The Player novel Chapter 19

Brielle

3:15 PM

"Are you excited for your dance showcase in a few weeks?" Sam asked, sinking her teeth into her mom's homemade carrot cupcake.

Sam and I sat on the rusted swings in her backyard, trying not to break the old swing-set. Christopher had just asked me out yesterday, and I was dying to tell her.

"I'm a mix of both excited and really nervous." I dipped my fingers into the cream cheese icing on my cupcake before licking it off. With all the Christopher drama, the upcoming showcase had completely slipped my mind.

"Christopher has surprisingly learned a lot, and I feel like I'm ready. But the Joffrey scout is going to be there and if I don't nail it I'm totally screwed." I needed to impress him. If I didn't I could kiss my dreams of going to the Joffrey School of Ballet goodbye.

"Well, I know you'll be amazing," Sam reassured me. I took a deep-breath, trying to keep my stress at bay. "I sure hope so."

I angled my body towards her, a smile reaching across my face. "I actually came here because I have something really exciting to tell you."

She began to bounce on her swing, the joy evident on her face. "What is it? Did you get a car? Did you win the lottery? Did you buy the whole season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills on DVD for me?"

My brows furrowed in confusion. "No, no, and what did I tell you about watching reality TV?" She dismissively waved her hand at me.

"The news is that on our date yesterday, Christopher asked me to be his girlfriend."

Sam let out a high-pitched squeal before jumping out of her seat and wrapping me in a tight hug. "I'm so happy for you!" she cried.

"Thank you, but..." I bit on my lip nervously. "I don't know, I feel like we might be rushing things."

Her eyes grew concerned. "But I thought that you wanted him to ask you out?"

"I did!" I said quickly. "It's just that I was sitting down today and realized that we've only been on one date, and I don't really know that much about him."

Sam looked at me with confusion. "You guys have been spending so much time together that I highly doubt that you don't know him."

"Well we spend most of the time bickering," I diverted my attention to my feet before looking up at her again. "I feel like I know all of the big things about him but none of the little stuff."

She paused, lost in her thoughts, before finally replying to me. "I just think that you should be honest with him and tell him how you fell."

I let out a big huff. "That's easier said than done."

"You're telling me. I've been trying to tell my mom that her carrot cake is dry for years."

My jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me, your mom makes the best carrot cake!"

"You need to focus," she commanded. "Now text him before you chicken out."

I took in a deep breath before taking out my phone. After typing, I quickly clicked send, not wanting to second guess myself.

Come over. We need to talk. -B

~~~

I laid face down on my sofa, waiting for Christopher to get here. In the meantime, I entertained myself by reading The Hunger Games. It was my third time reading the series, and I still didn't know if I was Team Peta or Team Gale. When the doorbell finally rang it took me by surprise, snapping me out of concentration.

I quickly looked myself over and made sure that I looked presentable before making my way to the door. When I opened it, I was welcomed by a disgruntled Christopher.

His shirt was wrinkled, and he raked his hands through his sandy blondehair. By how unkept it was, I knew it wasn't the first time he had done it. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts because it took him a few moments to finally notice me in front of him.

After recovering from the shock of seeing him so un-put together, I began to talk. "Hey I wanted to talk to you abou-"

Before I could finish, he quickly cut me off. "Look, I don't know why you want to break up, but I just want you to know that I can change whatever you need me to in order to make us work." He grabbed both of my hands from my sides. "Just don't give up."

I looked at him, my brows furrowed in confusion. Breaking up? "What are you talking about?"

"The text you sent me." Sensing the confusion on my face, he further explained. "The one where you said that we needed to talk?"

It took me a few more moments before a wave of realization hit me. He must have misinterpreted my text. "I just meant that I wanted to talk to you, not that I wanted to break up."

He looked at me, his face dropping in the process. "Brielle, you don't send someone "we need to talk" if you don't want to break up!"

"Ok, well how was I supposed to know that?" I said defensively, crossing my arms.