My Best Friends Guy - (18+)

Chapter 3: Football Try-Outs

I took the first bite of my sandwich, and let out a relieved moan as my mouth relished the taste. My stomach had been pretesting for lunch over the last few hours, yet I had not caved early and picked at my food in my bag. I sat on the bleachers overlooking the football field at the back of the school, relaxing in the sun while my eyes danced over the guys on the pitch, slowly stretching out each limb, flexing each tough muscle, warming up and getting flexible for the chance to impress our school coach. It made me chuckle to see the odd huddle of girls dotted around watching them too! Our own private show of hunky dudes getting dirty and sweaty! 

'Yum!'

I had promised Cade I would come out and watch him try-out for our team, the Oakdale Tigers, and I was a woman of my word. Cade looked so, f*****g, HOT in his jersey, and I was trying to hard not to dribble into my lap! I had spent most of the past week trying to be a good friend, and lending him my notes from my schoolwork for him to use on his own, and although I knew he was off-limits, we still seemed to be sharing long heated stares and finger-brushing whenever we were handing over papers. Maybe it was just me? I mean, he did seem to be really into Brianna; he would talk about her constantly!

"Hey, b***h! What are you doing here?" Brianna's voice came bouncing through the air as my peace was finally crushed.

"What does it look like? I'm watching the muscles!" I knew she was here to support Cade too, as well as to tease Brent, who, unfortunately, was also on the pitch. She sat down next to me and shuffled in close, almost knocking my lunch from my hand as she bumped my elbow.

"Oof, Cade looks cute, doesn't he?"

'Yes!'

"Oh, is he here? I hadn't noticed!"

'Liar.'

"What are you on about? He's right there!" Her long slender arm pointed him out to me, but there really was no need. My eyes hadn't left him since he appeared on the grass.

"Oh yeah! I didn't realise he was trying out today! He hasn't even been here a week. I thought he would at least settle in first!" Why I can't just come out and tell my friend that I fancy the pants of her man, I don't know! I guess when we were young, I might have mentioned it. But, as we've grown up, and she's found different friends, I guess I felt we weren't as close as before.

"I think he was just eager to get his spot. He hasn't got long to earn that scholarship for College!"

"I guess. Anyway, you haven't mentioned where you’re looking at going? Are you still hoping to go to Florida?" Brianna had always hoped to study Interior Design, and I'll admit, she had a talent for it! Her bedroom was something I would envy, but it helped that she had both the space, and the purse to be able to have such a lavish room. And, of course, the reason she wanted to go to Florida, was for the sunshine! So, it was a win-win. We had once dreamed of going to the same college as each other, and I was considering Florida as well, but I just wasn't as bothered as her where I ended up. 

"Yeah, I think so! A few of the other girls are looking to go there too. Are you applying?"

"By other girls, you mean the rest of the 'plastics'?" Her eyebrows furrowed a little as she looked at me.

"You know I don't like you calling me that!" 

"Ohh, sorry Bri! I didn't mean to upset you." I knew I could be a bit cutting with my words sometimes, and I didn't know I was hurting people’s feelings half the time. Bri knew that about me, but I always apologised.

"It's fine! I know you didn't mean it." 

I was thankful our awkward talk was interrupted by the yelling from our team's coach, and we looked back to the green grass in front of us. The swarm of bodies divided into two sides, as the guys filed into their positions. Cade was stood just behind the defensive line on the left, and Brianna quickly took my hand as the anticipation took hold of us. 

"He's going to nail this! COME ON CADE!" Brianna waved at him, but I grabbed her hand and pulled it into her lap.

"Don't distract him, Bri!"

The whistle blew, and we watched the ball dance around between players. One guy protected Cade's left side as he took the ball, and attempted to close the gap between him and the other teams end zone. We cheered from the stands as he got so close in such a short amount of time, but was intercepted and taken down by the opposing team. I have never been a fan of American football. I mean, I've come to the team’s home games before, but not for the sport! 

After the first half, Cade's side had managed to grab 17 points, which was pretty good going, and the other side had managed 7! Cade and his team had played a great defence, and it seemed the other side were struggling to get past them. The players were taking a short break when I noticed Brent and all his goons huddled in a group. They were looking back and forward towards Cade and a few of the opposing team members, and I could sense they were up to something. Brent was known to play dirty; it’s what made him a good player for our team when we were against other schools, however, the number of times he would be sent off for foul play was too high to keep track. 

"Bri, I'll be right back!" I set my bag down on the floor and ran down to the bottom of the stands. "Cade!" He saw me standing close behind him, and his smile that he gave me made my heart flutter!

"Hey! You're here! I thought I saw you up in the bleachers!" I shook my head, trying to focus my mind on the task at hand.

"Cade, Brent is up to something! He's known to play dirty, and I can see him and his goons huddled over the other side. I just wanted to warn you and the other guys!" He glanced down the field, and noticed what I was on about.

"Thank you, Claire! I'll see what we can cook up!" Again, his smile dazzled me like a deer in headlights.

"Cool!" I smiled back and turned to take my seat again next to Bri. Once I reached her, I noticed the look of confusion on her face.

"What was all that about?" I sat back down and grabbed my water bottle from my bag.

"Oh, you'll see!"

As soon as the game started up again, I could see my suspicions of Brent were right! They were playing dirty! Tripping, and beating the other players out the way, but Brent seemed to be aiming straight for Cade. He made a b-line for him as he ran down the pitch, and I swear it happened so quickly, I barely noticed what happened. The left-tackle took Brent to the ground in a ferocious bundle, and Cade managed to create distance quickly enough to score another touchdown before Brent had managed to scrape himself off the floor. He was pissed! He pushed the left-tackle in frustration, and it made me laugh to see the coach intervene. 

"What just happened?" Brianna seemed as baffled as I was. Obviously, Cade had mentioned something to his player, and he had managed to cover him at just the right moment. I laughed loudly as I saw Brent hobble off the pitch as the game came to an end.

 ******

"That was brilliant, baby!" Bri flung her arms around Cade's neck as she tiptoed up to capture his mouth. Cade stood there with his arms around her, his helmet clutched in his right hand, and her hair in his left.

'Man! I need to be kissed like that!'

Another ping of jealousy played within my stomach, but I couldn't understand why.

"Thanks, love!" He had managed to come up for air and had turned to me, "If it wasn't for your heads-up, I'm sure I would have been taken out for sure! And, because of that, I made the team!" Bri screamed with excitement and bounced around as I stood there with a smile on my face. 

"Your welcome. Anyway, I should be getting back! Just a few more lessons, and then it will finally be the weekend! Bri, I'll see you tomorrow?" Brianna had thankfully kept to her promise, and we were still on for our girly sleepover on Saturday night, much to my mother's disappointment.

"Yeah, totally! See you then! I'll text you between, anyway!" I nodded and waved to them both as I walked back towards the school building. 

 ******

Why did I seem to be so hung up on Cade? Maybe it wasn't Cade I wanted, but the image of him that I found so arousing. He was strong, handsome, funny and caring! Everything I wanted in a man, except I knew I didn't want a man! Well, not just yet anyway. I guess over the years, I had managed to protect my heart from being hurt by anyone, but at the same time, it had managed to stop any love from another, in. I would have my fun, sure, but I never caught feelings! For me, love didn't seem like a logical, or healthy concept. Look what happened to my mother! She loved my father so much, and he died! I saw my mother battle with the feelings she had for Rick when they first met, and she even told me that on their wedding day, she almost ran. She was terrified of being left alone and broken again. I guess a heart will struggle to heal when something like that happens. I know I don't want to be in that situation, at least, not yet! I wanted to enjoy my freedom, and with college just around the corner, it would mean that I would get to explore ALL my options!