Elizabeth's P.O.V-
I stretch out my legs in the backseat, getting ready for the hour drive from Berkeley to Stanford. Cross focuses on driving while Connie messes with his radio. She looks different than when I last saw her. At the time, I never got to see her face. All I knew was that she had a back tattoo, dark skin, and long, black hair. Seeing her face fully, she looks gorgeous. Long eyelashes, apple cheeks, and pretty brown eyes.
"All this music sucks! Don't you have a playlist or something," said Connie, shutting off the radio.
"I did have a playlist, you accidentally deleted it, remember?" He reminds her.
She gives him the dirtiest look, "You could have made a new one you know. Don't blame me, I'm not the most tech-savvy person."
He laughs, "I know."
I see Connie smile, as Cross drives she looks at him. Her eyes roam over his face, neck, and body. She looks at him like I look at Andreas, with adoration and longing. I wonder how long he's known Connie, how they met, and if he likes her or not. Maybe it's a one-sided thing, her liking him and him not liking her. They could have what Andreas and I have.
I go ahead and ask, "So, how did you two meet?"
Cross waves a hand, "That's not important."
"Who says?" Connie says with sass in her voice.
"I do. Don't you dare explain the story, it's too fucking embarrassing." He brings the car to a halt, stopping at a red light.
"Whatever." Connie looks at me in the mirror. "Eliza, right?" I nod my head. "I'll explain to you the story since Cross clearly won't. I believe this is when we were sophomores, we met at a frat party. At the time I was dating a basketball player, great guy in bed but was an ass outside of it. We were standing to the side, near the wall, talking about something, most likely him. Cross was across the room; I remember seeing him talking to a circle of girls, they all smiled and giggled at whatever he was saying. I guess they bore him and he left, finding me across the room and coming over."
"In the middle of talking to my boyfriend, he just butted in the conversation. Asked me for my name and what I was in college for. My boyfriend was horrified, enraged that some random guy would come and blankly flirt with his girl. Eventually, my boyfriend said something to him, telling him that I was his and should leave me alone. Cross was shocked, saying that he thought we were brother and sister. I laughed so hard I thought my ribs would break. Cross was so embarrassed that he walked off, a sulky feeling all over this body."
"After the party, I never saw him after that. A couple of weeks later I and my boyfriend broke up, turns out he was cheating on me, go figure. In the middle of the semester, I transferred out of the intro to sociology so I wouldn't be near him anymore, to my luck, Cross was in the class I transferred to. We started talking and became fast friends, then that friendship turned into friends with benefits."
"After that, she hasn't been able to stay away from me." He pats her thigh, keeping a hand on the steering wheel as he drives.
I smile.
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With over an hour of us sitting in traffic, stopping and going, we make it to the stadium, let me correct that, the packed stadium. College championships are a big deal to college students, even those that don't care for the sport still come to support, the school spirit is real.
Somehow, we were able to find a parking space, the only down luck is that it was miles away from the stadium. Connie complained the entire walk, turns out she wore boots with high heels on them, they were cute, I understood why she wore them.
We give the guy at the booth our tickets, we got through the metal detector, then go in once we're cleared. "How the hell are we going to get through this crowd?" asked Connie. Thousands of people were either standing around or shuffling through the crowd, either trying to get food or find their seats. I wanted to stop by the locker room and see Andreas, wishing him luck on the game and kissing him, but it seems like I might not be able to.
"EMERGENCY, EMERGENCY!" Cross screams. He holds onto Connie and me, mostly Connie making it look like she needed medical help. The entire crowd makes a path for us to go through, I smile on his shoulder.
"Who knew you could be useful," I whisper to him.
"Don't act shocked." We make it to the end of the stadium, near where the locker room is and the section we will be sitting in. "Now, go say hi to your man. Connie and I will wait for you." He kisses the top of my head, then takes Connie's hand as they go and find their seats.
I go down the hall that leads to the locker room. Many players stand outside, talking to their parents or friends. Way to the back, I see Andreas. His tall height and black, bushel hair give him away. He's not alone though, he talking to an older Asian woman, man, and tall girl. I assume this is his family.
It's not time for me to meet his family, too soon.
Sadly, I don't have time to run away since I'm discovered by Jace.
"Eliza! Eliza over here!" He waves his good arm around. Andreas and his family turn. His eyes glow when he spots me, biting his lip as he checks me out. I knew he would like me in these jeans. The tall girl, who I assume is his sister, Katherine, also looks at me with the same look as Andreas. Weird.
I walk over since it would be rude for me to run away in front of this family. "Hi."
"Hey, E." He pulls me to his side, kissing the top of my head. "I want you to meet my family. This right here is my mother, Katherine Chen. My father, Andreas Chen." I just stare at him when I hear the names. "Yes, my sister and I are named after our parents."
His mother steps forward, "If it's easier for you, you can call us Ma and Ba. It's the proper way to address your Chinese boyfriend's parents."
Oh!
"Ok, hi, Ma and Ba." It sounds so weird to say. I don't see myself breaking up with Andreas anytime soon, so I should get used to it.
His mom smiles, shaking my hand with hers. "You are so beautiful. Andreas explained your beauty to me, but it doesn't do you justice. It's so nice to meet you, Elizabeth. Pretty name for a pretty girl." I blush, telling her thank you. His father shakes my hand, saying it's nice to meet me and whenever I'm able, I should come over for dinner. I tell him I would love that.
"When my brother told me he had a girlfriend, I was perplexed. I for sure thought it was some joke, guess not," says Andreas's sister.
Katherine Chen was the prettiest girl I've ever seen. She's as tall as Andreas, with long skinny legs and a long torso. Her hair was a bob, sitting right on her shoulders. Light pink lips, pale skin, and doe eyes that were black. She wore shorts, a t-shirt, and tennis shoes. The outfit was simple, but she made it look like it belonged on a runway.
"Katherine shut the hell up," Andreas mumbles to his sister. I could tell she was always messing with him, making the moments awkward. I'm not mad at it, I enjoy it.
"Brother, don't be so mean. Introduce me to your beauty." She smiles, loving that she's making Andreas uncomfortable.
He sighs, "E, this is Katherine Chen, my sister. Katherine, this is my girl, Elizabeth Pratt." I hold my hand out for her to shake, instead, she pulls me into a hug. I crane my neck to rest on her shoulder, damn she was so tall. She smelled nice, like cereal and bananas.
When she let me go, her eyes roamed over me, "Damn, you look good." I almost choke on my spit.
"I- well- thank you! You don't look bad yourself."
Andreas pulls me away from his sister, scared she was going to do something to me. "If you ever get tired of him, I'm available." She winks.
"Katherine, could you not flirt with my girlfriend, please. I can't believe I have to ask that." He mumbles the last part.
"It's nice to meet you, Katherine. You too, Ma and Ba. I hope to get to talk with you guys more." I say, thinking of what the perfect girlfriend would say to her boyfriend's parents.
"Us too." His father says. "Also, do you play any sports?"
"No."
"Good for you. Injuries happen all the time with kids that play sports. Head injuries, breaking bones, and messing you up mentally. Did you know what happened with Aaron Hernandez? It's very-"
"Ok Ba!" Andreas shrieks. "I'm about to play the game of my life in 10 minutes and you're bringing this up."
"I'm trying to warn you, son. I'm sorry that I love you." He tucks his hands in his jeans. Andreas's mother rubs his back, shaking her head.
"He will be fine, honey. It's Andreas."
"Yes, Ba. The loser will be fine," said Katherine, smiling.
I like her.
"I need to get to the locker room to suit up. Elizabeth, care to walk me?"
"Oh, uh, sure." I give one last goodbye to his family, and start walking him to the locker room. "I like your family."
"Really? Are you sure?"
"Yes, even Katherine," I ask a question that is on my mind. "I don't want to jump to conclusions, or mislabel, but is your sister-"
"Lesbian?"
I nod my head.
"Yes, she is. She finds you attractive, by the way. Watch your back when you're around her, she might try to take you from me."
I weave my fingers through his, "I'm sure that won't happen. I love you too much."
His cheeks flush, "Thank god for that."
We make it to the doors. I can hear guys talking, the slamming of lockers, and some chanting. "You go out and win that game, you hear me." I poke my finger against his chest.
"Yes, ma'am." He grabs my face, kissing me on the lips. When he lets go, my eyes flutter back open. "Bye, Elizabeth."
"Bye, Andreas." Then, he was gone.
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