.
The next few weeks flew by for both Emery and Austin. They met each other every day at the hospital and made sure to spend a little time talking to each other whenever they could. They even exchanged cell phone numbers and texted each other when they had spare time from doing all the other things they had going on in their lives.
***
“How come I’ve never seen you at school?” Austin sat down beside Emery at their hangout, the ice cream shop that only they went to. They’d decided to eat dinner before going their separate ways to practice and walking the dogs.
Emery took a small bite of her cheeseburger and swallowed before answering. “You have.” She looked at Austin, waiting for his response, as she took a drink of her soda through the straw.
“Oh yeah, how’s that?” Austin was dumbfounded. He didn’t think he’d seen her before in school, but maybe she’d only seen him because of football and all that. He needed her to explain more so that he could try to figure out the when and where.
Emery was becoming more comfortable around him, even though she never thought that to be possible. She knew what she was going to tell him might change the friendship they had. Either he would feel bad, or he would finally remember her from all the teasing and walk away.
“OH MY GOD, she's like a little fairy.” Emery tried to do her best impression of Apryl, the leader of the vicious pack of cheerleaders that followed the players around. She was Austin’s girlfriend or ex-girlfriend depending on what rotation of switching partners they all seemed to be on.
It wasn’t that Emery dressed or pretended to be a fairy, but she had to dress in clothes that fit, sometimes meaning they came from the 'kids' section. She couldn’t wear the so-called slut clothes that Apryl and her crew did. Not only would she not be comfortable exposing herself like that, but she just didn’t have the body to fill any of it out.
Austin felt the blood drain from his face as soon as Emery said those words. It wasn’t him who had ever said anything to her, he didn’t even laugh at Apryl and her entourage’s attempt at humiliating others, but he did remember the teasing. “It wasn’t me.” He knew he sounded like a five-year-old trying to get out of trouble for something he was caught doing that he shouldn’t, but he played no part in the harassment.
“I didn’t say it was.” Emery saw that Austin was going to go the humiliated route, and he was doing it well. “It doesn’t matter who said what or who didn’t. I just ignore your girlfriend and the other—”
“Bitches,” Austin finished Emery’s sentence. He knew what most of the school, mainly the girls, thought about that particular circle of friends. “And she’s my long time ago ex-girlfriend.” He made sure to stress that he and Apryl were over even though most of the school thought they were still an item thanks to Apryl’s constant hanging on him.
Emery choked a little on her saliva when Austin announced that the girls he’d been hanging around with for the past three years were total bitches. She always thought they were a close-knit group, or at least, that’s how they seemed to those on the outside.
“You better eat.” Emery motioned toward his half-eaten dinner. “You’ll need it for the grueling practice coming up.”
Austin had been telling her what they had to do in all of their practices. She had much more respect for him in regards to what he put himself through just for football. Emery knew she wouldn’t make it five minutes in the weight training, cardio, and practice plays he had to do every day. No wonder he was in as good a shape as he was. Emery sneaked glances at Austin while he finished shoveling the triple cheeseburger and fries into his mouth. She took one last nibble and packed up the rest of hers to throw away.
Austin walked Emery over to her car. He still felt like shit after she announced how he should know her. “So…” He wanted to ask her to the party that was going on this weekend but knew that would probably be a big no-go since it was apparent she wouldn’t be comfortable around any of his group. “I’ll give you a call when I get home later.” He was asking more than telling her what he was going to do.
Emery nodded her head okay, which was a shock to Austin. He thought she’d say no about him calling. He bit down on his bottom lip and slowly moved his head toward hers. She looked panicked like she wanted to hurry up and getaway. He placed a tender kiss on her cheek.
“Sorry,” he whispered in her ear. He backed away and just about ran over to his truck. He didn’t want to see whether she approved or disapproved of the small gesture. It was for all the shit his so-called friends had put her through. And, also for the fact if he kissed her on the lips like he wanted to, he knew he’d probably get slapped across the face or chase her off for good.
Emery watched as Austin’s truck backed out onto the main road and took off in the direction of the school. Her hand was still on the spot that he’d just kissed. She didn’t know whether to think. Was it because he felt terrible for laughing along with his friends’ jokes all those times? Or maybe he just wanted to kiss her?
She let out a deep sigh and went along on her way to the animal shelter. At least with the pups’ kisses, there was no hidden meaning behind them. They did it because they genuinely liked her. It would be so much better if that were the reason why Austin had kissed her than him doing it out of pity.
The sound of her cell phone buzzing alerted Emery to the incoming call. She’d spent almost two hours playing and walking the dogs at the shelter, which was enough to exhaust anyone. After that experience, she ate, got a shower, and laid down for a quick nap. The number that showed was Austin’s. Emery assumed he was making good on his promise to call after practice. “Hey.” She sat up on her bed and brushed the hair back off of her face. It wasn’t like he could see through the phone or anything, but as a natural instinct, she wanted to look semi-normal and not have her hair flipped out in all different directions. “Hey,” Austin repeated Emery’s greeting in the same soft tone she’d used. “Sounds like you were already sleeping.” He looked at his clock once more. It was only nine o’clock. There was no way a seventeen-year-old girl was going to be sleeping this early during the summer. “Almost. It was a busy day at the shelter.” Emery stood up and walked around a b
Austin was already gaming with Brian when Emery finally got to the department. She snuck in without him seeing and went straight over to where Anne was helping another little boy. “Has Molly made it down here yet?” She looked around but didn’t see her red-headed friend anywhere. Anne shook her head no. “I think her mom was in this morning and they were watching movies today.” “Okay, that’s cool. She was looking run down, so this will give her time to rest.” Emery glanced at Austin out of the corner of her eye. He was still occupied with Brian. So she was still safe from having to give him an answer just yet. “Sounds like advice someone else could use.” Anne patted Emery on the hand and went back to helping the little boy with his painting. Emery had looked more exhausted the past couple of weeks than she had in a long time. But, the girl refused to give up anything and seemed like she wanted to take on everything and save the world. Eme
“Who the hell is that?” Dylan, one of Austin’s good friends, nudged him as they got closer to the field. He nodded his head in the direction of Emery, who was still seated where Austin had told her she could sit. “That’s Emery, she came with me.” Austin kept his eyes on her. As if she could feel him watching her, Emery looked up from her cell phone and saw him walking toward her. She gave him a small wave and he held up his helmet to show that he’d seen her. “Isn’t that like fairy girl or whatever your girlfriend calls her?” Dylan thought he recognized her from around school and all the times that Apryl and the other girls had said shit about her. Even though they were good friends, Austin was ready to flatten him out right now. “First, don’t say shit about Emery. Second, Apryl isn’t nor will she ever be my girlfriend again.” Austin walked away from Dylan and headed over to where Emery was. “Having fun yet?” He sat down on the be
Emery began to walk over to where Austin had parked his truck. It was taking him a little longer than he said, but she needed to get up and move around before she was permanently stuck in that seated position. She heard someone coming up fast behind her and turned to see who it was. Austin was jogging across the field like he had endless energy. He finally caught up with her and reached for her hand once again. She didn’t pull away but instead enjoyed the warmth and crazy feelings she got when he was around. “You look much cleaner,” Emery commented on the fact that he was no longer covered in sweat and dirt. Austin just shook his head and smiled. Leave it to Emery to comment on whether or not he was clean. Any other girl, well, the ones who followed the players, would be questioning if there was a party, whose house they were going to, and by now they’d be running their hands all over him. He opened the truck door for her and helped her in. Once she wa
“Emery, are you sure you don’t want to go?” Mrs. Warden wanted to give her daughter one last chance for the dinner and play, but she knew that she would probably say no. “I think Austin and I are just going to hang out.” Emery hadn’t told her mother about the party he was taking her to. Why have her mom worry when she needed some time out. She slipped on her sneakers and glanced at the clock. It was almost seven-thirty, so she knew Austin would be calling soon. “That’s great that you two have hit it off so well. You’ll have to invite him over soon.” Mrs. Warden held out her arms as her husband slipped her light jacket on her. “I’m not sure what time we’ll be back, but have fun with whatever you and Austin decide to do.” She gave Emery a small peck on the cheek, then took her husband’s arm as he led her outside. Emery waved to them as they walked out the door, then sat down to wait for Austin’s call. Finally, ten minutes later, her cell rang wit
Emery was stunned at what she’d just heard. It all seemed to make sense. She couldn’t believe she’d been so naïve to think that Austin Murray would actually fall for her. She just wanted to go home, but couldn’t even call her mom to come get her since her parents were out for the night. She felt the tears building in her eyes and knew she couldn’t cry, that would give them all way too much, but she felt like everyone was watching her and laughing because of the supposed bet. The guys were coming her way and she quickly looked away, hoping none of them would notice a change in her demeanor. Austin could tell that something was wrong with Emery or she wasn’t feeling well as soon as he came back to where she was sitting. Her eyes were all watery, face was flushed, and it looked as though she’d wiped most of her lipstick and blush off on the crumpled napkin on the table. “Are you okay?” Austin picked up his shirt folded on the table and pulled it back on.
Austin walked inside the house after Emery made the offer. It was a normal-looking house with tons of pictures hanging around of Emery from the time she was a baby until now. He stood just inside the doorway until she led him in the direction she wanted him to go. They walked down one of the short hallways and through double doors into a room that looked like a family room. He followed her over to the flower cushioned sofa that was positioned in front of a large, thin screen television and sat down next to her. Not too close, but enough where his leg was touching hers. “Why? I mean, if she did lie, why would Apryl do that?” Emery had to start somewhere to maybe trust Austin again and get over the fear that he could be deceiving her. Austin shrugged. He had no clue why Apryl did anything that she did. “I wish I could give you a reason, but I don’t have one.” Austin held his hand next to Emery’s to see if she’d pull away again. When she didn’t, he put hi
The next two weeks went by with Emery and Austin spending more and more time together. Not only did they have their volunteer time together, but they also did things after his football practices and her other volunteer hours. They didn’t go to any more parties, not that there weren’t any, but Austin felt it was better for them to stay away because of Apryl. They went to each other’s houses, meet the other’s families, and just enjoyed doing all the other normal stuff that other teen couples did. And yes, that meant that sometimes the moments got a little too hot, but they still hadn’t ventured past the whole second base thing. * * * Austin went looking for Emery as soon as he got into the hospital. She’d decided to drive herself because she wanted to go in early and see one of her favorite patients who wasn’t doing so well. “Hey, Anne. Where’s Emery?” Austin spotted the older lady that was always there when they were there dur