I sucked in my cheek, biting at the inside before I clicked my tongue at the silence.
God, please, why is this so awkward?
“Well, good luck. I know you’ll do great,” I said finally, curling my hand into a fist before I hesitantly bumped it against his shoulder.
Did I really justbro-fisthis shoulder?
“Okay, I think we need to go out to the field and secure some good seats.” I circled Siege and Dex’s wrists before I forced a wide smile towards Nero, already walking backwards to exit the school.
“See you out there!” I called out, and Nero nodded, scratching his nape as he lifted a hand for a wave.
I fully turned around, not wanting to look at him any second longer as I felt my cheeks warm, and IknowI’m imagining it but the writing he left on my skin felt like it was burning.
“Smooth,” I heard Dex teasingly chortle at me, and I could only roll my eyes.
When will I get over this childish crush on Nero?
Or is the real question ‘will I’?
It wasn’t reallya surprise that Fallen Oaks won.
Nero has proved once again that the high school football world is his, and we’re just living in it.
Everyone was so hyped up about the win that I almost forgot about my duties.
I was taken aback for a bit when Nero directly made eye contact with me from my place in the aisle, and he made a gesture of a hand over his head. My brows furrowed, and I looked at the other players, seeing their chosen girls were already pouring water over their heads.
I immediately opened my backpack, grabbed my water bottle, and ran down the steps with it in my hand. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have put ice on it this morning!”
But really, I was laughing hard because I know it’s going to be freezing cold.
Insulated water bottles for the win!
I pushed on the button that flipped the cap back, and then I poured all of the icy water on Nero’s head.
“Oh, you little shit,” he was shaking his head as the water cascaded down from his now wet hair, and I knew he was feeling the cold while I continued my loud cackles.
“You think this is funny?” Nero said suddenly, looking up at me as I emptied out my bottle, even dropping the tiniest cubes of ice on him. He was moving closer and closer, and my eyes widened as I took steps back.
“Hey, hey! What are you doing?” I asked with a hint of panic in my voice as I started to walk faster as he did.
Before I could even run, he had already grabbed my waist with both hands, and I was fighting for dear life as he shook his head, the icy water going everywhere on me.
The cold bit at my skin, but I knew his suffering was far more severe.
Until he bent down to level his head with mine to rub his hair against me, getting my skin and the top of my shirt wet. “Combs! It’s so cold!”
I was laughing hard, trying to push him away, but what did I have on a big football player with so much adrenaline after winning a game?
Once Nero was satisfied with my state and shivering, he pulled away just enough to look at me with a smirk on his face.
His arm was around me, our faces inches apart, and I was captivated by the beauty of his eyes, which shone just as brightly as they did under the porch light the night we met.
And just like that night, he had his eyes trained on me again. Just me.
The only difference from that night? Even when I could hear and feel people approaching us to congratulate Nero, he didn’t look away.
He didn’t look away like before when Andy caught his attention as she appeared behind me on the stairs the night we met.
