SETH
The look on Emily's face was priceless. She looked ready to bolt, but I knew she wouldn't do that, I was still carrying some of her books.
"You are very very naughty." She said, partly laughing and blushing.
"You don't know the half of it," I told her.
She smiled at my teasing. Her dark coffee eyes crinkling in the corners. Her brown curled hair touched her waist. She was wearing a bright orange baggy sweater over a matching dark brown skirt that came a little above her knees, and boots.
She looked extremely classy, and hot. Always fucking hot.
"What class do you have right now?" I asked, trying to act casual as fuck but in reality, I was having this weird fluttering in my stomach.
"I have Chemistry." She answered.
"Why do you need to take that class?"
"Excuse me?" She asked.
I pointed between her and me, "You don't think we have good chemistry?"
She rolled her eyes again, and giggled, "Seth Monroe! how much flirting am I going to be subjected to?"
"As much as you would allow me."
"Look, I get it. I won't rat you out to my dad or your mother, okay?"
I was relieved. "Thank you, Emily-Mae."
"But that does not mean you can stop making those cute fruit carvings that you did in the mornings."
"You like them, huh?"
"Are you kidding me? Do you even have to ask me that? It's amazing!"
"Deal. I'll make them every single day just for you."
"Also, thanks for the lunch."
I laughed, "it's my job, Emily."
Her face fell and then she quickly covered it with a smile, "I know, still, thank you."
When we reached her class, I handed her the books. She stood at the door looking at me, and I was staring back at her, neither of us making a move to go in first, "So...I'll see you later then?"
She flashed me the biggest, warmest, cutest smile.
* * *
During lunch, I spotted her in the far corner of the lunch area. The brown bag that I packed for her was sprawled on the table as she took bites from her salami sandwich while being a keyboard ninja, typing furiously.
I went to sit with her. She looked up, surprised someone was sitting at her table. She quickly looked at the jock's table and then back at me, "what are you doing here?"
"Doing what everyone else is." I said, "eating my lunch."
"Yeah. I can see that." She said, "I mean, why are you at my table specifically?"
"I need a reason to be at your table now?"
"No. You can sit wherever you want to." She said, eyeing my tray that was overflowing with three slices of pizza, mashed potato, spicy French fries, three roasted leg pieces of chicken, some macaroni, carrot sticks, and flavored yogurt. The lunch I had packed in the morning was consumed after Ice-Hockey practice.
"You're going to eat all that alone?" She asked.
"Usually I do but glad you asked, Emily Mae, I planned to share it with you."
She shook her head, "I'll stick with the lunch you made for me."
I picked up a slice of pizza and placed it on her side, along with some fries and a chicken piece. "We are sharing."
She didn't protest so I guess she really wanted some of my lunch but was reluctant to ask.
"Do you have a black hole in your stomach? Sort of like the Bermuda Triangle of a human body? The food seems to just disappear somewhere."
I cackled so hard, some heads turned to look at us.
She dipped two fries into the ranch sauce and popped them into her mouth. Chewing slowly, giving me that adorable judging look.
"I'm a growing boy. I need some grease inside my body. Grease is healthy, you know."
"You're going to be a bad influence on me." She told me, playfully.
Baby, you have no idea.
"If I put on more weight, I'm holding you responsible."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Listen, Seth about yesterday—" she started saying.
I cut her off mid-sentence, "Can we both pretend you didn't see what you saw?"
"Works for me." She said quickly, "it's just that, I wanted you to know it's completely alright. I won't talk about it to anybody, and you don't need to sit here or follow me around to make sure I won't open my mouth. I have given you my word. I don't make a habit of breaking promises."
She assumed I was sitting at lunch with her because I was scared she would get me fired.
"Emily, I'm sitting with you because I want to, and not for any other reason." I clarified, "if you tell your dad about me, that's your call. I won't stop you."
She looked at me suspiciously like she didn't believe me, and why would she? A week before this, we hadn't even talked, now she was sitting here with one of the most popular boys in school.
"What you were doing...ahem..." she blushed profusely before lowering her voice and saying, "masturbation...it isn't a crime. It would be stupid to talk to my father about something like that, not to mention mortifying. So, let's just forget it."
"I agree with you, wholeheartedly." I smiled, "also, Emily, can I get your number?"
I was trying to sound confident, but this act of bravado was a ruse to conceal my nerves.
She took a bite of her pizza and chewed slowly, staring into my soul. "Didn't you say you had a crush on some girl? Do you think it's right to flirt with me while trying to date someone else?"
"I wanted your number so that we could discuss your lunch and dinner menus everyday, and also because I'll have to do grocery shopping tonight and it would be convenient to call or text you." I gave her a sly smile, "you thought I asked your number for sexting, didn't you?"
She turned red as a tomato, "I thought no such thing. Okay, here's my number." She recited her digits as she pulled out her phone, "and you can give me yours as well."
"I'll be getting off early from practice so I can do some shopping before I can head over home, I have the duplicate key of the house you gave me. Is there anything else you need?"
"When you get home, can you change Chanel's water and feed her? She's always hungry."
"Chanel? You want me to feed your handbag?" I asked scratching my head.
Maybe it was something rich girls did, I wouldn't know.
She laughed, waving her long manicured nails at me, "My cat, silly. Didn't you meet her yet?"
I shook my head slowly.
Emily's house was big, three-story high, maybe the cat was in her room most days so I hadn't noticed the furry animal before.
Chanel was a suitable name for Emily's cat.
What had I expected her cat's name to be? Walmart?
"I'll feed her." I assured her as I ate the remainder of the pizza and then lowering my voice, I whispered in my sultry voice, "I'm making tuna melts this evening for dinner. It will be the best tuna melts you have eaten in your entire life."
One would think I had suggested something dirty.
"Looking forward to it." She whispered back.
* * *
We had a good practice game today. I scored most of the points obviously, being the power forward had its benefits.
I was also being scouted by college coaches who were offering me amazing scholarship programs. For a rookie player, I was pretty fucking amazing and they had seen the proof of my badassery when I was on the ice, the way I tackled my opponents, or the smooth way I pushed the puck into the net even with the most powerful opponents against me. They knew that whichever school I went to would go to the nationals and so the scouts buzzed around me.
I had a lot of options opening up, and it was nice to know that I wasn't a complete screw up for a change.
I should already be in college right now, I was eighteen, a year older than most boys in my team and that's only because when my parents got divorced, I had to change schools, and was held back a year.
I showered, got changed, and made my way out of the school grounds. I had made a list of stuff that I was going to get to stock in Emily's fridge which was huge. God's honest truth, I don't think a seventeen-year-old girl needed a fridge that big. When I had checked it the first day I joined, I found leftover food that was kept in Tupperware containers that she'd been reheating for meals, along with frozen pizzas.
The girl couldn't cook to save her life.
I'd taken upon myself to become her personal Superman.
And as long as I was going to live with her, I would make sure she ate healthily.
My phone pinged indicating that I had a message.
Mom: Are you taking good care of my girl?
I laughed at her text.
Me: She’s in good hands ✊🏼
Mom: If you hit on her, I will get off this hospital bed and hit you! 👋🏼
Me: Emily and I are going to be good friends 😌 don’t worry about her.
Mom: Good. Be her best-friend, she’s short on those.
Me: Okay, gtg shopping. Talk to you later. Love ya ❤️
Mom: 😘
* * *
I was in the middle of shopping for the groceries, the trolley was half-full and I was grabbing for a carton of milk when my phone started ringing Sexy Back by Justin Timberlake.
One of my stupid teammates had
forced me to put the ringtone when I had lost some bet, and then I had forgotten to change it.
It started singing exactly at the part
Dirty babe....
You see these shackles baby I’m your slaaavveee...
There was an old lady next to me who covered her grandson’s ears.
I dug through my pocket and found my phone.
The name Staysha flashed on it.