Finding You

Chapter Six

D.J.

So I asked Sarah, that’s the main part of it. Now to make sure that it’s okay with Jake. I probably should’ve asked him first but it’s too late now.

Not too long after the girls left, we made everyone else leave too. With the game tomorrow, we need to rest.

A few guys decide to play a game of poker since that’s originally what we were supposed to do.

I opt out.

I’m too nervous about talking to Jake. I head to my room and throw on gym shorts and a cutoff. My mind wanders to seeing Sarah in Jake’s clothes tonight, wishing they were mine.

I sigh.

Yeah, well, she will never be in your clothes unless you talk to Jake.

I head out to the living room where the game is in full swing. I walk up next to Jake as he’s staring at his cards. He starts to scoot over to make room when he notices me, but I stop him with a shake of my head.

“No, I’m not playing but can we talk for a sec?”

Without looking up from his cards he says, “Dude if I put my cards down, you know someone will cheat.” He glares over at Brad.

“Bring your cards with you then.”

He still doesn’t move.

I know one thing that will get him up out of his chair.

“It’s about Sarah.”

As soon as her name was out of my mouth, he shot up so fast that his chair fell backwards.

“She just left; did something happen? Is she okay?”

I instantly feel guilty.

I know that if anything would make him move, it would be the mention of his sister. He would move heaven and earth for her if he could. The room fell silent as Jake asked if she was ok.

“No man, she’s fine. But we need to talk.”

He looks at me suspiciously as he follows me out of the living room. I head into our rec room, it’s furthest from the living room.

“You should probably sit down.”

I nod to the couch, but he sits on a stool instead. I take a second to get my bearings.

“Just spit it out man, you’re making me think that something is wrong.”

I almost shut my eyes as I tell him but I don’t want him to think that I’m ashamed that I like her, so I look at him head on.

“How would you feel about me asking Sarah on a date?”

I already know that I would be with her no matter what he says. I know that’s shitty of me because he’s my best friend, but I’ve been waiting to find her for a long time. I’m not gonna let her get away.

He crosses his arms.

“I had a feeling this was coming.”

“You did?”

I swallow past the lump in my throat.

He looks amused.

“It’s not hard to miss you two trading glances when you think no one is looking.”

I groan internally. I thought I was doing a decent job of hiding it but apparently not. He’s probably known all along.

Jake gets up from his stool and slaps me on the back.

“It’s a little weird that my best friend is falling for my sister, but I wouldn’t trust her with anyone more than you.” He leans closer to me, “With that being said, I will kill you if you hurt her, best friend or not.”

Nodding my head, “That’s fair but I won’t hurt the girl I love.”

My eyes go wide, and I realize what I just said. Jake looks as surprised as I feel. I wait for him to punch me, but he just shakes his head, “Man, you’ve got it bad,” and walks out of the room.

I’m stunned, that was not the reaction that I was expecting. Especially when I used the “L” word. Where did that come from?

I’m still confused as I step back into the living room.

Jake looks up from his cards giving me a s**t eating grin.

Damn, he’s gonna make my life a living hell now, isn’t he.

Sarah

Saturday morning came too quickly.

Jake gave me my tickets for the game last night, two for Rebecca and I and two for mom and dad. We’re supposed to meet them near the entrance about a half an hour before the game starts.

We take turns in the shower and start to get ready. We both wear Jake’s number on our shirts and on our face, we’re out the door with twenty minutes to spare. I wanted D.J.’s number on me but I wasn’t sure how he would react.

We make our way to the entrance but I don’t spot my parents yet, so we wait.

Checking my phone, we now have ten minutes until kickoff, when I feel arms wrap around me.

“How’s my baby girl doing?”

I smile big as I turn in his arms, “Daddy.”

I wrap my arms around him and squeeze.

“Sorry I’m late, traffic was worse than I thought.”

“That’s okay. Where’s mom?”

I look behind him to make sure that I didn’t miss her.

“She woke up with a migraine this morning. She wanted to be here, but it just wasn’t going to happen.”

“Oh.”

Mom’s migraines were always the worst.

“So that means there is a seat for me, right?”

My head whips around to my left. I sprint to my brother and jump on him.

“Wait,” I say mid hug, “What are you doing here? I thought you had practice.”

“I do but our games don’t start for a couple of weeks. I told coach that I couldn’t miss Jake’s first college game. I do need to leave right after to get back though.”

I stick my lip out and pout as he gives dad a hug.

Something catches my eye; a woman is staring at us from a across the entrance. I swear she looks familiar. Her hair is shorter than what I remember. Our eyes meet and she turns the other way and starts walking, she’s gone before I can blink.

That was weird.

“Hey, I hate to interrupt but we better get to our seats or we’re gonna miss kickoff,” Rebecca says.

“Right,” I say as I turn toward her.

I introduce Rebecca to Walker and dad as we head to our seats, making it just in time for kickoff.

We scream our heads off the whole game. It’s not exactly a shut out but let’s just say that no one is worried that the other team will catch up.

I’ve missed watching my brothers play football. Though now I have to go to different games to watch them play, instead of them being on the same team like they were in high school.

There is about twenty minutes left in the game when Walker stands to leave.

“Jake’s gonna be mad that he didn’t get to see you,” I say as I give him a hug.

“That’s why I’m gonna try to sweet talk my way to the sidelines.”

“I doubt you’ll make it but good luck.”

He rubs the top of my head, “You underestimate me little sister.”

I shake my head as he says goodbye to dad.

About ten minutes have passed when my phone beeps.

Walker: Look down.

A smile creeps onto my face as I spot Walker and Jake waving up at me from the sidelines.

“That little shit.”

It shouldn’t have surprised me, Walker always gets what he wants.

Brat.

“What?” Rebecca and dad both look at me.

I nod my head toward the sidelines.

Rebecca laughs as she notices them and waves. Dad smiles, “Must’ve been a girl down there.”

I can’t help but laugh at dad’s comment because that’s exactly what I was thinking.

The game ends 42-24, we won but our team got cocky, so the other team scored a touchdown in the last few minutes.

We stayed in our seats until the stadium cleared out a little, letting time pass.

Once most of the crowd was gone, we went and sat on a bench outside of the locker rooms. I was surprised at the amount of people that were waiting for the players.

I texted Jake to see how long he was going to be. I was taken aback at how quickly he texted back.

Jake: give me 20

About a half an hour later, players finally start to emerge. I don’t see Jake or D.J. so we stay put.

I glance to my right as red hair catches my eye. She’s scanning the players but doesn’t move.

I bet I could guess who she’s waiting on.

I watch her face turn into a smile at the same time I hear Rebecca say, “There they are.”

I turn toward the locker room and watch as they bump fists and talk with a few people. I can’t help but smile to see the happiness on Jake’s face.

I hold my breath as D.J.’s eyes scan the crowd. It takes a minute until his eyes finally meet mine. His face breaks into a huge grin that lights up his face.

All I can do is stare, he takes my breath away.

When his conversation is over, he makes a beeline for me.

Without warning, he picks me up and spins us around making me laugh. He sets me down and I can’t take my eyes off of him.

A throat clears and I freeze.

Oh crap.

I’m cringing on the inside as I turn around.

Dad has his eyebrows raised looking amused. I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. I’m grateful for Jake when he says, “Dad, this is my friend D.J.”

Dad looks as if he’s trying to decide if he should be nice to the guy who has his arms wrapped around his daughter or not. I’m relieved when he smiles and shakes his hand.

Jake waves me to him as they make small talk.

“So are you gonna give me a hug or is it all for him?”

He laughs at the expression on my face and opens his arms wide. I step into them and he wraps me into a bear hug.

“I’m so proud of you, big brother.”

He squeezes me harder then let’s go.

I turn to face my dad when I see red hair and a hand on D.J.’s arm.

“Congrats on the win.”

Her eyes flick between D.J. and Jake.

“I’ll be seeing you at the party tonight, right?”

My eyes find the ground.

I can see D.J. looking at me out of the corner of my eye but I ignore him.

I start to turn towards my dad.

“Thanks for the invite but I’m gonna have to pass.”

I stop midturn as D.J. interlocks our fingers.

My heart speeds up.

I look to him and he winks at me.

“She can come too. I mean, if she wants.”

She gives me a fake, irritable smile.

“Yeah, I know, but I already promised her that we would spend the day together and I don’t break my promises.”

He keeps his eyes on mine as he speaks.

I’m so happy that he remembered that we have plans that I can’t control the smile that spreads across my face.

“Well, since they have plans, Jake you wanna get something to eat?” Dad asks him.

“Yeah, I’m starved but should you get back to mom?”

“You know how she is with her migraines. She will be locked in our room in the dark for the next twenty-four hours,” he answers.

Jake nods his head then looks at Rebecca, “Are you in?”

“Oh, I don’t want to intrude...” she starts but dad interrupts her, “You won’t be, really. The more the merrier.” He gives her his charming smile.

She looks from dad to Jake, “Okay. Yeah, I could eat.”

Dad and I share a shocked look.

“What?” Jake asks.

“Nothing,” we both say at the same time.

Jake had invited Rebecca. Even though every girl that looks at him drools over him, he’s never invited a girl to anything before, even if it was just a meal.

Dad’s eyes flash between D.J. and me, “Raincheck for next time?”

I wrap my arms around him, “Of course daddy. Give mom my love.”

I watch as they make their way across the parking lot.

I don’t notice when Chase walks up to D.J. until I hear him whip out his phone and say something I can’t make out.

He looks mad.

I’m about ready to ask what’s going on but then Jake is in front of me telling Chase to walk me to Rebecca’s car.

I’m so confused, “Weren’t you just leaving?”

“Just do as I say.”

My brother has never talked to me like that before, so I let Chase walk me to the car. I spot dad and Rebecca waiting beside her car looking concerned. Before we reach them, I turn to Chase, “What’s going on?”

“They’ll be okay, Sarah.”

I cross my arms, “That doesn’t answer my question.”

Chase sighs, “Mike just said some things that I thought they should know about.”

I wait for him to continue but he doesn’t, and we walk the rest of the way in silence.

I ride with dad back to the dorms and wait to hear from Jake and D.J. He tried to make small talk, but it doesn’t last long.

Half an hour later there is a knock on the door, Rebecca opens it and in walks the boys. D.J. walks over to me, “Sorry it took so long. I stopped at the house to change my clothes.”

I take in his wardrobe. He’s got on jeans and a t-shirt.

“That’s okay. I guess I was so worried that I forgot. I’ll go change,” I pause, “unless you want to explain what happened.”

“I will later, go change,” he says.

I grab clothes and head to the bathroom.

We all head out to the parking lot together but go our separate ways.

We drive for about thirty minutes or so when he pulls into a clearing and parks. I have no idea where we are.

He opens his door and climbs out, so I do the same. Putting a pack on his back, he looks up, “You ready?”

I gesture with my arm, “Lead the way.”

With a smile on his face he starts to walk.

We hike for a good while until he comes to a stop. I can hear running water and look around to see where it’s coming from. D.J. hands me a water bottle and I take off through the trees.

I’m speechless when I come face to face with a breathtaking waterfall. D.J. walks up beside me, neither of us speaks as we admire the scenery.

“It’s absolutely breathtaking,” I say still admiring the waterfall.

“I know,” he says but he’s not looking at the waterfall, he’s looking at me.

I walk up to the water and immediately take off my shoes to wade in.

Before I can step in though, D.J. stops me.

“What are you doing?”

I glance behind me, he’s got a slight smirk on his face.

“What’s it look like?” I tease him, “I used to do this all the time as a kid. We had a creek in our backyard.”

He looks lost in thought as I step in. Its coolness feels good on my warm skin.

“I know” he whispers.

“What?” I ask confused.

He shakes his head.

“Just be careful. I wouldn’t want you to get hurt. You don’t know what you’re stepping on.”

I look back at him. He’s got the ghost of a knowing smile on his face that seems familiar and I’m immediately taken back to the day in the creek.

*Sarah’s Memory*

I lead Daniel down to the creek behind my house and start to look for frogs.

“First, you have to be real quiet so you don’t scare them” I say.

And that’s when my shoes came off, I knew they were a waste of time.

“You have to be real still, especially right before you attack.”

I can tell that he knows that I’m making this up, but I don’t think either of us cares.

I finally see a frog and bend down quickly and quietly. It only takes a few seconds for me to catch him.

I smile triumphantly as Daniel says, “I didn’t think you would actually catch one. Most girls are grossed out.”

I put the frog back, “Well, I guess I’m not like most girls then.”

I stare at the water as he whispers, “Yeah, I’m starting to realize that.”

I don’t know what to do so I start walking around in the creek.

I didn’t see him take off his shoes, but he must have because he’s right next to me. He splashes me and I turn to splash him back when I feel a sharp stab in my foot, “Oww!” I sink to my butt in the middle of the creek.

“What’s wrong Sarah? What happened?” Daniel asks.

It hurts so bad that I can barely speak so I just hold onto my foot.

“Sarah, I know it hurts but I can’t fix it if I don’t know what happened.”

I take a deep breath, “my foot” is all I can manage to get out.

He gently lifts it up and looks at it, “you’ve got glass dug into your foot. I don’t wanna leave you, but you can’t walk to the house. I’m going to have to run and get your parents, okay?”

I can’t do anything but nod.

His eyes turn serious, “I promise, I will come back for you.” He looks me in the eye, and I believe him.

His promise gave me comfort but did nothing for the pain.

*End of Memory*