"It's just around the corner. Keep up slow poke" Evie said as we ran mindlessly through an open field. I was running as fast as I could but she'd seem to be drifiting further away each time I got closer. All I could follow was her laughter and her voice as she teased me. The wonderment of finally catching up to her and holding her spiked my adrenaline to keep running as fast as I can. I saw she had stopped near a fountain in the middle of the field that hadn't been there before. She stood looking at me as I made my way to her.
Her curly brown locks surrounded her face perfectly. Those hazel eyes I grew so fond of, illuminated in such light that it was almost crippling to stare into. A smile that had the power to make me weak in the knees. Even if I felt like i'd ran a thousand miles, i'd run another thousand for her. She wore a white flowy dress that almost made her look angel like. I came abruptly to a stop when I finally caught up, I reached my hand out to touch her face when-
"Son, wake up. You have to leave now or you'll be late to your meet" I heard my dad say as he stayed shaking me.
"Okay, okay i'm awake" I said as I sat up, realizing it was all just a dream.
"Tonight's the big night David! Coach Jared just phoned me to tell me some scouts are coming to watch tonight's meet. You have to make a good first impression!" he said excitedly.
"I'll try, dad!" I said offering him a smile,"I have to pick up Sander before the meet but we'll be there soon enough."
"Alright my boy! Your mom and I will be there cheering you on from the sidelines. You can bet on that! Drive safe David. Don't listen to Sander when he asks you to 'pop' the Nos" he said before standing up and leaving my room.
I got up and put my track uniform. I packed my duffle bag with an extra pair of clothes to change into, my homework and a towel. Last time I forgot it, I was forced to drive home drenched in sweat and dirt. I grabbed my keys and walked downstairs. The air was humid outside. A good night for a race was all I could think about. Well that and Evie Holloway.
(Flashback to 5 years ago)
I snuck away from the school dance and noticed there was a girl sitting on the bench near the basketball court. I couldn't make out a face because it was dark but I could see her hair done up in a bun with brown locks cascading down the sides. I decided to go sit with her.
"Is this seat taken?" I asked.
"No" she said as she pointed out that no one was around.
"Do you mind if I sit with you then?"
"Hmmm.. I don't see why not" she said as she patted the seat next to her.
"It's Evie right?" I asked.
"Yeah. I'd be offended if you didn't know that. We'd only been classmates since the third grade" she said defensively.
"Ahh I just wanted to be sure. Would be rude of me if I kept calling you by another girl's name all night" I raised my hand in defense. "So what brings you out here?" I continued.
"It's too loud in there. I didn't even want to come to this stupid dance" she half yelled out into the distance.
I couldn't help but laugh at her sudden outburst. Her face turned plum red as she turned to look at me. She squinted her eyes and her lips formed into a tight line.
"Do you think this is funny?" she asked reluctantly, " because this isn't funny at all. I am stuck here outside until 8pm."
I stopped laughing when I realized she looked like she wanted to murder me. Silence then filled the space I created between us. I took off my black blazer my mom bought for me to wear and offered it to her as she shivered from the night air that was entrapping us. Her face softened as she hesitated before she reached out to grab it and swung it across her shoulders. I gave her a smile and scooted closer to her.
"So are you going to tell me what you're doing out here?" She said to break the silence.
"I had to get away from that place. Truth be told I can't dance and a lot of the girls didn't seem to understand that. They kept pulling me to the dance floor" I responded.
"Well I mean you are one of the popular boys in our school. What'd you expect ?" She asked.
"Well for one, some space?" I retorted back. She looked me up and down before saying," gee for a middle school dance, you dressed up pretty fancy."
"My mom insisted i'd look my best for my last middle school dance so she went out and bought this" I exclaimed while I motioned to my dress shirt and slacks. Evie considered this funny that my mother still bought my clothes at thirteen years old whilst adding how much of a mama's boy I was. Her laughing grew contagious as we exchanged stories of our middle school experience.
We agreed that Mr. Leonard wore too thin of shirts for the amount of sweating he did and Mrs. Gonzales wore too much blue eye shadow for a math teacher. Evie gestured for me to stop talking as she came down from her fit of laughter. As I began to say another word, she threw her hand over my mouth to stop me. I licked her palm and she immediately removed her hand.
"Eww you're so gross" she said while chuckling and wiping her hand on my coat.
"You shouldn't cover someone's mouth without considering the consequences" I lifted an eyebrow and smirked back at her.
She stared at the ground with a smile playing on her lips. The incredulous site was what pushed me to do what I did next. I grabbed Evie's hand in mine and intertwined our fingers. The feeling of warmth in her skin made my heart race a thousand miles. I lifted her chin with my other hand and planted a kiss on her lips. She looked up at me before removing my blazer around her shoulders.
"I have to go" she said before racing off into the school's cafeteria.
(END OF FLASHBACK)
Evie was my first kiss and i'm pretty sure I was hers too. Given it was a stolen kiss and her running away from me, the memory of that night always replays in my head. I shook away the thought and continued on my way to Sander's house which was only 5 minutes away. Since he crashed his car, we'd been carpooling to our meets together. The guy was practically my brother and the only person to know about Evie. He is also the the person who keeps trying to convince me to let her go and soak up the attention I get from girls that go to our school. Since his girlfriend broke up with him sophomore year, he's been on a bend of never having more than one date with a girl.
"Yo man. I was thinking you'd forgotten about me for a minute buddy" Sander said as he threw his duffle into the bed of my truck.
"Bro, I'd never forget about you. And if I do, you can easily run to our meet" I smirk back.
"Now you know the speed I have is compared to a turtle these days" he said. I nodded in agreement and played the song we listen to before every meet to amp us up. "Go For Broke" by Machine Gun Kelly played throughout the whole car ride. When we arrived, i'm greeted by none other than Grant Kravoski from Sutherland High. The guy hated my guts. Personally I had nothing against him other than the fact that he wanted to deface me as the Kansas State poster boy for track. We had been competing with each other since freshman year and he had it out to beat me every chance he got.
"Nice ride Alexander. Was the slowest truck on the lot all your parents could afford?" Grant says adamantly.
"Now don't go making fun of my Betsy when the only thing fast about you IS your car" I state.
Grant growled and flipped me the finger as he continued with his crew to the meeting area. Out of the corner of my eye I see Jenny Miller running over to me in her squad uniform with the biggest grin.
"Grant just asked me out. You have to move faster David or else I won't be available for you anymore" she exclaimed.
After countless advances and multiple implications that we were never going to happen, the girl was still driven for us to date. Jenny never was good at taking rejection. Telling her no only made her come on more strongly and I found this as my opportunity to tell her to go after Grant. Mainly because Grant would be a distraction from me.
As I got to the meeting area, coach Jared called me over to tell me to put on a great performance for the scouts tonight. I reassured him that i'd race until my legs gave out. Working a part time job at our local ice cream parlor wouldn't cut it if I wanted to attend Penn State in the Fall.
"Don't worry coach, i'm bringing everything I have to the table." I assured him
"You better David. Talking you up can only do so much but if anyone deserves this recruitment, it's you my boy. You worked so hard all season" he said as he patted my back. I laced up my shoes and headed back to the bench area to waiting for the announcer to call my event. I'm running the 400 meter-dash, it's nothing that I haven't done before so my nerves weren't so bad. I scanned my surroundings for my parents when suddenly I locked eyes with her in the stands. I felt my legs suddenly become weak. Thank goodness i'm sitting or i'm pretty sure I might have fell over. Evie was illuminating the stands. She was wearing a grey tank top and some dark denim jeans. I guess she caught me staring at her because she quickly looked away and suddenly I was back to that feeling I had in 8th grade. The unexplained feeling I couldn't recognize until now. I was in love with her after all this time.
I hear the announcer call for my event and I head over to the track. Mom and dad are yelling their heads off in the stands. I see Sander shoot me a thumbs up and I shoot him one back. I drop my head saying a silent prayer to myself as I hear Grant taunting me, "you'll never be better than me David. You should just give up now." I ignore his distractions and get in position to race.
"GO!" the announcer yells and I take off. I ran like my life depended on it, it somehow did if I wanted to go to Penn State but mostly because I wanted to put Grant in his place. I ended up setting a state record of 40 seconds. The fastest time recorded at Kent High School. Coach Jared jumped with excitement as he heard the results of the race. Many of the scouts were jaw dropped with the announcement. My teammates came up to congratulate me while my parents were screaming my name in the stands to the crowd. Grant scowled at me as he passed by and pushed my shoulder as he made his way off the track. I was more than pleased with myself, that'll shut him up for our next meet. Ava Bentley smacked my arm as she approached me.
"Good job out there Davy wavy, you ran so fast that I didn't even have a chance to photograph you for the school paper. Do you see that blur on my camera?" she said as she showed me the picture on her Nikon camera.
"Sorry Ava, next time i'll slow down just to smile for you" I say as I throw my arm around her.
Ava and I dated freshman year but we broke up after we decided we're better as friends. Since then, she's been my personal paparazzi for every meet I compete in and my best friend. Some of my best pictures for social media were solely because of her talent in photography.
"Okay superstar but just because I didn't get my picture for the paper, I need you to pose with your medal under that streetlight over there to turn in for my editor tomorrow" she exclaimed while pointing to the light near the gym.
"Race you there!" I replied and took off running.
Through her grunts and complaining" you're.....soo...dead...David....Alex.." barely able to finish my last name, she fell over and laid down on the grass.
"Too fast for you Avs or are you not doing enough cardio at the gym these days?" I asked as I rolled over laughing next to her on the grass. She reached over and punched my arm.
I stood under the streetlight as instructed and posed by biting the medal and throwing my hands up to the sides. Ava re-positioned me to look more appropriate since my picture would be plastered all over the school newspaper. "All done," Ava says satisfied whilst looking through her camera at the photos. I rush over to see the finish product and invite her to get some dinner after i'm done showering in the locking room. She nods and I start to jog over to grab my stuff. As i'm about to head to the locker room, my dad and coach Jared stop me in my tracks along with a scout who was with them.
"Son i'd like you to meet Mr. Allen Dalberstein from LSU. He's interested in recruiting you for their summer program." Coach said.
"Hello David. I saw your performance and by golly son, you ran with such grace, I about almost tossed you the papers to sign for recruitment!" He chuckles.
"It was nothing sir. I've been working really hard to make my last season my best and i'm grateful even to be recognized by a university such as LSU" I reply.
"Yeah, David has been training hard all season and off season. Running day and night with no breaks in between. Just about as proud of him as anyone is right now" coach cut in with gleam.
"David has been driven to get to where he is. I hope LSU will consider an offer for him." Dad says proudly.
"Well, I will have to talk to the dean to sign off on my request but i'm pretty sure David will impress the athletic board and school board with his performance in both academics and athletics. You just keep up the great work Mr. Alexander. I expect great things from you!" he said and gives me an approving nod. "Here's my number. Be sure to send me your number and we'll be in touch, son." I nod in agreement before he turned to walk away.
"Dad, did you see Penn State? Was a scout from Penn here?" I ask.
"No Dave but i'm sure we'll get a call from them once I send this tape off to their coach." He states.
"David if you bring that kind of performance all season long, all the top universities will be handing you scholarships on a silver platter just you wait" Coach Jared assures me. I nod and wave them off as I head to finally take my shower.
All my teammates seemed to be done since it was just me in the locker room. The conversation with the scout must've taken longer than I thought. As I grab my soap and towel, I hear a slam of the door. It could just be Sander coming in to rush me out so we could leave. Not giving it a second thought, I headed into the shower. I reach to wash my hair when a pair of hands wrap around my waist. Quickly I turned around to knock out whoever was trying to grope me in the boy's locker room when I realized it was Jenny. Naked.
"Hey baby, I wanted to surprise you with what you're missing out on," she says through gritted teeth while twirling around.
"Jenny, what are you doing?" I asked.
"I'm here to please you baby" she says confidently.
I reach to grab my towel and cover up when she catches my hand and blocks it. She grabs the towel and throws it to the other side of the locker room. Having no other choice, I cover myself with my hand before looking over her body. I had to admit the rumors about Jenny were definitely true. The big bust and her toned core. The way the water was running down her body was mouth watering and I-. No David, compose yourself. Don't take advantage of this. Make a run for it now! Still, I was dead in my tracks. I couldn't compose my brain to make a thought than to reach over and make Jenny bend over in the shower. It was hard to contain the raging hormones.
"I can tell you like what you see" Jenny says as she roams her eyes over my body, particularly looking at the pole that has risen. I quickly realized my hands were no longer covering up but to my sides as I gathered my thoughts. This isn't right, you don't love her I kept repeating to myself.
You see I made it a point to not have casual sex. My mom had made a slideshow when I turned 13 to show me the effects of having unprotected sex or even just having sex at all. To think I would live my life as a sex fiend with all the risks, I skipped banging every chick in site and settled in waiting for the right one. Though there were talks of me and the conquests i've collected, I restrained myself from engaging in it and since then remained the only virgin out of the guys on the track team. No one knew of course except Sander who always gave me shit about being a girl for my purity. He'll be the last one laughing though if he gets a girl pregnant or ends up with a swollen penis with sores.
As quickly as I could, I covered up again and made a run for the towel lying near the locker closest to the shower room. I wrapped it around my waist, grabbed my duffle and sprinted out of there. Pretty sure I left an imprint of my body in front of Jenny but seeing her mouth gape open in shock, at least it was there to keep her company for now. Heaving as I made my way towards my truck, I saw Ava and Sander just laughing their asses off. I realized I was in my towel in the parking lot while families were loading into their cars. I grabbed my track pants as fast as I could and pulled them on. I removed the towel from my waist and turned around to put on my black Ramones t-shirt when I saw Evie standing by a Green Land Rover gawking at me. I wink at her before deciding to work up enough courage and make my way to her.
"I'll be back you guys" I yell to the two who are still laughing at me.
"You go ahead just make sure you remember to wear pants David!" I hear Ava yell back.
I shake my head and take in the sight i'm staring at right now. It took everything in me not to steal another kiss. Everytime I saw her, she looked so perfect. I have seen her on her sick days, her best days and some of the funkiest hair days. And yet nothing ever stopped me from staring at her and not seeing a damn flaw. This girl has me whipped and she didn't even know it.
"Did you like the show?" I ask throwing her my infamous two eye wink. I see her blush and giggle.
"A little too much nudity for a family event in my taste" she teases me,"I definitely thought there'd be more muscle though."
"Ouch, is it enough though to convince you to go to dinner with me?" I say as I playfully grab the left side of my chest. She stays quiet for a minute and I can't help but sweat just a little. After all, being rejected for 3 years and 45 days really did hurt a man's ego. All my advances from flowers and chocolate to serenading her with an old school boom box and a pizza didn't seem to impress her. Her favorite answer was always "maybe next time" but that never stopped me from trying.
"Okay" she replied.
" And I know you always says next time but it's always next time and I leave soon. Next time could soon mean never and- WAIT! did you just agree to go with me to dinner?" I mumble surprised.
"Well, I see you are going with your friends and we won't be alone so why not?" She says back.
"Uhh... it would be nice not to be stuck with the them. They gang up on me all the time anyways. Well, we're going to Double D's Diner to get some burgers and my work for ice cream. I guess we'll meet you there or do you want to ride with us? I can drop you back later to get your car." I state.
"Alright, let me just grab my purse and lock my car. I'll walk over" she says back, "and David, you should really put on some shoes". I look down and realize I was barefooted through this whole ordeal. Great impression David, just great. I sheepishly drop my head and walk back over to my truck. I put on my shoes and struck a deal with Sander to sit in the back telling him he could control the music tonight. Ava on the other hand was won over not to embarrass me if she got free ice cream for a month which I didn't mind because hell, she gets ice cream for free anyways. Her dad did own the shop and I was instructed to never charge her even if she insisted on paying. Little did she know her taken money was always put aside for her father to give her as allowance.
Evie arrives and soon sees that she's riding shotgun. She climbs in and immediately "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5 fills the silence in the truck. I shoot a glare to Sander and he gives me a devilish smirk. After the two greet Evie and we settle on changing the song, we start having a heated discussion about whether or not J. Cole is the best rap artist right now or Kendrick Lamar. Mostly a heated discussion between Sander and I.
"Love Yourz and No Role Modelz is easily the best two songs written." I argued back.
"I don't care! J.Cole is always crying in his raps and Kendrick doesn't cry about his life like a pussy. So guess what David? BITCH SIT DOWN!" he yelled back. At this point Ava is rolling around the backseat in tears from laughing and Evie is staring back and forth between Sander and I shaking her head.
"Sure Kendrick bumps for parties but he did write L.O.V.E and J. Cole may be a sad sap but he writes about real world problems. So both of you are wrong. They are both great artists now can we just get out and eat!" Ava says while whining and gripping her stomach. I chuckle at her little outburst and nod my head as I turn off the ignition. I run down to open Evie's door for her. She gives me a small smile before grabbing her purse and getting out.
"Hello, how about me?" Ava grunts.
"Don't you know how to open your own door?" I ask playfully. I run back to open her door and she slaps the back of my head. So much for being a gentleman huh? We head into the Diner and i'm hit with the aroma of food. I lead the group to a booth in the corner of the diner and take the seat across Evie. After about 5 minutes of going over the menu, a waitress in a blue apron and pink uniform with sandy blonde hair comes to take our order. Her brimmed round glasses took up most of her face and you can clearly see her struggling to hold her notepad. Her nametag had "Gemma" written on it.
"Hello kiddos, can I start you off with some drinks?" she asks.
"I'll have a water with lemon." Ava says.
"I'll take a Sprite!" Sander answers next.
"Just a water" Evie said.
"I'll have a malted chocolate milkshake and two glasses of water" I respond last.
"Okay. And will you be ordering now or do you guys need some more time?" she asks. Everyone nods and asks for another 5 minutes to decide.
" So Evie, I noticed you don't really come to any track events. What made you come tonight?" Ava asked.
"I have a cousin who runs track for Sutherland, Grant Kravoski," she replies back.
"WHAT? GRANT KRAVOSKI? YOU'RE RELATED TO THAT PRICK?" Sander says in shock.
"Well he's my mom's brother's son and we grew up together. Grant is a really nice guy, he just presents himself in a way to intimidate people. I guess I don't attend a lot of the meets because my schedule with after school tutoring prevents me to but tonight I had a free schedule and Grant called to see if I was interested in watching his meet. We were supposed to go to dinner but he had a date with Jenny Miller. "
"Oh, I see. He's still a prick!" Sander declares. Evie looked away and tilted her head down. Evie, this sweet girl is related to the one guy in the world who wants to destroy me. Great, just freaking great.
"Are you ready to order?" Gemma asks after setting our drinks in front of us and pulling out her notepad.
"Yes!" we all say in unison.
"I'll have the double cheeseburger with criss cross fries" I reply.
"Same" Evie says.
"I'll have the mushroom burger with tomatoes and onions. A side of onion rings and the 4 piece chicken tends with honey mustard" Sander says next.
"Are you eating for two and what is chicken tends Sander?" Ava asks.
"Chicken tends are chicken tenders my dear. And in factually, I am eating for seven" Sander replies back as he pulls up his shirt to show her his 6 pack while pointing at himself.
"You are full of yourself Sander Diaz!"
"Well you should order or you could keep staring at me all night Avs" Sander says as he winks back at her.
"Ugh. Sorry Ms. Gemma, I'll have a side salad and a bowl of clam chowder. Crackers on the side. Thank you" Ava said while she glared at Sander.
Gemma chuckles as she walks away from us. When our food arrived, we carried on conversation about school and my two best friends bantering on about Ava being into Sander after all. Ava occasionally smacking Sander on his head and Sander tossing onion rings into Ava's clam chowder. Evie remained quiet most of the time and I, well I was plotting how to get the two off my back so I can have some alone time to talk to Evie.
We all walked back to my car after Sander and I paid the bill. Evie insisted on giving her money to me but I refused. I had to put her money back in the front pocket of her purse and sprinted away before she found some other way to give me back the money. Sander on the other hand, accepted the money and told her it was going to a great cause, his weed and alcohol foundation. Ava was accustomed to us treating her out. It was the most we can do since she did put in a word for Sander and I to work at the ice cream parlor with her dad after Sander's little stunt at our last job. What idiot leaves a fryer on and sets a stove on fire? It turns out it doesn't look so good on job resumès when you put "I was high and nearly set the local McDonald's on fire". I wasn't involved but because I was on shift and Sander was my friend, our manager felt I was guilty by association, sending me off on my way to find another way to pay for college.
I managed to get Ava to drop Sander home and skip the ice cream shop claiming I was too tired to go. We pulled into the parking lot at the track and I parked next to Ava's 7 Series Maroon BMW. It was a gift from her dad for her 18th birthday. Whenever Sander got the chance to ride in with her, he always fought her for the keys to drive.
" AVA PLEEEASSEEE. WE GRADUATE SOON AND I'LL NEVER GET ANOTHER CHANCE TO DRIVE THE BEAUTY. PLEASE JUST THIS ONCE?" Sander pleaded.
"Sander I swear if my father catches you driving, there won't be a beauty to drive anymore. He knows how reckless you can be!" Ava argued back.
"So you wreck two cars and all of a sudden you're a bad driver" Sander claimed.
"YES!" Ava stated.
"Okay you lovebirds. You guys get home safe. Play nice kids" I say to them jokingly which earned me two glares and the finger from Ava. They get into the car with Sander defeated and stuck in the passenger side. They drove out of the parking lot leaving just Evie and I there.
"You're friends are great. I see why you don't get lost in the popularity, they must've kept you grounded" Evie remarks as I climb back into the truck.
"Well Sander has been my friend since I could remember. He always reminds me of where i'm going not who i'm going to leave highschool as. Ava always reminds me of what a moron I am sometimes and gives me multiple speeches on being a proper gentleman and not being a douchebag like the rest. They're great company or may I say, the most motivating bullies" I proclaim. This sends Evie into a laughing frenzy and i'm satisfied with myself. I'd do anything to keep that smile on her face.
"Hey I know I said i'll drop you back to your car but can we go to one more place before we officially have to part ways?" I ask. She hesitates for a moment before nodding her head in agreement. She connects to the bluetooth system and an unfamiliar song begins to play.
"And all of the people and I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you and me" she belts out the lyrics like she's been rehearsing the song for awhile. I glance at her in the passenger seat in the moonlight and my heart begins to flutter. If I could pause this moment and keep replaying it, I would.