Flashback continued....
The two of us were quiet for a moment as he softly wiped the blood on my knees away with a cloth. The silence was a bit stifling and I didn't do well with pure silence.
"Looks like someone isn't going to make quarterback any time soon." I tried to joke again. He chuckled again, the sound filling my ears and making my chest tighten. How can someone have a sexy laugh? Cause he sure did.
"I'm actually the quarterback." He looked back up at me with the corner of his lip tilted in a small smirk.
It took a second before it finally struck me. Holy shit balls. How did I not notice before! He was Harold James, star quarterback for our football team. He was a big shot on campus for leading our team to multiple championships and most likely going to the NFL at the end of the school year.
"Oh god. I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend you!" I stammered out. I just told the star quarterback he needed to work on his throw. Kill me now. Just strike me dead right now. Harold just laughed shaking his head.
"You didn't offend me. By the looks of it I do need to work on my throw." His eyes drifted to my cheek. I quickly glanced away from him. How is it that the most popular, yes popular in college, and hottest guy on campus was sitting in front of me cleaning up my knees? Did I pass out and dream this?
"I'm sorry but this may hurt." Harold said but didn't give me time to say anything before he put the cloth back on my knees making them burn.
"Fu-" I caught myself from swearing as he made quick work of disinfecting the scrapes.
"Sorry." He apologized. Thankfully his long fingers worked fast and he was finished in a few seconds. Through clenched teeth I spoke.
"That was payback for the comments huh." I made a joke despite my knees still burning.
"What can I say." He joked back making me laugh. I watched as he leaned forward and blew on my knees. The sight sent a zing straight through me. "You haven't told me your name." He said after a moment.
"Bella. Bella Gibson."
"Nice to officially meet you Bella Gibson." He grinned, flashing me a bright smile, making one grow on my face as well.
"Nice to meet you too Harold James."
It was weird that I was just now meeting Harold. We were in the same class year and maybe even had a few classes together over the last four years, but we've never once talked. I've heard plenty about him on campus and from my friends. Everyone always had something good to say about him.
I've even gone to a few of the football games, I guess I just never really noticed him. How I haven't I don't know. He seemed like a guy that was hard to miss. Add in the fact he was an amazing football player, he definitely wasn't invisible.
"Sorry I didn't recognize you at first."
"No its okay, it's actually quite nice not having someone fawn over me the moment they meet me."
"Oh were you expecting me to throw myself at you? I'm a little indisposed at the moment." I raised an eyebrow at him teasingly.
"Maybe next time." The side smirk he sent me made my stomach clench. His blue eyes looked away from mine and went back to my knees. I sat there patiently as he grabbed a few bandaids and gently placed them on my knees. "There you go." He murmured.
"Didn't know the star quarterback was so handy with bandaids."
"More than meets the eye with me." He was definitely surprising me at the moment. Most often than not football players were seen as cocky, flirty, playboys, and assholes. Or maybe that was only for those that have read too many teenfic novels. Yet here he was being kind to a complete stranger. I was bracing myself for the flirty comments to start but so far none have come.
"Thank you." I whispered. He really didn't have to bring me here and clean me up. He probably had better things to do with his time.
"Of course."
Silence washed over us but this time it wasn't as uncomfortable. For some odd reason I felt....comfortable around him. We stared at one another, neither saying a word as if we were both lost in our thoughts.
We both realized how long we've been staring, definitely past the awkward point. Clearing our throats we leaned back, breaking the silence.
"I better go." I made the move to get down, Harold sliding back on the chair to give me room. I better go before I would further embarrass myself. As much as I wanted to stay and keep talking to Harold I knew it was best I go.
No doubt in my mind he already had girlfriend. A guy like him always has a girlfriend. The last thing I needed was to have some crazy jealous girlfriend on my back for being with her boyfriend.
"Thank you again for the help."
"Anytime." He nodded with a soft smile. "Make sure to ice that cheek a couple more times a day. It shouldn't bruise though." I nodded and made a note to do so later tonight.
Grabbing my bag I awkwardly shifted on my feet. The longer I stayed the more awkward it would become. So despite the weird feeling of wanting to stay I moved around his big frame.
"Bye." I spoke softly, heading for the door. With one hand still holding the ice pack to my cheek I reached for the door handle. As soon as I opened it Harold's voice stopped me.
"Hey, Bella wait." I turned in surprise, fully expecting him to let me just walk out. He took a few steps towards me. "um...." he reached back and rubbed his neck. The action made my lips twitch.
"Would you like to get dinner or something?" I could have sworn his cheeks turned pink. "To make up for hitting you in the face." He quickly added.
I was beyond surprised he was asking me out. Wasn't quite sure it would be considered a date but it didn't stop the butterflies from blooming in my stomach. Gripping my bag strap I thought it through for a second. However I didn't even need to think about it, I already knew my answer. It's not everyday a hot football player wants to take you out, especially someone like Harold James.
"Sure. I'd like that."
Present..."Harold?" Standing in front of me was the last person I thought I'd ever see. Out of all the people on the planet Ryan's friend was none other than Harold James, aka my ex-boyfriend."Bella." He seemed just as shocked to see me."You two know each other?" Ryan asked, looking between the two of us. I had no clue what to say so I just nodded.As the two of us stood there frozen my eyes moved on their own, taking him in. The last five years has really done him well. Harold's always been in great shape with football, literally had the body every guy wish they had and girls wanted in a guy. Now he seemed to fill out a bit more.His shoulders seemed wider and his waist trimmer, a lot less bulky than in college. The dark grey dress shirt he had on hugged his upper body nicely, showing off his biceps. The sleeves were rolled up to this elbows. My eyes widened as I noticed the tattoos running up both his arms. Damn, those were ne
Harold....She looked different. Good different but different none the less. Seeing Bella sitting across from me made me feel like I fallen into another universe. I had absolutely no clue she was going to be my double date tonight. When Ryan said his girlfriend was bringing her friend he never once mentioned her name or anything about her.I wasn't prepared to turn around and see her standing there. Standing there in what had to be one of the sexiest dresses I've ever seen in my life. I could do nothing but stand there and take her in. Everything from the way her bright red hair stood out against the white dress, to the way the said dress hugged her curves.Bella looked different than when I last saw her five years ago. The obvious was that her hair was longer but it was still that same bright red that caught my attention five years ago. The same red hair I imagined in my sleep.She also seemed to have grown into her body more. I wasn't e
Harold....She looked different. Good different but different none the less. Seeing Bella sitting across from me made me feel like I fallen into another universe. I had absolutely no clue she was going to be my double date tonight. When Ryan said his girlfriend was bringing her friend he never once mentioned her name or anything about her.I wasn't prepared to turn around and see her standing there. Standing there in what had to be one of the sexiest dresses I've ever seen in my life. I could do nothing but stand there and take her in. Everything from the way her bright red hair stood out against the white dress, to the way the said dress hugged her curves.Bella looked different than when I last saw her five years ago. The obvious was that her hair was longer but it was still that same bright red that caught my attention five years ago. The same red hair I imagined in my sleep.She also seemed to have grown into her body more. I wasn't e
After our small conversation we lapsed back into silence. I picked at my meal and across from me Harold did the same, deep in thought. Besides us Ryan and Hannah were in their own little world. Harold and I's drama long forgotten as the pair chatted feverishly with one another.Hannah had moved to sit closer. Their hands intertwined on the table, the food long forgotten between them. I watched jealously. They both were so into each other and I was right in easing Hannah's nerves about Ryan not liking her. By the way he was gazing at her the man was in love. She didn't know it but she already had him wrapped around her finger."They may a cute couple." Harold said, making me jump slightly. I hadn't realized how full on staring I was doing."They do." I murmured. While I was slightly jealous I was happy for my best friend. She deserved it."I promise you he is a good guy. Probably one the best guys I've ever met." Harold looked at the couple before looking
We spent the rest of the meal swapping old stories, laughing at some of the stupid things we did. It almost felt like old times sitting there laughing along with him. The earlier tension between us long gone.Being around Harold was just so easy. It always has been from the moment we met. He always just had this thing about him that made you feel so comfortable. It was why I fell so hard and fast for him. That and the fact that he made me feel like no one ever has.Before Harold I had two boyfriends and neither of them were that memorable. One was my junior year of High School. I wouldn't even classify it as a relationship honestly. We 'went' out, and by went out we went to get ice cream like three times, for maybe a month. We only had one class together and had totally different friend groups so we rarely ever saw each other. We only kissed twice too. t was a weird random relationship and after maybe a month we both kind of just stopped talking.My second boyfr
I was up pretty early the next day not having slept much. My mind raced back and forth about everything, replaying what happened earlier with Harold. Laying there staring up at the ceiling I had to almost pinch myself to make sure I didn't make up last night.It was so surreal seeing Harold again. It was a bit surprising that I haven't run into him in the past five years. With him playing for the Patriots the stadium was literally half an hour from my apartment. It was a pretty good chance of me running into him but I haven't until now.However I have seen him plenty of times on TV. It was probably some sort of self-punishing but once in a while I would watch his games or his interviews, slightly keeping up to date on his career.It wasn't healthy but when he started in his very first game, maybe 8 months after we broke up, I sat with my mom on the couch and watched him play. The entire time my stomach was in my throat seeing him get hit then get right back up f
"So have you heard from the happy couple?" Harold asked after our little awkward staring."Not yet. But I doubt I'll see Hannah the rest of the weekend." We both shared a look as we sipped our coffee."I'm surprised they even let us know they were leaving last night." He commented."It's a bit...crazy to see how smitten she is with him already. She isn't really the type to fall for a guy.""Ryan's been talking non-stop about her." By the way he was talking Ryan had been annoying to be around. "He seems to really like her."We weren't exactly talking about dating but the one question I've been dying to ask came back with vengeance. I was torn between asking in fear of the answer. But before I could stop myself I was already asking it."So...no one special in your life at the moment?" I asked trying to be nonchalant. I took a bite of my muffin to downplay my question, but my entire body was tense as I waited for his answer. I wasn't sure how I
After our slightly intense talk about my mom we turned to lighter conversation. Pretty much just talking about things that have happened in the past five years. I talked about how I enjoyed running my mom's bridal shop, adding in funny mother/mother-in-law stories, and how I came to become friends with Hannah.Harold talked about how intense football training was compared to college and how he threw up everyday for a good week when he got drafted, the workouts being that intense. He talked about how he had to prove himself to each of the 'senior' players. When he said how proud his parents were and how they always came to his games, I tried my absolute best to not grimace. It seemed he had absolutely no idea about what went down with his parents and me.It was just nice sitting there chatting and learning how his life turned out since I last saw him. Compared to him my life was severely boring but he still listened intently, never interrupting. It felt like no time had