"Damon wait," Lydia implored. "I get the message. You don't want to be with me," Damon snapped. "Damon, you've heard that from other people. But you don't know what I'm feeling," Lydia responded. "No matter how hard I try, I keep coming back to you. I can't run away and I can't hide. I have to accept it. Damon, I'm in love with you," she revealed. Damon turned around and strode quickly over to her. He reached up and stroked the right side of her face. Lydia moved closer to him. "Well, what do you say?" Lydia whispered. "I say that I'm glad you made up your mind," Damon returned. He inclined his head to meet her lips. The first few times were slow. And those firsts seemed to make everything fade away. But then they grew faster and faster. All she wanted to know was him. She realized that she had been so stupid and most of all, she realized that she had been in love with him since the first time they had met.
The motion became a little faster as they became more accustomed to each other. She fell into the rhythm of him. "Lydia you know practice started 20 minutes ago, where the hell are you?" Sarah called. Lydia and Damon broke apart and faced Sarah. "Oh good, there you are. Coach is furious at both of you, just so you know. Better prepare yourself for some extra lines, " Sarah brought the news. "That's great to hear, Sarah, thanks for the heads up. We were just about to come anyways," Lydia responded and looked up at Damon. "Uh, yeah, we just lost track of the time," Damon backed up. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Sarah demanded. Lydia shrugged and the two of them followed Sarah to the gym. "I hope you can do that eye thing," she whispered in his ear. "I was planning on it. By the way, you did well for first time of kissing a vampire," he returned. She smiled at him as they walked into the gym.
As they walked into the gym, the Coach did start on them at once. "Where the hell have the two of you been? You know, I thought the two of you were serious about basketball. 20 minutes late is not acceptable," The Coach rampaged. Damon stared long and hard at Coach. "We were getting ready. And you don't need to get all worked up about it, it won't happen again," Damon replied calmly. There was a pause and then the Coach shook his head. "Oh, sorry, I didn't catch what you said?" Coach said. "I was saying that we should do some 2 on 3 plays," Damon suggested. "Yes, that would be an excellent idea," Coach agreed and told the girls to line up.
Sarah was in front of Lydia. Lydia wanted to tell Sarah about her and Damon. But she just didn't know how she would take it, or if she would misunderstand. "So, why was Damon acting all weird with Coach, you know? I thought he would just be really mad. I swore he was going to make you run lines," Sarah inquired. "I think it was because of me," Lydia said without thinking. "Why would it be because of you?" Sarah snapped. "Well… okay I hope you don't think this is weird. But he was sucking up to me. And he's been like that for like a month now. And that's because he liked me. Now I like him. We told each other that today, and we kind of kissed. That's why we were late," Lydia explained. There was a long silence, just as Lydia had feared. "You and the assistant coach, really Lydia, are you crazy?" Sarah asked. "I think I might be," Lydia agreed.
It was her turn, and she caught the ball from Shelby and began dribbling down the court. Damon stood at half court and she stole a glance at him. He raised his eyebrows and smiled a crooked smile. She passed to Kelly and went to her place. Then Kelly passed to back to Shelby who scored with a layup. Sarah was up next, she glowered slightly in Lydia's direction, because there was so much more that they needed to talk about.
Once both of them had gone, Sarah sneaked back ahead of Lydia with her permission. "So you guys are like legit now? You're officially together?" Sarah persisted. "Yeah we are. It is crazy, isn't it? " Lydia agreed. "I just still don't understand it. Out of the blue, the assistant coach tells you he's in love with you. Then there's this big drama thing where the two of you argue about it every time you see each other. Then you don't talk to each other for like 3 days and bam. You're together. It just seems too sudden," Sarah complained. "Maybe if you got to know him-," Lydia defended. "It doesn't work that way, Lydia. You're intimate with him. Of course you know him better than I ever will. I just don't trust him, even though the two of you are perfect together. I really am happy for you, I'm just concerned, as your friend," Sarah notified. "I know, and I'm grateful. But part of it is the fact that I have known him longer than you have. We should have dinner together, you, me and Damon. I'm sure you're perception of him will change," Lydia continued. "Maybe yeah, but it can't be until the weekend," Sarah trailed off. "Yeah, me too, would Friday at 8:00 be good for you?" Lydia inquired. "Yeah, that'll work," Sarah gave in. Lydia smiled at her. "Thanks a lot," Lydia showed her gratitude. "Yeah, I'll give him a try. After Lucas I was definitely concerned for you, but I'll see what your dinner plan does," Sarah admitted. Lydia nodded and caught the pass again.
At the end of practice, Damon caught up with her. "Hey, thanks for that back there, with Sarah," he began. "It will take her as much time as it will for me to trust you," Lydia told him. "But you kissed me. If that's not trust, than I'd like to hear another definition," Damon reminded. "I kissed you, yes. But that doesn't mean that I trust you. It means that I'm in love with you, but I need to get to know you, to see if I can trust you," Lydia shot back. "Way to ruin our first moments," Damon snapped. "I'm not trying to at all. I'm just explaining how I feel," Lydia returned. "Yeah and you think that you're being helpful. Well I am definitely feeling good about myself right now," Damon responded
"I'm wearing vervane, Damon it's not like you can compel me to trust you. It will take time. I thought we both knew that going into this," Lydia reminded. "I kiss you. You kiss me back, but then you turn on me and freak out like this? Lydia it's obvious, you're not ready to be with me," Damon shut down. "Damon, we're not going to break up the day we decide to be together-," Lydia protested. "Yeah well I'm not going to hurt you. And if you're not ready to trust me than kissing is out of the question, for now," Damon finalized. A sinking feeling began to eat away at her. Damon strode determinedly away from her. He went through the doors and out of side. Lydia sat on the bench. She didn't know what to feel. He had raised some good points. If she wasn't ready to trust him, why was she kissing him? Why were they together?
Sarah saw Lydia's fallen expression and came over to her. "Does this mean no dinner on Friday?" Sarah asked. Lydia nodded slowly. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened?" Sarah inquired. "He was right. I'm not ready for it if I can't trust him," Lydia agreed. "Lydia, he's just being dramatic, you know that-," Sarah tried. "No, Sarah, he meant every word. And he's completely right. I have to trust him before I jump into things," Lydia countered. "Well you guys have some more talking to do, I guess," Sarah shrugged. "What's wrong?" Lydia w
