It was nothing like the quiet side of her that everyone else knew, but it was very much in line with her headstrong personality that caused her to keep butting heads with me every chance she got.
Before, I’d asked her to tell me a bit about herself and why she’d tried for the dating site, and when I read her reply, my eyebrows shot up, because she was surprisingly honest. Or, at least I thought so, it wasn’t impossible for anyone to make stuff up online, but I didn’t think she was lying. It was more like she was too honest too soon for someone she’d only just started speaking to online a few days ago.
Wasn’t this a bit naïve?
It had taken her a while before replying to the message, too, so she must have thought about it for a while.
There was an incident that happened to me back in high school. It was a bit traumatic for me. I had this boyfriend, see. He was on the school’s football team, and he was the star of the school. He was also a total jerk, but I didn’t see that until it was too late. I loved that he picked me over so many other girls. I’m not someone that interesting, after all. Things happened, and we broke up. I haven’t dated since.
I frowned, feeling a bit of irritation. At Sophia for getting so influenced by a guy, and whoever this bastard was for traumatizing her so badly. It was an easy leap to make that this must be why she hated sports players so much. And what did she mean she wasn’t someone that interesting? I’d heard plenty about her from Logan’s stories that he’d heard from Dana. She was smart. She worked to keep up her grades, and it showed. Her grades beat mine in all of the classes we had together in the past, and if I weren’t just putting up my grades to satisfy my parents and my hockey coach, I’d probably try to beat her, and I didn’t think it would be a simple thing.
Also, there was how insanely beautiful she was. Before I talked to her personally, I’d noticed her. If she’d reacted differently when I first approached her, we would have been dating instead of acting like enemies, but it wasn’t meant to be from the beginning.
Our school’s hockey team was quite popular on campus. Even if she didn’t keep up with the news, she would have learned about my position long before I took notice of her, because she was too damn quiet and didn’t spend more time than was needed in class or roaming campus. Sometimes, it felt like if you didn’t look for her, it was easy to assume she wasn’t even there. But of course I never actually looked for her.
I stretched my fingers out as I planned my reply.
A terrible ex, huh. I’m sorry to hear about that. I hope the guy wasn’t a bastard to you or anything? If he hurt you, tell me his name, and if you know where he is, I can go punch him out for you.
I sent the message after a moment of deliberating on it. I picked up my cell to continue going through my social media accounts as I waited. I was ready for a long wait, but surprisingly, I got a message back almost instantly. I frowned to myself. Is she sitting at her computer just waiting for a message for me or what?
I shook the thought away and read, thinking of my reply.
It’s not that big a deal. I’m completely over it right now, to be honest. It still bothers me, but I’m grateful to him, in a way.
Oh? In what way?
At least now I know what kind of jerks sports players are like.
Ah, I winced. He was the reason she was the way she was now. I ran a hand down my face, wishing I’d had a way to find the guy anyway so I’d give him a good punch in the face. Life would have been a lot less frustrating for me if not for this faceless bastard.
Not all sports players are like that. I mean, I have a bit of an interest in it, and I got it from my dad. When he was in high school, he was on his way to a good sports career, only he got into an accident, and he couldn’t continue. So, it meant the world to him that I could do what he once loved.
I frowned to myself even before I sent the message. I was a little too open myself, this was more information than Sophia needed. But, I tried to justify myself. I wanted to win her trust, and if she wanted things to move forward quickly, then I could only go along with it and adjust.
Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that, she replied quickly. Do you play because of your dad, though, or is it something you want to do?
I narrowed my eyes, wondering if she was growing suspicious. I decided to dodge this bullet instead of risking trying to field it.
It’s not important. What is, is the fact that hating everyone who is into sports just because of one guy is ridiculous. I have a little brother who’s only ten years old and learning football himself. He’s a good kid, innocent and eager to learn. You wouldn’t hate him if you got to meet him just because he plays a sport, right?
This was a bit of a deviation from the plan, but I did want to know. The original plan had been to annoy her later by making her realize she’d conversed with me often and intimately online even though she’d told me plenty of times to my face that she despised me. If I tried to change her mind about that, I wouldn't like it in the end, or would I?
I didn’t think anything would happen to us once she knew the person she was talking to was me. Right?
Sophia took a bit longer to reply, and I didn’t even have the composure to pick up my cell, instead staring at the computer screen, as if that would make a message appear faster. And then, it did come. I read it quickly.
I…guess not. I can't hate a kid that young unless they’re evil or something… I’m not convinced, but I’ll think about it a little. I’ll try not to hold your life choices against you.
Thanks! I replied back as I rolled my eyes. That last bit came off a lot like she was allowing me to keep playing hockey. It was Sophia on the other side of her profile.
Hey… She sent a moment later.
What is it?
I know we haven’t known each other that long, but I’ve been having fun talking to you online, and I was wondering… would it be too soon if I said I wanted to meet up? In person?
My body froze completely. Partly, because she admitted she had fun talking to me, and also at the suggestion that we meet.
Logically, I should have said yes. It was a lot sooner than I’d thought, which drove in just how new Sophia still was to dating in general, let alone online dating. She could be too straightforward, too eager, and if I didn’t have ulterior motives, I might have moved on after the first day. She was ready to meet already, so I could go, meet her, humiliate her, and get this whole thing over with.
Only, when I put my fingers on the keyboard, the words I typed out were completely different from the ones running in my head. Instead of agreeing earnestly, I tried to play shy.
I’m not sure… I think it’s too soon? Can we hold off a bit more? I read the words a few times before sending.
Really?
It was just one word, but I could almost picture her disappointment. I pursed my lips, wondering why my fingers immediately went to type out some form of reassurance. By this point, my initial objective had changed so completely; I could no longer say I was doing this top play a prank on Sophia. I wasn’t a slow guy, and I knew myself well.
Sophia was just the perfect girl, even if a lot of our interests didn’t match. In just the past few days, I’d tried to work on rectifying that, looking a bit at the books she liked, the songs, and the X-Men franchise. It was mostly just reviews and comments online, a few days in between practice and classes would hardly be enough to look into it all fully, though I’d listened to the music as I read and it wasn’t half bad.
Still. I had never tried to change myself for the sake of a girl before, and it had caught even me by surprise.
Why…don’t we wait for a bit longer? I suggested tentatively. I mean, it is a bit too soon, and there’s no reason to be in such a hurry, is there? We should get to know each other more online first.
I waited, breath held, for her reply. It took a minute, but it appeared on the chat page, and I breathed a sigh of relief as I leaned back in my seat.
If you think that’s best, then fine. Re
ad any interesting books lately?
I’d done my research already, so it was simple to launch into a discussion of a book that fell into the category of what she liked from looking at the blurb, some excerpts, and a bunch of reviews and comments on the site I’d found the book on.
I wasn’t sure what I was going to do about all this now, if it would still end up as a joke, or if I should take it seriously. But until I figured it out, I was going to have to keep putting Sophia off.
Chapter Six
Sophia
I finished writing down my notes as the professor closed the class. I ignored the students rising to leave immediately after he moved toward the door. I took my time, humming to myself as I wrote. By the time I was done, the room was mostly cleared, and I picked up my books, set them in my bag, and headed out as well.
Did he send me a message today?
The edges of my lips rose naturally into a smile at the thought. Student X, the guy I’d found on the dating site, had sparked my interest. I didn’t know the person behind the username, and honestly, he seemed too good to be true, but after talking to him for about two weeks now, I was only getting more and more curious about who he was.