The Player

Chapter 20

Brielle

7:02 AM

"How did the talk go?" Sam asked, as she stopped the car in the school parking lot.

"It went really well!" I beamed, the large smile on my face showing my excitement. "I told him how I felt,

and he has now made it his personal mission to," I used air quotes, "woo me."

Sam raised her eyebrows suggestively, causing me to whack her in the arm.

"Ow!" she exaggerated, rubbing at her arm. "What was that for?"

"That was for your excessively dirty mind," I scolded, slinging my backpack over my shoulder and

hopping out the car. "But seriously, how do you think he's going to woo you?" Sam asked as we made

our way into the school.

"Well he already took me to this really pretty lake on Saturday, but we were both busy yesterday." My

eyes glazed over, remembering when we had a picnic on the shore. "So, I'm not sure what he has

planned."

My thoughts were interrupted by exaggerated gagging sounds from Sam. "Sorry, all of your lovey-

doveyness is making me sick."

I playfully rolled my eyes at her. "You know as my friend you're supposed to be happy for me, right?"

She let out a huff. "I know, just all of this relationship talk is making me feel lonely."

I placed my hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure that Christopher can find someone on the football team for

you."

The gagging sounds returned. "I would rather cut off my big toe than date a high school boy. I need

someone more mature and refined."

"Sam, for the last time, you are not going to marry Derick Shepherd or Mark Sloan from Grey's

Anatomy!"

She crossed her arms, "A girl can dream," She let out a soft sigh. "They sure know their way around a

body."

"You mean bodies that are in surgery!" I exclaimed. "I swear sometimes I worry about you."

"I know, that's your job."

She stopped at my locker and waited for me to get my books out. However, as I opened it, a gold

balloon letter "D" flew out with a card attached. I grabbed onto the paper, reading it aloud.

"Day One: Chocolate."

Both Sam and I's face scrunched up in confusion. "What does that even mean?"

Sam grabbed the card from my hand, inspecting it herself. "Maybe you read it wrong?"

"Sam, it was three words." I deadpanned.

"Well do you have any clue what the balloon letter "D" means?" I shook my head, biting my lip in the

process. "The only thing that I know is that Christopher is behind all of it."

I took the letter from Sam and placed it back inside my locker along with the balloon. "Come on, I don't

want to be late to first period."

Halfway through my first class, I was nearly asleep thanks to the most boring teacher on the planet, Mr.

Brown. Just when I was about to give up fighting to stay awake and lay my head on my desk, a knock

interrupted our class.

Mr. Brown opened the door and was greeted by a freshman football player holding a heart-shaped box.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Mr. Brown questioned with his usual monotone voice.

"Yes, I have a delivery for Brielle."

I felt the entire class turn their attention on me as my face turned beet red. The football player made his

way to the desk and dropped off the box before quickly shuffling out of the classroom.

Melanie turned around in her chair, her eyes shooting daggers at me. "I'm really happy for you! It's not

every day that a girl like you finds a boyfriend blind enough to want to be with you!" She said fakely, her

voice oversweet.

I rolled my eyes and flipped her the bird before redirecting my attention to the box in front of me. I lifted

the lid off the container and was greeted with an assortment of different bite size chocolates. A note

written in Christopher's handwriting sat on top.

Let the wooing begin.

~~~

It was halfway to the end of the day, and I already had more than enough chocolate than I needed.

Every single period, another freshman football player would bring me boxes. At this point, I already had

ten different packages.

Everyone was wondering who was sending me them, but no one truly knew. I know it sounds weird, but

I liked the fact that me and Christopher were still a secret.

As I made my way to lunch, my thoughts were interrupted when a hand latched onto my wrist and

pulled me into a closet. Before I could even process what had just happened, I was face-to-face with a

smiling Christopher.

"How has your day been?" he asked, pulling me closer to him.

"Interesting, to say the least."

He arched his eyebrow, "Good interesting or bad interesting?"

"Chocolate is never bad." I let out a huff. "But are you going to explain to me what your planning

because I'm really confused."

His mouth pulled into a cheeky smile. "Nope," he said, popping the 'P'.

"Why not?" I whined. He reached out bopping his finger on my nose. "Because you're cute when you're

confused."

I looked away, hoping that he didn't see my cheeks turn a light pink. "All I can say is that by Friday it will

all make sense."

I leaned my face closer into his. "There's nothing I can do for you to even tell me a hint."

"Maybe..." he trailed off, his eyes focused in mine. He placed his hand on the side of my face before

leaning down and pressing his mouth to mine.

Even though we had kissed before, it still felt like the first time. My breath hitched in my throat as our

kiss slowly turned from slow and gentle to faster as we got caught up in the moment. When we finally

pulled away, we were both breathing heavily.

"Yeah, I'm still not telling you anything."

"Hey!" I said, slapping him on the arm, "You tricked me!"

He rubbed his arm, feigning hurt. "Why are you always slapping me in janitor's closets?"

"Why are you always pulling me into Janitor's closets?" He was about to give a response before

stopping himself.

"Touché."

"Seriously though, thank you so much for today." I wrapped my arms around him in a hug, laying my

head down on his chest. He rested his chin on top of my head, massaging the base of my neck.

"Trust me, you haven't seen anything yet." After a few moments he pulled away from me, planting a

kiss on my forehead. "We should probably go before someone finds us."

"And what would be so wrong with that?" I mocked.

"I can't let people know that I'm the one sending those gifts. It would ruin my street cred."

I laughed. "Street cred?"

"Yes," he huffed, "And it's very difficult to get. It's taken me years."

"And what did you have to do, break a rock with your bare hands.?" His face stayed serious. "Who told

you about that?"

~~~~

It was Friday, and the entire week had been a whirlwind. Each day of the week Christopher changed

the gift that he gave me, so Tuesday was flowers, then stuffed animals, gummy candy, and today he All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

sent me different kind of desserts. All the balloons put together from each day spelled the word drive.

However, I couldn't help but feel sad that the whole thing was over. While he still had a surprise for me

tonight, I was going to miss all the gifts that he dropped off. Attached to the cupcake that he gave me

during my last period of the day, he told me to wait for him by my locker.

Suddenly, someone behind me grabbed onto my shoulder, causing me to shriek and jump in shock. I

turned around, only to be faced with a laughing Christopher.

"Did you see how high you jumped!" He laughed, almost letting out tears.

"Well I'm happy that my extreme terror was entertaining for you."

His face fell. "Well when you put it that way it's not as fun anymore." We made our way to the parking

lot, and I was surprised when we stopped in front of a cherry red pick-up truck. I was going to ask him

why he always had different cars, but I thought better of it.

After twenty minutes of driving he turned towards me. "Close your eyes." He instructed.

"Why?"

"Because I want where we're going to be a surprise." I let out a huff before I closed my eyes. My leg

jiggled, anxious for what he was planning.

After a few more minutes of driving he parked and hopped out of the car for a little while longer. By the

time he came back, I could barely handle the anticipation. He led me out of the car and onto what I

assumed to be grass.

"Can I open my eyes now?" I asked impatiently, sounding like a kid on Christmas.

He chuckled. "Yes, you can open them."

As soon as I did my jaw dropped. In front of me was the cutest thing I had ever seen. "You didn't have

to do this," I reminded him, leaning into him for a hug.

"I know, but I wanted to."

He had filled the bed of his pick-up truck with pillows and throw blankets and lined the sides of it with

fairy lights. The bed faced the movie screen in-front of us, as other cars parked around us, wanting to

enjoy the drive-in movie as well. Suddenly, the balloons spelling drive made sense.

I climbed under the covers as Christopher followed suit, wrapping his arms around me. "I have to

admit, I doubted you at first. However, you really did woo me."

"Really?" He said a prideful smile stretched across his face.

I nodded. "I don't see how it could get any better." He looked at me sheepishly. "Well, I do have one

more thing to give you." He reached from his pocket and handed me a long black-velvet jewelry case.

I turned towards him. "Christopher, I can't accept this, especially after everything you've already given

me this week."

"No, take it," he insisted, pushing the box back towards me. "I want you to have it."

After trying multiple times to give it back, I gave in and opened the box. When I did, I felt my eyes begin

to water. Inside was a silver necklace with a single ballerina charm hanging from the center.

"Do you like it?" he asked, searching my eyes for approval. "I thought that it could bring you good luck

for the showcase coming up soon."

I felt a tear roll down my face and I quickly wiped it away. "Yeah, I love it." He took the necklace from

the box and unclasped it. "Do you want me to put it on for you?"

I nodded my head yes, and I felt him sweep all my hair to one side of my head. He wrapped the

necklace around my neck and gingerly secured it.

He planted a kiss on my neck beside it. "Perfect."

And as I looked up at him, I couldn't agree more.