Page 7 of His Shy Girl

Brennon Cartwright gives his time, wanting to inspire the next generation of football players.

He’d told me he likes volunteering with kids, but I assumed he was talking about being a big sister. But according to this article, he’s a sports mentor for underprivileged children. And that “sports camp” he told me he volunteered for is the Challenger Football League for kids with special needs. So not only is he nice, but he’s a total sweetheart.

My curiosity takes me down the internet rabbit hole for hours. I feel like I’m a stalker. Watching all of his football videos, creeping on his social media accounts, looking for any pictures of him with girls. There are a few girls scattered in his feed. All pretty and perfect with their cute little cheerleader outfits on, which means they can all talk perfectly.

I’m not sure why he’s not dating any of them, but he did mention in one of our conversations that he wanted to wait until college to find someone a little less into themselves. All along, I thought he was a girl talking about finding a guy whose ego isn’t bigger than his cock, and I couldn’t agree more. But it turns out, he was talking about finding a girlfriend.

What I wouldn’t give to be that lucky girl. It would be so much fun going to Wild Wings and watching football with him. But a guy of his caliber won’t want a Sputtering Carburetor asa girlfriend. I’m an embarrassment. Just ask all the guys at my school. They’ll gladly vouch for my loser status.

6

Brennon

My heart feels like a bass drum, pounding loud and hard as I wait for the bell to ring. Why the fuck am I so nervous? That’s never been the case before. But this girl… She’s been giving me the brush-off for almost a week now. We used to play online every night, but she’s barely been on lately. Every day it’s a new excuse. She has a test to study for. She’s having dinner with her cousin. She’s working on a group project for school.

Today, she’s apparently staying after school to help the librarian, which is why I’m here. I’m going to see if she’s telling me the truth or not. And I’m going to find out once and for all why she’s dodging me.

The final bell rings and students start pouring out the front doors of the building. I quickly hop out of my truck, stalking across the lot to the first girl I see. “Hey! Could you point me in the direction of the library?”

She practically blushes as she tucks her hair behind her ear, looking toward the doors. “Just go inside and you’ll see it straight down the hall on the right.”

“Thanks. Hey! Any chance you know a girl named Willow?”

She shakes her head, but she looks like she might be a freshman or a sophomore, and with a school this size, I doubt she knows everyone.

“All right, thanks for your help.”

I head into the building, passing all the kids who are rushing out to get home, while I’m rushing in to find the girl who’s become my obsession. The closer I get to the library, the more nervous I become. I loosen my collar, feeling like I’m overheating. I’m second-guessing my outfit now, hoping I didn’t overdo it with my button-down and jeans. I wanted to impress her, but now I’m wondering if I should’ve gone more grunge. Being a gamer, she might be into guys who dress more Emo. Maybe I should’ve gone with a black sweatshirt and a beanie. Fuck. I’m worried I’m going to screw everything up.

Maybe I should ask around first and find out more about her before I go inside. I only get one chance to make a good first impression and I don’t want to fuck it up.

I snag another girl’s attention. “Excuse me, any chance you know a girl named Willow?” I wish I had a last name to give her, but my Kanturian princess has been evading me every step of the way. No picture. No name. No phone number. I’m just thankful she shared which school she went to before she found out I was a guy, because she probably would’ve bogarted that fact too.

“The Sputtering Carburetor?” the girl asks, looking confused. It’s like she doesn’t understand my question. And I certainly don’t understand her response.

“Willow?” I ask again. “She’s a senior. Do you know anyone by that name?”

“There’s only one Willow that I know of. Her name is Willow Carber. How come you’re looking for her?”

Carber… Carburetor… Is that some kind of nickname? It sounds like my girl had car troubles and now people don’t want to let her live it down.

“I’m supposed to pick up something from her,” I lie. “But the person who sent me forgot to give me her last name. Do you happen to know where I can find her?” I know where Willow told me she was going to be, but that doesn’t mean that’s the case.

She’s shaking her head. “I have no clue where that girl is. But you may want to try the sped hall. It’s that way.” She points down the left hallway. “Room 105.”

I’m going to check the library first, but if I don’t find Willow there, I’ll try that room.

“Thanks.”

I opt not to ask any further questions. I’m not getting the vibe this girl has anything nice to say about anyone, so I don’t need to know what she has to say about my girl. I walk past her, ignoring the fact that she was checking me out. That’s never going to happen. Snooty is not my type.

I enter the library, surprised to find it so packed. At my school, the library is like a graveyard at the end of the day. But here it seems like the place to be. No wonder the librarian needs help. I scan the room, looking for the one who told me she’d be putting books away. When I spot a girl pushing a cart down an aisle, the air rushes from my lungs. She takes a book from the cart, scans the shelf, then places it where it belongs.Please tell me that’s her. God, please let that be my girl.

I turn to the girl sitting at the table closest to me. “Is that Willow Carber?” I whisper, not for the sake of trying to be quiet in the library, but I’m struggling to speak.

“Yes.” The girl nods, and I feel like I may need to take the seat next to her.

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but the girl I’m looking at doesn’t even come close to what I’d envisioned. I thought Willow would be on the nerdier side. Dressed in dark, baggy clothes, brown hair that was a little stringy because she spends so much time in front of her computer screen gaming and doesn’t have time to wash it. I was picturing the typical male gamer but in female form. But that is definitely not the case.

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