Ryan Hunter

didn’t want to be in her shoes right now. But then, it had been hard enough to be in my shoes the past few years where she was concerned. Maybe things were finally playing out to my tune here, sad as it made me to see her so crushed.
    When she walked past me, I suddenly realized if I didn’t act now, I might not get another chance. The least I could do was try harder to make her come to the tryouts. Maybe if I could show her that soccer wasn’t all bad, she’d be on my team, and yeah, pretty clear visuals of how I’d get closer to her then already played out in my mind. In a mad lack of self-control, I almost reached out to grab her hand and make her stop. She couldn’t walk away from me just yet. But I pulled myself together and kept my fingers laced over my stomach when I asked her, “How about it, Matthews? Will you opt for the team or not?”
    She stopped dead and looked down at me, seriously surprised. “I—”
    “You shouldn’t tease her. She’s just not made for soccer,” Tony said, cutting her off. He tried to shove her on, away from me.
    Oh, how I wanted to kick his ass for that.
    I don’t know what really swayed her at that moment, whether it was just the wish to spend more time with Tony, or if it had to do with Cloey’s snortling laughter. But when she turned around to Mitchell and told him, “Know what? I think I’ll just give it a shot,” I had to really struggle to keep my anticipation and a stupid grin under control.
    Tony gave her a dubious look. “You’re shitting me.”
    Damn, she wouldn’t dare change her mind, would she? But her expression said What you gonna bet, buddy ? And it was obvious she’d bite his head off if he said just one more stupid word.
    “Cool, so you’re on the list.” Now I couldn’t help but smile, also because with her standing right in front of me, I could enjoy her beautiful view without seeming like a peeping tom. The little strap of bare skin flashing out between her tee and shorts was an illegal temptation. “We meet at ten on the field,” I murmured.
    “I’ll be there.”
    This held the seal of a promise. And I’d nail her to it.
    Once more, her delicious, long legs dragged my gaze down. I wanted to touch them— Lord, kill me now. I drank in every inch of her exposed skin, from her thighs over the little bruise on her left knee, to her bare feet in those light blue flip-flops. I swallowed, forcing my glance back up to her face. We looked at each other for a silent second, which gave me a strange feeling of goose bumps at the back of my neck, like she knew I was seizing her with my eyes—and like she enjoyed that. “Bring shoes,” I told her and winked in a way she’d probably never seen from me.
    Her lips parted very slightly. Just looking at them made me want to kiss her senseless. But I never got to hear the end of it, because Mitchell made her move.
    When they were gone, I caught Alex staring at me in, and it got on my nerves in the span of a millisecond. “What?” I mouthed at him.
    Alex smirked and shook his head, getting the same backup from Frederickson next to him. I flipped them the bird, covering the move by dragging my cap a little deeper still, so the others wouldn’t notice, but a grin sneaked to my lips, and I could do nothing to stop it.

Chapter 3
     
    DINNER WITH MOM was exhausting. She knocked a hole in my head with her questions, and I struggled to enjoy my sea food between talking to her and eating. Right then, I decided I really needed to call her more often when I was gone for a time.
    After dinner I got a text message from Mitchell asking me to meet him outside my house in twenty minutes. There was nothing else I had planned for the evening, so hanging out with him was cool. I asked him in when I opened the door a bit later, but he made a face and said he’d rather walk.
    Walk ? The guy, who came to my house three times a week to play video games and who inhaled tons of cheese crackers every time, who was the reason why my mom now kept a supply especially for him, shrugged my invitation off and just nodded in the direction of the old playground a few streets up. Something was off.
    I nodded and started walking alongside him, tucking my hands deep into my pockets. “What’s up, Mitchell?”
    It took him a few moments to answer. “I’m totally screwed, man.”
    I cocked a brow at him. Tony cut me a glance, but then he focused on the pavement again, dragging out a deep sigh. “I need your help with