CHAPTER 8
"Tristin, remember those meetings Paris used to have on Saturdays?" Rory asked, sunbathing on the tabletop surface of the picnic bench.
"Vaguely," he replied, sunning his face. "Hmm, I tried to block them out from my memory."
"I wish I could," she added, without opening her eyes. "This reminds me of those weekends."
It wasn't that the day was awful. The autumn sun was bright and cheerful and the wind was pleasant on the skin. Other than the occasional rustling of falling leaves, the after effects of a late summer brought some warmth to what usually was a cool morning.
Tristin didn't have the heart to tell her that he'd been up with the sun. Running his usual three-mile path, he waited to have breakfast with Rory when he picked her up. Promising her more than one cup of coffee, he took her out to a lovely diner, scarfed down his daily serving of eggs and toast while Rory watched him in awe.
"It's nine o'clock. I want my bed," Rory groaned at the absence of the Capeside gang.
"You're not serious. You downed a whole carafe of coffee yourself!" he pointed out.
"Your point is?" Rory remarked. "I am a growing girl. Sleep deprivation is detrimental to my health."
Joey and Audrey's arrival cut off their argument.
"You had the right idea there, Rory," Audrey muttered sleepily as she pushed Rory to one side of the table so she could lie right next to her.
"If you went to bed when I told you to..." Joey remarked playfully.
"Yes, mom," Audrey sarcastically remarked, closing her eyes.
"So what happened to meeting at nine?" Tristin asked, scooting to his left of the bench so Joey can sit.
"Pace, Jen and Jack are out looking for a willing participant," Joey informed him.
"I wasn't a willing participant. Can I go?" Rory moaned.
"If you go, I go," Tristin threatened her.
"When were we joined at the hip, Lech?" Rory quipped playfully.
"Lech?" he chuckled. " Nice one. I definitely prefer it over Quippy."
"Quippy?" Joey turned around and beamed a smile of amusement at Rory. "That's one I haven't used."
Then, an overcast shadow loomed over Joey.
"Hey."
"Hey yourself," Rory muttered.
Rory's heart jumped. The voice brought shivers down her spine, She was afraid to look up to confirm the voice.
"If I live and breathe, you do look similar," Pacey chuckled in disbelief. "Gilmore, I know you're not snoozing."
Charlie stared at Rory's slumbering figure before acknowledging Tristin's presence with a nod.
"And if I was?" Rory didn't want to sound too breathy as Pacey corroborated her hunch.
Joey raised an eyebrow at her.
"Go ahead, Rory, sleep. Pacey's bark is louder than his bite," Jen answered for her, pushing Rory toward Audrey so she can lie next to her.
"If I wasn't gay, I would've said you look like a yummy girl sandwich. With that being said, you guys didn't come here to sun bathe," Jack retorted, throwing the football up in the air and catching it.
"Well, you guys play and we'd lay here. Let us know who wins," Audrey replied as she yawned.
Joey saw the twinkle in Pacey and Jack's eyes. Not wanting any part of it, she pushed Tristin off as the boys lunged toward the sleeping figures.
Tristin and Joey watched from the sidelines as the girls were tickled to their feet. In retaliation, Jen promised, "You're getting it, Witter!"
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"Seven! Twenty-three! Thirty-two! Hut! Hut!" Jack called out as he hiked the ball between his legs. Everyone scattered in different directions blocking and running against the opposing team. Jen caught the ball and started running for the marked end zone. Jack started blocking for her. So did Audrey. However, Joey was able to get around them, tugging Jen's flag from her back pocket.
"Woohoo!" she yelped in victory.
The score was a measly 3-3 based on poor defense and absence of contact.
"It feels like we've been running forever," Rory raggedly responded as she got back to the huddle.
"Good hustle, though. You're doing well," Pacey slapped her on the back in sport. "Just make sure Audrey doesn't get past you."
"I'll remember," she smiled. She had not felt this elated in a long time. Tristin bumped her on the shoulder in acknowledgement of her good work. She nodded back to him in thanks.
Everyone congratulated Joey's defensive play as soon as she made the huddle. Immediately after that, Pacey outlined their strategy.
"Come on, guys. We are better than Jack's team," Pacey talked them up. "We can't let the fag/hag team take us down."
"Well, Jack used to be a high school quarterback," Joey analyzed.
"Not so the point, Potter," Pacey wiped the sweat from his brow. "We've got longer legs than the other team. The pint sized midget has to take longer steps to catch up with us!"
"Ooh, I'm telling," Rory teased Pacey.
The group chuckled as they coordinated their play.
They went to the line of scrimmage and faced their opponents. Pacey faced off against Jack, Joey locked eyes on Jen. Tristin and Charlie were paired against each other as Rory lined up in front of Audrey. Jack called the audible and before they knew it, they scrambled to defend their positions.
Audrey tried running around Rory but she wasn't letting her pass the line. On her periphery, she watched Charlie try to go around Tristin who was trying hard not to be physical.
At a moment's notice, Rory watched the football soar in the air at her general vicinity.
"Rory, intercept!" That was all she heard from Pacey.
In nanoseconds, she automatically attempted to catch the ball before Charlie or Audrey got to it. She ran like she never ran before. She saw Audrey try to lunge after her. She heard Tristin tell her to keep going. She felt the pigskin fall in her hands as she juggled it in her arms. As she secured the ball, she fell fast and hard on the ground as she got tackled.
"Foul! Down by Contact!" Pacey called out as he ran toward Rory and Charlie.
Rory felt Charlie's warmth around her. His arms were around her waist. Her back was against his chest. They faced each other as they tried to slow down their ragged breaths.
"Why do I have this distinct feeling you're running away from me?" he asked her, speaking loud enough for just the two of them to hear.
Rory blushed at his intuition. "I'm not."
"Coward," he said, as he felt himself get ripped away from Rory.
"What is your problem, dude? It's called flag football, not tackle football!" Tristin yelled at him.
"I'm sorry! I got carried away!" he replied, shouting.
"I'm fine. I'm fine!" Rory got up and brushed the grass and dirt that stained her sweats.
"You okay?" Joey rushed to her side.
"Really, I'm great," Rory said. "No harm, no foul. Well, except for the interception. So, let's get moving!"
Rory's heart was beating faster than she expected and it was not from adrenaline rush. Tristin eyed Charlie as he walked back to the huddle. Pacey remained close to Charlie. Rage flashed from his eyes.
"Pull another stunt like that and I swear to rip your spine from that scrawny ass of yours," Pacey threatened.
Charlie scoffed as Pacey tossed his shoulder against him in anger. "Whatever."
The game got more intense after that. Between Jack and Charlie, Pacey and Tristin, fouls were committed not out of fun but spite. The game got so physical the girls stayed away. In the end, Pacey's team won 10-9.
"So, what happens now?" Rory asked, tucking wisps of her hair behind her ear.
"Lunch. The losing team pays," Joey answered. They looped their arms around each other as they watched the boys pat each other on the back and butt.
"Isn't it interesting that they were so willing to kill each other an hour ago and now they're patting each other on their tushies," Audrey commented.
"Adrenaline. Or was it testosterone? They just want to show who's got the bigger guns," Joey replied.
"Now if the double mint twins could just score some ass, we'd have a wonderful scene to stare at," Jen spoke her thoughts out. The three girls stared at her in astonishment. "What? Don't tell me you haven't thought of it."
Rory, Joey and Audrey just looked at the ground. With the idea implanted in their brain, they all smiled and watched the boys walk away.