10 | her number

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CHAPTER 10

"Let's talk." Cora said, drawing her lower lip between her teeth nervously.

With my hand still in hers - she hadn't made a move to remove it which I was taking as a good sign - we walked back into the cafe.

Turning my head to briefly glance out of the windows, I was met with identical expressions.

I had told Danny about Cora back when I only knew her as candyfloss, and I reckoned that Lucy had a similar conversation with her.

I guessed they were beginning to put two and two together if their open mouths were anything to go by.

Instead of focusing on the recognition that had begun to dawn on their faces, I brought my attention back onto Cora, who I could see wringing her hands together from the corner of my eye.

"So..." she started awkwardly.

"Why did you leave me that night?" I asked, too wound up to avoid the question any longer.

"Uh..." Her sentence trailed off and her eyes darted away from my face. "I panicked."

"Why?" I probed.

"You seem like trouble." She said. "That's the last thing I need right now."

"Trouble?" I repeated slowly, humour finding its way into my voice. "What if I told you that I was actually a model citizen?"

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Still a no."

"Your best friend is dating my best friend." I reminded her.

"You need to get used to seeing me around, candyfloss. And we might as well get to know each other."

Her nose scrunched up in confusion. "You know my real name now. Why are you still calling me that?"

The corners of my mouth curved up. "You're still candyfloss to me, gorgeous. I just have something else to call you on the side."

Her cheeks warmed, giving the golden brown skin on her face a subtle red undertone.

When she moved to cover those cheeks with her hands, I had to resist the urge to take a photo.

"As for the part about getting to know each other, what do you want to know?" She asked, smoothly changing the subject.

I paused for a moment, thinking. "Danny told me that Lucy is a waitress at this cafe. Do you work here too?"

She nodded her head. "Yeah I do. In fact, we usually have our shifts together. But this isn't my only job."

"Yeah?" I asked, curiosity piqued.

Her eyes twinkled with excitement. "I'm an artist. Or at least I'm trying to be."

Swallowing the urge to say something cheesy like "You're already a work of art," I settled for making her promise to show me some pieces.

When she asked the same question of me, I told her that I was in my third year of University with no idea of what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.

I wasn't sure what it was about her that made me feel comfortable enough to reveal something that I hadn't even truly admitted to myself yet, but it was there.

"How old are you?" She blurted out. She seemed immediately looked as if she regretted saying it, but at least she was trying to get to know me.

"21." I smiled. "You?"

"I'm 19." She answered.

"So you graduated recently then?" I asked.

"Uh... yeah I guess you could say that." She replied, looking so uncomfortable that I wished I could take that question back.

"I should probably get going." She said, turning her phone on to check the time.

Not yet.

"Can I get your number first?" I asked, not caring how desperate I must have sounded.

There was no way I was letting her slip away for the third time.

She brought her lower lip into her mouth, tugging on it as I watched her think it over.

"Okay." She relented, holding her hand out for my phone and typing her number into it.

I met Cora's eyes and grinned as I saved her number under my nickname for her.

Her phone buzzed with a text as I looked up guiltily. "Just checking."

She giggled softly and I made a promise to myself that I would do everything I could to hear it again.

"Bye Gabriel." She said with dimpled cheeks and a smile she gave me in spite of herself.

Her hips moved gracefully under her dress as her fingers found the door handle.

"Bye candyfloss." I waved, not even bothering to hide my joy.

After all, the moment I'd been imagining for the past 2 weeks had just been brought to life.

- - - -

My university was massive.

The grounds alone could probably have fit my apartment 100 times over, and it had enough buildings to account for a ridiculous number of activities.

One of these was a basketball court, rectangular, wooden and shiny, complete with baskets at either end.

Bold lines drew an arc around them both and cut through the middle of the court, bringing white onto the tan coloured surface.

Noisy thumps filled the room as basketballs hit the floor, some of these becoming quieter swishes as they passed through the net.

Although our team was rarely beaten in matches and the players were good, the chance of any of us going pro were slim to none.

Basketball took a backseat to football in the UK, meaning that the most it could become was a passionate hobby.

That didn't stop us from training constantly though, hence why we had to come together for practice 5 days a week.

"Alright boys?" Coach asked as the stomp of his trainers got louder and closer.

A chorus of grunts served as his answer.

"Let's get straight to it." He said, dividing the team evenly with a gesture of his hands forwards or backwards.

The whistle sounded, a shrill blast in my ear, giving permission for the court to come alive.

Players sprinted to various parts of the court, all the while watching over their shoulders to keep track of everyone else.

The ball entered my waiting hands after being thrown to me from the other side of the court.

My footsteps pounded in time with my heartbeat as I dribbled it around other players.

Keeping my eyes on the net, I jumped and released the ball at the same time, my hand extending into a straight line.

The sound of the ball travelling through the net was a welcome one, replicated many times during the rest of practice.

The feeling of cold water gently splashing onto my tired body was worth the effort that those three hours had required.

My muscles relaxed and I momentarily slipped into a state of bliss.

That was, until I heard Danny's annoying voice from the other side of the shower curtain. "We need to talk bro."

I rolled my eyes and stepped out with a towel wrapped around me, throwing on a pair of joggers and a shirt.

I already knew that he was going to ask me about what happened at the cafe since we hadn't had a chance to talk about it yet, so I cut him off with a hard look.

If we were going to do this, we would do it at home, after I'd eaten something that wasn't a twix bar from the vending machine.

I deserved it after that practice from hell.

- - - -

"I knew it!" Danny exclaimed after I confirmed that Cora was the girl from the club that night.

"Did you get her number this time?" He asked.

I smirked. "Yeah."

He scrutinised my face slowly, finishing with a knowing smile and leaning back. "You're so screwed."

My eyes narrowed. "Shut up."

His boisterous laughter filled the room. "If it makes you feel any better, Lucy said that she's rooting for you two."

That's good.

Having her best friend on my side would make my life a lot easier.

"Focus on your own relationship." I said, punching him lightly in the shoulder.

As irritating as he was, Danny was the reason I had finally gotten hold of the girl who seemed determined to slip through my grip, and I owed him for that.

Now that I had her number on my phone, I was going to start breaking down that impenetrable wall of hers.

One text at a time.

Fun fact: I used to play basketball but I quit because I'm too busy now :(

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