Chapter 39 #2
I frown at her, and she hunches, watching the game unfold.
I only half pay attention. It’s a very showy sport, and sometimes all the spectacle makes me drift off.
It just doesn’t grip me like the strategy and speed of a soccer match.
Throughout the game, Tabby and I people-watch, and I let her make snide comments about people’s outfits, purely in hopes she’s forgetting about her parents.
When the buzzer sounds at half-time, the crowd in the bleachers is still cheering for Freddy.
“Wow, he really is Mr. Popular,” I joke, barely audible over the surrounding noise.
Tabitha nods, side-eyeing the cheerleaders.
“Are you okay?” I sling my arm around her shoulders. “You’ve got that look on your face like you’re gonna go full mean girl.”
She flinches, snapping out of it. “Oh, no, sorry. No, I was just listening to what they were cheering. I don’t know if Freddy would like it or not.”
“They’re saying he’s the king of the team. I think he’d be into it.”
“I guess. Sometimes, he acts like he doesn’t even like playing football.”
I gesture at the field. “Could’ve fooled me. The entire team looks to him for leadership.”
“Oh, yeah. They’d be lost without him.”
I press a kiss into her curls and ask, “Do we have to watch the entire game?”
“What did you have in mind?”
I nod behind us. “I hear there are some comfy spaces under those bleachers.”
She playfully swats me. “Naughty.”
“You love it.”
I take Tabby by the hand and guide her toward the bleachers. As we move toward the back, she halts and pulls me backward.
I double-take at her. “What is it?”
“I just saw Yvie and Zane.”
I move her back to the side of the bleachers. “Okay, we’ll abort the mission.”
She pouts. “Sorry.”
“It’s cool. I don’t want to share below the bleachers with those two.”
She smiles appreciatively at me.
Unfortunately, I’m now filled with pent-up adrenaline from the thought of sneaking out of sight with Tabby.
I look up at the criss-crossing steel beams of the bleachers, and let natural instinct guide me.
With a leap, I hoist myself onto the steel structure, using the beams as my personal climbing gym.
“Kai,” Tabby calls, holding her belly in silent laughter. “Come down before you hurt yourself.”
I edge across a beam and then pull myself up onto another. “What? No faith in me?”
She giggles, and that spurs me on to impress her further. “Of course, I have faith in you, babe.”
I anchor a beam behind my knees and let myself fall backwards, hanging upside down. My beanie falls off, and she catches it.
“Kai.” Her voice is both scared and exhilarated. “Oh my gosh, be careful.”
I lock my core into place, feeling secure from my hanging position. As hoped, my head is not too far off from her head height.
I focus on the dark color of her lips when I suggest, “Kiss me like they do in the Spider-Man movie.”
Her fingertips press against her chin as she laughs nervously. “What?”
I grin at her, blood rushing to my head. “Do the Spider-Man kiss with me.”
“I… I don’t…”
My grin grows as her babbling stops. She giggles again and lifts onto her tippy toes. The blood swirls in my head as her lips press against mine.
Way better than the movie.
Her hands caress the sides of my face. A buzz of electricity flurries throughout my body, and it’s all I can do to keep myself steady in this position.
“Are you coming down now, Spider-Man?” she asks teasingly.
Before I can respond, “Nelson,” is barked at me.
I jolt against the steel beams, and see an upside-down Dr. Jones marching towards us.
Crap.
I pull myself up into a seated position on the beam and hurl my leg over to face Tabby and her reddening father.
Great, he’s pissed.
Dr. Jones folds his arms, and hard creases indent his forehead. “What do you think you’re doing?”
I grin as the blood pulses in my temples. “Just hanging out.”
His nostrils flare, and I swear I see steam. “Showing off, more like it.”
“Dad, he was just goofing around,” Tabby defends, twisting my beanie in her hands.
“Do not copy this boy,” her dad warns. “I don’t want you climbing something, slipping, and needing me to wrap you in plaster.”
“I wasn’t climbing anything,” Tabby argues. “I got the message. I’m an uncoordinated, disappointing daughter.”
Dr. Jones takes hold of Tabitha’s shoulders. “No, you’re not. Your mother is a wreck. She didn’t mean to say those things.”
“But she did,” Tabby responds.
Before things get more heated, I jump down from the beam, landing on the grass with a hard thud.
Dr. Jones catches my grimace. “Boy, are you always looking for trouble? On what planet did jumping down from that height seem like a good idea?”
I shrug. “Earth?”
Tabby laughs at my comment, only sucking in her bottom lip when her dad glares at her.
Dr. Jones’s attention falls back on me. “Sorry, Kai. I didn’t realize you were a comedian.” He sighs, hugging Tabitha to his side. “But you make my daughter laugh. My wife has urged me to give you a chance. So, I want to invite you to dinner. Will you join us?”
Tabby’s mouth hangs open as she stares at me.
Does this mean… we won?
“Umm,” I hesitate. “Yeah. The Jasmine Garden, right?”
Dr. Jones nods, hugging Tabby close one more time and then releasing her. “That’s right. Do you need a ride?”
I shake my head. “No, sir. I drove here.”
“Tabitha will ride with her family,” Dr. Jones adds. “But we’ll have an extra seat at the table for you.”
Dr. Jones walks away, leaving Tabby and I staring at each other.
“He… He,” Tabby stammers. “He invited you.”
“Stranger things have happened.”
Tabby links her hands with mine. “I hope this is the last weird thing in our relationship.”
Not that I was paying attention, but our team won the match. Boy, am I glad. The last thing I need is a losing quarterback and his football-obsessed father officially labelling me a bad luck charm.
Hopefully, the hours I’ve spent watching police interviews on YouTube will pay off. No doubt at the restaurant, my seat at the table will feel like I’m shackled in an interrogation room.