Ryan Hunter

Liza.”
    Ah heck, no! Don’t talk to me about her. Giving another guy good advice on how to make it right with the girl I wanted was ranking seriously low on my wish-to-do list. And here I was still biting my lower lip and answering, “What can I do?”
    “I want her on the team.”
    I almost stopped walking. Okay, this was something I definitely wanted, too. “She said she’ll come to the tryouts tomorrow. That’s a start, isn’t it?”
    “Yes, she’ll come. But you haven’t seen her handle a soccer ball yet. If she could, I swear she’d rather touch it with chopsticks than with bare hands.”
    “That’s just because she hates you playing ball when you should spend time with her instead.” I winced. Why the hell did I say that?
    Tony was distracted with kicking a stone in front of him, so he didn’t notice my grimace. “Maybe. But she won’t stand a chance in the tryouts tomorrow.”
    Aha. He was worried about her failing. He shouldn’t be. Heck, I had been waiting too damn long for her to be on my team to care about her skills. Whatever Liza was going to do tomorrow, I’d make sure she’d be a member of the Grover Beach Bay Sharks at the end of the day.
    But then I started to wonder. “Why do you want her on the team, anyway?”
    We reached the playground where Rachel and I used to play every day when we were children, and while I took a seat on the swing, Mitchell sat on the slide, resting his elbows on his knees, staking me with a meaningful look. “You were right today. I’m kind of dating Cloey Summers.”
    Excuse me if I have to get up and do a stupid victory dance right now. I cleared my throat, kept my expression even, and said, “That’s cool.”
    “I just don’t know how to break it to Liz. She was pissed earlier because of a few things I did…or apparently didn’t do. I don’t want to hurt her, but I know it will be horrible for her if she finds out that I’m seeing another girl.”
    “Yep, you’re going to break the girl. That’s a given.” But don’t you worry, I’ll be there and make her feel better . “So having her on the team helps you how?”
    “Liz really hates Cloey. And that after only twenty minutes together. I’m hoping for them to get to know each other better. Maybe they’ll become friends.” Tony leaned back on the metal slide, crossed his hands behind his head, and gazed up at the already dark sky. “I don’t want to lose Liza just because I have a girlfriend now.”
    I didn’t know what to say other than, “Tough situation.” And it sure was for everyone. Did none of those jerks see that I was the wrong person to give relationship advice when it came to that girl? It would be so easy to talk Mitchell into something that would drive a wedge between him and Liza. But I liked Mitchell, and once again, I put my own needs aside and said what he needed to hear from a good friend.
    “Are you sure you’re doing the right thing, Mitchell? I mean, Liza Matthews is madly in love with you. Just the way every guy probably would wish for. She’s nice, she’s pretty, she’s cool, and she’s fun. That’s everything I always hear from you.” I heaved a deep sigh and swung a few times back and forth, seriously wishing I didn’t have to say this. “What in the world keeps you from hooking up with her?”
    Tony sat up again, legs crossed. “I don’t know.” He sounded every bit sincere. “You know how much I like her. But I just can’t see us being together in a way like I want to be with Cloey. Not that I don’t find Liza attractive, that’s not it. Heck, she’s probably the prettiest girl in town.”
    She damn sure was. I got more and more confused as he continued.
    “But I already know her. Like every little thing about her. She’s been my best friend since forever and I love to hang out with her. But Cloey…”
    Damn, there was this devoted sigh that had gotten many men before him into trouble.
    “She’s so different. She’s wild and tells me what she wants. It doesn’t even bother her that she’s a few months older than me and going to be a senior.”
    The chains of the swing rattled when I got to my feet and walked to a tree, leaning one shoulder against it, folding my arms over my chest. “You do realize that she might have said the same thing to all the other guys she was together with in the past? And by together with, I mean for a couple of weeks if we stretch it.”
    “She told me it’s different this time. That she