I scroll through Instagram until I see a post from Dani’s brother, Dean. He goes to the same school as Ares and plays on his soccer team. He posted a picture of the guys at practice on a public field near my neighborhood. It’s a chance to see Ares from a distance.
After settling the bill, I lean against the wall in front of the bathroom to wait for Dani, running my fingers through my long, light brown hair to check for tangles. I shuffle my feet impatiently until my best friend deigns to come out.
Dani raises an eyebrow. “You already paid? I thought we would have dinner here.”
“Soccer practice.”
“You’re going to abandon me here to go see a bunch of beautiful, attractive, possibly shirtless guys?” she jokes.
“Do you want to go?”
“No, stalking guys from a distance isn’t my thing. I’m more into action and you know it.” She winks.
“Stop rubbing your experience in my face.” I pretend to sound hurt.
“Stop being a virgin.” She sticks her tongue out at me.
“Maybe I’m not anymore.” I also stick out my tongue.
“Yeah, sure, stop saving your virginity for that crush of yours.”
“Dani! I’m not saving anything for him.”
She averts her gaze. “Of course, of course, go away. God forbid you miss the chance to see him shirtless because of me.”
“He never takes his shirt off,” I mutter.
Dani laughs. “He’s making you go crazy, naughty girl.”
“Dani!”
“I’ll shut up. Go, I have things to do anyway, don’t worry.”
With my cheeks on fire, I leave the café, and head toward the field.
Once I arrive, I buy a pineapple milk shake—my favorite—and slip on my dark glasses. I flip the top of my hoodie over my head to cover my hair and sit in the stands out front to enjoy the view. Other than me, there are four girls sitting there—they are probably the players’ girlfriends or just their friends. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen one of them kissing one of the guys before. It’s so hot, I’m roasting inside this hoodie. It was a poor choice of camouflage on my part.
The boys are spread out across the field doing routine stretches. Although this is the soccer team from an elite private school, they have to practice here during the summer while some kind of yearly maintenance is performed on their own field, or at least that’s what Dean told Dani. Ares jogs around the field, wearing black shorts and a green T-shirt with the number five on his back. His black hair flips in the wind as he jogs. I watch him like a fool and forget all about our interaction last night.
He’s so handsome!
Clouds swallow the bright sun as practice ends, thunder rumbles, and, without warning, it begins to rain. Cold raindrops fall on me and I curse to myself, pulling the top of my hood tighter over my head. I run down the stands and quickly pass the parking lot. The guys are about to leave, and therefore the risk of Ares seeing me is high. In my rush to get out of there I crash right into someone.
“Ow!” I touch my nose, looking up.
It’s one of the guys on the team, a tall, dark-haired, tanned guy who looks like he’s straight out of a TV series. “Are you okay?”
I push past him, trying to get away as quickly as possible. And then it happens, I hear the voice of my enduring, frustrated love.
“What are you doing standing here in the rain?” Ares asks the boy behind me.
“I bumped into a weird girl. She was wearing sunglasses and a hoodie in this heat.”
“You’re the weird one,” I murmur and try to hear Ares’s reply through the rain, but I’ve already walked too far away. That was close.
I urge my legs to move faster, sighing in relief when I see the exit. I turn right to continue home. The rain is heavy, but I don’t see a place where I can take cover, not even a bus stop. I hear voices and instinctively duck into an alley. With my back against the wall, I dare to peek down the street. Ares is standing there, chatting with some guys from the team. They all have umbrellas, of course.
I should have checked the weather forecast!
“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” the tanned guy I crashed into earlier asks insistently.
“No, I have things to do at home,” Ares says.
His friends walk away, and Ares just stands there in the rain, as if waiting for something. I narrow my eyes. What is he waiting for? Ares starts to move and, to my surprise, he doesn’t go in the direction of his house but instead turns the opposite way. Did he lie to his friends? My curiosity encourages me to make a bad decision.