by Amber Garza
“Wow. You got here fast,” she quipped as I stepped into the water.
“Heard there was a hot chick in here.”
She glanced around. “Sorry to disappoint you, but it’s just me.”
I sank into the water next to her, and snaked my arm around her waist. “Hey, none of that. You’re the hottest chick I know.” Leaning over, I stole a kiss on her cheek, and she snuggled into me. It felt good to know that I could touch her and kiss her without her pulling away. We hadn’t really defined our relationship, and a part of me didn’t want to have that talk. I liked how everything happened organically with us, and I wanted that to continue. However, the thought of her dating anyone else killed me. I knew if I ever saw another guy with his hands on her, I’d pop a freaking fuse. Therefore, I had to know how she was feeling about us. “I had a good time last night.’
“Me too.” She rolled her head, staring up at me lazily.
Under the water, I fumbled around with my free arm and found her hand. Knotting our fingers, I ran my thumb over her palm. “I want to do it again.”
“Go to the club?”
“Go out with you,” I clarified. “I don’t care where.”
“I’d like that too.” She straightened, lifting her head.
I thought that would be enough, but it wasn’t. I had to know that she was mine. “Can I pick you up for school in the morning?’
“Don’t you have practice after school?”
I cocked an eyebrow. “You know my practice schedule?”
“Yeah, because I’m stalking you,” she said sarcastically. “Don’t look so excited. I have marching band practice on Monday nights, and sometimes I see the football team finishing up practice when I drive in.”
“Practice isn’t right after school. I have enough time to drop you at home first.”
“I don’t want you to go to all that trouble.” She wiped the dampness from her face with her free hand.
“I want to drive you, Chloe. It’s important to me.” I squeezed her hand.
“Okay.” A skeptical expression crossed her face, but she smoothed it out with an easy smile. “If it means that much to you, then you can pick me up.”
CHAPTER 18
Chloe
This morning I was on cloud nine.
Yesterday I was unsure of why Holden was so desperate to give me a ride to school today. But this morning as we walked onto the campus hand in hand, it became crystal clear. He wanted everyone to know we were together.
He was staking his claim.
Normally this type of male dominant behavior would irritate me. But Holden wasn’t controlling like that. I knew he didn’t mean it in that dog-peeing-to-mark-his-territory kind of way. No, he meant it in the sweetest way possible. In the same way that he had at the game, he was proving that he was proud of me. And that meant a lot.
However, my good mood crashed at lunchtime. No longer was I soaring above the clouds, all giddy and carefree. It was one thing to walk into school together and disperse at our lockers, it was quite another for me to merge with his group. When Holden and I were alone, I fit in with him perfectly. However, I wasn’t sure I fit in with his friends. And I wasn’t sure they wanted me to.
When Holden insisted I eat with him, I’d been excited. But now that I was at his table surrounded by the jocks and cheerleaders, I found my gaze slipping back to the band table with longing. So far Holden was the only person who’d paid any attention to me. It was like once I’d sat on this bench, I’d become invisible. Like I’d donned a magical cloak. Only I knew that wasn’t the case. And it sickened me.
Ryan was the worst. He hadn’t only ignored me, he’d also thrown me the occasional disgusted glance as if he couldn’t quite figure out what I was doing here. And honestly, I was starting to wonder the same thing.
An elbow jammed me in the back, and I flinched, scooting forward.
“Oops. I’m sorry,” A girl’s voice said apologetically over my shoulder.
Well, at least she could see me.
“It’s okay.” I glanced behind me, instantly recognizing the girl as one of the cheerleaders. She was the one who was glaring at me when Holden ushered me off the field last week. My stomach tightened.
“Oh, you’re the new girl, right?” She smiled kindly, and it threw me off guard.
I peered at Holden, but he was deep in conversation with Ryan and a guy named Sawyer. Sighing, I thrust my hand toward the girl. “Chloe.”
She shook my hand. “Bethany.” Her eyes flickered over to Holden. “So you and Holden, huh?”
Pressing my lips together, I nodded.
“Well, if you ever want someone to talk to you, I’m here. I know what it’s like to date Holden.” Bethany slid onto the bench beside me, the scent of vanilla drifting under my nose.
My insides coiled into knots. At the beginning of lunch I’d been hungry, but now I couldn’t eat a bite. I shoved my sandwich away. “You two used to date?” Bethany was everything I wasn’t - popular, gorgeous, blond, bubbly.
“Yeah, all last year.” She leaned in close, whispering as if we were best friends. “I feel terrible, but I broke his heart.” When she shrugged it didn’t seem like she felt terrible. “I fell in love with someone else. What are you gonna do? The heart wants what it wants.” She giggled. “Isn’t that a song? If not, it totally should be. Anyway, I think it’s great that he’s finally dating someone else. I was worried he’d never get over me. Especially after our talk last week in the halls. It was clear he’s still pretty tore up about the fact that I cheated.”
My head spun. He was talking to her last week? Did he want to get back together with her? And why did she seem so proud about the fact that she’d cheated on him? Everything about this conversation caused my insides to scream. All I wanted was to get off this bench and get the hell out of here.
“Hey, Beth. What’s going on?” Ryan stood directly behind me. “You making friends with band chick over here?”
“Ryan,” Holden’s voice rang out like a warning shot.
I held my breath.
“Don’t let Ryan get to you. He’s an ass to everyone,” Bethany muttered in my direction, wrinkling her nose. “Except for Holden. He’s good to Holden.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled, reaching toward the floor, trying to locate my backpack. It was clear that I didn’t belong here. I didn’t know Holden. Not the way the rest of them did. And I wasn’t sure I wanted to get to know him if it meant hanging out with these people. Snatching my backpack off the ground, I stood.
“You’re not leaving, are you?” Bethany asked sweetly but there was a flash in her eyes that told me this was exactly what she was hoping. It made me want to plant myself right down on the bench. But then I caught Ryan glaring in my direction and it propelled me forward. Sitting at this table was like swimming with sharks. And I was worried that if I stayed they’d rip me to shreds. Spinning around, I hurried away from them.
“Chloe,” Holden’s voice followed me.
Blowing out an exasperated breath, I turned.
“What’s going on?” Reaching out, he slid his hands up my arms. I shivered.
“I don’t fit in with your friends, Holden.”
His eyes darkened. “What did Bethany say to you?”
“Nothing. She was fine.”
“Was it Ryan?” His jaw clenched.
I shook my head.
“Cause he might be my best friend, but I’ll kick his ass if he’s mean to you.”
The last thing I wanted was for him to fight his best friend for me. Even if I didn’t get their friendship, I didn’t want to stand in the way of it. “I don’t know if this is going to work out. I’m sorry.”
“No.” His fingers closed around my arms, and he stepped closer. My heart hammered. “We have a connection, Chloe. Don’t you feel it?”
Head spinning, I nodded.
“Then you know we can’t walk away from it.”
“But…” My gaze slid over his shoulder, landing on hi
s table.
“Look at me.” I did what he said, his dark eyes swallowing me up. “I don’t care if no one else understands what’s going on between us. That doesn’t matter to me. What matters to me is what you think, okay?”
“Okay.”
“What do you think, Chloe?”
I swallowed, thinking. “I….I like you, Holden.”
“I like you too.”
“You’ve said that before.” I grinned.
“And I’ll keep saying it. I’ll say it as many times as I need to.” His hands slid up my arms and rested on my shoulders. “I want us to be together.”
“Are you asking me to go steady?” I chuckled, feeling like I was in one of those cheesy eighties movies.
“Whatever we have to call it for you to be all mine.” His fingers played with my hair. All my earlier doubts started to disappear until I caught Bethany staring at us. Was that why he was pushing this whole thing with me being all his? Was it because he’d been cheated on? “What are you thinking? Talk to me.”
“I don’t know. It’s all just happening so fast, I guess.”
“I’m sorry.” Disappointment flashed in his eyes. “I know I promised you we’d take things slow. I guess I just never liked anyone like this before.”
“Not even Bethany?” The words burst from my mouth, my conversation with her fresh in my mind.
He recoiled like he’d been slapped. “So she did say something to you. Let me guess, she told you how she cheated on me.”
“I’m so sorry,” I spoke gently, wishing I’d never brought her up at all. “I know it must have been hard on you.”
“Not in the way that you’re thinking.” Holden shook his head. “I mean, yeah, I was mad that she cheated on me. Of course. But it was more because my pride was injured. Not because I didn’t want to lose Beth.”
My stomach knotted at the use of her nickname. It showed familiarity, and for some reason that bothered me.
Holden continued, “The truth is that I was relieved when Beth and I broke up. I know that sounds awful, but we weren’t good for each other. She may have been the one to cheat on me, but I gave her plenty of reasons to. We both screwed up our relationship.” He stepped closer to me. “I wasn’t into her. Not the way I’m into you.”
I wanted to melt into him, but I needed to be sure. “But she said that you were trying to get her back last week.”
His face hardened. “She said that?”
Biting my lip, I nodded.
“She’s lying. She approached me last week. Not the other way around.” His hand reached out and touched my face. “Who are you gonna believe? Me or her?”
I didn’t even have to think about it. “You.”
He pressed his lips to my forehead, and I sighed deeply.
“Hey, wanna go sit with your friends?” He asked.
I drew back and stared up at him, confused. His arms fell away from my body.
“I’ll come with you.” He smiled, snatching up my hand.
“You don’t have to. You can go back and be with your friends.” I hated making him choose between us. That wasn’t the kind of person I was.
“I want to be with you. It doesn’t matter to me where that is.”
CHAPTER 19
Holden
The energy radiating through the stadium was contagious. It was so thick you could feel it like a tangible thing. As our team took to the field, my heart raced. We were playing our rival team tonight, and I wanted to win so bad I could hardly stand it. Victory was just within my reach, and it would be so sweet.
Ryan jogged beside me in his football gear, his expression unreadable. I expected him to be cocky tonight, but ever since he’d stepped into the locker room his demeanor had been off. Something had happened, and if I had to take a guess I would say he had a run-in with his dad before coming here. I knew better than to press him about it though, so I’d help him the only way I could.
“Ready to kick some ass?” I shouted through my helmet.
“Hell yeah.” Turning to me, he flashed a confident smile. “I’m gonna wipe the floor with Kade and his drones.”
I chuckled, slapping him on the back. Sawyer jogged up beside us.
“Hey, Riddles,” Ryan greeted him.
“Did you see the new guy?” Sawyer asked. “He’s huge.”
My chest tightened. The secret weapon Kade bragged about? I raised an eyebrow toward Ryan.
Ryan turned around, scouring the field. “Doesn’t matter. We can take all of those losers.”
I nodded, his confidence buoying me. No matter what happened, Ryan always had my back. There was nothing to worry about. My cleats crunched on the turf as I got in position. When my gaze lifted to the stands, I caught sight of Chloe standing near the fence wearing her marching band uniform. I threw her a smile and a wave, and was satisfied when she returned it. We’d been inseparable all week, but I felt like I could never get enough of her. Ryan had given me shit about it until I warned him to back off. Since then he’d avoided the subject. I knew we’d have to discuss it at some point, but I was in no hurry. Chloe and Ryan were like oil and water. They did not mix. I wasn’t sure they ever would. I wanted them to, but they were both so damned stubborn. But I figured once Ryan realized how serious I was about Chloe he’d come around. It’s like I said, he always had my back – on and off the field.
The game got off to a great start, and we picked up an early lead. I was feeling pretty good about it until Kade caught up to me.
“Don’t get too cocky, Drop ‘em.” He nudged me.
I moved away from him. “Want me to get you a pair of glasses so you can see the scoreboard?”
“Oh, I can read just fine, thanks.” Kade wore a smug smile. It was like he knew something I didn’t, and it made my stomach sour. I watched him as he jogged toward his teammates. When he reached them he said something, and a few of them glanced over at me. The sick grins on their faces confirmed my fears. Something was going down, and it wasn’t going to be good. A stone descended in my gut as I palmed the ball. The large guy that Sawyer had mentioned honed in on me, narrowing his eyes. Finding Ryan, I nodded my head toward the new guy, hoping he’d read my expression. He bobbed his head back as if he caught my meaning, and I prayed he had.
This time I didn’t throw it to Ryan. He was open and in a perfect position to catch the ball, but something kept me from doing that. Instead I threw it to Sawyer who thankfully, caught it and took off running, a trail of players in his wake. He was fast and he zipped in and out of them with ease. My lips curled upward watching him. Out of the corner of my eye, movement caught my attention. My head snapped toward it. The new, big guy was rushing toward me, and I was blinded by momentary confusion. What the hell? I didn’t have the ball. My heart sank. This wasn’t about the ball. It was about me.
Their plan was to take me out.
I’d never been seriously injured. Guys had tried to take me out, but had never been successful. And I sure as hell wasn’t going down this way. Not in my last high school season. And sure as hell not while playing this team.
Taking a deep breath, I moved out of the way, but the guy was still coming toward me. My insides coiled. He was a freaking tank. If he got me, he’d kill me. And I wasn’t sure if I could get away from him. He was on a mission and he seemed intent on his target. Also, he was freakishly fast for a big guy. At the moment that I thought his body would slam into mine, there was a flash of orange and black so fast it blurred past. There was a grunt and snap as the big guy fell on top of someone. Regaining my composure, I stared down at the ground in front of me. Ryan lie beneath the big guy, his face contorted in pain.
Shit.
After that everything seemed to happen in slow motion. A whistle blew out, a ref taking the field. When the big guy moved away, I knelt beside Ryan. He was grunting, his leg bent at a funny angle.
“You okay, Ry?”
He grinned, but it was clearly forced. “Never better.”
“Shit, man.
What the hell happened?” I glanced up to see our Coaches hurrying in our direction.
“Told you I’d have your back, man.” Ryan nudged my knee with his hand.
I nodded. It was why I put up with so much when it came to him. We’d always had each other’s backs. I could count on him in a way I’d never been able to count on anyone else. He may have been an ass most of the time, but he was always around when I needed him. Unlike my dad who had abandoned me. I’d never worried that Ryan would do that. Scrambling up off the ground, I moved out of the way when the Coaches attended to Ryan. Pretty soon, a stretcher was brought out and he was carried out of the stadium to the backdrop of cheers.
Running a hand over my head, I searched the field for Kade. When my gaze landed on him, I glared hard. This meant war. And I was out for blood.
CHAPTER 20
Chloe
I couldn’t take my eyes off of him.
The way he took command on the field was possibly the sexiest thing I’d ever seen in my life. I promised him I’d change into my uniform early and try to catch some of the game before the halftime show. But what he didn’t realize was that he never had to ask. I was planning to watch him no matter what. It was thrilling to see him in his element. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. When he threw the ball, I knew the rest of the spectators followed where it went. I could hear the shouts of cheer and encouragement to the guy who caught it. But my eyes never left Holden. I loved the way his muscles flexed when he threw. Loved the way he looked in his uniform.
The volume rose around me, but still I couldn’t tear my gaze away from Holden. As I watched him, his demeanor changed, his body tensing. I couldn’t really see his face through his helmet, but I could read his stance. Something was wrong. When I followed his stare I saw a humongous guy charging him. My pulse quickened. What was happening? I didn’t know much about football, but I was pretty sure the only guy that was supposed to get tackled was the guy with the ball. And Holden had released the ball already. Irrationally, I contemplated hollering that out. I imagined it would be something like, “No. He doesn’t have the ball. Go the other way!”
