06

Kade’s POV

Melissa and I sit on the bleachers as the cold air rushes over our faces while the guys in tight, white pants run around with the ball shaped like an eye while they followed the rules that I had no idea how to even understand them. I had my arm wrapped around Melissa’s shoulder since her hoodie was thinner than she had expected since cold was not what the weathermen had predicted for tonight.

I’m confused with myself because the first day in the parking lot I was scared for my life, but now, it’s like I’m in love with this man. I can’t understand how one person could change my mind so much to make me feel so unbelievably attracted to them.

I was literally only here for Joey because I hate sports so much. Don’t tell Joey that, but I don’t understand anything that was going on as I watched them pass the ball through their legs. I don’t understand why they kicked it through the goal thing that just looked like a pitchfork missing one tong.

« I could, literally, fall asleep right now, » I told Melissa as I put my hands in my lap and set my head on her shoulder while the crowd was cheering as one of the guys ran with the ball towards the pitchfork.

« Me too, » she whispered, setting her head on top of my head. « thankfully, it’s almost over. »

I looked at the bright clock that was painted red, the school color, with white LED numbers and letters for anyone within a three mile radius to see. « It says three minutes, that could mean ten. »

She laughed at me as she pulled her sleeves down to cover her hands that were now shaking due to the cold. « Yeah, yeah, just be patient, dumbass. »

Fifteen minutes later, we stood in front of the locker rooms, waiting for Cody and Joey to change and come out. I know that we won, but I don’t know what the score even was. Melissa was wrapped in my arms as she shivered against my chest.

« I’m never coming to another football game, » she whispered.

I chuckled, tightening my arms around her to help her get even warmer. I looked up as I heard the locker room door open and I saw our two boys walking out with duffel bags hanging from their shoulders. Joey’s hair was an absolute mess and he reeked of sweat and Axe cologne.

« Hey, » they said to us as they come closer. Cody gives me a grateful smile as I shift her into his arms where she can shiver against his chest instead of mine. As soon as she felt her boyfriend’s arms, her smile widened and she snuggled against him.

« I-I’m never coming to another football game, » she whispers to him and I watch as he rubs his arms up-and-down her back with a small smile while he looks down at her.

« That’s alright, I can deal with that, » he says with a soft smile.

Melissa cleared her throat, looking up at Joey. « Do you mind taking Kade home ? I’ll probably leave my car here until Monday so Cody can drive me home. »

Joey looked over at me before nodding his head. « Yeah, I can take him home. »

We all said bye to each other as Joey guided me to his matte black Lexus that looks like the most expensive car I have ever seen in all my life. Once he sees my shocked expression, he laughs as he wraps his arm around my shoulder. « You like it ? »

« Uh, it looks super expensive and I’m shocked that you haven’t told me about it. Don’t most guys brag about their cars ? » I ask him while he opens up the passenger side door for me to get in. The seats are a black leather that’s so comfortable that I could sleep here forever and there are buttons everywhere that make me want to push them, even though I know I shouldn’t.

Joey gets into the driver’s seat before turning to me. « I’m not like most guys. »

I nod my head as I buckle up while he starts the car and pulls out of the parking lot. I put my hands in between my thighs to warm them up and when Joey notices that, he turns on the heat to blow directly on my face. I keep my eyes on the road as he speeds towards my house that I had put into his phone so he would know where to go.

« I’m willing to act on how I’m feeling, » he tells me as he sits back in his seat while we drove on a quiet back road with not too many cars passing us. I could tell he was driving slower than he usually does to either make me feel safe or have more time with me.

« What does that mean ? » I ask him, wanting to know what that exactly entails for the both of us. I watch as he thinks for a minute or two about how to word his thought process before looking at me very briefly to look back at the road.

« It means I’m willing to try out the whole thing. I’m not ready to come out just yet, so we would have to be quiet about it if you’re alright with that. »

I nod at him, even though he can’t see me in the darkness of his car. « Yeah, I’m more than alright with that. I just want to make sure you’re comfortable in what we’re doing. »

« I am comfortable as long as we take it a bit slow and don’t do too much too fast, » he tells me and I’m kinda shocked because he seems like the kinda guy that would want to rush into things until we got to a point where we can figure things out at a later date. This way does make me the most comfortable though because I, personally, haven’t gone that far with anyone and probably won’t be ready until I have a real, strong connection with someone.

« Okay, that works for me, » I tell him with a small smile as he speeds up a bit.

« Have… have you ever dated a guy before ? » He asks me, even though I don’t think he genuinely doesn’t want to know in case I’ve done something too far with some guy that could make him jealous because I can definitely tell that he’s the jealous type.

« I’ve never dated a guy before, just made out with a few. I didn’t have too much luck at my old school with relationships just because I focused more on dancing and gymnastics, » I tell him. « what about you ? »

He shakes his head. « Obviously, I’ve never dated a guy before but back in 7th grade, I kinda experimented with one boy and ever since then, I suppressed it because I saw how he got teased when he came out. »

« You didn’t deserve that, I’m so sorry. I wish you had a better first experience than that, » I told him and he reached over with one hand to run his fingers through my hair on the back of my head. I put my head forward as he started to rub my neck while he drove with one hand on the bottom of the steering wheel.

« It’s okay, I stayed strong and didn’t push it away too much. Now, here we are, » he whispered, making my heart beat faster because it made me happy to know he wasn’t as unhappy as I thought all those years. He still kept the part of him alive deep down because he knew that someone would come along to help bring it back out.

I smiled in the darkness as he kept his hand on the back of my neck as I lifted my head. « Yeah, here we are. »

« So, tomorrow, Cody asked me if I wanted to go to the trampoline place in town with him and Melissa and I don’t really want to third wheel with them, so would you want to go with ? » He asks me as he pulls onto the road where my house is.

« Uh, sure, would you mind picking me up ? »

He shakes his head. « Yeah, I can do that. I’ll pick you up around nine with some coffee, sound alright ? »

I chuckle. « You’ve noticed my addiction to coffee ? »