We Can Settle This Like Gentlemen or Meet Me out the Back to End It All and Start Again

Conner and Seth pulled up to Jennifer’s house in Conner’s large gray truck. Seth typed away on his phone as they both got out of the truck and walked up the sidewalk to Jennifer’s front door. Seth didn’t bother knocking; he just went in ahead of Conner, into the dark house. Just as Conner stepped through the threshold of the door, the light flicked on and the entire house seemed to be filled with people from his school jumping out and yelling ‘Surprise!’ at him.

Conner just chuckled slightly, honestly not seeing this coming, and shoved Seth with his right arm.

“Fuckin’ douchebag.” He said to Seth, referring to the fact that Seth threw him a party when he specifically asked Seth not to do so.

After that Conner was bombarded with Congratulations and Happy Birthday’s from people that he barely even knew. After about a good hour of this happening, he finally got away from it all and headed towards the kitchen to grab a beer, you know, since it was now legal.

The kitchen was fairly empty, so he easily walked over to the metal bucket serving as a cooler filled with ice and grabbed a bottle of beer off of the top. He cracked the top and took a swig, almost choking on it when he was startled by a voice behind him.

“Enjoying your first legal drink?”

“Jennifer.” Conner said turning around and facing her. “What the fuck. You scared the shit out of me.” He said laughing slightly.

“Anyway.” She said, easily segueing into another topic. “’You know who’ isn’t in here; she’s out in the backyard.”

Conner cocked an eyebrow.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, taking another swig of his beer.

Halle She mouthed to him, not wanting anybody around to hear.

A defensive comment was hot on his lips, ready to deny what she was hinting at, but then he realized that she was Seth’s girlfriend, and Seth had the biggest mouth ever, especially when he was drunk.

“Seth is a douchebag.” He said instead, referring to the fact that Seth had obviously spilled Conner’s secret crush on Halle.

“Whatever you say,” she said laughing and putting her hands in the air defensively, “I’m just saying, who you’re looking for isn’t in here, she’s outside, all alone, the way she has been since she got here.”

With that Jennifer just smirked at him and walked out of the kitchen.

Conner stood there for a second. Should he go talk to her? Would that be creepy?

But it’s my birthday party, Conner thought to himself, so I have to go thank her for coming, right? he thought, trying to justify going and talking to her.

Eventually he just decided to casually make his way to the fenced in backyard and just move around and thank everyone, and he’d eventually land on her and have to thank her.

So that’s what he did, he made his rounds with everyone in the backyard until he came to the porch swing that sat in the middle of the yard where Halle sat, her legs pulled up in a ball with a red cup in her hand.

“Hi Halle.” Conner said smiling, walking over to her and sitting next to her on the swing.

Then he mentally cursed himself, now she would know that he had been into her, watching her, because he knew her name.

Halle blushed, not only completely shocked that he even approached her, but that he actually knew her name. There were people in her classes that didn’t even know her name.

“Hi,” she said back tentatively over to where he sat next to her, “happy birthday,” she said smiling at him.

“Thanks, and thanks for coming too.”

She just shrugged and smiled slightly.

“I didn’t really have a choice, between Mia and Jennifer I was pretty much dragged here.” She said, and then saw his smile falter.

So she didn’t even want to be here. Conner thought sadly.

“Oh, no, I mean, I didn’t mean for it to come out that way. I just meant that I was studying and Mia wanted me to come, I’m sorry.” She said blushing trying desperately to apologize but just ending up making a bigger fool of herself.

“It’s okay, Halle.” He said smiling at her.

She just nodded and smile, looking down at the red cup clutched in her hands to try and hide that blush that insisted on appearing on her face.

“Do you want a different drink?” Conner asked her, motioning to her cup that was completely full of beer.

“Oh, uh, no thanks. Some guy just handed this to me, but I’m honestly not much of a drinker.” She said shrugging.

“Me either,” he said, and she eyed the beer in his hand that was halfway empty. He chuckled as he saw her confused expression. “I really don’t drink a lot, but it’s my twenty first, so I figured why not?”

Halle just nodded and leaned down, her legs falling so that her feet rested on the ground like normal, setting her full cup onto the ground.

When she sat back up she glanced at Conner out of the corner of her eye, and then glanced at herself.

She laughed slightly.

“What?” Conner asked, laughing too. He had to smile; her laugh was so completely adorable.

She just sat up and shrugged.

“I just realized,” she said, “we match!” she said laughing and motioning to their outfits. Both clad in dark jeans and a white v-neck T shirt.

“We do,” he said, looking down at himself, and then over at her as she just smiled up at him. “but if it makes you feel any better. You rock it way better.”

She smiled and blushed at that, looking down at her lap.

“Thanks,” she said softly.

He stared at the beautiful girl as she shyly looked down at her lap, kneading her fingers over and over. No wonder why he had been so fascinated with her for two years, ever since he had first seen her. She was beautiful.

He looked around at the thriving party all around them, everybody but the two well drunk and wasted, and he realized that he really didn’t want to be here, and neither did she.

“Halle,” he said, nudging her thigh slightly to get her to look up at him, she did so, her face crimson with blush.

“Yes?”

“Do you want to get out of here?” She blushed even harder, took one look around the party, and nodded slightly, smiling a shy smile at him.

He set down his beer bottle and led her around the side of the house and to the street where they started walking down the road. Jennifer’s family was rich, so she lived in a development, so it had sidewalks and lights, it was safe.

“So,” Halle said, desperately trying to find something to talk about. “what are you majoring in?”

“Well,” Conner started as they began to walk down the sidewalk next to each other. “I plan on becoming a Personal Trainer, so I’m majoring in Exercise Science, but I also have to take classes like human movement and physical education.” He said shrugging.

“Wow, that’s awesome.” Halle said looking up at him. And it makes a hell of a lot of sense with those biceps. Halle thought to herself, admiring his sculpted arms, then she blushed and looked back down. “U-Uhm why did you decide to become that?”

He just shrugged.

“I’ve been boxing ever since I was a kid,” he said, and was about to say more when Halle interrupted him by stopping where she stood and looking up at him with wide eyes.

“You’re a boxer?” she asked him, dumbfounded.

“Yeah,” he said smiling a confused smile at her, why was she acting so confused? “why, is it hard to believe?” he asked laughing.

“Extremely.” She said, “I mean, I guess not with your huge arms but—” she said, catching herself a moment too late and saying something so embarrassing. She just shrugged and tried to play it off. Inside, Conner was absolutely bursting. She had noticed him. “Uhm, it’s just hard to believe because I could never see you hurting someone.” She said, blushing like mad and continuing to walk.

“Why?” he asked, confused. No one had ever told him that before.

“I don’t know,” she said shrugging, “I guess you just seem, gentler than that.”

“Gentler?” he asked, “Way to emasculate me.” He said chuckling.

“No, I didn’t mean that!” she said laughing at herself. “I just meant, nicer than that. You seem like a really good guy, I couldn’t imagine you ever hurting anybody.”

“Well, I guess when you put it like that its okay.” He said smiling down at her.

“Oh!” she said realizing that she had interrupted him. “I’m sorry; go on with what you were saying.”

“Oh, well since I’ve been a boxer I always wanted to grow up and train people to box and eventually own my own boxing gym and have classes to teach to box.”

She nodded understanding how that might be something he would want as a boxer.

“But don’t you want to try and become a professional boxer?” she asked him, looking up at him.

He shrugged, “I guess every athlete wants that, to become a pro at what they play, but I just don’t think that’s in my future.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“I guess I just don’t think I’m that good.” He said shrugging and looking down.

Halle looked up at this beautiful man and smiled.

“I bet you are.”