Page 85 of Charm Me Not

But his teammate ignored him and passed to another guy instead.

That’s when Dad stepped in. He called for a replacement, taking Charlie out and sending someone else sprinting down the field. Dad put his arm around Charlie’s shoulder, leading him back to the bench, their heads bent together, Dad telling him something.

The closer they got to the sidelines, the more I started to sweat. Even though Charlie was staring at the ground and not me, I still felt nervous. My leg shook so hard, it created a drum-like beat on the metal bleacher floors.

I glanced at my phone one more time to make sure Flow and Jett got the job done. The good thing was that they were together, and I knew Jett wouldn’t let me down. Flow had the skills necessary for the surprise, but Jett had the determination. They worked better as a pair.

“Calm down,” Malia whispered out of the side of her mouth. “It’s going to work.”

“What if it doesn’t? What if he doesn’t see it? What if he doesn’t understand—”

“What if you’re so worried about what could go wrong that you don’t realize your boy spotted you?” she snapped back.

I clamped my mouth shut and darted my gaze to the field. Sure enough, Charlie was staring straight at me. His face was pale, his eyes wide. It was like he had seen a ghost, not me.

Nudging Malia, I saw her slip her phone out of her pocket and shoot off a quick message, as was part of the plan.

I couldn’t take my eyes off Charlie. He stood, frozen in place, his hands dropped by his side, his mouth slightly hung open.

But it was his eyes that captivated me. Where there usually was a sparkle of happiness at all times, they were now dim. Sad. Sullen.

“Ready,” Malia said in a hush tone. I didn’t look at her.

My heart filled with something I had never felt before in my entire life. It was a wholeness, a swelling of a type of joy that pushed deep into my bones. A feeling of warmth that spread from the inside out.

A feeling only one person could possibly give you.

The person you fell in love with.

My chest rose with each breath I took, Charlie and I still staring at each other in disbelief. But I knew what was about to happen. Bubbles of excitement, nerves, and happiness rose up inside of me, putting a tiny smile on my lips.

Raising my hand, I discreetly pointed at the scoreboard across the field. The one the school board put in a few years ago, with all the fancy graphics, text, and even pictures.

They normally displayed the names and numbers of the players who scored and stuff like that, but with my connections, I got another message up there.

A message just for Charlie.

Every happily ever after ends with onething…

He finally broke eye contact with me and turned to see where I was pointing to. His head tilted as he looked at the board, trying to decipher what it meant.

“He doesn’t get it,” I said softly to Malia next to me. The hushed whispers all around us had grown, becoming more of a dull ramble as people realized I was there, and Charlie was staring at me.

I kept my eyes on him, waiting for the light bulb to go off.

The biggest smile I had ever seen spread across his face at a snail’s pace. He nodded, but Dad called his name and he had to turn around.

While he did, he slipped his hand into a pocket of his shorts and took something out, slipping it onto his wrist. But he ran off onto the field before I could see what it was.

Epilogue

Charlie

One glance ather was all I needed to throw fuel into the fire.

One glance at her wearingmyjersey and I about fell apart.

And the scoreboard? I didn’t know how she pulled that off, but it was perfect. While it took me a second to realize what it meant, I got it.

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