I heard a shout suddenly. I knew the voice.

  “Oh shit,” Aspen murmured.

  Sam was storming closer and closer to the car.

  “Do you think we can drive away?” Aspen panicked.

  “Why do you hang out with her? I don’t get it,” I asked him, shaking my head.

  “It’s complicated, Ella.” Aspen frowned.

  “Get out of the car, Isabella.” Sam stood outside my door tapping her foot. She was wearing her cheerleading uniform.

  “Bye, Aspen,” I mumbled before pushing open the door. “Enjoy yourself.”

  “Oh, I plan on it,” Sam hissed as she stepped aside to let me out. As soon as I was out of the way she hopped into the car. “Drive Aspen.”

  “I’ll call you, Branson!” Aspen called as he backed out of the driveway.

  “I doubt that!” Sam called just before Aspen sped out of sight.

  Chapter 11

  I Need a Break

  It was weird, but I wasn’t nervous at all for the date. It had seemed that Aspen and I had become friends over the past two weeks, and now we were just going on an outing. The only difference was that it wasn’t an outing. It was most certainly a date.

  No. I wasn’t going to let some stupid date with a jerk make me nervous.

  That was right. Aspen was a jerk. Wait, why was I even going on a date with him again?

  Before I could change my mind about this date, the doorbell rang. Looks like I was going after all.

  “Who is it?” Sam said from the top of the staircase.

  “Does it matter?” I spat. Sam always needed to know every detail of my life, and it got so frustrating sometimes. No. It got frustrating all the time.

  “I hope it’s not Aspen.” She crossed her arms and gave me the stare of death.

  “You’ll be happy to know that it is then.” I smiled just as I opened the door.

  Aspen looked perfect. He looked like an angel. He was wearing a dark blue button up shirt and loose jeans, and it just complemented his good looks. When Aspen looked at me, he smirked, forming a dimple on the right side of his smile.

  “You clean up nicely.” I pointed out. I didn’t even try to hide my checking him out. It’s not like I could stop myself if I wanted to. He was definitely looking more than nice. He was capital h-o-t.

  “And you always look good,” Aspen responded when he checked me over right back.

  It wasn’t like I was wearing anything special. A black skater dress covered my petite body, and I had a red sweater just in case it got a little chilly. That was highly doubtful, though. It hadn’t been below eighty degrees for four months now. Living in the south of Florida sucked sometimes.

  “So, if I wore a garbage bag to this date, I would still look good?” I joked.

  Aspen moaned. “Stop, you’re turning me on just thinking about that.”

  “You’re disgusting.” I giggled and pushed his arm.

  “You guys make me want to throw up on myself,” Sam interjected as she pounded down the wooden staircase.

  “Didn’t see you there, Sam.” Aspen said, looking away. I noticed some red creeping along his cheeks.

  “I didn’t know you guys had plans tonight,” Sam said and looked between us.

  “Why should you know if we have plans?” I asked with narrowed eyes.

  “Oh, you know. I’m just usually in the loop with thi
s kind of thing,” she said directly to Aspen who was still refusing to look at her.

  “Sorry if you feel left out,” Aspen muttered.

  I snorted. Why should Aspen feel bad that my devil of a sister felt left out?

  “Don’t worry about me. I actually am going to James’ house tonight,” Sam said.

  “Good. It’s about time you hung out with you boyfriend,” I mumbled.

  That caught Aspen’s attention “You are?” he asked, looking right at Sam now.

  She smirked at his sudden interest. “Yes, I am.” She pushed Aspen aside and headed toward the car we shared. It wasn’t really “shared” between us, though. Sam always drives it every single day and night.

  Aspen went to follow her, but I grabbed his arm.

  “Why do you care?” I asked.

  Aspen shook his head and was brought back to reality. “I don’t. Now, can we go to our date?” He smiled.

  “I never thought that I would say this, but yes, Aspen. I would love to go on our date.” I smiled back at him, and we walked to his car hand in hand.

  ***

  Aspen and I drove for twenty minutes. We sat mostly in silence, but it was a comfortable silence. Aspen finally parked the car to our destination: Duckling Park. It was a park I’d been going to for years.

  “I love this park and everything, but I’m also kind of hungry,” I said to Aspen.

  “Will you just wait for a couple more seconds?” Aspen smiled and got out of the car. As he headed to the trunk, I stepped out of the car.

  When he emerged from rummaging something in his trunk, Aspen now held a picnic basket in his hand. My heart melted. We were going to have to have a picnic! It was the sweetest date I had ever been on. Well, it was the only date I’d been on, but that wasn’t necessary to bring up.

  “Up for a picnic?” Aspen held up the dark brown basket.

  “That sounds lovely.” I smiled and began galloping toward the grassy field.

  When I was younger, Sam and I used to come here with our parents all the time. We would play soccer and bring little sandwiches. Those were always my favorite moments. Sam was always nice when we went to the park, which was surprising. She enjoyed the fresh air and being all together. It was magical when we were all there. It made me wish that Sam could be that same nice, happy sister again, but something inside her changed and that was the end.

  “Right here!” I exclaimed and pointed to an area near a big oak tree. “This looks perfect.” There was a pond nearby; it sparkled in the moonlight and everything around it shimmered.

  “Okay, just leave all the heavy lifting to me!” Aspen joked as he hauled the basket and blankets toward me.

  “Hey, you’re the guy. That’s what you’re supposed to do.”

  He rolled his dark eyes. “Sure.”

  Aspen stretched out the blanket and placed it on the grass. The blanket was from our school, Tree Fall High School. It bore our school’s colors: red for its background and blue for the text.

  “You seriously bought one of these?” I laughed as I sat on the fuzzy blanket. Nobody bought these blankets. Cheerleaders did, but that was only because they were supposed to show school spirit and everything. Other than them, nobody seemed to want one let alone bring one on a date. I had to admit, though. It wasn’t all that bad to lie down on.

  “Hey! The money went to transporting us to states!” he protested.

  “Yeah, okay. Whatever you say.” I laughed.

  Aspen then took out food from the basket. It was pesto pasta and a baguette. The pasta was probably made by his mom. His mom always came with it at all the soccer dinners. It was always the one that went empty first.

  “I love this pasta!” I shouted and grabbed the container. Aspen handed me a fork and I quickly gobbled it down. Then I realized how much of a fool I probably looked like to him. There I was on our date devouring our food that he had brought for us. “Wow, this definitely looks like my parents don’t feed me.”

  “Should I be calling CPS?” Aspen raised an eyebrow.

  “Yes! Because my parents don’t feed me food like this.” I pointed down at the green-covered pasta.

  “No problem. You’ll just have to start coming to my house for dinner.” Aspen winked at me. I blushed. Going to his house for dinner would be great. I would get to eat his mom’s amazing food and of course, I would get to see him.

  “That sounds perfect.” I smiled. Aspen beamed at that response. He stared at me, which made me nervous. “I can’t believe how hot it is!” I exclaimed. Seriously? Was I actually bringing up weather conversation on a date? Wow, wasn’t I a joke.

  “That’s what you get for living in Florida,” he said, sighing with an eye roll.

  Okay, not the reaction I was expecting. “Do you not like it here?” I asked. Of course, I knew he moved here from someplace else, but I couldn’t even imagine Aspen anywhere else. This was his home.

  “I used to live in New York. I moved here when I was eight,” Aspen admitted. “New York had snow.” He shrugged. “Sure, it got cold, but it was all worth it when you see the beauty of the snowfall. You get to make a snowman and snow angels. And even when you get cold and your fingers become numb, you could come inside and sit by the fire and drink hot chocolate with marshmallows.” He stared off into the distance as he talked. He was so hypnotized by this world that he used to live in. I had to admit, he painted a pretty picture of New York that I almost wanted to go there in that instant.

  “What part of New York did you live in?” I asked and scooted closer to him. I’ve never been to New York. I actually didn’t even know much about it, so I still wouldn’t probably know whatever he told me.

  “Near the finger lakes.” He smiled. “Sometimes the lakes around me would be so frozen that you could ice skate on it.”

  “You can ice skate here.”

  Aspen smiled and looked at me. “It’s not the same.”

  “No, I know.” We sat in silence for a little bit. “But then you can’t play soccer all year round.” I pointed out.

  Aspen smiled. “Please, that would be a blessing.”

  “You don’t like soccer?” I asked. Aspen was the star of the soccer team. He had to like the sport. His skills were impressive. If he didn’t like it, then why did he play so much?

  “It’s suffocating. Especially when you’re considered the best player. Everyone looks to you for their next move and on the field everyone wants you to always have the ball.” He sighed just thinking about it. “It’s exhausting. Sometimes I just need a break.”

  I jumped up and extended my hand toward him. A smile was on my lips.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, but he wore a smile also.

  “Giving you a break.”

  Aspen took my hand. “What do you have in mind?”

  “We could go for a swim?”

  “That sounds perfect.”

  Before I could say another word, he whipped off his shirt and shoes, followed by his pants. My eyes couldn’t even process the awesome six pack he was sporting. His body scrunched into a ball as he cannonballed into the lake. Water sprayed everywhere and even I got a little wet where I was standing. When Aspen came back above the water, he was wearing a smile.

  “You’re crazy!” I yelled at him.

  “You suggested it!” He laughed back and waved me in.

  “Can you turn around?” I asked. He raised an eyebrow. “Please!”

  Aspen threw up his hands and then turned around. “You are such a tease.”

  “I am not!” I called back to him as I took my dress off. This time I came slightly prepared. I wasn’t planning on taking off my dress for Aspen tonight, but I wore a better bra than the last date. This one was just plain pink and my underwear was light pink as well. No hearts this time, thank God.

  “Keep facing the other way!” I shouted as I sneaked toward the lake. Aspen remained with his back turned until everything up to my chest was covered. The water was refreshing to the skin after it has been
exposed to the musty air. Of course, it was cold against my bare stomach. Water was always cold against my stomach. “Okay, you can turn around now.”

  “Finally,” Aspen said, smiling as he swam toward me. When he came close enough, I felt his hands slide around my waist. Electricity immediately ran through my body. “You’re right. This is a great break.”

  “I’m just full of great ideas. You’ll learn more as we date longer.”

  Aspen raised an eyebrow. “You plan on dating me longer?”

  I pushed him away from me with a laugh. “Don’t be an idiot.”

  “No, I’m serious.” He grabbed my hand in the water and pulled me back into him. “You actually want to keep dating me after last week.”

  I shrugged in his arms. “I’ve had a crush on you since you’ve been here. If I get the chance to date you, I’m taking it.” I regretted saying that once it left my mouth. There was no hiding my liking toward him.

  “Wow, I didn’t realize you liked me that much.”

  “That was so embarrassing,” I mumbled and buried my head on his shoulder.

  “Hey.” Aspen lifted my head up from his body. “I don’t want you to ever be embarrassed by anything around me.” He cupped my face with his warm hands. “Especially when it’s your feelings toward me.”

  I blushed. He was being so kind and gentle. His lips leaned in toward me and I swore that he was going to kiss me. They brushed my cheek though, but it still sent shivers down my spine. Aspen stared at me again, and this time I could see the moonlight in his eyes. He inched a little closer to me. This was it. The kiss was coming this time. I was finally getting an actual kiss—my very first kiss—on my lips.

  But as soon as Aspen leaned in to do the deed, I heard my phone ring from the blanket.

  “Shit!” I shouted and pushed away from Aspen. I swam to the shore of the lake. “I told my parents I would be home by nine!” I called back to Aspen as I scurried out of the murky waters. They knew I had school tomorrow and wanted me back early. I was mad at Aspen earlier, so I agreed with going home sooner rather than later.