Behind The Bleachers

BIANCA

I'd been so overcome with emotions last night, I completely forgot the next day was the weekend.

There weren't any classes, and the campus would barely even be open…

… apart from the spaces meant for the extracurriculars and overtly serious academicians.

Funny enough, the little prick left my message on read too. I wondered if that meant he'd still show up, or that he'd given up on playing these stupid games with me.

Whatever the answer was, I had to get it today. The only problem was…

“It's a bit early Bianca. Plus, it's Saturday. Why would I want to be in campus on a Saturday?”

Ellie usually drove us to school. And today, understandably, she wasn't in the mood.

“You can take the car if it's that important” she gestured to the keys on her side-table. “But I'm sleeping in today.”

There was only one problem with that suggestion. One very big problem.

I didn't know how to drive.

Maybe this was a sign that I should stay back home. Besides, I had to plan some content for tonight.

But at the same time, I really wanted to get this… whatever this was… over with.

I had to find a way!

I marched out of her room with a determination that seemed crazy for a situation so bizarre.

Would an Uber get there in time? Would the bus?

Any and every possibility orbited my mind, until I got downstairs… and met one standing across from me.

The compression shirt moulded to his physique. I could see his muscles blare through the polyester. Defined shoulders. Arms like canons.

He flexed a sling bag in one hand and a helmet in the other. Inspecting its tinted visor with a gaze so focused, he didn't notice i was staring.

And thank God too. Because I couldn't take my eyes off him.

What am I doing? He was just in bed with my best friend.

The dream from last night hit like a cold surge, and I shrieked a little louder than I should've.

His eyes whipped back to me, grazing my oversized sweatpants and hoodie until our gazes met.

“Why do I have a feeling you're going out?” He asked.

I briefly took my eyes off him. Hiding an emotion I was too flustered to name.

“Maybe I am” I said. “Maybe I need your help getting there too.”

He chuckled.

“I'd love to, but I'm heading to Campus for basketball practice. Maybe some other time?”

Jackpot!

“Actually…” I turned back to him. “Campus works for me too.”

***

I shouldn't have enjoyed the ride down here as much as I did, but I couldn't help myself.

From the moment his skin grazed mine when he helped fix the helmet, to the stops at the traffic light when he'd pull me closer.

It was all just safety protocol, I know. But how many times did I have to remind myself he was Ellie's boyfriend and nothing else?

“I'm already a little late” he said, parking outside the recreation center. “Give me a call when you're done. I'll drop you back at Ellie's.”

I went silent.

Partially because I knew I couldn't handle another thirty minutes of pretending my heart didn't thump out of my chest whenever I felt the warmth of his skin. And partially because… we were actually heading in the same direction.

But I couldn't tell him that, so I waited until he dissapeared far enough, and took a different path.

It didn't take long until the grunts from the court became fairly audible. Balls collided against wood as shoes squeaked over the polished space. My mind had somehow already conjured a picture.

Max. Shirtless. Sweat running down those defined muscles like—

Fucking hell. I really need to stop.

The route through the back seemed abandoned for most parts. Cobwebs hung around a couple broken windows. Dust tangled against the lights that spilled in through the small cracks.

Every step through the crooked course felt like navigating the Bermuda triangle.

Until I made it out…

…And realised I walked right into a deathtrap.

Rumpled clothes hung from benches. Shoes and worn out laces littered the walkway. I even noticed a couple weird magazines poke out of unlocked cubbies.

My skin prickled in an instant. I wasn't anywhere near the bleachers.

This was… the boy's locker room!

“For God's sake Josh, pass the damn ball when I ask for it!”

I recognised that voice like a spark in the dark. Wade.

Murmurs followed his hurl, footsteps multiplying in its wake.

I scrambled for an escape route, but I couldn't go back the same way I came. They'd reach me before I could slide out.

I dashed through the scattered space, making a break for anywhere that could pass as temporary solitude.

The room grew darker the further I forged, but I snagged a view of the space I slid into right before I did… and it was safe to say, I was completely and utterly fucked.

“Of all places. The private showers?”

I bit down on my nails, already counting down the seconds to my doom as their banter went on. There was absolutely no way I was making it out of here without being caught.

“A shame she's dating Max. She felt so good at the club.”

Somehow, even while my mind spun, the sentence caught my attention.

“She felt so tight too. You'd think she hadn't gotten any action in years.”

It hit again. This time, twice as hard. Not just because I knew who he was referring to… but because the person speaking… was Wade again!

“C’mon man, don't talk about Max's girl like that.”

“Or what?” His tone grew fierce. “You think I'm afraid of him?”

The space went silent.

“If anything, he should be thanking me. I helped keep her warm. No pretty lady deserves to be abandoned like that.”

Wade had always spoken with a tone much harder than someone like him should've been able to afford. Now, it was even worse. Which could only mean, Max wasn't in the room with them.

He went on. Slurring, bragging, nearly beating his chest as he narrated Ellie's last night out. Pictures of her grew dark in my mind.

Everyone had flaws. I did too. But cheating on Max… with Wade?

It didn't make any sense.

Eventually, the room settled into a hush much quieter, and the bodies threading through gradually reduced. Lockers shut. Banter died. And it finally felt like I would actually make it out without breaking a sweat.

…Until I heard footsteps approach the showers.

“Anyone in there? I'm about to lock up.”

He trudged forward, and my heart sunk to my gut.

“Kenzy? Coach?”

He didn't stop. His strides didn't break. He kept moving. Until he got close. Close enough to reach the door. Close enough to see me in the da—

The showers burst to life, spewing water across the space.

I jolted, but before I could hit the door, steady hands enveloped me from me behind.

I felt him press against me as my body soaked up his bare outline.

Someone was in here the entire time?!

I tried to nudge the perv off, but just before I could struggle…

“I'll lock it up” he answered.

That voice. That person. That barely clothed outline clinging to my body. Was…

“Oh, Max” the figure from outside pulled back. “I… thought everyone had left.”

Max?

He felt my lips move as my body twitched in front of him, and he pulled me closer into him as water drenched us both.

“Not yet” he replied. “But don't worry, I'll give the keys to coach when I'm done.”

The hesitation didn't last a second longer.

“No problem then” He answered, turned, then walked away and left me with a heart pounding so loudly, I was convinced Max could hear it.

My mind drifted for the most believable lie. But there was nothing I could say or do in this position that would make him let me go scott free.

The minute the doors to the locker room closed, my fate had its hands wrapped around my throat.

“Bianca.”

His voice drove nails over my skin. This time, I couldn't shriek or run. His hands were still all over me.

He pulled even closer. I could feel his body nudge through my dampened clothing.

“I can explain” I started, the moment his hand left my mouth. “I was—”

“Sorry I'm late” he said. “We were supposed to meet behind the bleachers, right?”

What?!