A week had passed, classes started in a few days and I was honestly stressed. I was never bad at school but I was scared to keep up both in grades and in my tennis skills. While on scholarship, I'm supposed to keep up good grades while not failing in tennis. However, today I was gonna meet up with David for Mexican food after my tennis practice. We called on the phone for an hour, speaking about where we wanted to eat. He mentioned the Mexican food place and said that  he had never tried Mexican food, so I proposed the idea of going and he said yes. Mia was smiling the whole time that we were on the phone, she was so happy and excited for me. She called it perfect, two athletes from different sports talking. David was supposed to pick me up from my practice at 6:10 so we could start walking to the restaurant and get there by 6:30.

Tennis practice was never boring, it was more calming and exciting. Being able to play with a coach or with a teammate was fun. I stood on the field as I bounced the ball on the floor, waiting for my next opponent as I heard a whisper. "Hey!" I heard as I turned behind me. There was this guy on the bleachers, he had dark hair and dark eyes. "What?" I asked as I looked at him. He was just resting on the fence. "Pass me those!" He pointed at something near the net as I turned. There seemed to be many small objects around the net. "What?" I asked as he pointed again. "The cigarettes!" He spoke as I looked at the small box of cigarettes. "Are they yours?" I asked as I waited for an answer. He kept staring at them, not being able to give me an answer before a stuttering. "Yes they are mine." He spoke as I tilted my head. "Who even are you? I've never seen you here before." I asked as he rubbed his neck with his hand. "I'm Patrick, and that's because I don't go here." He spoke as I raised my eyebrows.

"Then why are you here?" I asked as he pointed at the other tennis field next to me. "See that girl over there." He pointed as I looked at Tashi. "That's my girl." He spoke as I looked at him. "You're dating Tashi Duncan?" I asked as he nodded. "Yup, she's mine." He replied as I laughed. "I don't think she's anyone's, she seems very self controlling." I replied as I bounced the ball on the floor. "No.. she's mine. Anyways who are you?" He asked. "Valentina." I replied as I served the tennis ball to see if my aim was good today. "Valentina, how come I've never heard of you?" He asked. "I've never played in an American League, only Mexican ones." I replied as he nodded. "Well, what are you doing right now?" He asked. "Practicing." I replied as he nodded. "By yourself?" He asked as I laughed. "Well im waiting for a new partner." I continued as he nodded.

"I can play too you know, I also play tennis. I can give you a lesson or two." He spoke as I raised my eyebrows. "I don't need a lesson, thank you though."I spoke as I moved my hair to the side. "Then maybe my friend can, they're on your team." He continued as I shook my head. "I'm fine." I replied as Patrick turned to the side. "Come on!" He yelled. I continued looking at the tennis ball, I didn't even wanna see who it was. "Ok this is my buddy Valentina." I turned back. I recognized Art right away. "Why am I not surprised that he's your friend." I spoke rolling my eyes turning back to the net. "Art you know her?" Patrick asked his friend. "Yeah, met her at a frat party." Art replied as Patrick nodded. "Then why don't you wanna talk to my friend Valentina? You know him." He asked me as I turned look at them. "I don't really like Art." I replied as Patrick's jaw dropped. "Art what did you do?" He asked as Art grinned while covering his face. "We played seven minutes in heaven and she was really wasted. So after the seven minutes were up I left the closet." He replied as I scoffed. "Sounds normal, why are you so mad Valentina?" Patrick asked.

"Well your friend left me in that closet, by myself and asleep." I replied. Patrick looked at Art, both smirking with hidden messages that I didn't even want to know. "Valentina!" I heard my name as I looked around. I spotted David in the gate as I smiled. "Let me grab my stuff!" I yelled back as he nodded. I ran to my racket case and I felt Patrick and Arts stare. "Who's that Valentina?" Patrick yelled as I looked up at him. "A friend, the one who carried me out of the closet." I replied as I placed my case over my shoulder. "Oh so you're rewarding him?" Patrick asked. I rolled my eyes at the question. He was an interesting man, I wondered how he won Tashi over if it was true. I began walking away as I headed towards the goat beside me.

"Hey!" I greeted as he smiled. He was wearing a button up shit with khaki shots and Nike air forces. "Hi how are you?" He asked as we hugged eachother. "Good, what about you?" I asked. "Good as well." He replied. I gave him a smile as we began walking to the restaurant, as people walked by I realized that I was probably sweaty as hell in an athletic uniform with a man who was perfectly dressed and perfectly groomed. "Also I'm sorry for how I'm dressed, I didn't have time to run to my dorm and change." I spoke as I looked down at my tank top and skirt. "Oh don't worry, you're fine. Do you want to go the Stanford store? I could buy you a shirt so you feel more comfortable?" He asked as I shook my head. "That's a good idea, but I don't want you to spend on me." I replied as I pointed to the Stanford store. "Okay fine."
He spoke as we entered the store. I looked at all the shirts, I was okay with my skirt but my shirt didn't seem formal enough for a casual lunch.

There was many shirts, a lot of which I already owned. "How about this?" He asked, showing me a Stanford football shirt. It was actually very pretty, and I needed a shirt for the first game of the season. "Oh yeah!" I smiled as I grabbed the shirt. It was 35 dollars but it was a good investment. We walked to the cashier as I searched my pockets for my credit card. "Will that be cash or card?" The cashier asked. "Card." David replied as he passed her his card. "No." I whispered as he shook his head. "It's a football shirt, I picked it out." He suggested as I shook my head. "But I liked it!" I pleaded as he shook his head. "Insert the card." David spoke to the cashier as I shook my head. "Valentina you're paying for lunch, at least let me pay for this." He whispered to me. I looked at the cashier. I just nodded as she inserted his card. "I hate you for this." I whispered as he laughed. I went to the bathroom to change into the shirt quickly before we finished walking to the restaurant.

I recommended him red enchiladas while I ate a bean and cheese torta. David almost seemed perfect, he was so kind and so respectful to me and everyone. He seemed conservative, not the "wait before marriage type", but the "never look at any girl other than mine" type. He laughed at all my jokes and said that my Spanish was beautiful when I spoke to the worker. I caught myself blushing every now and then but he never asked me anything regarding us. Mostly just small talk about our sports and school.

"So did you like enchiladas?" I asked as we went to the elevator of my dorm building. "Yes, however I don't like spicy food." He replied as I laughed. "Enchiladas are not spicy." I replied laughing as he shook his shoulders. "Well my tolerance is low." He replied as I chuckled. We reached my door aside turned look at him behind me. "So when will I see you again?" He asked. I took a second to think. "I have a tennis match next week, maybe you can show up." I replied. He smiled nodding. "Well I'll see you."