“Come on.”  Gabe whispers in my ear.  He grabs my hands leading out to the dance floor.

Taking one hand and wrapping his other around my waist he pulls me closer dancing me around the room.

“Are you having fun tonight?”  He asks.

“I am.”

“You sound surprised.  Did you think you weren’t going to have fun coming back to Belcrest?”

“I don’t know what I thought.”  I shrug.

I can smell a hint of his cologne mixed with his sweat.  It is oddly appealing.  His strong hand is holding me firm against him and he has tucked our hands close between our chests.  His breathing is even paced and heart rate steady.  I have always admired his confidence in any situation.  I look up into his blue eyes and notice he is peering down at me.  Butterflies race around my body while my stomach drops.  We stare at each other for a couple minutes and the room fades away.  I can only concentrate on him.  He inches closer to me, I lick my lips in anticipation but then someone taps his shoulder and suddenly we are back to reality.

“Can I cut in BRO?”  Trent is behind him.  Trent’s eyes are tightly drawn glaring at Gabe.

Gabe looks from me back to Trent.  The anguish in his eyes is evident. “Of course brother.”  He releases my body and it goes cold.

I watch Gabe make his way to the table sitting with Ian.  I can’t explain it but I don’t want him to go.  I turn back to Trent who is smiling down at me wrapping his arms around my waist.  I automatically put my arms around his neck.  It feels comfortable, like home.  I stare over his shoulder at Ian and Gabe.  Ian is flailing his arms telling some story but Gabe’s eyes are set on me.

Trent moves me around the dance floor saying sweet things in my ear.  Things that used to make me melt but I am preoccupied from what just happened.  It is impossible for me to focus on Trent when I want to kiss his brother.

Chapter 7 - 16 years old

Maybe Mackenna was right about Trent and me.  We couldn’t stay away from each other but we couldn’t stay together either.  Trent broke up with Chloe the day after I returned to school.  Although we didn’t start dating right away, Chloe never sat at our lunch table again.  We started our friendship where it left off three years earlier.  Soon the four of us were joined at the hip.

Freedom came when I turned sixteen.  I passed my drivers test on the first try and with my dad still feeling guilty from the divorce and the move he bought me a car.   I decided on a Red Jeep Wrangler.  My dad wanted to get me a car but I had my heart set on the Jeep.  Since I was his little girl that missed her daddy so much, he bought me the Jeep.

Mackenna didn’t turn sixteen for a couple months so I would be her chauffeur.  Bryan’s parents bought him a brand new FJ Cruiser.  Trent inherited Gabe’s Chevy Silverado.  Gabe had put custom rims with big mud tires and a muffler you could hear five miles away.  It was Gabe’s most prized possession so we were stunned when Gabe agreed to let Trent have it while he was at college.

Trent and Bryan didn’t follow in their Big’s footsteps playing football, they were on the soccer team, both starters on varsity in their sophomore year.   At first I thought Trent was wasting his arm.  Everyone assumed he would be the all-state quarterback when we were younger but when I saw his first soccer game I knew he found the sport for him.  He was the lead scorer of the team; the other teams couldn’t keep up with him.   With Bryan making saves at goalie they were an unstoppable team.

Mackenna and I would go to their games on Saturday afternoon and we would go to the Bassos after to hang out.  Sometimes we would go to my house but since my mom was never home and there was never any food in the fridge, we all preferred Trent’s.

Trent and I flirted but nothing went any further until the middle of our junior year.   The Belcrest soccer team won the state championship.  The Bassos and Edwards said they would watch Kenna and me so our parents didn’t have to go.  We shared a room that adjoined to the Bassos.  Jack, Doug, Gabe and some other Bigs met us at the stadium to watch the boys play.

We were sitting down cuddling together under blankets waiting for the boys to come out to the field when a young kid walked up to us asking for Madeline.  The kid couldn’t be more than middle school aged.

Everyone turns around at me and I just shrug my shoulders.  “That’s me.  Who are you?”  I skeptically ask.

The kid looks at our big group and starts stuttering.  “Um...TR…TR…” he stutters.

“It’s alright kid, calm down.  What do you want with Maddy?”  Gabe stands up putting his hand on the kids shoulder.

“Um…” he takes a deep breath.  “Trent Basso wants to talk to her.”

“Ok, we can do that.”  Gabe motions over to me to come over.

“Where is he at?”  I ask the young kid.

“Fo…Fo…Follow me.”  He waves his hand down the stairs.

“Do you want me to go with you?”  Gabe asks me.

“No, I’ll be back soon.  I am sure it’s nothing.”  I reassure everyone.

I descend the stairs behind the boy and see Trent bent over in the hallway that leads out to the field.  I notice the rest of the team is already out there.  He is dressed in his blue shorts with his shirt tucked in along with his shin guards and matching blue cleats.  He looks incredible in his uniform.  I rush over to him.

“What’s the matter Trent?”  I bend over to look at his face.

“I don’t know Mad.  I can’t stop shaking, I feel nauseous.  This has never happened to me before.”  He sits up putting his head in his hands.

I feel his forehead it seems ok but he is sweating.  “You feel ok, no fever.”  I inform him.

“What if I mess up?  You know how good that other team is?  Scouts have already come to see their star player and he is only a sophomore.”  He confesses the real reason he doesn’t feel good.

“Are you kidding me Trent?”  I get in front of him putting my hands on each shoulder.  “Trent Basso is afraid he won’t play well?”

He looks at me like how could I not agree with him.

“Trent, you are the best soccer player I have ever seen.  You are better than that kid.  You were born to play forward.  That team won’t be able to keep up with you.”  I point out to the field.

“I don’t know Maddy.  I took a chance leaving football behind to pursue soccer.  What if it was a mistake and I can’t bring the championship back home?”  He shakes his head back and forth.

“Trent, don’t think like that.  I am so sure you can and WILL bring the championship back to Belcrest, I am willing to make a bet.”

“A bet?”  He raises his eyebrow at me.

“Anything you want” I say.

“You are that confident?”

“I am that confident in you Trent Basso.”  I guarantee him pointing my finger into his chest.

“If I win the championship, I want us to go out on a real date, just me and you.  No Kenna and Bryan.”

“Here I thought you were going to ask to feel me up.”  I laugh.

“I am confident enough that after the date I might get that too.”  He winks.

“We’ll see.”  I hit him in the shoulder.  “Now go out there and kick some ass Trent Basso.”  I hug him.  When I step back he pulls me harder against him.

“Thanks Maddy, you are the best.”  He looks down at me and we feel the pull between us.  Bending down his lips graze mine.  I taste the orange Gatorade he must have just consumed.  His tongue licks my bottom lip begging to enter.  I open my mouth meeting his tongue before allowing it in.  He moans into my mouth and I fall into him more.  His hands come to the back of my head keeping me against his lips while my fingers grasp his jersey.

“Oh Jesus, you guys pick now to make-out?”  Bryan calls out to us.

I pull away fast but Trent grabs my waist.  “See you after the game.  Every goal is for you.”  He gives me a short kiss on the lips.

I lean against the wall trying to catch my breath.