84
" I’m going to miss all the takeout,” Jason said later, after dinner, when I walked him out to his car. “Coach said his wife cooks their meals every night.”
“That’s really why you’re leaving, isn’t it?” I asked. “For real home-cooked meals?”
He put his hands on my waist, drew me near. “If you knew how hard I found it to stay on my side of the hall last night after we finished watching the movie…” He shook his head. “Your parents absolutely wouldn’t approve of the direction that my thoughts are going. With or without your mom’s contract, I’d move out.”
“I can’t believe she did that.”
He grinned. “Yeah, it was that first night, after she came out of your room.”
“Weren’t you offended?”
“How could I be? I started falling for you as soon as you bumped into me. I knew I could be a goner so easily.”
“Really?”
“Oh, yeah. And when I pictured you in shoulder pads and a helmet--”
I shoved his shoulder. “You did not!”
“Oh, yeah, I did. And I thought, of all the girls in this town, she is the one that I absolutely can’t find fascinating.”
“Is that the reason you sounded like you really didn’t want to take me home after that first night of pizza?”
“Yep. I wanted to limit contact. I was trying so hard not to fall for you.”
“Well, that’s why I knocked you over,” I said.
He laughed.
“Will you still come play ball with Dad?”
“Sure. But you have to play, too.”
I smiled. “Okay.”
It was so, so hard--a dozen kisses later--watching him leave. But at least I knew he’d be back. "
― Rachel Hawthorne , The Boyfriend League
88
" She’d tried to arrange it so we were sitting together, but fifteen thirsty and hungry guys jostling for chairs didn’t exactly lend itself to a calm seating arrangement. Chase and I both dropped into the same chair at the same time, and we both popped back up way too fast, like a kid’s jack-in-the-box.
Across from us, Ethan, the center fielder, noticed and laughed so loudly I was afraid everyone would know about the awkward moment. He said something to Tyler, the second baseman, that made him grin. Chase yelled for everyone to move down, because we needed room at our end of the table, only there was no place for anyone to move.
Alan offered me his lap.
I must have turned beet red, because my face felt really hot. "
― Rachel Hawthorne , The Boyfriend League
99
" Whoa! Where’d your black eye go?” she asked as I set my tray down and sat beside her.
“Tiffany covered it up for me.”
“I’ll say. I hate to think how much she damaged the ozone with all the hairspray she must have used on your hair.”
“Thanks, Bird. You look nice this evening, too,” I said.
The waitress dropped off a basket of hot rolls. I grabbed one and started slathering butter on it.
“Sorry. It’s just a shock to see you looking so…”
“Pretty.”
“You’ve always been pretty.”
“Oh, please. Can we move on to another subject?” I glanced over to see Jason eating and talking with Brandon.
“Yeah, I think we better. I’ve heard of head injuries changing people’s personalities--”
“Bird, you don’t live with a beauty queen, okay? I know when it comes to appearances, I’ll always fall short. And if you want to know the truth, I’m a little self-conscious about the whole makeover.”
“Sorry,” she said.
“Subject change?”
“Right.” She looked around as though searching for a subject.
I hated being so irritable, but I just didn’t feel like me tonight. "
― Rachel Hawthorne , The Boyfriend League
