Hooked (16 page)

     By the time the next Thursday rolled around, I was getting nervous by lunch.  “Mil, what’s wrong?”  Cash asked.

     “I guess I’m just nervous about the game tonight
,
” I said.

    
He pushes my hair back from my face and leans into me and says, “You’re
gonna
do great.”  He gets close to my ear and whispers, “I got off tonight, so I’ll get to come see you play finally.”

     “Really?
  So
,
I will actually get to see you after 3:00 pm today
,
”
I
say
excited.
 
He
rubs my head and messes up my hair.
“Stop
,
Cash
you’re
messing up my hair!’

     “Your hair could never look bad.”

     “Thank you, except it can.”  I get up from the table and go to walk off
,
but he pulls me back and into his lap.

     “Hey, what are you doing?”  I ask kind of panicked because I know people can see me sitting in his lap.

     “I just wanted to touch you some more before I let you go.”  I blush because of his words
,
but decide I’m sick of him always getting the last laugh, so I decide to
play along.

     “Oh, well in that case
…
”
I put my arms around his neck and give him a kiss. 

     “That’s what I’m talking about
,
”
h
e says. 
It doesn’t matter what I do or say, he’s always ready for me.  I can never out do him.

    
I
laugh at him and say
,
“
W
hatever
,
” as I walk away.

     The rest of the day passes quickly.  I had two
tests
that I had been studying for and between that and my basketball game I didn’t really have time to think about anything else.  I told Cash last hour that I was going straight home today because I had a lot to do. 

    
“I’ll see you tonight,
be careful
,
”
he sa
id
as he left me in the hallway.

     “You too
,
” I told him walking back to my locker.  When I got there
,
I saw
Jessica down the hallway.

   
“Jess!”  I yelled so she could hear me. 
 

     “Hey Mil, what’s up?”

     “A lot
,
actually
.
”
I crossed my arms.

     “Okay, why are you looking at me like that?
”
  She asked
.

     “Jess, um
m
, I, look
,
I’m just
gonna
come at you straight with this on
e
,
ok
ay
?”

     “Alright.”

     “Are you and Jake together?”

    
She looke
d
at me and immediately I knew the answer.  “Millie, I don’t
know why you think that.  Jake and I have nothing in common.”

     “Jess, I know
you’re
seeing him, I can tell.”

    
She looked around and then back at me.  “Can you keep a secret?”  I nodded.  “Well, we’ve kind of been seeing each other for like a month or so.”

     “Oh
,
my gosh!
  Are you serious?  When, how?”

     “Well, it just kind of happened.”

     “
Jess, you
’
r
e
gonna
have to do better than that.  Details, I want details!”

     “Okay, it was before school started.  I spent the night with Cara and I had just
gotten
out of the shower and I realized I hadn’t brought my clothes in the bathroom.  So, I opened the door and peeked out to make sure no one was out there.  Right as I peeked out
,
Jake came around the corner.  He asked me what I was doing and I told him I forgot my clothes.  So
,
I was standing there in just a towel and we both just stared at each other for a couple of minutes.  He told me to hang on and went to his bedroom and got me some shorts and a
T-shirt
.  I told him thank you and before I could get anything else out
,
he kissed me.

     “Oh
,
my gosh!
  Right there in the hallway, with Cara and their folks there?”

     “
Yup, Millie it freakin
g
rocked!  At first, I was like, no
,
no
,
no.  I kept thinking what is he doing?  But then
,
I relaxed and the kiss was just…amazing.”

     “What did he say after?”

     “Well, I broke the kiss and after I came back to reality, I realized where I was and that I was standing there naked with nothing but a towel, I kind of freaked out a bit.  I didn’t say anything because I mean, this is Cara’s brother, you know?  So anyway, he stood there with his arms around me and said, “I have
wanted
to do that for a couple of years.”

   
“Wow, Jess, I can’t believe it!”

     “I
know
,
me either.”

     “Okay, so what’s the problem?  Why can’t anyone know?  Are you guys just messing around, do you not think it will last long?”

     “No, of course not.  He’s being ver
y
sweet, everything I could really hope for.  I just don’t want to jinx it.  I’m not exactly the kind of girl he usually dates and his parents may not like that.  I don’t even want to think about what his college friends would say, plus, there is Cara.  I don’t think she’d be mad, but it may freak her out a little bit and this way, we can still see each other and run in the same crowds we used to.  Nothing changes really
,
except now we’re dating.”

     “Yeah, Jess? 
I don’t know why you don’t think you good enough for him!  It really
pisses me off
that you don’t think anymore of yourself
.
”  I cross my
arms so that she knows I’m serious.

     “Wow, it looks like
Cashy
Pooh is rubbing off on my girl!  Are we cussing now
,
Millie?
 
You do realize that you used to get on to me for that
,
like all the time, right?”

     “Ugh, quit trying to change the subject.  You’re a great couple I don’t like you feeling like you need to hide it.  Wait a
minute;
this wasn’t Jake’s idea, was it?”

     “No, it was me
. H
e doesn’t like hiding either.  He just goes along with it because I begged him to.”

     “Alright then
,
because I was about to go off on him if he did.”

     “Now wait a minute, you do realize that your being a
hypocrite
right now, right?”

     “How’s that?”

     “Millie, do your parents know that you and Cash have been dating a month now?”

     “Well, see I really haven’t gotten around to telling them, seeing as I have been grounded the whole time.”

     “Yeah
,
but as of
tomorrow
your ungrounded
,
right?”

    
“Yup,” I said because in that moment, I realized that I need to be honest with my parents.  I hugged her and told her, “I’ll keep your secret, but I don’t like it.”

     “I appreciate it
,
but this is what I want right now.”

     “Okay, I’ll text
ya
later.”

     I left school because Eli text
ed
me that he was staying after school today.  When I got home
,
I did the rest of my homework and got ready for my game.
  I went down to the
kitchen where my mom was. 

    
“It’s your dad’s last few night
s
covering the night shift
,
but he’s going to take a b
r
eak and come to your game
,
”
she said.

     “Good, I hate that he’s had to miss some this
year.
  So, I’m ungrounded tomorrow right?”

     “I suppose so.  Let me make sure with your dad first though
,
before you start making plans.”

     “Okay, I’m heading to the gym, see you there.”

     “Bye honey, be careful.”

     When I got to the gym, I went in
to
the locker room.  I was sort of nervous and it surprises me a little bit
,
but I knew it was because of Cash.  I made my way out to the gym floor with the rest of my team to start warming up.  I looked in the stands searching for Cash, but he wasn’t her
e
yet.  I looked towards the door and saw my dad walking in.  I waved at him and he waved back.   

    
“
Chillax
, Mil.  You’re going to do great,” Jess told me as we shot around.

     “I’m trying.  I just want him to…I don’t know.”  I shrugged while looking around for Cash.

     “Be so turned on, that he has to wear his shirt un-tucked when he walks out of here?”  She laughed at her own joke.

     “I was thinking more like I wanted to impress him, punk,” I said knocking the ball from her hands.  “You are so crude.”

     “You like it,” she said running off to get her ball. 

    
In the first quarter alone
,
I scored twelve points.  I was on fire and in my zone.  When I was taking the ball out of bounds, I glanced up and saw Cash sitting up towards the top bleachers.  We mad
e
eye contact and he smiled and gave me
thumbs
up.  I smiled back and passed the ball in.  He looked kind of out of place, he’s so big and rebellious looking.  His hair was a little longer now and unruly.  He had on faded jeans and a plain white
T-shirt
and of course
,
his ball cap turned around backwards with his hair flipping
out from the sides.

     I ran down the court and
Jess
passed it back to me and I drove in a made a layup.  My dad was still standing at the end of the court and I noticed him clapping and cheering for me. 
Sometime
early in the 4
th
quarter, I looked up and noticed four to five guys that looked really rough enter the gym. 
They had on leather jackets and baggy jeans.  A couple of them had on beanies with longer hair.  The others had shaved heads
and I noticed tattoos on the
ir
hands and arms. 
I knew they were not from around here.  They kept looking around the gym like they were searching for someone.  I felt my stomach drop.  I didn’t know them, but I knew Cash did.  I tried to keep my head in the game and not pay attention to the sinking feeling I had in my gut.  So far, this was my best game this year.