It was my last day of senior tennis practice seeing as we didn't make it to state. I had a good run and while I was no Serena Williams I knew I would miss playing.

Jordan and Harper were coming to my last match tomorrow and the thought of Jordan watching me made me even more nervous than playing the match.

Since we were dating now though I really didn't have a choice. Especially since I've seen all his games.

Also the seal came off the lid yesterday. Travis didn't snitch but Annie put two and two together and called me out on it. I was a shit liar so she caught me. I was planning to tell my parents this weekend because at this point they were the only people who didn't know.

Jordan's mom found out because of Josiah's annoying self.

When I came over he caught us making out in his car and gave us so much shit that his mom overheard and also put two and two together. Jordan had to explain that I would tell my parents on my own time so she didn't blow the whistle.

And honestly I wasn't scared of telling my parents. I was scared of making things real. Things can't hurt you if they don't exist. Everytime someone else found out it made me and Jordan's relationship unavoidable.

My dad would be strict about it but my mom would talk him around so I really wasn't worried about them disapproving. I was really just worried because my heart was out in the open and even though I knew Jordan wouldn't intentionally hurt me he still might. He still could.

***

I had my finger guns in place as the bus roared to a stop but once I peered through the windows my face fell. The man driving my bus was obviously not Ray. I shook it off and I stepped on to scan my card. The driver gave me a strange look and I did my best to ignore it.

Sheesh, I couldn't even be normal for a second. Still embarrassed, I quickly found a spot to park my behind while shooting a confused glance at everyone.

"Where's Ray?" I asked the group at large.

Marcus shrugged.

"We're not sure." Travis said.

I felt the bus come to a halt. I turned to face the front as I watched Jordan get on the bus. He made a confused face at the driver as well but greeted the unknown man anyway. He scanned the bus to meet my eyes and I shrugged. He made his way over to me and a small smile tipped at my lips.

"Hey Jordan," I greeted.

He didn't greet me back, but then again he never had to. The way he lit up when he saw me was the only greeting I really ever needed.

He shot a smile at our bus crew before sitting down next to me. His arm went around my shoulders and he pulled me into him to kiss my forehead. And then he bent his head to stare at my face before breaking out into a grin.

Even with all our history I found myself behaving shyly. With a meek little smile on my face I felt my face get hot as I tried to turn away. He held me in place and his hands came up to frame my chin. And then he laughed softly at the way he smushed my face together before kissing my lips.

"You know we have an audience." I said to him as I pulled away, teasing.

He looked over my head and grinned. "Yeah I know. They gave me so much shit last week that I still feel like I gotta show them you're my girl." He said loudly.

Someone harrumphed in the background.

"You know we can hear you." Annie said.

"That's like kind of the whole point." He shot back.

I laughed.

***

My mom made me schedule an appointment with the school counselor. She hadn't said anything but I knew she didn't want me going to Georgetown. She had this face she made when she disapproved but couldn't find a good enough reason to tell someone exactly why she disapproved. Her lips slightly tilted to the left and her brow went up but the real reason you knew something was wrong was because she couldn't make eye contact.

My dad seemed less biased because he actually smiled when I brought it up. My dad was an alumni of Northwestern but he didn't seem too bothered about me not going there. Probably because my uncle lived in DC and he could still keep tabs on me through him.

Halfway through 5th period my pass came and I left to go head to the counselors office. My counselor was really nice and I just so happened to spend a lot of time there. Not just because I was an angsty teen who needed to skip class once in a while but also because she usually had candy. Mrs. Williams was pretty legendary. I sucked up to her early on because she would write me hall passes when I was late and once I even sweet-talked her into letting me finish the science project that I had due in her office while she excused me from Math.

Mrs. Williams was God's gift to mankind and I would be accepting that gift.

***

After school I went to my last tennis practice before the game. It wasn't really a practice but it was a meetup just so we could loosen up a bit.

I loved my team and I got emotional just thinking about this being the end of my tennis career. I was no Serena but tennis was surprisingly fun and I was glad I made it my sport.

My doubles partner, Martha and I were only playing one match tonight. Which was good because people were actually going to show up. And I loved having a support system but I hated being watched. It was just too much pressure.

Still, at 5 my family showed up along with Harper and Jordan. Harper had made me a sign and was cheering obnoxiously behind me. I rolled my eyes and blew a kiss her way. I loved my fans.

My dad and Harper were tight. They were always roasting the crap out of each other. I heard them talking their shit and I chose to ignore them cause they could go at it forever. Jordan and Carter seemed to be in deep conversation about something. And my mom wasn't paying attention to them because she was waving at me, trying to get me to smile for the camera.

I used my teammates as an excuse to warm up and avoid her ass. I didn't want pictures of me looking all sweaty.

Once the match was going to start I hushed them so I could focus. My family members were the loudest people there. They needed to take notes from Martha's family cause they knew how to act in public.

Martha and I shook our opponents hands and made our way over to our positions. I was back left and I bent my knees and shifted my body forward. I could feel Jordan's eyes on my ass and the thought made me smile. I turned around quickly and made eye contact with him so he'd know I caught him.

When I saw him laugh I relaxed a bit and untensed my body. I really wanted to win tonight.

The other team had first serve and I right away could tell they were good. But unfortunately for them Martha and I were just better.

After we got the first point we turned to each other and smiled. We had this in the freaking bag.

***

After we won my dad drove us to Dairy Queen so we could get ice cream. I ate about three pounds worth of junk on top of that and then when my dad drove us home I fell asleep in the backseat of the car.

Once I got home I stumbled up the stairs and then got ready for bed. I decided to facetime Jordan once I got settled in. I pulled the covers up to my neck and then my face filled the screen once he picked up.

He answered the call with a smile on his face. He seemed to be a bit distracted and I realized why when I saw him wearing a headset. I watched him prop his phone against his desk so he could put the controller back in his hand.

"Are you gaming?"

"Yeah babe."

"So I-" I started to say before I was rudely interrupted by the sound of his yelling.

My mouth snapped shut in surprise and all I could do was stare at him as he raged over his video game.

After I blinked off the shock I started to laugh. I laughed so hard he stopped yelling and started laughing with me.

"You idiot," I said through my tears.

"Shut up Charlie."

I sobered up and began to finish my sentence. "I just wanted to say goodnight."

He smiled. "Goodnight."

"I'm going to hang up now," I said drowsily.

"Stay on with me. I'll be quiet."

My eyes were closed as I grinned. "I don't believe you."

"I'll be quiet," he repeated

"Fine."

I put the phone against the pillow next to me and then turned on my side. I was dozing off and I was almost fully asleep when I heard him power off his game. Half awake I watched him get into bed and turn on his side with the phone propped up against the pillow.

I wanted to see what he was going to do so I peered at him through my lashes sneakily. He must have thought I was asleep because he took several pictures of me and looked very proud of himself.

I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing and luckily he didn't notice. He set the phone down slowly like he was trying not to wake me and spent a minute just staring at me.

The sleep was catching up to me and I felt myself being lulled into an actual slumber. But just before I slipped off into dreamland I heard him whisper something. Something that made my heart flutter. And even though I didn't know if I dreamt it or if it was real I did know that what we had was good. So good that I knew things were looking up.

Maybe my senior year of high school wasn't going to be what I expected but sometimes life goes beyond what you expect. Sometimes it's even better.