Secret Girlfriend Read Online Free Page B

me
with a sigh, refocused on the important thing. Chris.
    He said he’d talk to me later. Did that mean at practice? After practice? Would we get something to eat, or maybe he’d
just drive me home? If he got stuck here with Coach again, maybe he’d call me.
    Plus, we’d had A
Moment.
    Even I, socially awkward though I was, had noticed and known
it for what it was. I could only wonder if he had.
    Doing a quick recap of the summer, I couldn’t remember a
time he’d called me. We mostly just texted. That was
easier anyway since tracking him down would have been really hard with how much
he had going on. If he wasn’t home, he’d be out with people and we wouldn’t be
able to talk even if I did reach him.
    He was right. It was totally worth being stats girl to get
to see him every day at practice. I’d probably get to ride on the bus with him
to games, too. That would rock— understatement .
    Giggles traveled down the hall and past the door. Thank
goodness there was a girls’ room as well as their locker room. I don’t know how
I’d deal with all the cheerleaders. I mean, if hairspray can destroy the ozone
layer, what the heck did they think it was doing to their lungs? Or their brains? That explained a lot though. Not that
they’d notice me, anyway. I seemed to be even more invisible to cute girls than
cute guys.
    Checking my watch, I headed to the field knowing I’d beat
Coach Sarche , but wanting to be early after the
take-this-seriously talk he’d given me last night. I set up my attendance
sheets and dropped onto the grass to stretch my legs. Getting up the three
hills to the school a second time had made a harder workout day than I
expected.
    “Hey.”
    Alright, not only was he everywhere, but he also only knew
one way to start a conversation.
    “Hey,” I answered as my gaze slid past Luke Parker to where
Chris came up behind him.
    “Parker, you always early?” Chris
asked.
    “I like to get the lay of the land. See how things are.”
Luke’s words answered the question, but his eyes turned back toward me. “And how they aren’t.”
    Chris stepped to my other side, forcing me to look up at them
both. “Yeah, well, things aren’t always how they seem. Like, walking on for a
tryout doesn’t give you the spot you’re counting on. On the
field or in the school.”
    Oh! Was he threatening the new kid over me? I mean, more
than just literally standing over me–over me?
    “I hear the spots go to the best player. And the school
sounds like it pretty much does the same thing.” That lopsided grin hitched up
on the right. “Are you warning me off? A little worried you aren’t the best?”
    “I’m not worried. I know who Coach’ll make captain.” Chris reached past me to pat Luke on the shoulder. “I get the
whole “make a name for yourself ” thing. But make your
own name. You can’t have mine.”
    Chris’s pat turned into a light shove before he pivoted and
strode away.
    Luke’s gaze dropped to me and it seemed for once he had
nothing to say. He just stood there looking like there were words he didn’t
know but if he thought hard enough he could figure them out.
    And that’s when I began to panic. If he really saw things
other people couldn’t, maybe he knew I was Chris’s secret girlfriend. He could
use this for some evil-new-kid-plan and ruin everything.
    “I don’t know what you’re thinking—why you look so serious,”
I said. “But I do know you need to stay out of his way and out of my business.”
    For the first time that day, when I stood and walked away,
he let me go.

 
    # # #
     
    The first raindrop hit as the sun slid behind the tree line.
By the time we reached the covered walkway to the gym, it was coming down as
only a hot August rain could, the drops hitting the ground and evaporating with
a hiss. Inside, the guys headed toward the locker room, pulling wet shirts over
their heads as they went.
    Rachel totally would have loved that… a slow,