The Pledge (24 page)

“So, how are you this week?” I walked over to a bench by the reflecting pool and sat down. He moved closer to the edge, bending over to examine the water before sitting next to me.

“I am happy today, Miss Taren. How are you?”

How was I? That was a good question. I wasn’t sure how to answer it. The time I spent with Alec had been fantastic, but I still wasn’t sure about my future with him. Especially after his rejection last night.

Alec had matured a lot since high school. He was the same smart, confident guy he’d been back then, but now he was also humble, and funny, and protective. The problem was, we’d yet to actually interact in a social situation, and that was starting to bug me.

Was there any part of his life I fit into aside from studying? Better yet, was there a part of my life
he
fit into?

Hooking up with him was great—better than great—but did I want to get involved with someone who didn’t have anything in common with my circle of friends? Should I lust after someone who couldn’t find time for me in his life?

I blinked and tore my gaze off the reflecting pool. I wasn’t unloading all of that emotional baggage onto my buddy, William.

“My weekend was good.” I gave him a half-smile and then blew out a breath.

“But?”

I tilted my head at his question. “But what?”

William shrugged. “It was good, but...”

I smiled. Leave it to him to pick up on my unsaid words. I sighed. “Have you ever liked someone and weren’t sure if you should, Will?”

He nodded, his face solemn. “I liked a girl named Sarah. We went to school together, and she had long red hair. So pretty.”

I turned to face him. “What happened? Did you ever tell her you liked her?”

“I did. She liked me, too. We even kissed a few times.” He grinned, ducking his head down and studying the ground.

“So...” I nudged him with my elbow.

“Her dad found out. Said we could not date. He said it was not right. That I was not right. You know...in the head.” William pointed to his head, his eyebrows scrunched together.

I scooted closer to him and rubbed his back. My heart hurt to hear his words. I was pissed off that someone could think awful things like that about a guy as sweet and kind as William. Just because he was different, didn’t mean he was less. That was so far from the truth the idea made me sick.

I still didn’t know what William’s official disability “label” was, and it didn’t matter because nothing could change the wonderful person he was. Labels didn’t mean anything. They couldn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the complexity of the people they were attached to. I should know. I had my share of labels in high school, and none of them were really me. The real shame was that some people were too closed-minded to see William for the beautiful soul he was.

“I’m sorry, Will. That had to be hard for you. Did you ever talk to her again?”

He nodded and looked at the pool of water. “Yup. I did not give up. I told her, we might be slow, but we still feel love. I kissed her again, but her dad saw. He told me if I touched her again he would call the police.”

He shook his head, and I reached out to hold his hand.

“I would never hurt Sarah. I would never hurt anyone.” William looked at me, tears glistening in his eyes. I had to swallow the lump in my own throat to keep from crying.

“I know that, Will. Some people aren’t open to new ideas or to things that are different from what they’re used to.” The words came out of my mouth, and my stomach dropped. What a hypocrite I was. I could judge Sarah’s father, but I was doing the same thing he’d done. I was hesitant to consider a possible future with Alec because he had a different lifestyle. Would it really be that hard to have a real relationship with him?

“Tell me about your fellow.” William squeezed my hand gently in his. I was amazed how he knew what I was thinking about.

I waved my other hand dismissively. “You don’t want to hear about it.”

“Sure I do. We are friends. Friends listen to one another.”

He was right. He’d confided in me. “You sure?” I asked.

William nodded.

“His name is Alec. We actually went to high school together. I liked him a lot back then, but he didn’t like me. He hurt my feelings.”

William frowned. “I am sorry. I know how that feels.”

I smiled sadly in return. “Now it turns out we’re here at the same university. When I first saw him here I was cruel. We both hurt each other, but we’ve grown up now. This semester we’re in the same class and started hanging out together.” No way was I going to elaborate further.

“Then what is wrong?” William cocked his head to the side, waiting for my response.

“We lead very different kinds of lives and have no friends in common. My friends are very important to me since we do things together all the time. He wouldn’t be a part of that. He wouldn’t understand my life with them. Alec and I are complete opposites.”

Was that true, though? Alexis didn’t always come out and party with us, but Julie and I were still good friends with her.

Then I remembered that Alec chose not to hang out with me even after his practice was over. “Besides, I’m not sure he likes me as much as I like him.”

“Miss Taren, does he make you feel happy?”

I hesitated to really think about what William was asking. Just being near Alec made me feel a lot of things. Mostly toe-curling things I couldn’t discuss with William, but was it happiness? I thought back to our study sessions and the easy banter and friendship we shared.

“Yes.” I sighed, picturing Alec’s face...his hands...his lips.

“That is it, then. What else is there? Just happiness. Yup, yup.” William looked at his watch and stood up. “Time to go.”

“Already?”

“No worries, Miss Taren. I will see you again next week.”

I smiled to myself. The way he said it, I felt like he was donating his time to hang out with me, not the other way around. I guess that was how real friendship worked. I rose to my feet and walked back toward the Union with my good buddy William, thinking about what he had said.

What else is there? Just happiness.
Was it really that beautifully simple?

***

Alec: Come to the bball game? I’m in the halftime show. I want you to see the Acroletes perform.

I bit my lip in nervous excitement. I hadn’t talked to Alec in person since his rejection two nights ago. He’d worked last night so I didn’t text him to ask him to study because I knew he couldn’t. He’d texted benign little comments throughout the day, but I held back, protecting my heart. I had to admit I took great satisfaction in the idea that he was reaching out, that he wanted to see me.

Me: Sounds good. Julie, Alexis, and I were planning on going anyway. We’ll go early to get seats up close.

Alec: Cool. See you then.

A Friday night and Alec wanted to see me? Hope surged through me.

***

“We have a special halftime show for you today, Terp fans.” The words bellowed over the speaker system. “The University of Maryland Acroletes are here to perform their death-defying halftime show. Watch them spin, twist, and flip as they barely avoid mid-air collisions. Please give a huge Terp welcome to the Acroletes vaulting team!”

The entire building filled with cheers as the Acroletes ran to the middle of the court, waving to the crowd. They were dressed in black and red uniforms that made them look like professional gymnasts despite the fact that they were part of a university club.

“Oh. My. God. The guys wear spandex? You can see everything!” Julie shrieked and then cupped her hands to her mouth to yell out her approval.

“Is that Alec?” Alexis pointed to the most muscular guy on the court, who was busy searching the crowd for something. He smiled when he saw me sitting with my friends.

“Yeah, that’s him.” I made eye contact with Alec and waved. He raised his hand in acknowledgment and then lined up with the rest of his teammates. Two lines of gymnasts faced a vaulting box and two sets of small trampolines. They looked like they were prepared to run perpendicular to one another.

“He’s hot, T. And built like a fucking Greek god. Holy cow. No wonder you have a crush on him.” Julie fanned herself with her hand.

“Yeah,” I breathed out on a sigh. Every muscle in Alec’s lean body was cut and defined. My crush on him was about way more than his body, though. Alec had always drawn me in with a force that surprised me.

A pounding techno beat blared loudly throughout the Xfinity Center. I could feel my seat vibrating. People around us clapped in time to the music while I held my breath as the two lines of gymnasts ran toward the vaulting box. They hit the trampolines in alternating precision as they flipped and twisted over the box, crisscrossing and barely missing one another.

Avoiding mid-air collisions indeed.
I was almost too afraid to watch. The only problem was, I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. He was one of the last people in line each time, along with Jon and Caz. Their timing was so perfect that it looked like one wrong move would send the three of them crashing into a pile of broken bones and torn muscles.

“I really like the idea of spandex,” Julie shouted, leaning closer to be heard over the deafening noise of the crowd. “It’s a little disturbing to look at since it leaves very little to the imagination, but at least you know what you’re getting. Not a micro-penis in the bunch, T. And that Alec. Whew, girl. He’s no Pickles, that’s for sure. That boy looks well-hung. I give my approval.”

I took another look at Alec as he ran across the wood floor, hitting the trampoline with power, forcing it to vault him into the air in a series of somersaults. My face flushed as I vividly remembered our last study session. Alec was definitely in no danger of Pickles’ tiny affliction.

A few more runs took place, where people were piled on top of the vaulting box to create a giant wall of bodies as the Acroletes flipped over them. My stomach was in knots, expecting a wreck with every gymnast that went over the pile. When the stack of people reached six high, I couldn’t bear to watch. I was reminded of watching a horror movie. One where the guy with the chainsaw was about to lay waste to the naive blonde girl who tried to run away in high heels.

“You can look now,” Alexis peeled my fingers away from my eyes. “He made it. They’re taking a bow.”

I emerged from behind my hands and clapped while everyone around us chanted,
“Fire Hoop. Fire Hoop. Fire Hoop.”
People pumped their fists in the air along with their chant. The Acroletes rushed back into a single line as a metal hoop was lifted over the vaulting box.

Oh god. I thought it was over. More potentially life threatening danger was about to take place?

One of the coaches reached up with his hand and when the lighter he was holding touched the hoop, the entire thing burst into a circle of hungry flames. The building exploded with roars of approval. The crowd screamed as the Acroletes threw themselves on the trampoline and flipped thought the ring of fire.

I breathed a sigh of relief when Alec and his roommates made it through the flames unharmed.
Holy mother of God.
I was going to have a freaking heart attack watching this performance. I had no idea the university allowed Alec and his friends to risk their lives like that. Their act was dangerous. When the Acroletes lined up for their final bow, I clapped madly along with everyone else, glad it was over so my heart rate could go back to normal.

The music changed into a powerful, sexy ballad and the athletes and coaches folded up the mats and cleared the floor of the vaulting equipment. Alec walked to the middle of the court with a brunette who was rocking a plain black leotard. Only a person with zero percent body fat could look amazing in an ensemble like that. Not a jiggle or a dimple was in sight. I shifted in my seat and sucked in my stomach.
Hello insecurity, nice to see you again.

The girl slowly walked around Alec like a jungle cat stalking its next meal. Alec reached out his hand, and the girl took it. She stood right next to him as they stared into each other’s eyes. My stomach rolled. They were so close–intimately close. I didn’t like anything about what I was seeing.

He lunged slightly with his left leg bent, never taking his eyes off her, and she tucked her foot onto his thigh. One swift pop of his body, and she was in a handstand on top of his hands.

“Wow. That’s so cool.” Alexis scooted to the edge of her seat, leaning forward so she could see better.

Alec pressed his hands up, straightening his arms so that the tiny girl was balanced high above his head. She spread her legs wide until they were parallel to the ground. I could almost feel the rise of thousands of instant boners from every guy in the stadium.

“She’s really...flexible,” Alexis pointed out, looking at me warily.

Alec dropped his hands, and gasps filled the stadium as the girl plummeted toward the ground, only to be caught by Alec tightly against his chest. They ended up in some sort of acrobatic sixty-nine position, or maybe that was just my jealousy noticing.

“Dude. Your boy’s face is right in that chick’s hoo-ha.” Julie snorted. “She’s got a good view, too, though.”