“I’m really trying hard not to fall for you. Let’s take a quick walk. I need some private time with you,” she said.
“We’ll be back in a few minutes,” Alice told her mom.
We found a table in the lounge that gave us some privacy.
“I was planning on spending the night with you, but now I just can’t. If I do sleep with you with the way I’m feeling, I couldn’t handle being apart from you. I’m not sure I can trust myself to be around you.”
She had a tear in the corner of her eye.
“I’m sorry, Alice. I didn’t intend to make you feel uncomfortable.”
“Actually, I need time to think about this. I’m sorry this weekend didn’t work out.”
Wow, what just happened there? Did she just tell me to take a hike?
“So, are we still friends?”
She wouldn’t look me in the face and didn’t say anything.
“Please thank your family for coming to the game tomorrow. I’ll see you later.”
She turned to go back to her table. Did that just happen?
I stopped her.
“Are you sure you want this to end this way?”
She just nodded and went back to her table, and I went to catch a cab back to the hotel. I felt my confidence take a hit. I played the conversation over in my head and I knew I had come on too heavy. I thought I had explained my feelings so she understood where I was coming from. It wasn’t that I was sad that we’d missed out on a fun weekend, it was that I felt I had lost a friend.
When I got back, I found several messages that invited me out to different things. Normally, I’d be up for any of them, but tonight I felt like being alone. I needed to get ready for tomorrow’s game. The hotel had an indoor pool. I got my swimsuit on and went down to work off some nervous energy. I found that when I fell into a rhythm swimming, it was a lot like when I ran. I dropped into my zone and was able to think about all that had happened.
I’d laid it on too thick and scared Alice off. The problem was that we had no foundation for what I had said. I knew it started out as a joke, but as I said them, the words felt right. Just because they were right for me didn’t make them right for her. This was one of those life lessons you had to learn the hard way. I would give it some time and contact her after the first of the year. I hoped John and I were still friends. It didn’t explain her acting like she did, though.
After I swam, I went to a diner that was next to the hotel and got something to eat. When I came back, I went to bed. There was a knock at my door at 10:50. One of the equipment managers was doing a bed check. I had just fallen asleep when someone knocked on my door. I pulled on a pair of shorts and found John at the door.
“Can I come in for a minute?” he asked.
“Sure, but I have to get to sleep. I have a game tomorrow.”
“I just wanted to tell you I should have warned you about my sister.”
I shook my head, not understanding his comment.
“No problem. I just hope she’s okay.”
“Not really. She was heavy as a kid and has self-confidence issues. You’re the first nice guy ever to show her any attention. I’m pretty sure she’s not a virgin, but I think the guys she’s slept with know she has no self-confidence and have taken advantage of her. She doesn’t know how to handle a real relationship. We were all happy when you said what you did. She needed to hear that from someone other than a family member. I guess I wasn’t surprised at how she reacted. She runs when she’s confused or scared. She can’t believe that someone like you is interested in her.”
I got up and got my tablet. Lily had posted some of my nerd pictures on my Facebook page.
“Is she in your room?”
“No, she’s sleeping with Mom and Dad. They wanted to keep an eye on her.”
I grabbed my room key.
“Aren’t you going to put on a shirt?” John asked.
I gave him a lopsided grin and put one on. He just shook his head. We went to his parents’ room and knocked. His dad answered the door. John just walked in and I followed. Alice was in the near bed and I sat on the edge.
“I have something to show you.”
I clicked on my middle school pictures.
“This was me this time last year.”
She started to flip through them and her eyes got big.
“If I can change, why do you think you can’t? You’re a beautiful young woman, Alice Phillips. Don’t let anyone ever tell you that you’re not. Now I have to get to bed. I have a game to get ready for.”
I took my tablet back, and before I got to the door, Mr. Phillips gave me a hug. No one said a word as I left the room. I felt sad. I really wanted my time with Alice to be special. I thought we had a connection, but after I’d talked to John, I knew she doubted my intentions. She was special enough to wait on, but for right now, nothing would happen.
Chapter 5 – Road Game
Saturday November 9
I GOT UP EARLY AND ran. I was surprised to see John had waited for me.
“I guessed you’d be running this morning. Mind if I join you?” He smiled.
“Not as long as you can keep up.”
After we stretched, I set a brisk pace. I wanted to get my heart beating but keep the run short. There was no need to wear myself out. John was in great shape so the pace I set wasn’t a problem for him.
“How are your playoff chances this year?”
John shrugged.
“We’re the top seed. We got lucky. We’ve already played our biggest challenge on our side of the bracket and we beat them by three scores.”
“We have to win today. Even if we win, we might not get in. It’s possible we can end up in a three-way tie for the conference title. Our conference has never sent more than one team to state, so the odds are against us.”
“Are you going to win today?”
“Of course we are! But history says not,” I laughed. “We do this kind of trip each year, and we’ve lost the last five.”
I was glad that he didn’t bring up Alice. John made sure I knew that he and I were still friends regardless of what happened with his sister. When we made it back to the hotel, Beth and Suzanne were outside. I went up to both of them and gave them a kiss good morning.
“You guys remember John?” I asked. “John, these are two of my best friends, Beth and Suzanne.”
“We’re meeting the rest of the cheerleaders and going to the diner for breakfast,” Suzanne said. “Why don’t you join us?”
“Sorry, I have to eat with the team, but John’s available. How about you, John? You want to go?”
“Beth, be sure to tell the girls that John has a new girlfriend back home,” I said as he hesitated.
“Go take a shower and meet us there,” Beth told John. “Suzanne and I will make sure that you’re safe. Moreover, we want to hear about the weekend David went to Kentucky. I’m sure he was up to no good.”
“You’ll not believe the stuff he did.” John grinned.
“Great, I thought you were my friend.”
They all laughed at me as I went to shower. We had breakfast in one of the banquet rooms. I was glad to see that no one was hungover. Luke had a hickey, but he wasn’t talking. We broke out into offense and defense, and spent time going over what to expect today. Afterwards, we were given free time until 1:00 when we were to check out and head over to the stadium. Kickoff was at 3:00 p.m.
WHEN WE GOT THERE, I realized we were playing in an actual stadium. They had moved the game to the local university due to the expected turnout. Jackson High’s home field would hold about 6,000 fans. It was expected that we would have a large contingent come for the game. When we pulled up, we saw a large beer tent was already packed with college kids. Drunken fans might make this interesting.
We made it in with only minor verbal abuse. When we went out for pregame warm-ups, we found the field was made of some kind of synthetic material over asphalt. That’s what it felt like, anyways. There was also a crown in the center of the field that dropped at least two feet to the sidelines. I overthrew my first few passes. This must be what they call home-field advantage.