The Perfect Match

Ice Cream Celebration

Samy smiled brightly to the crowd of teenagers as she received her medal for winning the district tournament, but her thoughts were elsewhere.

Why the hell would the star of the varsity football team, who happens to be the guy that all of the girls at school drool over, want to hang out with one of the people that has been deemed a nerd from day one? Tennis isn’t exactly a popular sport in high school. Samy thought to herself. Why did I even agree to go? Josh looked like he was up to something, and what if there are other people from school that see them? I don’t fit in with Josh’s friends…. Josh wouldn’t purposefully put me in a situation that I wouldn’t enjoy. He is my best friend and cousin. It will be fine, Samy finally decided as she started to push her way out of the crowd toward her family who had come to watch. Her older brother, Kyle, was away at college, but he was the only one that wasn’t there. Her parents and Allie, her younger sister, were waiting for her a little way away from the crowd of spectators and players.

“You did very well!” Mr. Harrison, Samy’s father, praised, clapping her on the back.

Samy smiled and asked, “Anything you noticed that I need to change?”

“Only to remind you to keep your eye on the ball and where your opponent is. You made a couple mistakes that were because of that,” he answered. He then smiled and then said, “But I am proud of the work you did today. One step closer to where we want to go.” Samy was prevented from answering by Allie jumping up and wrapping her arms around Samy’s neck, making her teeter forward precariously.

“Allie, don’t do that to your sister,” Mrs. Harrison gently chided, tugging on Allie’s bright red hair.

“She’s fine, Mom,” Samy laughed, giving her shorter than average, ten-year-old sister a hug before setting her down.

Mrs. Harrison promptly engulfed Samy in a hug and whispered in her ear, “You were incredible out there! I am so proud of you, and so is your father! You should have heard him bragging about you to the people around us!”

“Thanks Mom,” Samy whispered back. “Hey Dad,” Samy called as she stepped out of her mother’s embrace, “would you mind if I went with Josh and one of his friends to get some ice cream?”

“Do I know this friend?” Mr. Harrison asked.

“Nooo, but you know Josh,” Samy answered. “I won’t even eat that much ice cream. And if you want, I’ll run it off with a couple miles when I get home.”

“Steve, let her go. You know that Josh will look out for your star tennis player. He always does. And she just won district. Let her go celebrate a little with kids her own age,” Mrs. Harrison said, gently laying her hand on Mr. Harrison’s arm.

“All right,” Mr Harrison consented, his eyes softening towards Samy. “But don’t forget, we’re celebrating as a family tonight!”

“Okay! Thanks Dad!” Samy pressed a quick kiss to Mr. Harrison’s cheek before she hurried over to where Josh and David were waiting, torn between  being excited and nervous.

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“So,” David said, “are you and Samy pretty close? I mean, you seem to get along well, but I’ve never heard you mention her before.”

“Dude, I talk about her all the time. You just didn’t know she was hot, so you never paid attention. Her dad, Uncle Steve, and his family have always lived in the same town as us, or maybe the other way around. Samy and I have been really good friends since we were little, and we hang out together all the time. Just the two of us though. She’s pretty shy, and isn’t comfortable with the people you and I hang out with at school.”

“Cool… so, I saw Samy’s parents and who I assume is her little sister. Does she have any other siblings?”

“Yeah, she has an older brother, Kyle. But he’s off at college right now. He’s a big time tennis player too. But I think Samy has a better chance at going pro than Kyle does.”

“Pro, huh? Is tennis really that big?”

“Yeah, I guess. I mean, there are all these big tournaments and stuff all around the world. It’s just not really my thing.”

“Her brother isn’t good enough to go pro, though?”

“Nah, he got his mom’s short jeans. Samy is the only tall one. But he’s decent, I think.”

“Speaking of brothers, where is your brother, Chris?” David asked.

Josh started to fidget a bit before reluctantly answering, “He’s in jail again. Got caught trying to lift some computers or something.”

“I’m sorry, man” David answered, feeling a little awkward.

“Sorry for what?” Samy asked as she walked up to them.

“I just told him Chris is back in jail. Talk about black sheep of the family,” Josh tried to joke. Samy patted Josh on the back as an awkward silence fell on the group.

“Well, everybody to my truck! Samy, you can sit in the middle,” Josh said, suddenly jovial again.

Samy raised an eyebrow at Josh. “You know I probably smell right now, right? I did just finish a match that took over an hour.”

“It’ll be fine. David and I don’t want to sit next to each other. Besides, it’ll give you and David a better chance to get to know each other!”

Samy felt her face go on fire, and she looked down at her feet, scuffing the toe of one shoe against the ground. She glanced up and saw David smile at her, which made her face go an even deeper shade of red. She didn’t know what other choice she had, though,if she wanted to go with them; she didn’t have a car of her own. They all walked over to Josh’s truck and clambered in, Samy sitting in the middle. 

Awkward silence permeated the air for several minutes, until David turned to Josh with a question: “So, do you think Coach will keep Miller in even though he has fumbled almost every ball he has gotten this season?” He shifted uncomfortably as he realized this might not be a conversation that Samy could join into, but he couldn’t stand the silence any longer, and he couldn’t think of anything else to talk about.

“He doesn’t fumble every ball, man. He’s a decent running back,” Josh replied.

“Well, he seems to fumble every time it really matters, like in the fourth quarter, a minute to go, and we’re down by six,” David huffed.

“You haven’t been doing so hot yourself Mr. Quarterback,” Josh said.

“The defense hasn’t been covering me!”

“Well, everybody thinks it’s your fault that we lost against Canyon High.”

“Whatever, man. It was totally Miller’s fault. Remember, fourth quarter, minute to go?”

Josh looked at Samy out of the corner of his eye. “Samy, what do you think?” he asked.

Samy shrugged her shoulders; tennis was her life, and with her shyness, she had only been to one of their high school’s football games when her parents wanted to go watch Josh. With how cute and nice David was, she wished she could participate more in the conversation. “I have no clue. I don’t even know all the rules to football.”

Josh rolled his eyes dramatically and changed the focus of the conversation, tired of arguing. “David, did you see the game Monday night? It was a pretty good game!”

“Yeah, I did watch that one,” David answered. “I was glad to see that the offense is actually good this year. Last year the Colts were horrible, and I hate a game where one team is being schooled.”

Samy was relieved that they were pulling up to the ice cream shop; she hoped that the conversation would change to something that she could actually participate in, or else the next hour was going to be a long one. And she would much rather get to know David better; those brown eyes made her get butterflies every time he looked at her. They all climbed out of the truck and made their way toward the front doors. Samy was glad to see that it was fairly empty as they walked in.

“What can I get for you?” a pimply teenager asked them from behind the counter. Josh motioned Samy to go first.

“I’ll have a bowl of Cookies n’ Cream with hot fudge on top,” Samy answered.

“What? No other toppings?” Josh asked with exaggerated incredulity.

“Hmmm…. You’re right. Maybe a few gummy bears, the colorful sprinkles, and a cherry on top,” Samy answered with a smile. 

“Trying to regain all the weight you worked off before your match?” Josh asked with a grin. Samy smiled back and shook her head, glancing at David out of the corner of her eye.

David, seeing that the register girl was getting impatient, said, “I’ll just have strawberry ice cream in a bowl please. Samy involuntarily pulled up her nose. Both Josh and David laughed at the candid reaction.

“So, I’m guessing you don’t like strawberry ice cream?” David asked with an amused grin.

“It just sounds gross. I mean, I love fresh strawberries, but there is just something wrong with strawberry flavored ice cream,” Samy answered with a shy smile.

“Says the girl who just ordered a little of everything with her ice cream. And how can you like a cherry on top, but not like strawberry ice cream?” David liked the way Samy’s smile lit up her eyes.

“I don’t,” Samy giggled at the confused look on David’s face. “It is just a little thing that Josh and I do every time we go get ice cream. I always order his and he orders mine, so what I get is usually a surprise, and Josh always wants one with a little bit of everything on it. Kind of dumb, I know, but it’s fun.”

“Dumb? Never dumb! How could you say such things?” Josh asked in mock horror. He had all of their ice cream orders on a tray and motioned them over towards a booth with his head. “All right, Samy, here is your mint chocolate chip with fudge drizzled over it and some sprinkles on top!” Josh handed Samy her bowl of ice cream and grabbed another colorful bowl off the tray for himself. 

“What? No cherry for me?” Samy asked.

“I already ate it,” Josh answered with a grin. “But if you really want it back, I’ll try to regurgitate it for you.”

“I think I’ll be okay. But thanks for the offer,” Samy answered in disgust.

David took a look at what was left and said, “Dude, what’s with all the crap on top of my ice cream? Gummy bears, sprinkles, fudge, brownie pieces, chocolate chips, caramel, and cookie dough?”

Josh handed him the bowl and a spoon and answered, “Eh, you’ll work it all off in practice tomorrow anyways. Or puke it all out halfway through drills. Either way, it’s not staying in you long. Man up.”

Samy laughed and said between bites, “You will end up eating all of it whether you like it or not. Josh does this dumb thing where he won’t drive you home until it’s all eaten.” 

David looked at Josh. “Challenge accepted.” Josh grinned and began wolfing down his ice cream as fast as he could. Samy slowly savored her ice cream, not caring that the boys were in a deathmatch to see who could finish their ice cream first. She thought they were just lucky they hadn’t had a brain freeze… yet.

Josh pumped his fist into the air as he finished his last bite of ice cream and sat back in his chair contentedly. “Winner, right here.”

“All you did was miss out on actually enjoying your ice cream,” Samy said, enjoying another mouthful of her mint chocolate chip.

Josh shrugged his shoulders and turned to David, who was just finishing the last of his ice cream. “So, you still going out with that horror of a girlfriend? Cause Samy here is available.”

Samy felt her face light up to a bright red again, and David coughed on his last bite. 

“Um, does your cousin want you finding dates for her?” David asked, rubbing the back of his head uncomfortably.

“He’s always trying to hook me up with one of his friends,” Samy mumbled, her face still bright red. 

“Uh huh. Well, yes, I still am with my girlfriend. But I’m kind of offended that I’m apparently your last choice for your favorite cousin.”

“I wasn’t sure that you were worthy of her,” Josh said, his tone suddenly very serious.

“And why not?” David asked, looking up surprised to see that Josh was serious, which was a rare occurrence, unless they were in the middle of a football game.

This can’t be happening. Josh needs to shut up. Of course he is still dating someone. He’s too gorgeous to not be. Samy smiled apologetically and cut in before Josh could answer and make this already awkward conversation worse. “Don’t mind him. Josh is very protective of me, and he knows how shy I am, so when he can convince me to go on a date, he wants to make sure I don’t have a horrible time,” she offered lamely.

“Glad to know you think so much of me, man,” David replied. He knew he shouldn’t care about getting an answer from Josh, since he did have a girlfriend, but there was something about Samy that he really liked. And he didn’t like the idea that Josh, his best friend for years, didn’t think he was good enough for her. Josh had never even mentioned her before today. Just as he was about to push him for an answer, Josh got up.

“Time to leave?” Samy asked half hopefully.

“Not yet. Bathroom,” Josh replied and walked away. Samy glanced at David, feeling awkward again.

“So, how long have you been playing tennis?” David asked.

Samy smiled, relieved to be on a topic that was easy for her to talk about, and said, “My dad started me playing when I was about four, and I have played and loved it ever since. It’s kind of a thing in my family. All of us play, even my mom.”

“You did great in your game today. I’ve never really been interested in tennis, but today I realized that it isn't such a boring sport after all, and it’s more complicated than I thought.”

“Yes, it is more complicated than most people think. Like, depending on how you hit the ball, you can put something called top spin on it, which changes how it moves after it hits the ground. Also, it’s called a match. Not a game. There are games within a match, but the whole thing is called a match.” Samy blushed again when she realized she had corrected him on something that probably wasn’t that big of a deal. She glanced up and saw Brittney, the most popular, prettiest, and also the meanest girl at the school walk into the ice cream shop. She slouched down in her seat and tried to avoid any eye contact. She was also pretty sure that this was David’s girlfriend, now that she thought about it, and without Josh here, this was about to get real awkward real fast.