Page 11 of The Sky Between Us

Karma was a bitch.

“Are you okay?” A voice startled me, and I jumped in surprise. “Sorry, didn’t mean to frighten you. It just seemed like you could use some company.”

I looked up and stared into Aiden’s clear blue eyes. They were as clear as the summer sky. I shook my head as if saying he didn’t scare me and I didn’t need company, but he misunderstood my signaling and sat next to me on the bench. My eyes followed him as his lean body positioned itself on the tiny bench. His duffle bag dropping between us, he ran his fingers through his wet hair.

He just showered.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, and for a second, I forgot about my pain.

“Just finished my workout,” he flashed me a half smile, but his eyes remained settled on my face, still concerned. “Are you okay?”

“Of course,” I nodded. “Just tired.”

“Tired of what?” he lifted a brow, challenging me.

“Of life in general,” I said quietly and stared at the empty campus stretching out in front of us. Aiden remained silent, so I quickly added. “Joking. Haven’t you heard of sarcasm?”

“It didn’t sound like your usual sarcasm,” he objected, still studying my face. His stare made me feel uncomfortable; as if my skin was too tight. I wanted to shred it and leave, but all I could do was turn and face his intense gaze.

“As I said, I’m tired,” I repeated myself in my usual annoyed voice.

Aiden kept his curious eyes on me as if he could figure me out. But my emotions were coded, and my walls were built up too high. No one could ever break them, I made sure of that. Yet I felt this weird shivering sensation going through me as Aiden’s eyes skimmed my face. It was like he was trying to peel off the layers from my soul to see what’s hidden inside. I turned my head away because I couldn’t let him close. Not another stupid soccer player. He was about to graduate and play professionally. He was destined to do big things because he was the best. I felt my heart drop as I reminded myself how that used to be me. Before everything.

“Why do you work at Starbucks?” I asked to turn the spotlight onto him. I wanted to know his secret. “You are pretty good at soccer.”

“I’m better than ‘pretty good’, Hazel,” he said mockingly, and it made me focus my attention on him. “I have a soccer scholarship, but I like to have extra cash, so working a few hours and chatting up people isn’t the worst thing I can do. Yeah, Coach… your dad, is pretty pissed about it, but as long as my performance doesn’t drop, he keeps his opinion to himself. I’m the captain so I need to make sure I show a good example and I’m on the top of my game.”

I knew that. Captains had a responsibility. Just like him, Jake was a captain too. But he miserably failed in proving an example.

“So why do you work at Starbucks?”

“My parents told me I had to,” I replied, not adding the fact that they were tired of looking at my miserable expression and of me not having a life. They wanted me to be normal. But that ship sailed a long time ago.

“You don’t strike me as a girl who does what she’s told,” he laughed, and that sound made me smile.

“I’m not, but sometimes… I like to pretend I’m a good girl,” I winked at him. “Listen, I have a proposition.”

“If that involves you being bad, I’m definitely down for it.” He wiggled his brows and I rolled my eyes.

“No. It involves you playing soccer with Sky. He wants you to play with him.”

Aiden placed his hand on his non-existing beard and pretended to be pondering my request.

“Does that mean you will owe me one?” he asked finally. I closed my eyes briefly and nodded.

“Yeah, sure. Whatever,” I shrugged pretending like I didn’t care, when in reality my heart was going wild. But Aiden was different than Jake. Aiden knew he had to stay away from the coach’s daughter because his career depended on it.

“Awesome. I’ll play with Sky.”

I was actually looking forward to working the following weeks. Seeing Hazel was a good enough exchange for the shitty hours I had to put in to pay for my gas and extra stuff. Being a scholarship student wasn’t that easy. I didn’t get everything handed to me as half of my team was pure rich. I needed to work my ass off to earn the scholarship, keep my grades up and have the extra cash needed. My ultimate goal was to sign a contract and be a professional soccer player. But there were many talented players at every university across the States, and while Coach was trying to pull some strings for me and help me get noticed, my NCAA stats supported my case. Yet, I still wasn’t about to leave anything up to chance. I wanted to be at my best and guarantee a spot in the LA Galaxy club. It was one of the best clubs in the country and being a forward with good scores could land me a position there. However, I’ve been toying with the idea of leaving the country and playing somewhere in Europe, since they were on another level out there. It would have been a challenge, since nothing was keeping me in the States. No girlfriend, no attachments.

At least for now.

I constantly needed to remind myself to take things step by step. First up was graduation and winning NCAA Men’s Soccer, then making it to pros, and finally moving to Europe. It was my dream, which I backed up with a plan and made sure I’d follow through with it.

You could say I was determined, as I got used to always getting what I wanted. Not because it landed in my lap, but because I worked for it. And that was a different kind of commitment. The kind that made me put on that stupid green apron after my morning run and wipe the counter

From the corner of my eye, I saw Hazel wash some mugs while she was yawning. I looked her up and down, thanking God for creating skinny jeans, so I didn’t have to use my imagination. But my eyes quickly moved to her face, taking in her usual cold, emotionless expression as she carried out such a mundane job. I shouldn’t have felt disappointment, yet my chest felt heavy. I was expecting her to be different since we had a moment on the bench. I kept replaying that time over and over again. Her vulnerability. Her emotions. It was all too intense and way too real. But now, she was back to basics. Same old Hazel with a frozen heart.

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