BACK		Opposite Do Attract

You can?t be kidding!? I scoffed at my coach who rolled his eyes.
?No, I?m not kidding. Come on Lauren. You know you and Maria are going to dominate the women?s doubles field. I feel you?ll bring more strength to the mixed doubles field.? My coach sighed and looked down at his clipboard.
I groaned in annoyance. ?And just who are you pairing me up with??
?Apparently your new partner is supposed to be one of the top-ranked junior badminton players on this side of Ireland,? My coach beamed. ?You guys actually play in almost an hour.?
?Yeah fine. Whatever you say.? I picked up my badminton racket and headed to the bleachers to find Maria.

?What happened Lauren?? Maria asked me when she saw the look on my face. ?What did Coach MacDonald tell you??
?We can?t play together this tournament. Coach says basically we?re too good for a team.? I explained to her.
?Is that supposed to be a good thing?? Maria exhaled and tapped her own badminton racket against the wooden seats of the bleachers.
?I know what you mean. I looked at his clipboard and I saw the name of my new partner.? I sat down next to her.
?Who is it?? Maria looked up from her racket.
?Some guy named Mark Feehily. I can?t pronounce his last name correctly,? I told Maria whose face turned white. ?Isn?t it Fee-Hill-Ee, or Feeling or whatever?? I shook my head.
?No way! That guy is awesome! I heard he was undefeated the last two years running!? Maria gasped and clutched her heart. ?And he?s really good-looking too! Tall and dark.? She sighed softly.
I rolled my eyes. ?Never heard of him.?
?Well, you?re from the States. Everyone in this whole country knows who he is.? Maria spoke softly.
?I?d rather play with you. At least we?ve practiced. Coach tells me all of sudden that I?m playing my first match in an hour with some guy I don?t even know at all,? I said quickly since I got tired of talking about this Mark Feehily. ?I?m going to warm up. Do you want to hit birdies outside the gym??

***** An hour later *****

?Lauren! Come here!? My coach peeked into the hallway where Maria and I were practicing hitting the birdie back and forth. ?You?ve got to warm up on the court now!?
I tossed the birdie to Maria. ?Wish me luck.?

?Lauren, meet your new partner Mark.? My coach introduced me to a tall dark-haired boy already stretching on the badminton court. Maria was right about his looks, he was good-looking all right.
Trying to be polite, although I was still irritated at my coach for the unexpected change in plans, I reached out my hand for Mark to shake. ?Nice to meet you.?
Mark got up from stretching his legs. ?Yeah whatever.? He sighed and turned away from me.
?Nice to see you?re in a good mood.? I shot back at him, annoyed at his arrogant behaviour.
?I?ll be in a good mood when we win this thing.? Mark retorted and sipped his bottle of Evian.
I turned around to my coach to find him with his shoulders high up in the air, as if he didn?t know what to do.
?Listen you jerk, I don?t want to play with you. I?m only doing this for my coach and for his club. So you better cut the Hollywood act.? I seethed at Mark who only laughed.
?Look missy, I don?t care who you are as long as you listen to what I have to say during this match-up,? Mark put down his water bottle. ?Since it seems I?m the more experienced one, I think you?ll need to let me take as many chances as there are.?
I was dumbfounded at what I was hearing. ?Over my dead body.? I muttered and took my spot in front of Mark.

During the whole match, Mark totally hogged the birdie, even when it was on my side.
?What do you think you?re doing?? I hissed to Mark after we won the first set.
?My job.? He smirked at me.
I could have sworn I was going to hit him across the face with my badminton racket, not even caring he was my partner or the best junior player in Ireland.
?Go to hell.? I cursed at him and bent down to take my position at the start of the second set.
Then the unthinkable happened. He had whacked his racket across my butt.
?What the hell?? I turned around and saw him with an evil grin across his face. I grabbed Mark?s cotton shirt by the collar. ?Don?t you ever dare touch me or I?ll kick your ass all the way back to where you live.?
Mark only laughed. ?Ooh?. That?s your tough American attitude huh? I?d like to see you try and kick my ass.?
I noticed that the whole gym was staring at us. I smiled at the crowd and released Mark?s shirts from my grips.

***** After the match *****

?Oh my God Maria. I hate him so much. He?s so arrogant and ugh!? I vented to Maria outside in the parking lot. Mark and I had won our first match-up in two sets, mostly by him.
Maria laughed. ?I can?t believe he hit your bum. That was so funny!? she giggled and nibbled on her Snickers bar.
I shot a look at her and she stopped laughing.
?But of course, it was totally uncalled for Lauren.?
I sighed. ?At least our next match is tomorrow instead of later this afternoon.?
?You know, you guys would make an interesting couple.? Maria added as she noticed me thinking.
I blushed fervently. ?God no! When hell freezes over!?
Maria laughed. ?Oh gosh Lauren, you like him don?t you?? she teased me when she saw I had turned tomato red.
I turned away from her. ?No I don?t. What is there to like about him besides the fact that he likes to spank my own ass.? I said sarcastically.
?Whatever you say. I still think you have the hots for him.? Maria stood her ground.

Suddenly, I heard laughing behind us. Maria and I turned around to find Mark twirling his badminton racket.
?So Lauren, I hear you have the hots for me. Am I correct?? he cocked his eyebrows and sat next to us.
?Go away. We don?t need a jerk like you talking to us.? I said bitterly and avoided his tempting blue eyes.
?Testy, testy huh?? Mark pretended to touch me and made a sizzling sound.
?Mark, now is not the time.? I growled and stood up.
Mark stood up too. ?I actually was looking for you so I could talk to you about our next match tomorrow.?
I stared at him. ?What about it??
?You know, we need to work on some skills. Oh, my mistake. You need to work on some skills, so I?m offering to teach you some basic moves that way you can do much better tomorrow.? Mark said.
That was the last straw. I couldn?t take it anymore. I raised my left fist and planted it in Mark?s eye. ?Take that you jerk!? I yelled at him and walked away to leave Mark holding his bruised right eye.

***** Early next morning *****

I inhaled the cool air of the gym the next morning. It was pretty early and I decided to warm up myself against the wall. I couldn?t stop thinking about how I punched Mark in the face.
?Don?t feel bad. He totally deserved it.? I reminded myself. But the thought of him having a black eye sent my stomach into turmoil.
As I hit the birdie against the wall, I pretended it was Mark?s head.
?You?re such a loser!? I said as I volleyed. ?I hate you.? ?You?re too tall!? ?You have ugly legs.?

?I didn?t realize I had ugly legs.? I heard Mark?s voice from behind me.
I spun around in embarrassment. ?How much did you hear??
Mark chuckled. ?Enough to see that I?m not exactly your favourite person in the world,? He touched his black eye tenderly and grimaced in pain. ?I think I already knew from this shiner you gave me.?
?Well, I couldn?t help myself. It was too tempting.? I said in a sarcastic tone.
Mark took his badminton racket out of his duffel bag. ?Up for an one-on-one with me??
I thought about it. I knew Mark was exceptionally good at singles but I couldn?t stand the thought of losing to him.
?Why not?? I walked to one side of the next and he walked to the other.
?You serve first. I?ll let you have the birdie first.? Mark threw the birdie over the net to my side.
?Oh thank you for letting me know that you don?t think I?m as good as you.? I picked up the birdie and served an ace.
?I only let you get that you know?? Mark blushed as he missed my ace.
I laughed. ?Sure Mark. What next? You?re going to let me win?? I mocked.

Eventually, Mark did win by a score of 15-9. As we were about to shake hands underneath the net, I saw his gorgeous blue eyes look into my own eyes with this sincere stare.
As he shook my hand softly, he leaned forward and whispered through the net, ?Black eye or not, you have a nice ass you know??
I exhaled anxiously as he spoke quietly.
?Oh my God,? I thought. ?I can?t be liking him!? I tried to not to smile as he released my hand.
?I?ll see you this afternoon Lauren.? Mark smiled at me and left.

***** A party later that night at the badminton club *****

?Congratulations on your victory Lauren.? My coach raised his glass to me as he walked around the lounge room where the party was held.
?Thanks.? I replied and continued to talk to Maria.
?I knew it. You liked him!? Maria exclaimed after I told her what Mark had said to me earlier.
?Well?. I just think he could be a much nicer person and I would like him more.? I tried to cover my feelings up.
?I?m sure he is. Maybe it?s all the attention that?s getting to his head.? Maria suggested.
?Probably. I kind of regret giving him that black eye. I mean, he had trouble focusing on the birdie the whole match!? I drank my punch.
Maria drank her punch too. ?Oh Lauren, don?t worry about that. Mark knew he had that coming to him. I?m sure it?s all forgotten.?
A blonde-haired guy who played on the Boys? Doubles team came up to us and spoke to Maria, ?Would you like to dance with me??
?I?d like that.? Maria smiled and handed her glass of punch to me. ?See ya later Lauren.
The music was playing softly and Jessica Simpson?s ?I Wanna Love You Forever? started to play. It seemed like I was the only odd person out while the whole badminton club was either dancing or behind the building having a smoke.
I felt someone tap my shoulder and I turned around to find out it was Mark. He looked so good. Instead of wearing a white cotton polo shirt and navy shorts, he was wearing a black blouse and black pants.
?Would you like to dance with a complete asshole who has a incredibly painful black eye?? He looked down at me with a mischievous smile.
I hesitated for a second. ?Should I really dance with him?? I asked myself silently.
?I promise I won?t touch your ass again.? Mark chuckled and held out his hand, palm side up.
I finally took it and he led me to the center of the dance floor and placed his hands on my waist. I put my arms around his neck and I heard him whisper into my ear, ?We do really make a good team don?t we??
I looked up at him. ?Only if you actually shared the birdie Mark.?
Mark smiled. ?Yeah, I?ll remember to do that.?
He pulled me closer again and I felt his warm irregular breath on my neck. My knees felt as if they were going to give out the second I felt his face brush against my cheek.

??My mind fails to understand
What my heart tells me to do
And I?d give up all I have just to be with you
And that would do
I?ve always been taught to win
And I never thought I?d fail
Be at the mercy of a man I?ve never been, no
Now I only want to be right where you are??

I felt Mark brush his fingers slightly by my brown hair. As soon as I looked up, his striking blue eyes were locked into my gaze. From that moment, he leaned down to kiss me gingerly on my lips. It was soft ? soft as butterfly kisses.
?For someone who packs a hard punch, I really like you Lauren.? He whispered to me as the song ended.
I blushed. ?Who ever said that opposites don?t attract. I think we put a new meaning to that statement.?

~ Le Fin ~

~ Lyric Excerpt ~ I Wanna Love You Forever ~ Jessica Simpson