Page 57 of Rebound

Patrick

Then

“Tamara! Will you please stop running away from me.”

She doesn’t stop and for someone with short legs, she moves really fast. In the five years we’ve known each other, this is our second fight. And if I’m being totally honest, I’m not sure why she’s mad at me. The last time it was when that Mumbai girl kept touching and flirting with me. I’d like to use my age as a reason why I was clueless, but I just didn’t understand. For years, the only girl who looked at me that way had been Tamara. I wasn’t sure how to react.

This time, it’s either that I chose to sit with the boys for dinner or I turned down her invitation to go find the man-made lake off campus. I’d be able to figure it out if she wasn’t running so fast. Pumping my legs harder, I catch up and slide an arm around her waist. The momentum causes us to stumble and fall in the grass. Tamara wiggles her butt against my crotch and I release her when my dick jumps.

That was a brand new reaction and I stare at my bottom half like I’ll find an answer. When I look up, Tamara’s staring at me in frustration.

“Can we talk now?”

She crosses her arms over her chest and starts walking away. I push to my feet and adjust my shorts before following her. This time I stay two steps behind, but don’t touch her. She obviously needs the space and if that means she’ll talk to me, then I’ll give it to her.

“You broke your promise, Patrick.”

I wince at the way she says my name. We never use our nicknames for each other in public. When we’re alone, it’s Lotus and Trick. So this is further proof she’s mad at me.

“No I didn’t,” I counter, racking my brain to figure out what she’s talking about.

“You promised you’d never abandon me during a game and you left.”

“What?”

She stops and I crash into her, my arms going around her waist to steady myself. I don’t step away and she doesn’t push me, so I stay where I am and stare into her eyes.

“Badminton, Patrick. You were supposed to be my doubles partner and you walked away in the middle.”

“No, I didn’t. The match was over.”

“It was not! We were winning until you left.”

My eyebrows pop up at her words. Since I started playing field hockey, it’s the only sport I care about. So I made it clear to the other kids that whenever they play a game, I want to be included. It usually happens when I’m doing something else and I abandon it to pick up my stick. Which is clearly what I did yesterday during badminton. But I don’t even remember it.

“I’m…I’m so sorry.”

She shakes her head and looks away. I tighten my arms around her waist in the hopes of getting her attention, but she’s determined to not look at me.

“Please accept my apology, Lotus,” I whisper. “I never meant to leave you in the middle of a winning game. I would never do that!”

“But you did. And now I hate badminton.”

I press my mouth to her shoulder to hide my smile at her tone. I’ve overheard the camp coaches talk about how teenage girls are dramatic, but this is the first time I’ve witnessed it. I never imagined Tamara would be like the other girls, but it’s nice to know that while she’s the queen of my heart, she’s also a teenage girl.

“You don’t hate anything, Lotus.”

“Maybe I hate you.”

“That sucks. But I love you enough for the both of us.”

Her body sags slightly in my embrace and when she turns to look at me, I smile. “Promise you won’t leave me in the middle of a game.”

“I promise. Cross my heart and hope to die.”

She giggles, a sound I don’t hear enough but love so much, then kisses the tip of my nose. “Please don’t die. That would fall under the bracket of breaking your promise.”

“Fine. I will never leave you.”