be present no matter what my brain said about keeping my distance.
He glanced at me nervously. “I don’t want to bore you.”
“You won’t,” I replied, giving him a reassuring grin. “Do you like it more than football?”
His honey-colored eyes crinkled a little when he smiled. Those perfect lips of his began moving, and I remembered to listen instead of just wonder what they would feel like on mine. “I’ve always liked football more, but I guess I always thought Ben was better. I mean, he is better. He was born to play. I usually have to work harder just to do half of what he can do.”
“That’s not true,” I said, swishing my drink a little to cool it. “I’ve seen you on the field during practices and games. You’re just as good. You just don’t believe in yourself sometimes. That’s all.”
He gave me a soft smile. “Thanks. I guess you’re right.”
I grinned and winked at him playfully. “I know I’m right.”
He laughed and went on, holding my gaze a little longer than usual. “I don’t know. I still love football and always will, but I’m liking basketball a lot more these days. Something about the pace of it. It’s always been good conditioning in between football seasons, but Coach thinks I’m really good. So I don’t know. Maybe basketball could be my thing.”
I met his eyes, thinking of how fast he ran down the court and effortlessly jumped to sink the ball into the net. “Maybe you’re right. There’s just something about you when you’re on the basketball court versus the football field. You’re not in Ben’s shadow anymore. You’re just you.”
He glanced away.
I felt my face go hot. Had I said too much? Morphed into a weirdo?
Aaron met my gaze again, serious. “I knew there was a reason I liked being around you.”
He paused and went on.
“It’s like when I’m alone, there’s always this voice, telling me why I’m not good enough, telling me that I’ll never be good enough compared to what my brothers can do. But you remind me that I am,” he finished, his voice low.
Butterflies fluttered around my chest and down to my stomach. I blinked and tried to recover from how he’d just made me feel. Like there was this intense connection between us. And there was. “Just telling it how I see it, Garcia,” I managed, wishing I could just wrap my arms around him and stay there forever.
I glanced at the time on the dash.
Uh oh. We had to get going before Dad got home from work, realized I wasn’t there, and sent the National Guard looking for me.
Plus he technically didn’t know about me giving Aaron rides home. Or Mom.
Mom might have noticed and been cool with it. Unless, she saw something really concerning, she trusted me. She wasn’t nearly as strict as Dad, but Dad would’ve made this mean all kinds of stuff. I would be in all kinds of trouble.
Never mind that I’d be 18 and a senior next year.
In college the year after that.
I was growing up, but not in his eyes.
As I turned the ignition and got us going, I couldn’t help but steal one more glance at Aaron.
I noticed the strong jawline and stubble starting to grow out under it.
We were all growing up.
And as much as I wanted to keep the line between friendship and more than that super clear between us, a bigger part of me just wanted him in my life.
Wanted these moments.
Wanted him as more than a friend.
Was that so bad?
9
The crowd in the stands stood up and cheered.
This had been the craziest basketball game of the season so far, and that was saying something.
I thought the ceiling might blow off the gym. That’s how loud everyone kept screaming and stomping.
Scarlett used her pom-poms to cover her ears. “Oh my gosh!” she mouthed to me.
“I know!” I mouthed back, smiling. It was awesome.
Even through the incredible amount of screams in the gym, we made sure our cheers and stomps were heard.
The whole cheer squad was probably going to wake up with sore throats tomorrow, but it would be worth it.
At the end of our next cheer—and the boys’ next play, I checked the scoreboard. Our boys’ varsity basketball team was leading by just two points, thanks to the basket that Aaron had just made from the three-point line.
David sat with his crutches on the bench, raising his fist in approval. “Yes! Yeah! That’s my best friend right there!”
I’d never seen him