The Final Goal

Chapter 7

Skylar blinked her eyes against the morning sun streaming through her blinds. Squinting, she got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. Looking at her face she almost jumped. She forgot to take her makeup off last night and had mascara and eye liner smeared all around her eyes. Skylar wiped her face off and stepped into the shower. Letting the water flow over her body, she sighed. After she was done, Skylar pulled on the clothes she had set out. When she finished, she looked herself in the mirror. She had on a red and black plaid button down shirt, a black tank top underneath, black skinny jeans, and her usual all black converse. Grabbing her phone, Skylar walked down the stairs to see Patric sitting in the living room. "Hey don't you have practice?" She asked him. "No we have a game tomorrow," he said. "Are you doing anything with Fleury today?" he asked. She shook her head, "Not that I know of. I might do something with him tomorrow though". Patric suddenly smiled, making Skylar look at him funny. "What?" She asked after a minute. "We should get some s'mores supplies! We could invite Fleury, Crosby, and Beau over tonight!" He said, knowing Skylar was closest to them so far. She thought about it for a moment but eventually agreed. "Sure, why not?" She replied. Skylar laughed as Patric jumped up and ran around the room searching for his keys as if his life depended on it. Once Patric left, Skylar went upstairs to draw Batman with her Derwent pencils while she waited for the party tonight.

A few hours later, Skylar heard Patric calling her down. Looking around her room, her eyes focused on the clock and she gasped when she saw the time. It was nearly 7:00 pm! She had gone down for lunch at around 1:00 but spent the rest of the time drawing. She brought her gaze down to her drawing and smiled. The long work had paid off. After putting her sketchbook away, she ran down the stairs. Skylar found Patric in the living room, about to go outside. "Don't worry, I set everything up already!" He said, seeing her walk in the room. She looked past him and smiled. The table on the stone patio had huge bags full of marshmallows along with some chocolate bars and graham crackers. Skylar heard the doorbell ring and jumped. Her heart raced at the thought of who could be standing behind the door. Patric looked up at her. "Hey can you get that?" He said smiling, almost as if he could sense her nervousness. She nodded numbly, unable to speak as she moved to the door. Skylar gripped the handle tightly and flung open the door, revealing Beau, Crosby, and Fleury. Her eyes skipped over Beau and Crosby and landed on Fleury. He was wearing a dark grey button down shirt with dark blue jeans. His hair was slicked back and his warm eyes shone with happiness. "Hey guys! Come in!" Skylar said, stepping out of their way. She shut the door behind them and followed them back through the house to the patio. "Hey guys!" Patric said, sitting in one of the patio chairs. He leaned forward and pulled some of the other chairs around the fire pit so the others could sit down. Taking a seat next to Fleury, Skylar grabbed a marshmallow and started to roast it over the fire. "Should we talk about what happened yesterday?" Fleury said warily, watching Skylar's face for any reaction. She paused before answering. She knew Fleury would bring it up, but didn't expect it to be so soon. "I'm sorry, Fleury. It was all a mistake and I didn't mean for it to happen! I swear!" she explained, avoiding his burning gaze. Skylar gasped as she felt his hand rest on her back. Finally, she turned to face him and saw no anger in his eyes. "I know you didn't want it. I can't look at him after what he did. I'm sorry one of my teammates could betray us like that," he said honestly. "I don't want you to punish yourself. You did nothing wrong, okay?" he said, nudging her playfully. Skylar sighed. "Okay. Thanks for believing me," she said, wrapping an arm around him. "Aw look at the lovebirds!" Beau said, laughing. "Oh let them be, Beau! Just wait until you have a girlfriend!" Crosby said, making Patric laugh. "You know, Crosby? I'm not sure he will ever have a girlfriend!" Patric said. "Hey!" Beau exclaimed, making everyone laugh. "It's okay Beau, I'm sure you'll get a girlfriend someday," Skylar said, still giggling slightly. She looked down at her marshmallow and moved it out of the fire. It was a perfect shade of golden brown and smelled heavenly. Soon everyone was munching on some s'mores. Skylar took a bite of hers, and instantly fell in love. She looked over at Fleury, who just finished his first s'more and was roasting another marshmallow. He gazed at her and smiled. "You've got a little something.." He motioned towards an area on his face, but stopped. He leaned in and before Skylar could stop him, his lips met hers. Fleury's tongue grazed against her lips and Skylar immediately felt the butterflies in her stomach. Before she could respond, however, he pulled back, leaving her disappointed and hungry for more. "You had some chocolate there," he said, smiling sheepishly. She smiled back, and moved in for a soft kiss. In that moment, as her lips met his, Skylar knew she was right where she needed to be.