The Player
Chapter 20

Brielle
7:02 AM
"How did the talk go?" Sam asked, as she stopped the car in the school parking lot.
"It went really well!" I beamed, the large smile on my face showing my excitement. "I told him how I felt, and he has now made it his personal mission
to," I used air quotes, "woo me."
Sam raised her eyebrows suggestively, causing me to whack her in the arm.
"Ow!" she exaggerated, rubbing at her arm. "What was that for?"
"That was for your excessively dirty mind," I scolded, slinging my backpack over my shoulder and hopping out the car. "But seriously, how do you
think he's going to woo you?" Sam asked as we made our way into the school.
"Well he already took me to this really pretty lake on Saturday, but we were both busy yesterday." My eyes glazed over, remembering when we had a
picnic on the shore. "So, I'm not sure what he has planned."
My thoughts were interrupted by exaggerated gagging sounds from Sam. "Sorry, all of your lovey-doveyness is making me sick."
I playfully rolled my eyes at her. "You know as my friend you're supposed to be happy for me, right?"
She let out a huff. "I know, just all of this relationship talk is making me feel lonely."
I placed my hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure that Christopher can find someone on the football team for you."
The gagging sounds returned. "I would rather cut off my big toe than date a high school boy. I need someone more mature and refined."
"Sam, for the last time, you are not going to marry Derick Shepherd or Mark Sloan from Grey's Anatomy!"
She crossed her arms, "A girl can dream," She let out a soft sigh. "They sure know their way around a body."
"You mean bodies that are in surgery!" I exclaimed. "I swear sometimes I worry about you."
"I know, that's your job."

She stopped at my locker and waited for me to get my books out. However, as I opened it, a gold balloon letter "D" flew out with a card attached. I
grabbed onto the paper, reading it aloud.
"Day One: Chocolate."
Both Sam and I's face scrunched up in confusion. "What does that even mean?"
Sam grabbed the card from my hand, inspecting it herself. "Maybe you read it wrong?"
"Sam, it was three words." I deadpanned.
"Well do you have any clue what the balloon letter "D" means?" I shook my head, biting my lip in the process. "The only thing that I know is that
Christopher is behind all of it."
I took the letter from Sam and placed it back inside my locker along with the balloon. "Come on, I don't want to be late to first period."
Halfway through my first class, I was nearly asleep thanks to the most boring teacher on the planet, Mr. Brown. Just when I was about to give up
fighting to stay awake and lay my head on my desk, a knock interrupted our class.
Mr. Brown opened the door and was greeted by a freshman football player holding a heart-shaped box.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" Mr. Brown questioned with his usual monotone voice.
"Yes, I have a delivery for Brielle."
I felt the entire class turn their attention on me as my face turned beet red. The football player made his way to the desk and dropped off the box
before quickly shuffling out of the classroom.
Melanie turned around in her chair, her eyes shooting daggers at me. "I'm really happy for you! It's not every day that a girl like you finds a boyfriend
blind enough to want to be with you!" She said fakely, her voice oversweet.
I rolled my eyes and flipped her the bird before redirecting my attention to the box in front of me. I lifted the lid off the container and was greeted with
an assortment of different bite size chocolates. A note written in Christopher's handwriting sat on top.
Let the wooing begin.
~~~

It was halfway to the end of the day, and I already had more than enough chocolate than I needed. Every single period, another freshman football
player would bring me boxes. At this point, I already had ten different packages.
Everyone was wondering who was sending me them, but no one truly knew. I know it sounds weird, but I liked the fact that me and Christopher were
still a secret.
As I made my way to lunch, my thoughts were interrupted when a hand latched onto my wrist and pulled me into a closet. Before I could even
process what had just happened, I was face-to-face with a smiling Christopher.
"How has your day been?" he asked, pulling me closer to him.
"Interesting, to say the least."
He arched his eyebrow, "Good interesting or bad interesting?"
"Chocolate is never bad." I let out a huff. "But are you going to explain to me what your planning because I'm really confused."
His mouth pulled into a cheeky smile. "Nope," he said, popping the 'P'.
"Why not?" I whined. He reached out bopping his finger on my nose. "Because you're cute when you're confused."
I looked away, hoping that he didn't see my cheeks turn a light pink. "All I can say is that by Friday it will all make sense."
I leaned my face closer into his. "There's nothing I can do for you to even tell me a hint."
"Maybe..." he trailed off, his eyes focused in mine. He placed his hand on the side of my face before leaning down and pressing his mouth to mine.
Even though we had kissed before, it still felt like the first time. My breath hitched in my throat as our kiss slowly turned from slow and gentle to faster
as we got caught up in the moment. When we finally pulled away, we were both breathing heavily.
"Yeah, I'm still not telling you anything."
"Hey!" I said, slapping him on the arm, "You tricked me!"
He rubbed his arm, feigning hurt. "Why are you always slapping me in janitor's closets?"
"Why are you always pulling me into Janitor's closets?" He was about to give a response before stopping himself.
"Touché."

"Seriously though, thank you so much for today." I wrapped my arms around him in a hug, laying my head down on his chest. He rested his chin on
top of my head, massaging the base of my neck.
"Trust me, you haven't seen anything yet." After a few moments he pulled away from me, planting a kiss on my forehead. "We should probably go
before someone finds us."
"And what would be so wrong with that?" I mocked.
"I can't let people know that I'm the one sending those gifts. It would ruin my street cred."
I laughed. "Street cred?"
"Yes," he huffed, "And it's very difficult to get. It's taken me years."
"And what did you have to do, break a rock with your bare hands.?" His face stayed serious. "Who told you about that?"
~~~~
It was Friday, and the entire week had been a whirlwind. Each day of the week Christopher changed the gift that he gave me, so Tuesday was
flowers, then stuffed animals, gummy candy, and today he sent me different kind of desserts. All the balloons put together from each day spelled the
word drive.
However, I couldn't help but feel sad that the whole thing was over. While he still had a surprise for me tonight, I was going to miss all the gifts that he
dropped off. Attached to the cupcake that he gave me during my last period of the day, he told me to wait for him by my locker.
Suddenly, someone behind me grabbed onto my shoulder, causing me to shriek and jump in shock. I turned around, only to be faced with a laughing
Christopher.
"Did you see how high you jumped!" He laughed, almost letting out tears.
"Well I'm happy that my extreme terror was entertaining for you."
His face fell. "Well when you put it that way it's not as fun anymore." We made our way to the parking lot, and I was surprised when we stopped in
front of a cherry red pick-up truck. I was going to ask him why he always had different cars, but I thought better of it.
After twenty minutes of driving he turned towards me. "Close your eyes." He instructed.
"Why?"

"Because I want where we're going to be a surprise." I let out a huff before I closed my eyes. My leg jiggled, anxious for what he was planning.
After a few more minutes of driving he parked and hopped out of the car for a little while longer. By the time he came back, I could barely handle the
anticipation. He led me out of the car and onto what I assumed to be grass.
"Can I open my eyes now?" I asked impatiently, sounding like a kid on Christmas.
He chuckled. "Yes, you can open them."
As soon as I did my jaw dropped. In front of me was the cutest thing I had ever seen. "You didn't have to do this," I reminded him, leaning into him for
a hug.
"I know, but I wanted to."
He had filled the bed of his pick-up truck with pillows and throw blankets and lined the sides of it with fairy lights. The bed faced the movie screen in-
front of us, as other cars parked around us, wanting to enjoy the drive-in movie as well. Suddenly, the balloons spelling drive made sense.
I climbed under the covers as Christopher followed suit, wrapping his arms around me. "I have to admit, I doubted you at first. However, you really did
woo me."
"Really?" He said a prideful smile stretched across his face.
I nodded. "I don't see how it could get any better." He looked at me sheepishly. "Well, I do have one more thing to give you." He reached from his
pocket and handed me a long black-velvet jewelry case.
I turned towards him. "Christopher, I can't accept this, especially after everything you've already given me this week."
"No, take it," he insisted, pushing the box back towards me. "I want you to have it."
After trying multiple times to give it back, I gave in and opened the box. When I did, I felt my eyes begin to water. Inside was a silver necklace with a
single ballerina charm hanging from the center.
"Do you like it?" he asked, searching my eyes for approval. "I thought that it could bring you good luck for the showcase coming up soon."
I felt a tear roll down my face and I quickly wiped it away. "Yeah, I love it." He took the necklace from the box and unclasped it. "Do you want me to
put it on for you?"
I nodded my head yes, and I felt him sweep all my hair to one side of my head. He wrapped the necklace around my neck and gingerly secured it.

The Player
Chapter 19
You Saved Me Once Book 1
Chapter 50: 34I apologize for that
worlds apart
Chapter 76: Episode 75
He planted a kiss on my neck beside it. "Perfect."
And as I looked up at him, I couldn't agree more.

The
Player
You
Saved
Me
Once
Book 1
worlds
apart

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