Ryan Hunter

reason. I liked the song, mostly because it was the ring tone of Liza’s cell phone, and listening to it just reminded me of her.
    I tugged the white soccer shorts up over my hips, sat down on the corner of my bed, and tied my shoes. The cleats went into my backpack to wear later on the field. I grabbed a fresh jersey and pulled it over my head. Over the lamp on my desk hung my Indians cap. It was my favorite and the one I wore most of the time at school, but as I was about to put it on this morning, I looked at myself in the large mirror attached to the door. My hair was still wet from the shower and all over the place. I knew that this chaotic look usually made girls go stupid. It was worth a try with Liza. Back in the bathroom, I pressed a tiny bit of gel into my palm; just enough to fix the style without making it look sticky or coated.
    The car keys jingled in my hand as I headed downstairs. From the dining room drifted noise, and I guessed my mother was in there. “Mom!” I shouted over my shoulder, already late. “You got the text?”
    “Yes, darling!” she answered over the distance of the hall and kitchen between her and me. “Your dad and I got an invitation to Mary Fisher’s birthday celebration. We won’t be home tonight!”
    “Yesss,” I hissed and punched my fist in the air. Parties were so much better when I had the run of the house. “I’m off to training. See you later, Mom!”
    In our double garage, my Audi A3 was dwarfed by my dad’s Chrysler, but I couldn’t wait to get behind the wheel of my baby painted in shiny, nightfall silver. She had been a present from my parents for my eighteenth birthday, shortly before soccer camp. And with my own savings, I had turned the brand-new car into a real attention-catcher, with twenty-inch tires on specially designed aluminum rims, an epically mean looking front, and the body slammed to the ground. Two-hundred and forty hp let this lady race through the streets like a shark under water.
    When I climbed into the bucket seat and stroked over the curve of the wheel, I inhaled the scent of new leather and smirked. “Miss me, love?”
    The answer came when I pushed the start button and softly tipped on the gas pedal. The Audi gave a roar that would have made her big brothers go pale with envy. Damn, I loved the sound. The wide roll-up door opened at a push of a button on the small remote that was attached to my key ring. Sunlight streamed into the garage and blinded me. I grabbed my sunglasses that lay in the center console, shook them open with one hand, and put them on.
    The music boomed from the speakers on a level meant for going deaf as I left the garage and our drive to head down the road. In no time, the ride was over, because the soccer field was right next to our school, only two miles away from my house. On this Saturday morning, the parking lot was quite busy, which meant that more students had come to the tryouts than expected.
    From the floorboard on the passenger side, I grabbed my backpack and threw it over one shoulder. Locking the car, I headed for the grounds.
    There I spotted Torres, Frederickson, Sebastian Randall, and Alex. I had asked them to come help me sort through the girls today, kick ball with them, and judge their skills. Frederickson was our goalie, so he’d do what he always did. The rest of the crowd on the lawn was female. Since Tony wasn’t here yet, I didn’t even bother to look for Liza, because she wouldn’t come without him. I headed straight to the bench where about a million handbags and backpacks were parked, and one girl. While all the others did some stretching or chatting elsewhere, this one actually read a book.
    She wasn’t in any of my classes, nor had I been out with her, but I knew she had told me her name yesterday at Charlie’s. Damn, what was it again?
    I dumped my stuff next to her and said, “Hi.”
    She looked up from her book and took off her metal-rimmed glasses. “Hey.”
    “Good story?”
    “Fantastic.” Then she blushed an awful red and grimaced, probably because she just caught my subtle taunting. It was weird to go to soccer tryouts and then read a book. “I only have half a chapter left, and I just couldn’t stop.”
    I laughed. She was sweet, this one. “Go finish your chapter. I still need a few minutes to get everything ready, anyway.”
    She seemed totally happy at my words, put her glasses back on and her nose back into the book, which made me shake my head but smile