The Perfect Match

Brittney

“David, what are you doing here? Who is this?” Brittney asked, obviously upset.

'Crap. So much for avoiding her. Where is Josh?!' Samy kept her eyes towards the ground.

“Hey, Britt. This is Samy, Josh’s cousin. Josh took me to her tennis game and we came here afterward,” David answered, smiling. He stood up and put his arm around Brittney, trying to alleviate some of the tension.

“Who even plays tennis? I thought that was just for old people,” Brittney spat at Samy. “And where is Josh now?” 

“He’s in the bathroom. He should be back soon.”

Brittney glared at Samy, and then turned into David and wrapped both arms around his waist. “David, why would you spend the day with Josh and this nerd instead of me? You know I don’t get to see you enough,” Brittney whined.

“I did ask you to spend the day with me this morning, and you said no,” David said, slightly annoyed.

“It wasn’t my fault that I couldn’t see you this morning. Being captain of the cheerleading squad is a big responsibility. Come with me now. Let’s go do something,” Brittney said, standing on tiptoes and pressing a kiss to David’s lips.

There was a pause as David looked down at Samy. He could tell that she was extremely uncomfortable and embarrassed, and he was sure Brittney being jealous and mean had added to that. “Samy, could you tell Josh where I went?” David asked.

Samy nodded her head but didn’t look up or say anything as David and Brittney walked through the doors hand in hand. Samy sat staring at her hands for a few more moments and then slowly started eating the rest of her ice cream.

'Samy, you are so stupid! To flirt with him, even if it was in your own awkward, pathetic way. Honestly, how could you be so dumb? Of course, he is dating the hottest cheerleader at school,' Samy berated herself. She attacked her ice cream in an effort to keep the tears from spilling over. 'You never should have come with them. Josh’s schemes with his friends never go well. Even the two dates that he managed to convince you to go on were horrible. You’re too shy and awkward to be able to carry on any sort of decent conversation. And with David, he didn’t even try to defend you when Brittney was rude. And he didn’t apologize for leaving. Samy stared up at the lights for a moment. You just need to focus on tennis. David isn’t for you. Never will be. Your crush that you’ve had on him for years is just a pipe dream.' 

Samy’s inner monologue was interrupted when Josh asked, “Where’s David?”

“He left with Brittney,” Samy answered dully, trying to sound uninterested. 

“Oh yeah. I forgot that she was his girlfriend,” Josh said, pulling a face. Samy didn’t respond

Josh immediately sat down and asked, “Samy, what’s wrong? Did Brittney do something?”

Samy shook her head and answered, “Nothing out of the ordinary. She’s mean to anyone that’s not either a cheerleader or a football player. And I was sitting alone with her boyfriend.”

“Then what’s wrong?” Samy just shook her head again while biting her lip.

“Is it safe for me to assume that this has something to do with the crush you’ve had on David forever?” Josh asked. Samy gave a barely perceptible nod. Josh put a hand on her arm and pulled her up to her feet. He knew that he was Samy’s only confidant; she only talked to her parents about tennis and school, and he was her only close friend. It was a little rough to do the “girl talks” with her, but they rarely happened, and he knew he was the only one she could talk to. 

“Okay. I already paid, so let’s go get in the truck, and while I am driving, you are going to vent, or else I will be forced to make you late for your family party,” Josh threatened. Samy smiled at him, grateful for the friendship that they had, and headed out the doors, Josh following right behind her.

Once Josh had started the engine, Samy said quietly, “He just seemed really different from what I had always assumed he was really like before today. I’ve just crushed on him from afar, assuming that his being nice was my imaginary version of him. I enjoyed his conversation, he seemed to be genuinely interested in what I said, even though it wasn’t much. And I was enjoying myself until Brittney came. She was rude to me, but David didn’t say or do anything, really. Even after she was a jerk, he just got up and left with her.”

“This is totally on me, Samy. I didn’t realize he was still with Brittney. It’s been so long since he’s said anything about a girlfriend. I thought maybe he was past the superficial girls he has dated in the past. Correction still is dating. Just forget about him Samy. I thought he was better than that. And I’m sorry for how he treated you. You never see him at school anyways, so you shouldn’t have to worry about any run-ins with him. I promise that I’ll plow him over at least a few times at football practice tomorrow.” Josh saw that it hadn't helped her feel much better, and decided to do a hail-Mary to try and fix a problem he felt like he had created. “Look, after the game on Friday, there is a party that I am required to go to, so I was wondering if you would come with me? We’ll only be there long enough for me to say hi to some of the guys, like Brent. You like Brent. He’s come to some of my family’s game nights that you've been at. And we’ll stay away from David, and then we’ll go see a movie or something. So, will you? You have to let me make this up to you.”

Samy knew it was pointless to try and say no, even though she thought that all sounded awful, except the movie part. But Josh would just keep pestering her until she said yes. And she could tell that he felt really bad. “Sure. I guess.”

“Cool! Thanks, Samy! I’ll make this up to you, I promise!” They had pulled up in front of Samy’s house.

“Thanks, Josh. And thanks for the ice cream. Want to come in?” Samy offered as she opened the door.

“Nah. My mom wanted me home for dinner tonight. But I’ll see you in a couple of days. I promise, Friday will make up for this afternoon!”

Samy nodded and got out of the truck, slowly heading towards her house. Josh didn’t drive off immediately; he made sure Samy was safely in her house before he pressed on the gas, heading towards his own home, a few angry thoughts going through his mind about David.