Seven Minutes - Part 2
I've heard rumors about Joe. Rumors that there was someone in the art department that he had a crush on, everyone always assumed it was Demi. The drop-dead gorgeous, social beacon of light, who plays volleyball in the fall, basketball in the winter, and runs track in the spring. Practically talented in everything she does, specifically sports, but she loves singing and painting. Compared to her, I'm about as dull as a twig. I do everything in the art program, play softball in the summer, run cross country in the fall, and I sing too, but not near as well as Demi does. But, I did beat her out for the role of Mrs. Claus in our fourth grade Christmas program. The way Joe's looking at me right now though, it would definitely make people rethink the rumor.
"Becky?" He speaks quietly and if it wasn't for the fact that I'm watching him just as closely, I might not have heard him.
"Yeah?" I answer just as quietly.
"Do you remember that scrimmage game last summer, when they made the boys baseball team play the girls softball?"
"Yeah?" I pitched during that game. We beat the boys by three points thanks to the fact I struck every single one of them out at least once.
"You struck me out the first time I went up to bat." I laugh lightly, recalling the memory. "I remember going back to the dugout and thinking to myself 'no way was I gonna let her do that again.' I went back up to bat two innings later and I remember the smirk you got on your face. You yelled to the others that I was gonna be an easy out. You were so sure of yourself and I let your first pitch go by cause I couldn't stop watching you. The way your arm swung back when you pitched and the slight slide forward you made whenever you pitched, it was mesmerizing."
I can feel myself blushing and I glance down quickly. When I look back up, I'd swear he moved a foot or two closer!
"Your second pitch I paid attention to, but I still missed it. Swung half a second too late." He moves just a few inches closer and I can feel his breath gently hitting my skin. "Your last pitch, it was like time slowed down. You furrowed your eyebrows, I bet you could see the determination in my eyes and when I tightened my grip on the bat. You threw a fastball, you must have known it's my weakness. I had no choice but to take a swing, and I caught it. The second the ball cracked with the bat and was sent flying back between second and third, I could see the anger in your eyes. As I ran to first, all I could think about was that this amazing girl thought of me as nothing except an opponent, someone she had to beat."
I look away, but he takes my face in his left hand and turns it back so I look at him. He's just inches from my face, and I know he can hear my heart pounding in my chest.
"But I wanted to be more than that. I wanted to be someone she would let into her life. Someone who she could easily open up to. Someone she'd know she didn't have to pretend around." My eyes are locked on his now. He has my full and undivided attention. "Becky, I want to be yours." My breath catches in my throat, but it's not him who finally makes the connection. My lips collide with his before I can stop myself. As my hands find their way around his back and up to his shoulders; his tangle themselves in my long brown locks. I've almost forgotten where we are, when a chorus of awes comes muffled through the wooden door.
Our seven minutes are bound to be way past over by now, but I don't really care anymore. I just gave my first kiss to the most amazing singing third baseman I've ever met. And the fact that it wouldn't have happened if the bottle had landed on someone else makes everything better. Ten minutes ago, I would have wanted to puke if someone told me this would happen to me, but now that I've heard Joe's story I get butterflies and blush instead of gag. I know I'm meant to be here: in a locked closest with very little light, two crushed puzzle boxes, and the boy I struck out in a scrimmage game who knew right then, he had to have me. And for seven minutes, he has.
Hope ya'll liked it! Don't forget to comment and subscribe! Please and thank you!