So Much It Hurts (4 page)

“Heyyyy, Trevor,” a tall blonde princess-wannabe cooed as she passed him in the cafeteria. Her mousy sidekick snickered and whispered something into the princess’s ear. It must have been about Trevor because Princess cackled in his direction like a broody hen and batted her eyes seductively at him. Trevor just ignored the girls and took a bite of his burger.

“Yo, Trevor, my man!” One of his baseball teammates slammed his tray down on the table, flipped a chair around backwards, and plopped down next to Trevor.

“Wassup?”

“Dude, did you see that game last night?”

“Yeah man, I thought the Warriors had it in the bag.”

“Yeah, too bad that dude choked in the last inning.”

“Par for the course.”

“True dat.”

“Trevor!” A chorus of his buddies bellowed in unison and sat down at the table, fist bumping and high-fiving like a bunch of club-wielding barbarians.

It seemed as if everyone in the cafeteria was competing for a seat at Trevor’s table. A few girls sat behind him, taking turns staring at him and giggling. Several guys sat nearby vying for an opportunity to include themselves in the potent exchange of machismo.

I sat a few tables away with Allison and Rachel trying to avoid the boorish nonsense. We talked about upcoming tryouts for the Varsity cheerleading squad while I picked at the mystery meat on my plate, glancing up only when Rachel gasped and grabbed my arm.

“Oh my gosh, Kaitlyn. Trevor Kent is looking at you.”

“What?” I looked up just in time to see his hazel eyes settling on mine. A coy grin spread across his face. My cheeks burned crimson, but not before I returned a bashful smile.

I avoided making eye contact with Trevor the rest of the week. Occasionally, I would sneak a peek from the corner of my eye, and would sometimes catch him staring at me. I could feel my cheeks flush as I quickly looked away. I couldn’t be sure, but I felt like Trevor was burning a smile into the back of my head. On Friday of that week, he finally spoke to me again.

“Hey Kaitlyn, are you coming to the baseball game tonight?” He sounded hopeful. “I’m pitching tonight,” he added.

I hadn’t planned to go, but since Trevor specifically asked me if I was coming, I knew I wanted to do everything in my power to get there. “Yeah, my mom said she would bring me,” I lied. I assumed I would have to do some major sucking up that afternoon to get my mom to drive me back to the game.

“Great!” Trevor said with a grin, then turned his attention to the assignment written on the chalkboard.

After doing all of my chores and a lot of begging, I finally convinced my mom to drive me to the baseball game. I would be so glad when I didn’t have to rely on my parents to drive me around. Although my mother would never admit it, I knew she enjoyed going to the ballgames with me. It was actually kind of fun to have mother/daughter time. My mom was never really the embarrassing kind of mom; she was actually pretty cool. All my friends thought so too.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Trevor throughout the entire game. He looked spectacular in his baseball uniform. His muscles were well defined as his red and white jersey clung to his body. He swung his bat with such ferocity that it wouldn’t surprise me if the birds ducked for cover when he made contact with the ball. I was spellbound by him; most girls, at the very least, were intrigued by him. I could have sworn that once during the fifth inning, when he rounded third base, he winked at me right before he slid into home plate. The whole game seemed to play in slow motion as I savored Trevor’s every move. At one point my mom asked me which player had me so hypnotized.

“Number five,” I replied. “Trevor Kent—but it’s nothing, Mom. I mean, he barely even notices me.”

After the game I hung around the bleachers talking to a few friends in the warm spring air. It was the first evening that week we didn’t need a jacket after sunset. I secretly hoped Trevor would walk out of the dugout and come over to speak to me. My mom decided to wait for me in the car. I casually chatted with my friends until my cell phone vibrated in my pocket.

“Where are you?” my mom asked hastily.

“I’m coming. I’ll be there in a minute.”

Reluctantly, I walked to the car feeling bummed that I didn’t get to talk to Trevor. I could see my mother waiting for me, impatiently drumming her fingers on the steering wheel of her white Yukon Denali. Just as I got into the car and shut the door, out of nowhere, Trevor ran up to my open window.

“Hey Kaitlyn,” he said breathlessly, as if he’d sprinted to get there.

“Oh, hi!” My smile widened at the sight of him, but I immediately pursed my lips. I didn’t want to look or sound too desperate…like that Princess chick in the cafeteria.

Trevor glanced at my mom and flashed his charming smile. “I was wondering if I could drive Kaitlyn home tonight, Mrs. Davenport.”

My mother looked at me as her eyes filled with wonder and curiosity. I turned my back toward Trevor, out of his sight, and pleaded silently with her.
Pleeeease, Mom.

She nodded her head with approval. “Okay. Is this the Trevor Kent I’ve heard so much about? It’s so nice to meet you,” she said with a smile.

My cheeks flared.

Trevor grinned. “Yes, ma’am, the one and only,” he said in his sweet southern drawl.

Wow, he really knew how to turn on the charm!

“Thanks, Mom.” I couldn’t tell by my own tone if I was thanking her for letting Trevor take me home, or for humiliating me in front of him.

Trevor’s red lifted Toyota truck roared to life as I buckled my seatbelt.

“So,” he began, “you’ve been talking about me, huh?”

I think my heart stopped for a second. My words caught in my throat, causing me to silently suck in my breath.

He laughed. “I’m just teasing you!”

‘Breathe,’
I reminded myself. I was eager to change the subject. “You did great pitching tonight.”

“Thanks.” He shrugged and made a futile effort to sound humble. “I try.” His confidence exuded sexiness, a trait that melted most teenage girls’ hearts. I was no exception. The conversation flowed easily the rest of the ride to my house. I hated that the ride home had to end. I could have talked to him for hours. It seemed as though I blinked my eyes and we were parked in the driveway at my house.

“So,” I asked with a devilish grin, “when you asked me in class if I was dating anyone, what exactly did you mean by that?” It was his turn to blush.

“Oh yeah…about that…” he stammered.

“I’m just kidding. You don’t have to answer that.” I playfully punched his shoulder. He grabbed my hand and held onto it. Caught by surprise, I stared up at him. His beautiful, hazel eyes accented by delicious specks of caramel and dark chocolate held mine captive for a few seconds.

“Kaitlyn, you have no idea how pretty you are,” he told me.

I could feel my cheeks burning, but I didn’t care. He leaned toward me, and my breath hitched as his lips touched mine. His soft lips stirred my senses. Kissing him came so easily, as if we had done it a hundred times already. He lightly caressed my cheek with his fingers as he moved his lips in rhythm with mine. His tongue caressed the seam of my lips, gently prodding my mouth to open. I gladly complied. His gentle touch and swirling tongue awakened the butterflies in the pit of my stomach. Then, he pulled away quickly, leaving me breathless. My lips burned for more.

“Sorry—”

“No, don’t be,” I said, cutting him short.

“There’s just something about you, Kaitlyn.”

I leaned into him and flirted, “There’s just something about you, too.” Giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, I hopped out of the truck.

“Hey, what’s your screen name?” he asked.

“Cheerchick88. What’s yours?”

“Str8ballin05. I’ll IM you.”

“Okay,” I said eagerly, and bounded up the stairs toward the front door.

“He hardly notices you, huh?” my mom snorted when I walked into her bedroom to tell her goodnight.

“Well, maybe I was wrong…”

She shook her head knowingly at me. “I remember my first crush.”

“Mommm,” I whined, rolling my eyes at her.

Chuckling, she turned her attention back to her book.

Sleep didn’t come easily that night. I lay awake for a long time just thinking of the possibilities.
Trevor Kent kissed me!
I felt like I floated into dreamland as I drifted off to sleep. Our kiss occupied my dreams the rest of the night.

Only a few short weeks lingered on the school calendar. Summer break started shortly after the night he took me home from the baseball game. Since Trevor had his driver’s license, I knew it would be easy to see each other over the summer break. Trevor surprised me with his good manners considering what a pest he had been earlier in the year. He was a most gracious gentleman. Unlike most guys, he was not in a hurry to rush things between us physically. He opened doors for me; he pulled out chairs for me. He even asked permission from my parents before he asked me out on our first
official
date. He completely mesmerized me.