Are You Locked Up in a World That's Been Planned Out for You?

I was expecting Eric to beep the horn in the driveway or outside the house, but instead at near on the exact time we agreed for him to pick me up, there was a knock at the door. It only took me a few moments to get to the door as I was watching MTV in the lounge room waiting for him.

I grabbed my purse and bounded to the door.

“Hey gorgeous.” Eric grinned at me, engulfing me into a very quick hug and gave me a quick, friendly peck on the cheek.

I ignored the small butterflies that appeared in my stomach, and decided to go with humour.

“Yeah, I look a lot better without coffee all over my shirt and hair.” I giggled, recalling the last time we saw each other.

Wow, I’d only technically met him once, but we had spoken for hours on end and I felt like I really knew him.

“Well, I’d like to see you in this.” Eric said to me, handing me some kind of top that was neatly folded.

I unfolded it, and instantly smirked when I saw what it was. It was a top for the New York Knicks basketball team. It was then that I noticed that Eric was wearing a Miami Heat basketball top.

“It’s my sister’s top, she went through a big Knicks phase a while ago. She let me borrow it for you to wear to the game tonight.” Eric said to me.

“The game? I’m not going to the game?” I said to Eric, quite confused.

“My dad has good connections from his firm. One of his suppliers offered him courtside tickets for tonight’s Heat and Knicks game. I’ve told my Dad about you, and he said it would be nice for us both to see the game.” Eric said to me.

“So, you’ve told both your sister and your dad about me. Why?” I asked, sending Eric a sly smile.

“We’ll discuss this later. Go put on your top, let’s go to the game.” Eric smiled brightly at me, giving me a light nudge.

***

It was now towards the end of the game. Eric and I had been talking to a New York couple behind us all night. The stadium was full of mostly Heat fans, so it was nice to have some Knicks fans in close proximity. They were hardcore fans who had flown here and were quite friendly.

Despite the fact that there was a couple behind us, at half time the kiss cam had chosen Eric and I. Yes, that’s right. The Crystals’ ‘Then He Kissed Me’ came on in cliché fashion, and whoever was in charge of it somehow thought that Eric and I were an item. Which meant that we had to kiss or we face the wrath of the audience.

However, the people around did not know the inner battle going on in my head. Eric was such a sweet guy; he had been nothing short of a gentleman tonight. We also seemed to get along really well, I found him really interesting and I think he found me the same. I couldn’t help to feel something for him, not anything strong, but some kind of non-platonic feelings.

After I had received such a phone call from Mike as I had previously, I knew I shouldn’t be having these feelings. But instead of trying to deal with them, or even being in denial I was pushing them to the back of my head. I was going back to New York, and Eric probably didn’t even like me like that. If I ignored this tiny crush, it would die in no time. I was going to live for the moment.

Which is why I was glad Eric gave me a quick peck on the cheek, everyone cheered and the camera swiftly moved onto another couple. Got out of that one easy.

I held my breath, as a Miami heat player had a chance to shoot with only a few seconds remaining in the game, only being a point below the Knicks. If Miami got this, they would win. It was a cliché moment; this could be the winning goal. I was at the edge of my seat, but at the same time this was so exciting. I don’t like games where your team smashes the other team for the entirety of the game. It was games like this that made me feel alive.

I looked over at Eric who had grabbed my hand, and given it a tight squeeze. Some kind of emotion started running through me. Before I could decide whether it was guilt or excitement, he sent me a reassuring smile and all I could do was feel content. He grabbed my hand to share this exciting moment with me as a friend, nothing more.

I sent him a squeeze back as the Heat player shot for the goal, and I held my breath. This was it.

I was expecting one of those moments where it goes around the ring, and the crowd is left anticipating for a few more moments. However, this did not occur. The ball bounced on the ring, and was flown back hurling towards the player.

Although a few Knicks supporters gave out a loud cheer, I remained silent to respect Eric and the other Heat supporters around me. They all let out disappointed sighs and groans, and ten seconds later the buzzer went off. The Knicks had won.

This was my time to cheer, and I stood up and let out a loud one, before hugging the Knicks supporters behind me. I then turned to Eric and gave him a sad look, and he just laughed it off and gave me a hug too.

“C’mon, let’s get out of here. It’ll take us a while to navigate out of this place with all the crowds, the sooner we start, the sooner we’ll be out of here.” Eric said to me, and I nodded and quickly said bye to the Knicks fans and followed Eric out.

Once we were going towards the exit, Eric grabbed my hand. I waited for the guilt to set in once more, but then noticed it wasn’t coming. I no longer felt guilty. I smiled to myself, screw it. I haven’t done anything wrong, and I was planning to go with the flow. Let’s just see where this vacation takes me.

“You alright?” Eric asked me, spinning around, as he was a little bit in front of me, however he had his hand still firmly grasped in mine.

“Never been better.” I beamed, and Eric sent me a huge smile back as he turned back around to continue to navigate us out of this arena.