The next few weeks flew by for both Emery and Austin. They met each other every day at the hospital and made sure they spent a little time talking to each other whenever they could. They even exchanged cell phone numbers and texted each other when they had spare time from doing all the other things they had going on in their lives.

“How come I’ve never seen you at school?” Austin sat down beside Emery at their hangout, the ice cream shop that only they went to. They’d decided to eat dinner before going their separate ways to practice and walking the dogs.

Emery took a small bite of her cheeseburger and swallowed before answering. “You have.” She looked at Austin, waiting for his response, as she took a drink of her soda through the straw.

Austin was dumbfounded. He didn’t think he’d seen her before in school, but maybe she’d only seen him because of football and all that. “Oh yeah, how’s that?” He needed her to explain more so that he could try to figure out the when and where.

Emery was becoming more comfortable around him, even though she never thought that to be possible. She knew what she was going to tell him might change the friendship they had, either he would feel bad or he would finally remember her from all the teasing and walk away.

“OH MY GOD, she's like a little fairy. No, wait, maybe a pixie.” Emery tried to do her best impression of Apryl, the leader of the vicious pack of cheerleaders that followed the players around. She was Austin’s girlfriend or ex-girlfriend depending on what rotation of switching partners they all seemed to be on.

Yes, she was small, but really, a fairy or pixie, that's so Tinkerbellish. Okay, maybe she just couldn’t wear the so-called slut clothes that they did. Not only would she not be comfortable exposing herself like that, but she just didn’t have the body to fill any of it out.

Austin felt the blood drain from his face as soon as Emery said those words. It wasn’t him who had ever said anything to her, he didn’t even laugh at Apryl and her entourage’s attempt at humiliating others, but he did remember the teasing. “It wasn’t me.” He knew he sounded like a five-year-old trying to get out of trouble for something he was caught doing that he shouldn’t, but he played no part in the harassment.

“I didn’t say it was.” Emery saw that Austin was going to go the humiliated route and he was doing it well. “It doesn’t matter who said what or who didn’t. I just ignore your girlfriend and the other—”

“Bitches,” Austin finished Emery’s sentence. He knew what most of the school, well, mainly the girls, thought about that certain circle of friends. “And she’s my long time ago ex-girlfriend.” He made sure to stress that he and Apryl were over even though most of the school thought they were still an item thanks to Apryl’s constant hanging on him.

Emery choked a little on her own saliva when Austin announced that the girls he’d been hanging around with for the past three years were total bitches. She always thought they were a close-knit group or at least that’s how they seemed to those on the outside.

“You better eat.” She motioned toward his half-eaten dinner. “You’ll need it for the grueling practice coming up.” He’d been telling her what they had to do in all of their practices. She had much more respect for him in regards to what he put himself through just for football. Emery knew she wouldn’t make it five minutes in the weight training, cardio, and practice plays that Austin had to do every day. No wonder he was in as good a shape as he was. Emery sneaked glances at Austin while he finished shoveling the triple cheeseburger and fries into his mouth. She took one last nibble and packed up the rest of hers to throw away.

Austin walked Emery over to her car. He still felt like shit after she announced how he should know her. “So…” He wanted to ask her to the party that was going on this weekend, but knew that would probably be a big no-go since it was obvious she wouldn’t be comfortable around any of his group. “I’ll give you a call when I get home later.” He was asking more than telling her what he was going to do.

Emery nodded her head okay, which was a shock to Austin. He thought she’d definitely say no about him calling. He bit down on his bottom lip and slowly moved his head toward hers. She looked panicked like she wanted to hurry up and get away. He placed a tender kiss on her cheek.

“Sorry,” Austin whispered softly in Emery's ear. He backed away and just about ran over to his truck. He didn’t want to see whether she approved or disapproved of the small gesture. It was for all the shit that his so-called friends had put her through and also for the fact that if he kissed her on the lips like he wanted to, he knew he’d probably get slapped across the face or chase her off for good.

Emery watched as Austin’s truck backed out onto the main road and took off in the direction of the school. Her hand was still on the spot that he’d just kissed. She didn’t know whether to think it was because he felt bad for laughing along with his friends’ jokes all those times or maybe he just wanted to kiss her. Em let out a deep sigh and went along on her way to the animal shelter. At least with the pups’ kisses, there was no hidden meaning behind them. They did it because they truly liked her. It would be so much better if that was the reason why Austin had kissed her than him doing it out of pity.

***

The sound of her cell phone buzzing alerted Emery to the incoming call. She’d laid down after her nice, long, hot shower and was almost asleep. She’d spent almost two hours playing and walking the dogs at the shelter, which was enough to exhaust anyone. The number displayed was Austin’s. Emery assumed he was making good on his promise to call after practice.

“Hey.” Emery sat up on her bed and brushed the hair back off of her face. It wasn’t like he could see through the phone or anything, but as a natural instinct, she wanted to look semi-normal and not have her hair flipped out in all different directions.

“Hey,” Austin repeated Emery’s greeting in the same soft tone she’d used. “Sounds like you were already sleeping.” He looked at his clock once more. It was only nine o’clock, there was no way a seventeen-year-old girl was going to be sleeping this early during the summer.

“Almost. It was a busy day at the shelter.” Emery stood up and walked around a bit, trying to wake herself up more. “How was practice?”

Austin let out a low groan. “Grueling. We had to teach all the new varsity the plays and drills that we run every week.” Austin flopped down on his bed and stretched out. Maybe Emery had the right idea about going to bed early, this kind of felt good. If she were here, lying beside him, he wouldn’t be ready to crash out. He quickly sat up and shook his head.

‘Where the hell did that thought come from?’

He continued to tell her about practice and she told him about some stuff that happened at the shelter. At least with this kind of talk, his mind wasn’t having thoughts of her lying on the bed with him.

A knock sounded on Emery’s door. “Hold on,” she murmured to Austin as she walked over to see who it was. “Hey,” Emery greeted her mom, who stood outside her door holding her line-up of nighttime medications.

“Oh.” Mrs. Warden was surprised to see Emery was still awake and on the phone. “I’ll leave these over here.” She set the tray with the pills and water on the nightstand beside Emery’s bed. She was curious as to who her daughter was talking to since she hardly ever had her friends call, but she wasn’t going to intrude on a personal conversation.

“Was that your mom?” Austin heard the other person and assumed it was Emery’s mom since it was a female voice.

“Yeah.” Emery relocked the door of her bedroom after her mom left.

“Oh, I better let you get going.” Austin saw that they’d been on the phone for over thirty minutes. He didn’t want to keep her talking if her mom needed her for something.

Emery really didn’t want to stop talking to him, not just yet. It was finally good to talk to someone other than her small circle of friends at school, the people at the hospital, and those who came into the animal shelter. But, she knew the routine for taking her medications couldn’t be interrupted. The two new ones that her doctor had ordered, one made her nauseated and the other made her sleep, so there was no sense in trying to keep Austin on the phone while she either wanted to puke or pass out.

“Okay, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” Emery was just about to hang up when Austin blurted out a ‘wait.’

“Um.” He never really had to ask out a girl out before, they were just always there. “There’s a party this coming Saturday, do you think you’d want to go…like with me?” Now, a touch of panic set in. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear the response. It would be great if she said yes, but then again what if his friends acted like complete asses, especially since he knew they’d be drinking. “Don’t answer yet. Sleep on it and tell me tomorrow.” He quickly pressed the end call button on his phone so she didn’t have a chance to respond. He gave the phone five minutes to see if she’d call back, but since she didn’t he set it on his nightstand. Maybe she wouldn’t say no, maybe she would actually think about going.

Emery stared at her cell phone. It seemed Austin had just asked her out, not like on a go get ice cream after volunteering date, but a real date-date. She was going to call back and tell him she couldn’t go.

One, she couldn’t drink alcohol and was sure everyone else would.

Two, his friends were not hers. Apryl would surely have a great time making her childish rude comments all night.

Three, she’d never been to a party-party.

She’d gone over to friends’ houses when they were having a get-together, but never where parents weren’t home and it wasn’t some type of pool party barbeque.

Emery set her phone down on the stand beside her bed. She would tell him tomorrow she couldn’t go and give him a chance to find someone else to take. She quickly took her medications and lay back down on the bed. She wanted to be asleep before nausea had time to take hold.

* * *

“Hey, honey, how are you feeling today?” Emery’s mom was washing up the rest of the lunch dishes when her daughter made an appearance in the kitchen.

Emery rolled her eyes behind her mom’s back. It was the same question over and over. She knew her mom meant well, but she asked how she was feeling at least ten times a day. “Fine. How are you?” Emery returned the question and grabbed a banana and bran muffin to eat.

“Oh, I’m doing well. How is Becca doing?” Mrs. Warden glanced over her shoulder when Emery didn’t answer. She had a look of confusion on her face.

“I guess okay, why?” Emery hadn’t talked to Becca for a while. She’d been too busy with all the stuff she had planned to do this summer.

“Wasn’t that Becca you were talking to last night?” She assumed that it would be since she and Emery would call each other every once in a while.

Emery shook her head no. “Austin.” Her mom seemed to be shocked that she was actually talking to a guy as her mouth formed a long silent ‘Oh.’

“And how is he adjusting to the volunteer work at the hospital?” Mrs. Warden was surprised that Emery and Austin had hit it off so well that they were calling each other.

“It’s going well. The younger boys seem to like having a guy there to play all their video games with.” Emery looked at the clock. She hadn’t realized she was running late. “I better get going. I told them I’d be in before one today.” She grabbed a Gatorade out of the fridge and her keys off the key holder. “I guess I’ll see you all later.” She gave her mom a quick hug.

“Oh, Emery.” Her daughter turned around before leaving. “Your father and I will be going to dinner and play on Saturday night. If you would like to come, you are more than welcome to. I think two of your father’s colleagues will be attending.”

‘I really don’t think I could handle listening to middle-aged people all night.’

“I don’t think I can, but thanks for asking. I think Austin wanted to do something that night.” Emery closed the front door before her mother could ask the millions of questions that were going through her mind. Now what was she going to do? Her mom would probably be seeing his mom at their scrapbook meeting and telling her that Emery and Austin had a date.

‘How am I going to get out of this one?’

***

Austin was already gaming with Brian when Emery finally got to the department. She snuck in without him seeing and went straight over to where Anne was helping another little boy. “Has Molly made it down here yet?” She looked around but didn’t see her red-headed friend anywhere.

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Anne shook her head. “I think her mom was in this morning and they were watching movies today.”

“Okay, that’s cool. She was looking run down, so this will give her time to rest.” Emery glanced at Austin out of the corner of her eye. He was still occupied with Brian. So she was still safe from having to give him an answer just yet.

“Sounds like advice someone else could use.” Anne patted Emery on the hand and went back helping the little boy with his painting. Emery had looked more exhausted the past couple of weeks than she had in a long time. But, the girl refused to give up anything and seemed like she wanted to take on everything and save the world.

Emery shook her head at Anne’s comment. She went around to the other side of the room and helped several of the little girls who were looking at the new picture books.

***

“I didn’t even see you come in earlier.” Austin was walking with Emery out to the vehicles. They hadn’t had much time to talk today. In fact, not at all since there seemed to be more kids in the activity room than at normal times.

“You were busy with Brian and the boys…you know, doing your guy things.” Emery pretended to hold a game controller and make faces at the screen like they always did. It was getting so much easier to talk and joke around with him over this past month.

“Ha, real funny.” Austin gently pushed her, but it was enough to knock her off balance. He quickly grabbed for her and pulled her close to his chest. “Sorry, I didn’t think you were such a lightweight and couldn’t handle a little baby push.”

Emery heard him chuckling with his comment. She smacked his chest and pushed herself off of him. She liked the feeling of being close to him, maybe too much. They needed to get their relationship back on friend status before either of them got too close and got hurt. “You’re just a big brute taking advantage of poor helpless girls.”

“Emery, if there’s one thing that you’re not it’s helpless.” Austin had found out over the last couple of weeks he’d known Emery that she was unlike any other girl he’d ever hung out with. She was sensitive, caring, and put others above herself without ever wanting anything in return. “So, have you decided anything for tomorrow night?” Austin had waited all night and day to hear her response of going to the party with him.

The killer question had been asked. Emery was hoping maybe he’d forgotten or maybe would rescind the invitation, but now Austin was standing in front of her waiting for an answer. He looked sort of paranoid hearing what she might say.

Did he want her to say yes or did he really want her to say she couldn’t go so he could get out of the whole situation?

She had told her mom that she and Austin had plans, but did she really want to follow through with it?

‘You only live once, Emery.’

Her own words came back to haunt her. “Sure, I’ll go.”

Oh my God, what did she just get herself into?

Austin was shocked and elated all at the same time. He was expecting her to say she had other plans or maybe her mom didn’t allow it, but Emery had just said yes that she’d go to the party with him. He knew he was thinking and behaving like a middle school boy just getting his first date, but before this, he never really wanted to go out with anyone, not even Apryl. Those girls were nothing like Emery, she was just so…different in a good way.

“Really?” He needed one more confirmation that she was actually going to go.

“Yes, but I won’t drink…you know, like any alcohol.” Emery knew she couldn’t because of all the medication, but she was sure he would see it as her being just a prude.

“That’s cool, neither will I.” Austin knew his friends would question why he wasn’t drinking with them, just like they’d been questioning why he wasn’t going to their hangout much anymore. He was getting good at excuses, but now that Emery was agreeing to go out with him they would all know the real reason why he’d been absent at most gatherings they had.

“You better get going. Football practice, remember?” Emery pushed Austin toward his truck.

“You going to the animal shelter?”

Emery shook her head no. “They had enough volunteers today, so I’ll probably just head home.” Not that she really wanted to, but what else was there to do?

“Wanna come over to the field…you know, to watch the practice?” He knew they were only running new plays today, no running or weights this evening. He was sure it wouldn’t be the most exciting thing for her to do, but it would give him a chance to sort of spend more time with her.

Emery had gone to football games before and she’d seen Austin play, but she’d never been to any of their practices like their cronies who followed them around all the time. ‘Only live once’ kept going through her mind. Emery rubbed her face and thought about the question for about three whole seconds. “Okay, just let me follow you over.” Another moment of what the hell did she just get herself into.

“You can leave your car here and ride with me. I’ll bring you back to pick it up after practice.” Austin unlocked the passenger side door on his truck and motioned for Emery to get in it. He put his hand on the small of her back as she clamored on up into his big four-by-four truck. He had to remind himself to keep his hands off of her or else he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything else, and that would get him into a shitload of trouble on the football field.

They listened to the radio on the short drive over to the high school. It seemed they had similar taste in music, as they both liked Taylor Swift. But she was more country, whereas he preferred more old rock sounds. The rest of the team seemed to be already there by the time he got parked in his usual spot.

“Ready?” Austin held out his hand so that he could help Emery down. She carefully placed her hand in his and jumped down to the ground. He didn’t let her hand go, and she didn’t pull it away, as they made their way over to the stadium. “You can sit over there.” Austin motioned to the sideline bench. “I just have to go get suited up.” Emery nodded her head okay and went to sit where he told her to go. He watched until she made it safely then jogged over to the equipment room to grab his gear.

“Who the hell is that?” Dylan, one of Austin’s good friends nudged him as they got closer to the field. He nodded in the direction of Emery, who was still seated where Austin had told her she could sit.

“That’s Emery, she came with me.” Austin kept his eyes on her. As if she could feel him watching her, Emery looked up from her cell phone and saw him walking toward her. She gave him a small wave and he held up his helmet to show that he’d seen her.

“Isn’t that like pixie, mixie, dixie, or whatever your girlfriend calls her?” Dylan thought he recognized her from around the school and all the times that Apryl and the other girls had said shit about her.

Even though they were good friends, Austin was ready to flatten him out right now. “First, don’t say shit about Emery. Second, Apryl isn’t nor will she ever be my girlfriend again.” Austin walked away from Dylan and headed over to where Emery was. “Having fun yet?” He sat down on the bench beside her. He knew the coach was going to sound the whistle soon, but he just wanted to stop in and say a quick hello.

“It’s been quiet so far.” Emery hadn’t seen anyone out here until the team just made their presence. “You look twice as big with all that stuff on.” She made reference to how much bigger he looked than usual with all his padding on.

“Yeah, it sorta helps when I get hit or tackled.” Austin brushed back the piece of hair that had fallen over her face when she had looked down. His stomach got into a million different knots and he knew he was falling fast for this girl. The sound of the whistle made him drop his hand from her hair and come back into the moment. “I better get out there.” Austin motioned toward the team that was starting to line up and look for him.

“Okay, I’ll be here.” Emery tucked her legs up under herself and got comfier on the bench. She motioned for Austin to go and watched as he jogged over and took his front position. The feel of his hand on her still coursed through her body and it gave her feelings she’d never ever felt before. Emery was falling for him, but she refused to believe that someone like Austin would have feelings for her.

Why now when time was so short?

The team did their usual warm-up drills, then they went straight into the new plays that had been designed for the upcoming season. Austin was happy that he was able to dodge the defense when they came after him and he even threw for a touchdown. Hopefully, that put some points on his side in Emery’s mind. There were a few more comments about her being there, but he nicely told those who spoke out to ‘shut the fuck up.’ Dylan kept saying he was lucky that the cheerleaders weren’t there today or else Apryl would have had a free for all torment on Emery. Austin knew that he was right and Apryl was going to make everything hell, including tomorrow night.

Two and a half hours later, Austin was finally done with practice. Emery was still seated in the same spot where he’d left her earlier that evening. She looked content as she watched the defense finish their last set of drills. He snuck up behind her and covered her eyes with his hands.

Austin leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Done.” He removed his hands and leaped over the bench so that he could sit next to her.

Emery knew it was him even before he spoke. She knew the touch of his skin and the faint hint of musk he always smelled like, even though he was drenched with sweat right now from practice. “That looked intense.” The stuff he had to do just to play a game was insane. All the hitting, running, and repetition of the same play over and over was enough to exhaust her by just watching.

Austin shrugged. “I’ve been doing it for years. It’s all pretty easy now.” He noticed that she had goosebumps on her arms, even though it was a warm end of June evening. “Are you cold?” He rubbed her arm, trying to get some heat and circulation going.

Emery felt more goosebumps form all over herself and it wasn’t for the fact that she was chilly. It seemed every time Austin touched her that was how her body would respond. She smiled at him and touched his hand that was still rubbing her arm. “I’m pretty good.”

Austin nodded and quickly removed his hand from her arm. He didn’t realize that his hand had gone from rubbing to make heat to a slow, smooth rub where all he wanted was to feel her skin. He stood up and motioned to where the team was going in to change. “Give me ten minutes and we can go.” He waited for her confirmation and then jogged over to join the rest of the guys heading into the equipment room for a quick shower.

Emery stood and began to walk over to where Austin had parked his truck. It was taking him a little longer than he said, but she needed to get up and move around before she was permanently stuck in that seated position. She heard someone coming up fast behind her and turned to see who it was. Austin was jogging across the field like he had endless energy. He finally caught up with her and reached for her hand once again. She didn’t pull away, but enjoyed the warmth and crazy feelings she got when he was around.

“You look much cleaner,” Emery commented on the fact that he was no longer covered in sweat and dirt.

Austin just shook his head and smiled. Leave it to Emery to comment on whether or not he was clean. Any other girl, well, the ones who followed the players, would be questioning if there was a party, whose house they were going to, and by now they’d be running their hands all over him. He opened the truck door for her and helped her in. Once she was settled, he got in on his side and headed back in the direction of the hospital.

***

Emery jumped out of Austin’s truck when he pulled up beside her little car. It looked so small sitting there beside his mammoth-sized truck, sort of like she felt when she was next to him. “Well, thank you for the evening out.” She stood with her back against her car. Austin was right in front of her, looking at her intently.

Austin snickered and rolled his eyes. “I’m sure you had fun.”

“I did.” Emery tried to sound excited about their time out. “It was very knowledgeable and interesting since I don’t know a lot about the sport.”

Austin took a step closer to her. “Any specific time you have to be home tomorrow night?” He wanted to make certain that she was still going. Plus, he needed to know specifics on the night since parents had different curfews on when their daughters had to be home. Apryl and the rest of the cheer group had to be home before their parents got up the next morning.

Since she and her friends never did the whole nighttime party scene, Emery never had to worry about when she had to be home. Her parents were going out for the night, but she did have her meds to take at ten o’clock. Maybe being a little late one day wouldn’t throw her off balance too much.

“Nope, not really.” Emery noticed that Austin had somehow moved even closer to her since they’d gotten out of his truck. His body was almost touching hers and she felt the heat coming off of him.

“Guess we can leave whenever you get tired since you are the one who likes to be in bed by nine.” Austin saw her roll her eyes at his comment but didn’t deny the fact that she liked to go to bed early. She was looking at the ground like she was afraid to make eye contact with him being so close.

Austin gently touched her cheek and ran his hand down to her chin. He slowly lifted it so that she was now gazing back at him. His head started to lower and he saw her lips start to tremble.

The first touch of Austin’s lips on her own felt like lightning had just hit her. Emery felt a fire begin in the pit of her stomach and spread through the rest of her body. Her arms went around his neck and pulled him closer so that they were pressed up tightly together. Austin’s hands automatically went to her hair and he began to run his fingers through the fine silk. A small groan escaped from her mouth as Austin’s lips traveled down to her neck.

The sound of someone clearing their throat made the couple break apart. There was an elderly couple, a few cars away, looking at the two. The older man looked frazzled by what he’d seen, but the woman looked at them with compassion and understanding in her eyes. The older pair got into the car and sat looking at the hospital.

Austin took a step back from Emery. He was surprised that she’d let him kiss her. He could honestly say that was the most intoxicating kiss he’d ever experienced. “Um.” He cleared his throat as it felt all constricted. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” He brushed that one lone piece of hair back out of her face that always seemed to fall into her eyes. “I’ll call you in the morning or afternoon, whenever I get up.” Neither of them had volunteer work at the hospital, so he got to actually sleep in a little while.

Emery nodded her head okay. She was still trying to capture her breath from their little bout of passion. “I have to go volunteer at the senior citizen center, but that’s only from like noon to two.”

“Another volunteer place? How many do you do?” Austin was amazed that she did so much.

Emery counted on her fingers as she mentally thought about all the places she went to. “Are we talking just now or all year?” There was a big difference if he wanted to know about the summer volunteer places compared to the ones that she did throughout the year.

“Just now.” Austin didn’t know there was that big of a difference between now and the rest of the months.

“I volunteer at five places during the summer.” Emery glanced away from his stare. She knew she must sound pathetic and like she had nothing else to do in her life.

“Wow, that’s a lot of time. Where at?” Austin wasn’t too surprised by this answer. He had seen her with the kids at the hospital and how excited she seemed when she went to the animal shelter, so it was expected that she would have more places that she liked to volunteer than just those two.

“Well, you already know about the hospital and the dogs.” Emery saw Austin nod his head yes, so she continued. “I also go to the retirement home down on Main Street when I have a chance. I also do care packages for military overseas and the once a month weekend summer camp for physically challenged children.”

Austin knew his jaw must have hit the ground when Emery had rattled off all she had done or would do. “Are you doing this for school or what you want to go to college for?” There had to be another reason that someone would do all of those things other than that they liked people.

She slowly shook her head no. Emery knew going to school after graduation most likely wasn’t going to happen. She shrugged. “I just like to help and make people happy.”

“Wow.” Austin rubbed his face with his hands. “That’s so—”

“Weird,” Emery finished his sentence for him.

Austin took both of her hands in his. “No, I was going to say amazing, different, so…you” He didn’t know how to express how remarkable he thought she was.

“I better get going. You know, before my mom starts to worry.” Emery had texted her mom saying she was going to be a little late. She just didn’t tell her who she was with or where she was.

“Okay, I’ll call you before I leave to pick you up tomorrow.” Austin still hadn’t let go of her hands. Emery nodded that that would be fine. He leaned down once more and gave her another quick kiss on the lips. “See ya.” He let go of her and walked to his truck in the next parking space.

Emery smiled and got into her car. She noticed that the older couple was still seated in the vehicle, maybe they were watching to make sure everything was all right. Emery started her car, returned the beep to Austin, and drove home much happier than she’d been in a long time.

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