𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋𝐒 [a rini au]

THIRTY-EIGHT

          Gina's hand slammed around the nightstand in hopes of miraculously landing on her alarm's snooze button. When she somehow stopped the ringing sound, she exasperatedly flopped on her back once again, staring up at the dark ceiling that was now becoming almost more familiar than her own. Gina wanted a few minutes of reflection for herself, something she practiced ever since she accepted this unexpected deal, but the alarm must've awoken him as well.

         "It's seven already?" EJ stirred, propping himself up on his left elbow to look at the girl lying beside him.

         Gina's gaze moved from the ceiling cracks to the ocean green eyes of the notorious player whose idea she succumbed to. "Yeah," she sighed, the boy scoffing in distress. As she watched him do so, Gina felt a flutter in her chest, one that she had never felt before. Hell no, she told herself as she watched EJ's tongue smoothly run across the roof of his mouth in thought. Stop it.

         "Well, then," his voice was laced with a morning rasp, causing Gina's intense heart palpitations to increase against her will. The boy pulled his covers off of himself, revealing his bare upper half and boxer-covered lower. His back was to the girl as he stood up and retrieved his shirt from the floor, but she was too focused on the way his back muscles were intricately chiseled to make a move to get ready herself. EJ eventually turned around once he wiggled his joggers on, brow knitting when he saw Gina staring mindlessly at him. "Gina?"

         The curly-headed girl snapped out of her daze, shutting down the sudden cardiac flutters she was experiencing. "Sorry," she apologized for an unknown reason, climbing out of the twin-sized bed herself.

         EJ watched as Gina stood, one of his soccer t-shirts draped over her tall frame yet still fitting comfortably oversized. He found himself eyeing her intently as she slipped on her spandex shorts one leg at a time. He felt something strange envelop him, something he hadn't felt before. Whatever it was was almost refreshing, something of admiration as he accepted how much he liked the look of his clothes on her. She turned around to face him just in time to get him to stop gawking. "Are you gonna hit the bathroom or something?" Gina questioned, causing EJ's pleasant wonder to evaporate.

         He swallowed hard, nodding. "Yeah, mhm," he pointed towards his door. "Gotta freshen up for the folks today, right?"

         Gina bit the inside of her cheeks, remembering the arrival of her parents that afternoon. "Only to be sweaty again after the game tonight," she resorted to a joke to prevent that feeling from returning. "Hopefully your parents aren't too concerned with presentability."

         EJ laughed lightly. "As long as I play well tonight," he began, voice softening a bit, "I don't think they'll be picky about much."

         Gina's previous smile melted at the loaded statement, EJ exiting the room before he could see the look on her face. She shook her head, trying to force the concern to leave her body. The girl then approached EJ's bottom drawer, where she always stored her hygiene products for the nights she was here. In hopes of finding her facial wipes, she stumbled across something drastically different.

         Her lips slowly parted as she cupped the vials in her hands, eyes panning over the scientific words she couldn't quite identify or pronounce. It didn't matter, though. With a little critical thinking, anyone could determine the contents of the vials and their purpose. Perhaps Gina just didn't want to accept it.

          This dumbass, she clenched her jaw as her mind whispered curses in hopes to mask the fear that overtook her. Not just for herself, but for EJ as East Highland's now disingenuous soccer star.