Because of Haven Beach

9 | orphic

I witnessed their exchange, feeling very confused. My eyes darted to Ethan and Ben. Ben looked blissfully unaware of the atmosphere, but I saw a flicker of emotion flash through Ethan's eyes.

Aubrey composed herself and clapped her hands together in a true cheerleader fashion. "So, Char, a little birdie told me that you're coming to the game tonight!" she exclaimed, her tone doing a complete 180 from moments before.

"Um, yeah. I thought I'd come watch you guys."

"Awesome!" she said enthusiastically. "We're all going to be on the field, but Delaney should be there to sit with you."

"Cool," I smiled.

"Do you need a jersey to wear?" Eli asked.

"What?"

"You know, a jersey to wear to the game?"

"Don't you need to wear it?" I countered.

"We give our spare jerseys to friends or girlfriends to wear during home games," Ethan explained. "I would give you mine, but Aubrey would kill me."

"Hey, I wouldn't kill you. I'd just be ticked off," Aubrey protested. "I'm cheering, so I can't wear it. And if I can't wear my boyfriend's jersey, nobody else is going to."

"So, do you want mine?" Eli asked me. "Just in a platonic way, though. Delaney always wears Ben's, and you could have mine... if you want. If not, that's cool with me. It's also cool if you want to wear it."

Why wouldn't he give his jersey to his girlfriend? Although, she might have been on the cheer team with Aubrey.

Not voicing my concerns, I said, "Uh, sure. How should I get it?" Accepting his offer might have been a bad idea, but I would just deal with it later.

"I'll drop it off at your place."

* * *

At six o'clock, Aunt Kelli dropped Ella and me off at the football field. After paying for our tickets, we split up to meet up with our respective friend groups.

I found Delaney in the stands, bent over and staring intently at her phone.

"Hey," I said as I sat down on the cool metal.

Her head snapped up in my direction. "Hey," she half-heartedly smiled.

I shrank into my coat, feeling a twinge of insecurity. Did Delaney even want me around? Did she like me? Had I already done something to offend her?

"So, where are the guys?" I asked, trying to keep the nerves out of my voice. "They all look so similar in their uniforms."

She pointed to the cluster of guys twenty feet in front of us. "Ethan's on the bench right now. He's twenty-eight. Ben and Eli are the idiots throwing the ball around in the end zone. Ben's sixty-nine," she tugged on the borrowed jersey she was wearing. "And Eli's thirteen, as you obviously know." She motioned to the jersey I was wearing under my coat.

I snickered, "Of course Ben's sixty-nine." I had only known him for a few days, but it seemed so on-brand.

"Wouldn't expect anything less from him," she said, her lips splitting into a grin.

"So, are you and Ben together?" I asked casually.

It had been bugging me all week. I noticed that they constantly flirted and argued with each other. There was so much sexual tension and chemistry between the pair, they must have at least harbored crushes for each other.

She doubled over in laughter. "W-where... where did you get t-that idea?"

"Well, you're wearing his jersey," I pointed out, not understanding why dating Ben was the funniest thing ever. "Didn't they say that girlfriends wear jerseys?"

"You're wearing Eli's," she shot back, another snort escaping her. "Unless there's something you need to tell us."

"But... you're always flirting with him," I added lamely.

"Really, though," she started after quieting down, "the flirting is more like friendly banter. Ben's like my brother. We've hooked up a few times, but we're nothing more than friends... I guess we're technically friends with benefits, but I don't like to put a label on stuff."

I blinked slowly, unsure if I heard that correctly. "He's like your brother, but you've slept with him?" I didn't have any siblings, but I always assumed that you didn't have sex with them—unless you lived in Alabama.

"Okay, that came out so wrong," she cackled. "It's platonic sex. Just release, nothing more. He's not the one for me." Her gaze darted towards the pack of cheerleaders.

"How do you not catch feelings, though?" I asked.

She shrugged before looking out to the field. "We just have an understanding. We're both in it for the sex, not the emotions. Plus, I trust him, so it's better than hooking up with some rando and potentially getting syphilis. Much easier, too. I just call him and he never turns me down."

"That's true," I mused. I wasn't one for casual hookups, but I had to admit that she had a solid point.

All of the sudden, the stands quieted around us in anticipation of the game. The cheerleaders ran onto the track and got in formation for a cheer.

Both football teams huddled on the sidelines of the field, likely receiving last-minute pep talks from coaches.

When the Hawks broke out of their huddle, I caught sight of Eli searching the stands. After sweeping the rows of bleachers, his gaze locked on Delaney and me. He waved at us with a megawatt smile then pulled his helmet over his unruly hair, looking effortlessly attractive.

Once again, what a shame he had a girlfriend.

"Can I ask you something?"

Delaney focused her wandering eyes on mine. "Sure, what's up?"

"Uh, it's about Eli. Does he—"

A shrill whistle sounded, effectively cutting me off.

"The game's about to start. Can it wait?"

"I guess so," I shrugged.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading chapter 9! Sorry it was so short; it was originally combined with the next chapter, but it got way too long when I was editing and I split them. 💚

QOTC: If you had the ability to freeze time whenever you wanted, what would you use it for?

My Answer: I'd probably procrastinate even more. Ngl, I'd probably end up using it at school lol 👀