It had been a while since Adelyn had gone off to use the restroom, and just when Justin was beginning to worry, he turned around and saw her coming up the stairs, holding something behind her back. He stood up and made sure she made it past him safely to her seat, and when she sat down, he noticed the grin on her face.
"What are you smiling about?" he wondered.
Suddenly, she revealed a bag of red licorice, and held it up in front of his face. "I brought you a snack... and it's your favorite. Licorice!"
He smiled and took the bag from her. "Thanks, Miss Adelyn. You're too good to me."
"You're welcome," she said, planting a kiss on his cheek. "Now, open that bag and share!"
He did so, but the smile faded from his face as he went back to his thoughts. "You know?" he said after handing her a piece. "Pertel was right." he concluded sadly.
Adelyn bit into her licorice and chewed. "Right about what?" she wondered as she stared down at the field.
The batter up hit the ball far out into the field and they both watched as one of the Twins' outfielders caught it square in his glove. All around them, fans stood up cheering, and Justin and Adelyn followed suit.
"What were you saying?" she asked when the crowed had calmed down.
"Nothing," he decided. "I just wanted to tell you about how lucky I am."
That interested Adelyn, and she propped elbow up on their shared armrest as she looked at him intently. "How so?"
"You already know," he told her. "You have to know."
"What are you talking about?" she asked as the first base man threw the ball home.
Justin wasn't paying attention to the game, and didn't see the catcher tag the other team's runner out. "It's you, Adelyn," he said with a smile. "You're the reason-"
The crowd went to celebrate, and Justin's sentence was cut short by something cold and wet splashing in his hair and down his neck and forehead.
"Oh... my... GOD," he said, his hands flying to his head to investigate.
"Oh, my God!" a voice from behind him echoed. "I am so sorry!"
Justin turned around to catch his culprit, but Adelyn's strong hold on his arm prevented him from going anywhere.
"I don't know what happened," Wade continued. "I guess I just lost my grip on the beer! Like I said, I'm really sorry. If you want I can pay for dry cleaning and-"
He stopped short when Justin held up his hand and then turned back around. His face slowly turned a weird shade of purple.
"Breathe, Justin!" Adelyn told him before she grabbed her purse from the floor and reached inside. When she pulled out a napkin and went to wipe the liquid that was still on Justin's face, he flinched and grabbed it out of her hand.
"If you think this is funny, Adelyn, then you can keep your comments to yourself," he said through clenched teeth as he wiped the beer from his face.
It was the way he said it that made her turn away from him so he couldn't see the laughter in her eyes. Yes, he was probably embarrassed and miserable, but just the sight of the liquid streaming down the sides of his face made her lose it.
His head snapped in her direction when he heard the suppressed giggles, and he grabbed her arm. "Are you laughing at me?" he asked, shocked. "Well, are you!?"
Adelyn slowly turned to face him, but when she looked into his wide eyes, she couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. Appalled, Justin let go of her arm. He was just about to get up and walk away when she wrapped her fingers around his wrist.
"Justin, come on," she said as she tried to stop laughing. "Stay here, honey. I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing at the situation!"
"Oh, yeah? You're laughing at the situation?" he echoed. "Well, it just so happens that that situation fell directly on my head!" At the end of the sentence, his voice had raised loud enough so that the fans around them were staring.
Adelyn, squeezed his wrist and moved in closer. "If you want, we can leave right now so you can clean up. Okay?" she asked, her voice close to a whisper.
Justin pulled away from her grasp, crossed his arms and faced the field. "This kind of thing would only happen to me," he reasoned. "Do I have a big sign tattooed on my forehead that says I'm asking for trouble?"
"Well..." Adelyn pondered. "Actually..."
"Oh, just shut up," he demanded, waving his hand at her. "Maybe I should just become a hermit and live in the caves by the river or something."
Adelyn laughed. "Well, you certainly smell the part," she commented, referring to the beer scent as she put her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder. "How about you stay in my apartment and you be my personal hermit?"
"I object to the smell part. I usually don't reek of alcohol, as you very well know," he told her, a small smile creeping to his face. "And you do realize that hermits are not easy to live with," he pointed out. "We're not very social creatures."
"Oh, yeah?" she said, looking up at him. "Well, I think I can fix that."
He leaned down to kiss her, but before their lips touched, a tap on his knee interrupted him.
"Mister," a small boy said in the seat in front of them. "You're on the big screen! Look!"
As the boy pointed to the screen on the opposite end of the Metrodome, Adelyn and Justin's eyes followed his gaze. Indeed, the two of them were front and center on the screen. Adelyn waved with a grin, but Justin lowered his head, putting his hand to his forehead in embarrassment.
"This day just keeps getting better and better," he complained.
Justin tapped his fingers against Adelyn's kitchen table as he waited for his brother to pick up the phone. He was just about to hang up when someone answered.
"Hello?" Phil's rushed voice came through the line.
"Where the hell were you?" Justin wanted to know. "I was going to hang up."
"Who is this?"
"Your brother!"
"Kyle?" Phil sounded confused. The two brothers hadn't talked in a long while.
"Try again," Justin said in a bored voice. "Though I'm surprised you remembered one of us. When was the last time you even called Mom?"
"Just who do you think you are, Mr. College Graduate?" Phil asked, though there didn't seem to be a hint of anger in his voice. "If I had the money to spend on long distance phone calls, you know that I would be calling mom more.
Justin sighed. "Is it that bad in Pennsylvania?"
"Let's get to the chase," Phil cut in. "Why are you calling me? Do you want something?"
"This isn't about you," Justin told his brother. "It's about Kyle. He's missing and Mom's worried. Have you heard from him?"
"Kyle? No, dear brother, I haven't heard one word from the boy. I was beginning to think that you guys had forgotten about me. Just because I moved away doesn't mean I'm not part of the family."
"Like I said, Phil, this doesn't have anything to do with you. Mom's looking for Kyle. She knows where you are."
"Is anything ever about me?" Phil asked in a pained voice. "You've always been the favorite, Justin, and don't deny it for one second!"
"What the hell are you talking about? It's not my fault you decided to move across the country. How do you expect to be the center of attention all the way over in Pennslyvania?"
Phil paused a second before saying anything back to his brother. "This is a stupid conversation," he concluded. "And I did not want to be the center of attention. I wish you would stop accusing me of that!"
"I could stop accusing you if it weren't true," Justin shot back. "If you haven't seen Kyle, then I should get going. I have something I need to do."
"Yeah," Phil scoffed. "You don't need me anymore! Talk to you later, little brother."
Chapter 25
Paying the Consequences
Justin {Fiction}
My Fiction
I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
Email me: irishgirl982@yahoo.com