XIV.                                             Heartbreak Weather

      Odessa went from being the school slut to the All Valley championship in just a couple of months. It was a huge deal. Her name was out to the world in a different way. She had a chance to reinvent herself. She was proud of herself. Her mom was proud. A small part of her hoped that her dad was proud, wherever the hell he was.

"Thank you." Odessa smiled at the waiter as she picked her order of BBQ nachos from the counter. She carried her food and herself back to her table of friends in the back of the room.

Aisha flashed her phone in the girl's face. "And here's the champion herself!" She said out loud to her live stream.

The table cheered and Odessa laughed while sliding into the booth next to Eli. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "So you might be wondering what a team does after they win the championship. The answer?" She pointed the phone to the food. "Victory nachos!"

"Hell yeah!" Oliver hollered and they cheered again. They all lifted their drinks and clinked them together.

"It was supposed to be a round of drinks but the the waiter was not feeling Hawk's fake ID."

Eli's face fell. "Hey, don't talk about that. My parents follow you!" He panicked.

Aisha cringed and turned back to her phone. "Sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Moskowitz."

She ended the livestream and sat down with them. Odessa laughed when Eli picked up one of the nachos and held it in front of her. She gave him a weird look but ate it. "What are you doing?"

He shrugged innocently. "Being a gentleman to my girlfriend who i'm still incredibly sorry I upset."

She smiled. "I already forgave you."

"Doesn't mean I still can't be a gentleman." He leaned in and kissed her, chasing everyone at the table to groan.

"Dude looked like he was going easy on you," said Oliver, referring to Robby.

Eli agreed with him. "Yeah. What did you say to him anyway?"

Odessa shrugged. "Just trying to get him to fight fair since it was my boyfriend who kicked him in the shoulder." She emphasized and slowly looked at him. She pinched his cheek to relieve the guilty look on his face.

"I gotta say it's nice to be at a victory party,"  said Demetri while holding a nacho.

"Yeah, except you had nothing to do with the victory."
Eli objected and snatched the nacho from him. He ate it proudly.

Odessa gave him a warning look and nudged him.

"Then I consider it a belated party for the coding competition we won at computer camp." Demetri continued, recovering from the act.

Oliver bursted out laughing. "You went to computer camp?"

"No!"  Eli nearly shouted and glared at the boy across from him.

"Remember? Demetri and Eli binary brothers!"  He started singing and doing the robot,  sending everyone into laughter. 

Eli glanced over at his laughing girlfriend and glared at him again.  "Hey. Cool it with the nerd shit, huh?" He whispered harshly.

Hailey scoffed.  "Oh, lighten up, Hawk. Odessa went to band camp two years in a row."

Odessa stopped laughing. "I thought you promised not to talk about that?"

"Anybody know where Miguel is? His wings are getting cold?"  Grayson asked while looking around for him.

She turned in her seat and looked around the restaurant. She spotted the back of Miguel's head, seeing him sitting alone at one of the tables. She tapped Eli's shoulder. "Hey, he's sitting over. Should we go talk to him?" She whispered.

He nodded and they got out of the booth, along with Aisha, and went to talk to him. "El Serpiente, there you are." Eli announced and patted him on the shoulders.

"Why aren't you celebrating with us?" Odessa asked and sat down in the seat beside him. Aisha sat across from them.

"She blocked me."  Miguel simply said while looking at his phone that had Instagram popped up and Sam's name typed in. No account showed up, confirming that she indeed blocked him.

Odessa frowned and put her hand on his arm.

"So what happens when you get blocked? You counterpunch. Except, maybe don't actually hit her this time." Eli joked. None of them laughed. "What?  Too soon?"

Odessa sarcastically pinched her fingers together.

"Look, all I'm saying is don't give up."

Miguel sadly shook his head.  "It's no use. I blew any shot I had with her."

"Just gave Sam some time. She'll come around." Aisha assured him.

Odessa nodded.  "You're a great guy, Miguel. There's no way she won't forgive you." She said kindly.

"Or she won't,"  Eli contradicted. He nudged the boy with a smirk. "We're apart of a championship team now.  You can get any chick in the Valley you want.  You're like Drake. Enjoy it. I know I am." He boasted and got out of the seat. He quickly kissed his girlfriend on the cheek and he and Aisha walked back to where their friends were.

Odessa rolled her eyes. "I'm not sure I want to be Drake." Miguel uttered. 

"Don't worry. You're not." She told him and rested her hand on his arm again. "You're sweet, you're forgiving,  you're loyal — you're the perfect package. Sam knows that. She's just mad right now. I promise everything will work out."

Miguel looked at his friend with thankfulness behind his brown eyes. "Thanks, Dess. I know I probably don't say it enough but you're a great friend."

Odessa playfully held up her phone.  "Wait, can you repeat that? I want to video it for future references."

He laughed and shook his head.

Odessa led Eli through her empty house. "Where's your mom?" He asked her.

"She's with Johnny. I think they went to the bar after the tournament."

The two began walking into her room. "Sensei Lawrence and your mom? How do you feel about that?" He asked with a slight laugh.

She smiled and shook her head.  "They're old friends,  Eli. They're just catching up on old times." She turned on the bedroom light and collapsed on her bed with a heavy sigh.

"How are you feeling champion?" He asked with a smirk.

"I feel good. I'm happy I won. I was really hoping I would." She replied with a happy smile.

"You deserve it. You're one of the best." He watched her roll her neck with wince. He sat on the bed with her. "Hey, what's wrong?"

She shook her head. "Nothing, I'm okay. Just a little sore is all."

Eli shifted his weight so he was behind her. He began to rub her shoulder and she let out a satisfying noise. "This feel better?"  He inquired.

Odessa hummed. "Just a little bit."

He leaned in closer to her neck and pressed a gentle kiss on it.  "How about now?"

The girl smirked to herself, feeling her cheeks warm up. "We're getting there." she responded cheekily.

Eli smirked as well and trailed kisses from the top of her neck to her shoulder blade.  "Am I getting warmer?"

She sighed and closed her eyes. "Slightly."

His hands went from her shoulders to her cheek and moved it to the side and kissed it. He whispered in her ear.  "You're really tense."

She shuddered under his touch. "Am I?"

He nodded and his breath hit her ear. "I can fix it."

"How?"

She felt him tug on her waist and she turned around that she was sitting in front of him. Eli grabbed the nape of her neck and pulled her closer to him, kissing her roughly.  She made a surprised noise that vibrated the back of her throat but she quickly closed her eyes and fell into him. Eli's hands got lost in her hair and hers pressed against his warm legs, not knowing what to do with them.

She pulled away when he started to lift the bottom of her shirt.

His eyes widened. "I'm sorry. Am I going too fast?"

"No, no, no! I—" she quickly started to say then paused. Embarrassed crept on her cheeks and she looked down at her lap, feeling like an idiot.

Eli lifted her head up and brushed her hair behind her. "Hey, I will never make you do anything you don't want to do. Everything we do or don't do is completely up to you." He reassured her.

He knew her past. He knew the rumors. Any other person would've ran for the hills or tried to do worse. But he respected her. He treated her with kindness. It was a love she'd never received before. She didn't know what to do with it.

But she trusted him. She trusted his word. She grabbed the ends of her shirt and lifted it over her head. Eli's eyes tailed downward and back to hers. "Are you sure?" He asked.

She nodded slowly.

"I need to hear you say it. Are you sure?"

"I've never wanted anything more." She answered truthfully.

The vibe in the room changed. With a heavy stomach, Eli leaned in and kissed her again. Odessa closed her eyes and took it all in. She felt herself leaning back until her head hit the pillow. His weight hovered over her. She felt like she was in a dream. It was perfect. Two lonely kids who never thought they would find this type of love and they found it in each other.