Page 20 of We Thought We Were Invincible
“What's up, Morgan?” I tried to be as cheery as her, but felt awkward doing it.
“Ugh, the boys are downstairs playing some shooting game and I'm tired of being stuck inside on such a nice day.”
I glanced toward the window where I could see rain clouds gathering, casting a pall over the street, and raised an eyebrow.
“Okay, fine.” She flopped dramatically onto the bed. “It's a shitty day, but I want to do something fun and that does not include sitting on my ass.”
“Okay,” I agreed.
“Wait, really? I totally expected you to say no.”
Jamie's words from the party at the beach come back to me in that instant and I realize what he meant, even if he had yet to figure it out. I was going to say yes to things I wouldn't normally do. I was going to enjoy myself and right now that meant becoming friends with this girl who wouldn't have it any other way.
“Yes, really.” I pulled her up off the bed and grabbed my shoes on the way to the door. “Come on.”
She grabbed her soccer bag, and we ran the short distance to a nearby field. It was run down, with rusted goal posts and dead grass. When I was little, our soccer games were held on a field nearby, but we'd practice here. I wasn't half bad. Nowhere near as good as Colby or Jamie or even Jay, but I could play. Soccer was a big part of our lives growing up.
Like everything else, it too had been destroyed when my mom died. At least for me. I couldn't play anymore without her being on the sidelines. So, I didn't. I quit.
I pulled my hair into a ponytail and secured it with a band I'd kept on my wrist. Morgan bounced the ball on her foot.
“Alright, Cook,” I said. “Stop showing off.”
She flashed me her teeth before passing the ball. I ran forward, dribbling it in front of me, remembering the feel. It wasn't quite like riding a bike. Maybe a rusty, wobbly one.
Morgan chased after me, catching up with no difficulty and stealing the ball before taking it in for a goal.
“And that's why they pay you the big bucks.” I laughed. “Or will one day.”
“Nah,” she said. “My soccer career ends in high school.”
“Oh, come on, I know you're good enough to play in college.”
“I'm not going to college. At least not right away.”
“Really? You?” To say I was stunned was an understatement. If anyone had the grades and athleticism for multiple scholarships, it was Morgan Cook.
“I'm going to do some traveling for a while. See what else is out there.”
“And your parents are okay with that?”
“It was their idea.” She laughed. “Both of them did the same thing. It's actually how they met. They don't think you should go to college just because everyone else is. You have to know yourself first.”
“So, you're going to find yourself?” I tried to hold in a laugh, but couldn't.
She cracked a smile. “It isn't as hokey as that.”
“No, it sounds amazing actually.”
She kicked the ball toward me and we passed and chatted for a while before the first raindrops hit my face.
“Think we should get back?” I asked.
She looked at me, grinning. “You've never played soccer in the rain, have you?”
She raised her face to the sky as the rain fell more steadily. Big, heavy drops soaked into my shirt.
Morgan dribbled in circles around the field. The saturated ground wasn't absorbing the water as it pooled in bare spots. I ran toward her, splashing through a puddle. The water seeped into my sneakers and I didn't even care. I was swept up in whatever Morgan was experiencing. I just wanted to have fun.
