Page 50 of The Longshot

She settles beside me. “I love you too, Chelsie.”

For a while, we lie in solitude, basking in the silence of a once frantic and tearful room until Ruby finally speaks up.

“Hey, Chels?” She forces me to lift my head up from leaning against her shoulder so that I peer into her eyes. I always thought it was funny that she got brown and I got blue.

“Yeah?” I ask suspiciously, given that those deep orbs now possess a look of mischief.

“Tell me, whatever happened to that guy?”

I narrow in my stare. “‘That guy?’” I repeat back to her. “What guy?”

“You know…” She nudges my shoulder. “The one that’s been coming by the shop every day this week?” She tightens her lip into a devious smirk. “Remind me of his name again? Gary Wilkinson was it?—”

“Alright, Miss. Nosy.” I sit up on my bed, interrupting the conversation. “It’s time for you to go now.”

“Hey!” she protests, sitting up alongside me with her arms folded in a huff. “Don’t I deserve to know? After all, all of this canoodling has been happening in my bakery.”

I stand up from the mattress, shaking my head in laughter as I work my way towards my dresser. “I wouldn’t call what has transpired this past week ‘canoodling’ by any means.”

“Then what would you call it, then?” She joins me by my side, leaning against my drawers before I can even open them up. “‘Cause it sure as hell looks like he likes you to me. I mean, flowers, books, drinks, a seranation?! The boy is practically whipped.”

“Ruby.” I flash her a stare, though the reminder of his generous gestures can’t help but bring a smile to my lips, one I shy away from. “Stop.”

“What? Why?” She starts to pout. “You’ve got one of the hottest guys in town groveling at your feet, and you’re completely acting like you don’t care.”

“Of course I care,” I quickly protest. “It’s just… it’s complicated, Ruby. That’s all. There’s a lot on my mind.”

Ruby releases a breath, tucking herself back into my side. “Listen, take some advice from your big sister, okay? Never allow anyone to stand in the way of you finding your true happiness. You hear me?”

I meet her eyes, ones that continue to stare deep into my soul. “When did you become so philosophical, huh?”

She playfully purses her lips, releasing me. “When I saw that my little sister might be missing out on experiencing something special.”

We look at each other as I try to comprehend her words. Gary is special. I knew that from the moment he came banging on the bakery door, though I never would’ve thought we’d make it to this point. The point where I’d actually agree to go out on a date with him.

“Go. Get some rest.” Ruby seemingly drops Gary as the topic of conversation only just as it’s starting to pique my interest. “It’s been a long day, and you need to sleep.”

I allow her to pull back as she guides her way toward the bedroom door, but right before she’s about to leave, I reveal, “He’s taking me out tomorrow, you know…”

Ruby turns on her heels, eyes wide and full of delight as she flashes me a look of disbelief.

“What?” I smirk, walking back over to my bed with a clever look on my face. “Did I forget to mention that it was Gary who got Simon to leave?”

Her jaw drops.

“Chelsie!” She races back over to my side. “You’d better tell me everything. Every single detail. You hear me?”

“Fine,” I say as we lie back down, laughing as one. “Maybe I can stay awake a little bit longer.”

WILKS

“Wilks!” It’s Alf, the Assistant Coach of Crawfield FC, who rigorously shouts my name. Apparently it’s his turn to be on my case today since Coach granted him the liberty to run the remainder of practice—a practice that, mind you, has gone well over time. “Slow it down, lad,” he instructs. “You’re moving at a million miles a minute. Not everything needs to be so fast-paced.”

I huff out in frustration. I’m moving so quickly because, in my mind, it’s the only logical response to make this practice go by faster.

Coach, who now appears through the tunnel, seems to catch the tail end of Alf’s instructions, nodding his head in agreement. “You heard Alf,” he lectures, bringing his infamous whistle to his lips. “Let’s run the drill from the top. I want to see it again.”

The whole team bursts into a series of audible moans as Coach blows the whistle, though I seem to be the loudest as I’m last to join in on the drill.

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