I Fell In Love With a Werewolf (Chapter Ten)

I changed my clothes and wore shorts, a white t-shirt and a pair of white sneakers. I put on a ponytail and a headband and I was ready to go do some exercises and play some ball. Usually, there would be a few guys playing, but later around supper time, so for sure the basketball court would be empty when I arrived.

I picked up the squashed cupcakes from the brown floorboards leaving it with pink and purple frosting. I figured, I cleaned that upon my return. I threw them out and I walked downstairs to the empty kitchen. My mom wasn't here anymore. She had returned to the office as usual. I fed Cameo, my golden retriever and gave him a hug.

"Good boy," I said as I left his food on his plate. Then, I fed the fish, not really caring much about them. I took a twenty dollar bill with me and bought a brand new basketball at the sports store.

"That'll be $15.00 dollars," the cashier said. I was surprised to see who it was.

"Preston?" I asked him. I didn't even know that he worked in the sportstore. Preston was a shy boy with dark curls and a few cute freckles on his cheeks. His dark chocolate eyes avoided mine and I could see his dimple on his chin.

"Hi," he replied.

"I didn't know you worked here," I said taking out my $20.00 dollar bill from my pocket and handing it over to him. He grabbed the bill and charged me for the ball.

"Yep," he said and nodded. Then he gave me the change with the receipt. I took it and placed it in my pocket.

"Cool," I said.

"Thanks for buying in Smith's sports store. It's my dad's," he told me.

"Oh. You're welcome, sure. See ya," I said and he waved me off. I left the store and headed for the street basketball court. Some guys were looking at me and whistling, but I obviously ignored them. After a block though, no one even knew of my existence and I continued my journey until I reached the court. Nobody was there, so I placed my ball in a corner and started to jog. I placed my headphones in my ear and heard some hard rock blasting away in my ears. It was the only thing that took my mind off of what happened today. I was still so hurt. What was Brad thinking after I rejected his expensive gift? Would he even talk to me tomorrow? I was nervous just thinking about tomorrow and what would he do. It saddened me to know that it was all over, that something that could have been beautiful and amazing would never be. How could I have been so foolish? Brad was such a cool guy, smart, funny and above all so darn hot. I got angry just thinking about him. I wanted to toss my phone on the ground hard to see it smashed on the floor. Maybe by smashing my stuff I'd feel better.

I used my sadness and anger on the court and I just ran and ran until I was exhausted. I was so exhausted that my feet burned and my legs were killing me.

"Okay," I breathed and then I snatched the ball and dribbled.

"Hey, beautiful!" What? I turned around. It couldn't be him, no way, but I knew his voice by heart already and I knew that it was him.

"Brad?"

He was wearing dark shorts, a grey sleeveless shirt and dark sneakers. His biceps were big, but not over bulking and his chest was firm and lean. He was a star.

"What are you doing here?" I asked surprised. I was smiling, but I also wanted to cry.

"I didn't know if you'd come here, but then I remembered you told Tamara that you'd be practicing so I figured you were probably coming to this basketball court since it's the nearest one to your house."

"Brad. I want to apologize for-"

"Don't worry about it. Parents can be a pain in the ass sometimes. Besides, I understand," he said.

"You do?"

"Of course. She's just trying to protect you. She thinks I'm going to take advantage of you or something, but I swear to you, that my intentions are true," he said and waved at me to pass him the ball. I did and he dribbled the ball as he walked into the basketball court.

"Oh, really? And what are your intentions Mr. Wolfram?" Brad almost tripped. Then, he passed the ball at me.

"Natalie, I'm not going to lie to you. I think you're beautiful and smart. I can see that you're not like other girls. You're real and that's why I like you," he said.

"Umm... what do you mean? The other girls are real too," I said and then passed him the ball. He dribbled it and threw the ball in the hoop, but missed. He then shook his head.

"Not really. I know you think that Gina's hot, but that's all there is to her. She's just an act and I can see right through her. I can also see you," he said. I tossed the ball at the basket and missed. Then, I ran, caught the ball and passed it to him.

"You can see right through me?" I asked. Brad walked towards me as he dribbled the ball and smiled. He was sweating and I had never seen him sweat. He looked so hot.

"I know you like me Natalie and I know that you know that I like you. I also know that you like it that I like you, or am I wrong?" he asked. My knees almost buckled. How on Earth did he know? He passed the ball to me.

"I don't know what to say," I replied.

"Why not say the truth already?" He said.

"I don't even know you," I replied.

"Then get to know me. I don't bite. Unless you ask me to," he said. Holy shit. What? I tossed the ball and this one entered the hoop.

"I'll tell you what, I'll make a deal with you. If you can throw that ball in the hoop three times, I'll go out with you," I said.

"Three times?" He asked. I nodded.

"Aha," I replied.

"Three times in a row or-"

"Yes, three times in a row," I replied. Brad smiled and nodded.

"It's a deal then," he said and threw the ball into the hoop. The ball went right in.

"That's ball number one," he said.

"Okay," I replied playing his game. I didn't know if he was a good player, but he seemed less than average to me, but I could have been wrong. He ran to the ball and immediately caught it. Then, he walked a few feet away from the basket.

"No, no,no, that's too close," I told him.

"Hey, you didn't mention anything about distance," he said, tossing the ball and entering the second basket. That was two shots in a row. Then, he grabbed the ball again and I ran towards him and tried to take away the ball from his hands. I couldn't because he was really strong, so I blocked him instead and he couldn't throw the ball.

"Hey... you didn't say anything about being blocked," Brad said.

"You missed," I said.

"Are you sure about that?" He asked me. Then, he turned super fast, ran and dunked it in the basket. I couldn't believe it. He tricked me.

"You know how to play basketball don't you?" I asked him. He nodded with a great smile.

"Well... actually I do. I was kind of the captain of the basketball team at my old school," he said. I placed my hands over my hips and frowned.

"So, I'll see you on Friday, after Mr. Carter takes you into his team," Brad said.

"How are you so sure he's going to take me into the team?"

"Because you're a good player, that's how I know," he replied.

"Is that what you think?" I asked him.

"Sure," he said. "And you'll be a better player after you've trained with me," he said. We played ball for an hour. Brad taught me so many things, that it was pretty amazing to do what I was doing. He taught me how to turn faster and how to take it easy when I was being blocked while I tried to place a ball in the basket. Dunking the ball in the basket though was something that I really couldn't do.

"That's okay, you've done an excellent job though," he said to me.

"Thanks," I said breathless.

"Natalie, do you want me to take you home?" He asked me.

"You don't care that my mom might come out to harass you again?" I asked him. He nodded.

"I don't care. You're worth it," he said. I didn't know if I could resist him anymore. He said things that simply turned my world upside down. Nothing that came out of his mouth was what I expected and that gave me both a fear and a thrill I had never experienced in my entire life.

"Well, I have good news for you, mom's not home," I said.

Brad took me home. It was strange because we were both in gym clothes, but it was alright. He drove pretty slow, so it was a safe ride.

"Thanks for the ride," I told him.

"Any time," he said as I got off his bike.

"I have to go shower, do homework and eat something. I'll see you tomorrow," I said.

"Do you want me to pick you up for school?" He asked me.

"Okay," I replied. Brad opened the hood and handed me my basketball back, then he took out a white box and a small black one.

"These are your earrings and this is for you. I had bought a cupcake for you, but since you rushed into the house because of... you know, I couldn't give it to you. I hope you like your earrings," he said.

"I don't know if I can accept them. They're so expensive. Maybe you should take them back and get a refund."

"No way. They're for you Natalie. I'm not going to lie to you. I want you to be my girl," he said. Wow. Literally wow.

"Thanks," was all that I could manage to say.

"I'll see you tomorrow," I said.

"Yeah, me too," he said.

"Okay. Bye," I said with the ball on one hand and with the boxes with the other hand. I released the basketball on the grass of my front lawn and my golden retriever ran up front and barked at Brad.

"No Cameo! He's a friend."

"Cameo, huh? Hey buddy!" He said and he extended his hand to pet Cameo. Cameo's tail wagged and he licked Brad's hand. He seemed to like him very much.

"He likes you," I said.

"Of course he likes me. He knows I'm awesome," he said.

"Ha,ha, very funny," I replied.

"Natalie, I have to go, but before I do, I just want to say, I like you a lot," he said. I waved at him and he waved back at me and as I walked into my house, he turned on his motorcycle and rode away. The engine blared as he left and I knew then and there that I didn't just like him too, but that I was falling for him. Really hard.