Edited (6/23/20)

My face was bright red as I went flying down the rock path. My legs could not carry me fast enough to get away from the field. My cleats were skidding across the rocks, but I kept going. I hadn't bothered taking them off and changing into tennis shoes since that would require staying in the presence of all the guys longer. Coach hadn't exactly dismissed us, but at this point, I could care less. That was the last out we had to get anyway. If he had a problem with me getting the heck out of there, we could talk about it later. 

Anger was pulsing through my entire body as I ran. Miles was absolutely infuriating and the fact that he pretended to be my ally half the time and then embarrass me the other half enraged me. I didn't need someone gaslighting me. 

"Gloria, wait?" I heard Miles yell. Speak of the devil. 

The sudden sound of his voice startled me. Why was he following me after just humiliating me in front of everyone? The call of my name shocked me enough that my foot tripped on the path and my other cleat only skidded out underneath me. Both my feet flew up in front of me and suddenly I was falling backwards. Lucky for me, my bat bag was backpack style and cushioned my fall slightly. Well, it was more like it made me fall on my helmet. It wasn't much better than hitting the ground. The hard plastic of the helmet was no pillow.

I hit the ground with a thud and I was now flat on my back in the middle of the path. 

"Ow," I groaned loudly. Although I luckily didn't hit my head on the ground, the force of the helmet into my back was not a good feeling. I would be feeling this one tomorrow morning. 

"Holy shit. Gloria, are you okay?" Miles asked, running up behind me and skidding to a stop.  

"Do I look okay to you?" I snarled. My patience for him had disappeared.

He came up beside me and kneeled down. No, not really."

I could tell he was holding back a chuckle, but his eyes also held a look of concern as he looked me over for any immediate injuries. 

"Does anything hurt?" he questioned gently. 

"What do you think? I just landed flat on my back. My back hurts."

"That's it?"

"Was my first answer not good enough for you?"

"Okay, geez. I was just making sure, you were alright."

"Well, I didn't ask for your help and you are the one who got me in this predicament."

"That's a big word for you."

"Shut up," I said smacking his shoulder.

"No need to be aggressive,"  he chided me, shifting to a position that was out of reach for my fist. Smart guy. I was two seconds from beating the shit out of him. 

"You're the one provoking me!" I cried, throwing him a narrowed look.

"Would you like some help up?"

"No, I'm going to lie here like a dead turtle until tomorrow when we have practice," I said with a straight face.

He laughed at that, then stood up.

"Fine, suit yourself," he said looking down at me with an amused smile. 

I took my arms out of the straps of the backpack and stood up. I winced at the pain in my back that shot up my spine. I definitely had a bruise forming back there. 

Before I could move to pick my bag up off the ground, Miles was already slinging it over his shoulder along with his own.

"Excuse me, what are you doing?" I asked reaching for my bag.

"You're obviously hurting. I'll carry your bag," he answered nonchalantly and turned on his heel to start walking back towards the dorms.

"I can carry it," I persisted, following after him.

"It's fine. I'll do it."

"I'm a big girl. I am fully capable."

"Nope."

I blinked. I had never met someone who had ever fought me over every single thing until I met Miles. Growing up as an only child, I had limited practice in repeatedly bickering with someone my own age. 

"Miles, really. I want my bag back."

"You'll get it when we get to our room."

"I want it now," I couldn't help but let out a whine. 

"Who's the little kid now?" He threw me a look over his shoulder, but that didn't slow down his pace. I absentmindedly pulled on the strap at the bottom of my bag.

"Don't even think about it, Princess."

"You're only contributing to that name by carrying my stuff. I can easily carry my own bag."

"I'm being the knight in shining armor, so shut it. And change out of your cleats. We don't need another one of your accidents."

I glared at the back of his head. And now he's telling me what to do. Stepping closer, I unzipped the bottom pocket with my Nikes and put them on. I pushed my cleats back in to the same pocket before closing it.

As we walked, pain shot up my back with every step, but I kept my mouth closed about it or else Miles might try to carry me back to the dorm too. As annoyingly nice as Miles was being for carrying my bag for me, it did little to suppress my irritation about the little stunt he pulled at practice. 

"You are not my knight in shining armor," I blurted out after several moments of quiet. I kicked myself internally for being so late to comment on his proclamation. 

"Of course, I am. I'm your roommate and protector," he responded. He looked back at me again, giving me a lopsided smirk. He then proceeded to do some flexing moves, which look ridiculous with the two bags slung over this shoulders. Still,  I did my best not to drool as his bicep muscles making an appearance. He's gloating, you idiot. Not the time to boost his ego more.

"I am just fine protecting myself."

"Really? How long would you have laid there in the rocks?"

I scoffed. "I  wouldn't have left practice so quickly and without changing my shoes if you hadn't embarrassed me at practice."

"I thought it was funny and everyone else did too."

"I didn't."

"Not everyone can understand true comedic relief."

I clenched my hands in to fists. He was unbelievable. Knight in shining armor, my ass. Without thinking, I ripped my bag off Miles's shoulder and slung it on to mine.

"Hey!" he said surprised.

I ignored him and started walking quickly until I got to the parking lot.

"Oh come on, Gloria. I didn't mean it," Miles said following me.

I ignored him and sped up to get away from him, which only resulted in him practically chasing me across the parking lot to our dorm. Sadly, my attempt to shoulder check him out of the elevator didn't work and he instead pinned me against the rail. His taller body trapped my smaller one and I was officially stuck. He placed his hands on either side of my head and looked down at me. 

"You really should stop ignoring me," he said close to my ear. His voice was low and his breath skimmed over the skin on my neck. My heart thumped in my chest loudly. I wondered if Miles could hear, it was so loud.

"Gloria, look at me."

I turned my head away and stared at the wall. I suddenly felt his warm fingers on the side of my chin. He gently turned my face to look at him and it was then I realized how close in fact we were. 

"Hands off or I'm screaming bloody murder," I snapped.

"Alright, alright," he said quickly taking his hands away and taking a step back. "You know most girls like when I do that."

"I'm personally not a fan."

As soon as the elevator opened its doors to our floor, I shoved Miles out of the way and took off down the hall. I reached our door and tried the knob. It was locked. I frantically dug in my pocket for the key, which I then recalled that I forgot it in the room this morning. Way to go, Gloria.

My shoulders slumped in defeat. I leaned on the wall next to the door, waiting for Miles. I dropped my bag next to me, not wanting to carry it around with my aching back. 

"No key, huh?" Miles asked seeming pretty proud of himself as he strutted down the hall. He pulled his key out of his back pocket and waggled it in front of my face. I snatched at it, but he was faster and pulled it back.

"Just open the goddamn door."

"What if I say no?"

He really wanted to play this game with me. So it be it. I stepped closer to him until my chest was practically touching his. He regarded me with those striking green eyes as we stared at each other for a long moment. When I placed a hand on his chest and rose on my toes to get closer, his eyes opened a fraction wider. I could see the curiosity burning behind his irises, trying to figure out what I was up to. 

"Why would you say no to me?" I pouted, poking my bottom lip out. His eyes traced along my bottom lip before slowly making their way back to my eyes. I could already see the stubbornness resolving in his eyes. This was going to be too easy. 

"You are making it much harder to say no," he admitted softly, giving me a light smile. While my one hand stayed planted on his chest, my other began to inch towards his hand that held the key to the room. He didn't seem to notice my fingers getting close enough to grab the keys from him.

"That's because I don't like when people tell me no," I deadpanned, snatching the key out of his hand and unlocking the door before he could even move. 

Miles looked flabbergasted at what I just did. I did a little wave at him before grabbing my bag and slamming the door closed. I locked the door, right as Miles went for the knob.

"Gloria," he whined.

"Yes?"

"Open the door."

"Hm, I don't think so."

"But it's my room too."

"Go to your friend's room."

"I want to change. Gloria!"

"Sorry."

I then turned and set my bag down next to my bed. I heard Miles walking down the hall, muttering profanities. I couldn't help but smile to myself at the ease in which I just juked Miles out. He deserved it for the shit he had put me through during practice. He needed to be knocked down a peg and I was more than happy to be the person who did that.

There was about fifteen minutes until lunch was served, so I decided to change out of my uniform. My clothes from this morning's practice were sweaty and had some dirt stains on them. I was also pretty sure there was an interesting smell coming from the fabric. I wrinkled my nose and got to work changing into a new sports bra and underwear. I threw my dirty clothes in the corner for later attention.

In only my sports bra and underwear, I pulled out a new T-shirt, fresh socks, and a pair of running shorts. My shirt was a type of dri-fit that was white and slightly see through, so you could see my salmon colored sports bra through it. I pulled on my Nike shoes again and shoved my phone in to the waistband of my shorts. My hair was slightly messy, so I fixed it back in to a pony tail and readjusted my headband.

Grabbing my key this time before running out the door, I headed down for some much needed lunch. My stomach had been grumbling and complaining the whole time I was changing.

I kept a lookout for Miles as I got in the elevator and walked out of the dorm. I wasn't sure how he took my little prank from earlier.  I opened the door to the cafeteria and headed inside. I could see Harrison's shaggy brown head from the doors. His messy hair was not what caught my eye though. It was the other person who was sitting at the table with him. The other occupant at the table  was faced away from me, so I couldn't see his face. I couldn't think of anyone who really wanted to sit next to the kid hitting puberty and his babysitter who couldn't keep her mouth shut. 

Ignoring the guy at our table, I went to the lunch line first. Every single lunch lady in the back seemed to smile at me when I grabbed a tray and loaded a small bowl of chili and a slice of cornbread on it. I smiled back and waved to Carol.

Her salt and pepper hair was in a bun on top of her hair with a hair net placed over it. She had on an apron which several ingredients decided to smear themselves on. Her eyes brightened when she saw me. The crow's feet deepening and her laugh lines appeared.

I set my stuff down and took a seat in my chair before looking up.

Walker sat in the seat across from me, grinning. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey," he greeted me warmly.

"Hi," I said taking the cap off my bottle of water. "What are you doing over here?"

"I thought I would change it up today. You guys seem a little more relaxed than the rowdiness over there," he admitted. He pointed to across the room where the rest of the team was seated.

They had pushed together two tables, which for them, was pretty smart. Walker, Harrison, and I were the only ones that were by ourselves at our table. The two other teams seemed to have all grouped together in a cluster of tables. We were the only awkward table that was alone.

"Well, careful. It's always a crazy party over here," I said teasingly, taking a bite of chili.

Walker chuckled. "It looks to be a rager. You two  also seem like you would have more civilized conversations."

"I can only imagine."

"You guys should sit over there one day though," Walker suggested with a shrug of a shoulder. "You know, get to know the rest of the team better."

I laughed at that, but he realized he was being serious. 

"That's a long shot. They don't want us over there."

"Hey, you never know."

"Oh no. I know."

"I don't think you do, but if you can't handle it..." Walker said trailing off. 

"Is that a challenge?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Yes, yes it is."

"Alright, I'll sit with them the whole time at dinner."

"Really? Deal."

We shook hands on it.

"Wait," I said, "I should get some sort of incentive for dealing with those hooligans voluntarily for an entire hour."

"Hm, if you survive the whole time without leaving, I'll make sure that Danny and Nathan won't bother you anymore. But if you leave before dinner is over, you have to sit there for dinner every night until you make it an entire hour," he explained.

"You're on."

We finished lunch quickly after that because conditioning started in 10 minutes.

"Harrison, you done?" I asked as he popped the last chunk of corn bread in his mouth. He nodded his head. His mouth was stuffed like a chipmunk.

After dumping our trays, the two boys and I headed outside.

"Where's the weight room?" I asked Walker.

"By the fields. It's on the other side of the stadium," he replied starting towards the complex.

Harrison and I followed a step behind him. The temperature was close to 90 degrees by now. The humidity made it even worse. The air was thick and damp, seeming to settle on to your skin like a parka coat. Several lazy mosquitos buzzed around, waiting for their next victim. I swatted the air to keep them away. The trees that lined the rock path didn't cool me down. The humidity just crept in to steam you like a dumpling.

When we reached field two, we walked right past it, taking a left around the bend. Another team was practicing on field 3 as we looked on. They all looked up as the three of us trudged along. I would hate having the afternoon session for practice. It was the hottest time of the day as you bake in the sun's rays in your thick pants and now sticky shirt.

One person caught my attention immediately. It was the guy from the elevator who had harassed me. I practically shuddered when he caught my eye. Even from far away I could see him smirk and wink. I swallowed hard, and my breathing came more labored. The guy was bad news. I did not want to be caught by myself with him ever again. He reminded me of Chris, which made me gag.

I put my head down and followed behind the two boys, hoping to just disappear. We passed field one and then came upon the stadium. The fence to go inside the front entrance and doors to the dugouts were locked shut. The grass was longer than usual stadium fields, but I knew that were going to probably cut it right before tournament play started. The dirt was dragged, but no lines has been drawn. Bleachers went around the whole fence line stopping at the end of the dugouts. Another bleacher stand was built behind the right field fence next to a large scoreboard that said "Marist Red Foxes." A concession stand was placed just inside the door of the stadium.

Past the stadium entrance, I could see a track with a brick building next to it. The words "Weight Room" were printed above the door in big letters. We walked down the hill to the building. Walker opened the door for Harrison and I and held it open. He definitely was a gentleman.

Inside the building was a single room with several weight machines and racks of weights. Floor to ceiling mirrors covered three of the four walls. As I spun around to take in the entire room, I  caught my reflection in every mirror and suddenly I felt self conscious to see myself at all possible angles. Everywhere you looked you could see yourself reflected back. 

Most of the team was checking out the machinery when we walked inside. I scanned the room. I shouldn't be looking for him, but I couldn't help it.

Miles was in the corner with Jackson, Danny, and Nathan. Miles was telling them something with wild hand motions and gestures which caused smiles to pull at the listeners' faces. Then with a final move, they burst into laughter. Miles looked pretty proud of himself for getting them to laugh. Jackson was clutching his stomach and pointing at Miles. Miles rolled his eyes at his friend before his gaze wandered from his friends and locked with mine. He smirked when he realized I had been watching him. I blushed and looked away. How obvious could you be, Gloria?

Coach Russ came in a few minutes later with his clipboard. Everyone circled around him as he sat down on a bench press.

"Hello again. This is the weight room, where we will be working out in the afternoons. Everyday we will try to do something slightly different. You are expected to report here not a second later than 1:30. If anyone is late, then the whole team will be running until I get tired. So be on time. Today, we'll start with running, then move in to the weight room to do some weight training. Everyone will run two miles."

Several guys groaned at this. I rolled my eyes. I've come to really enjoy running over the years as a way to exercise and relieve tension. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

"Two miles is eight times around the track. Whoever finishes last will run another mile. That's how it's going to work when we run. If you can't keep up, then you need more work. Everyone head out to the track."

We walked out of the weight room and out to the track. There were a few bleachers that were near the track, so I set my phone down on the lowest seat. We started at the line on the dirt that said "Start" on one side and "Finish" on the other.

I dug my foot in to the ground ready to spring forward to get away from the pack. Someone readied themselves next to me. I glanced over, surprised to see Miles. He gave me a lopsided smirk.

"Checking me out earlier, Princess?" he asked pulling up his ankle to stretch his quad.

"You wish," I spat back, rolling my head back to have my neck crack.

"Get used to looking at my ass since you'll get a good view of it the entire run."

I  scoffed. "Keep telling yourself that, but you'll be eating my dust after I lap you."

"Never going to happen."

"We'll see." As if I wasn't already competitive enough, a direct competition with Miles only made me twitch with further adrenaline. There was not a chance in hell that I was losing this