I jumped up and down as the buzzer sent a shrill of loud noise throughout the gym. It was the guy’s basketball second to last home game before districts and everyone came to support them- me included; plus I didn’t really have a choice- my best friend of all time was playing and he always made me come to watch his games.

I ran out onto the court and jumped up to hug him as he caught me against his sweaty body. He put his hand up in the air with his finger extended, shouting number one as the other team mates joined in and huddled around us in a huge mob. As the excitement died down I told Aiden I’d wait for him to change after the coach talked to them all.

I looked around the now empty gym, kicking at an empty Vitamin Water bottle as I picked at the crumbling face paint on my left cheek that used to have Aiden’s number on it. I was about to call Justin when Aiden came out with his athletic bag swung over his shoulder. “Good game,” I said, hugging him and pulling back, ‘you reek,” I said smiling. “Let’s see you play four periods of constant basketball and see what you smell like,” he said, pulling me back into his  feeling him relax; I  wrapping my arm around his lower back and leaning my head on his side as we walked, fitting into his rock hard crooks and crannies comfortably.

I threw his bag into the back as he opened the door for me, taking my keys out of my hand swiftly and resting his arms and head on the top of the open door. “Please,” he pleaded, smiling to make me agree to let him drive, “I won the game for you and everything,” he added. I shook my head like I always did and walked around to the passenger side, giving in to his request. “We have to get you a new car,” he said, barely squeezing his 6’4 body into the front seat. “Yeah, tell that to my parents.”

“Maybe we could trade it, get something bigger; or at least something like my car.”

“You mean your perfectly kept, brand new, silver 2011 corvette stingray worth $60,000?”

“Yeah,” he said smiling, still trying to get comfortable as he drove, “This car is just too small.”

“Too small for you; I fit perfectly.”

“Coming from the girl who’s what, 5’1’’?”
“No! I’m 5’6’’ thank you very much. Maybe you just shouldn’t drive my car anymore,” I said, cranking some CD Justin left in my car the other night.

“Oh hell no, turn that off,” he said, dejecting the CD and turning the radio off.

“I don’t want to listen to silence, Justin lets me listen to what I want, especially in my car,” I said, watching him tense when I said his name.

“Well Justin’s queer and jacks off to that CD every night; I’d rather talk to you,” he said, smiling in a mischievous way.

“Ew, don’t say that.” I said, shivering from the chills that ran down my back; thinking about Justin jacking off to ANYTHING wasn’t something you want to picture. Justin was my boyfriend and unfortunately Aiden’s worst nightmare. They played against each other in basketball and always had that sort of rivalry going on that made them enemies on and off the court. It was frustrating hanging out with both, and even worse when I had to pick between the two.

He pulled up to my house and I peeked out the window, examining the house. All of the lights were on, and probably ten cars were parked in the driveway meaning my parents were still at their hotel resort for business and my sister Sammi was throwing a party, probably plastered along with her totally prep, think they were all that, friends. “My house?” Aiden asked, seeing the distressed look on my face. “Yeah, sorry,” I said, feeling irritated that she didn’t let me know she was having people over tonight so I could have at least packed a night bag for my friend’s house much less Aiden’s.

We pulled up to Aiden’s private drive and parked in the garage, heading up to his room. “Hey, how’d you guys do?” asked his dad, always too busy with work to focus much on Aiden’s amazing athletic skills. “Great, we won, confirming our name on the brackets.”

“Well that’s fantastic. Hi Grace,” he said, looking up from his computer for a second before going back to typing.

“Mom in bed?” he asked, grabbing two orange juice bottles from the fridge and shaking them up before handing one to me. “Yup, went to bed as soon as she got home from your game, she sure was happy for you though; the team must have done really well.”

“Yeah dad,” he said, trying to hide what I knew was his disappointment in his father’s interest in his athletic career, “the team did pretty good.”

“Well good; night you two,” he said, sipping at a fresh cup of coffee I’m sure would keep him going on with his work for another half hour.

We walked upstairs to his room and I sat down on the master bed, wishing my parents even realized I played sports much less ever came to one of my games instead of work like Aiden's dad. Aiden shot his empty juice bottle into this small trashcan and laid on the bed, looking at me. “That was a pretty great game huh,” he said, slightly bragging. “You’re getting pretty good out there,” I said, happy for him, knowing he was always good out on the court, or field, or where ever really. “Yeah, one of these games maybe my dad will come,” he said, lying flat as I joined him; we looked like cardboard cut-outs.