Ryan Hunter

Chapter 1
     
    I’D HAD MY fair share of girls in high school, that wasn’t a secret. But I had never really been in love. Well, not with one of the ones I’d had, anyway.
    And still, there was her . She climbed out of Mitchell’s car, tossed her long brown hair over her shoulder, and adjusted the pink tee that was a snug fit and accentuated all the good stuff. The bright morning sun blinded her, and she squeezed her eyes to thin slits, which made the corners of her sweet mouth move up into something similar to her beautiful smile. And as always when my gaze got stuck on Liza Matthews, I felt something slithery in my chest move into place.
    She didn’t look my way. Never had. And why would she? Her universe was rotating around my soccer buddy, Tony Mitchell. As long as I had known Tony, he’d always come in a double pack. He and Liza were what some people at school called M&M. I hated that term. Hated how she stood on her tiptoes now and slung her arms round his neck. Hated how—
    Dammit! Was she going to kiss him? My stomach hardened in a way that made me want to claw those damn muscles apart. But damn, I was a man. I wouldn’t give away how tense I was. Or so I thought as I stood stiff as an ironing board and failed to tear my gaze away from the two of them.
    They had never kissed. She was in love with him, and I would bet my Need for Speed collection that he loved her back in a very odd, very secret way. But they Had. Never. Kissed. And that was good, because if they had, I might have gone over there now and rearranged my soccer buddy’s face so that not even his family would recognize him afterward.
    “ Relax, bro. It’s just a peck on the cheek.”
    I turned to Justin, who’d sneaked up on me and slapped my shoulder, and I let out the familiar breath that I held every time Liza got too close to Mitchell.
    “Yeah, it better be. I’d hate to go murder on a good friend today.” I grinned at Justin and did the ghetto handshake we’d been doing since we were out of primary school and became the cool kids who roamed the corridors of Grover Beach High.
    Justin Andrews wasn’t a member of the Bay Sharks, the school’s soccer team, which I happened to be the captain of. He’d never cared for soccer but was actually a pro on his BMX bike. What he could do was amazing, but only for people who had a serious death wish. Jumping from bridges with his bike or balancing on picket fences earned him bruised bones and awesome black eyes nearly every weekend. Today he’d come to see his little brother off, who was only one year younger than us and actually played soccer on my team.
    Justin jerked his chin to my left. “Are you going over there to say goodbye to the girl?”
    “Why would I do that? We didn’t even make it to the Hello yet.”
    “Dude, if they haven’t become a couple in ten years, they probably never will be. It’s about time to let her know about the other fish in the sea that’s trying to get a bite of her.” He scratched his chin. “If you won’t do it, maybe I will. After all, you and that Mitchell guy are gone at soccer camp for five weeks.”
    I slung a chummy arm around his neck, pressing a little harder than necessary. In fact, if I’d been any less gentle, the boy would have been blue in the face in a minute. “You can try, dude. But you know that not even the FBI would find your body then.”
    He punched me in the ribs so I let him go. But we were laughing so hard that some of the guys and their parents turned their heads our way. We didn’t give a damn about them but bickered some more, until I heard a familiar voice shout my name.
    My sister came over and caught me in a hug that was impossible to evade. “I have to go. Phil’s waiting. Be careful, baby brother.”
    “Yeah, sure.” I tried to fend her off when she kissed my cheek. This was okay at home or anywhere people didn’t know me. But in front of my soccer buddies this was just unacceptable. “Go away, Rach. And take care of Mom and Dad while I’m gone.”
    “I’m pretty sure they’re old enough to take care of themselves, but I’ll drop by for dinner sometimes if they feel alone or miss their pretty baby.” She laughed and ruffled my hair. Then she headed back to the parking lot near the train station.
    Some of the kids had already boarded the train and were waving goodbye from the open windows. As I picked up my duffle bag and walked toward my coach, I caught a glimpse of the last thing I wanted to see