“I’m leaving right now, I should be there any minute.”
“I’m going to meet you in the lobby with your duffel bag. You’re going to take a phone call outside and then come back in like you’ve been here the whole time. Don’t question me, just do it.”
I was never going to live this down with her. “Understood.” I hung up with her, bouncing on my heels as I tried to keep calm.
“Sorry about last night,” Zach said quietly. “I must’ve fallen asleep too.”
“It’s not your fault.”
The taxi pulled up.
“I’ll text you later?” I said to Zach.
He gave me a quick kiss. “I’m sorry, again.”
“Not your fault.”
The hotel that my team was at was only a couple of miles away, and I had the driver stop around the block so I could step out without being seen. As Jenica instructed, I pressed my phone to my ear as I walked into the lobby. Coach was standing there, along with a few team members.
“Okay, thanks, got it,” I said, faking a conversation. “I’ve got to go now though, okay? Bye.”
“Our infamous sleeper,” Coach said, with a laugh. “How long did you sleep yesterday, Katelyn? Like fifteen hours?”
Jenica raised an eyebrow at me.
I played along. “I was exhausted after the game.”
“We missed you at team dinner,” Marci said, with an all-knowing smile.
The team bus pulled up, and I hung back with Jenica as Coach loaded up.
“Do you know what I went through last night?” Jenica whispered.
“I left the shower running. I stuffed pillows under the comforter and took a picture for Coach. I brought back leftovers for your pillow stand-in. It was a very stressful evening and morning for me, Katelyn Jackson.”
“I’m sorry!” I whispered back. “I fell asleep in Zach’s hotel room.”
“Yeah, I figured that out after the eighth unanswered phone call.”
I held out my arms toward her. “Best friend hug?”
“Absolutely not. You owe me . . . I don’t even know how much you owe me yet. But it’s a lot.”
We loaded on the team bus, and Jenica gave me the silent treatment the entire drive to the fields. We had a team practice before dispersing for the next ten days—then we were heading to London and Paris.
The timeline had to work around the U.S. Women’s National Team schedule, which meant my sleeping schedule for the next month was completely screwed. Being in a different time zone every week wasn’t easy on the body.
“So?” Jenica asked me, as we finished warm-ups. “Were all my efforts in vain?” she demanded. “Are you and the Matthews brother an item?”
“We lay around, kissed a lot, and cuddled.”
“Damn, that’s cute.”
“Am I forgiven?”
She groaned, letting her head fall back. “Forgiven. Just promise me you won’t ever put me through that again.”
I held out my pinky. “Promise.”
She locked pinkies with me. “And you still owe me.”
“Deal.”
I’d only been home for four days, and it was like a hurricane had come through my room. Clothes were strewn everywhere, laundry baskets piled on top of one another, and shoes were piled in the corner.
My bag was repacked for the next two weeks, ready to fly out to rejoin the Connor Jackson Live Tour. The boys had flown out this morning after our timing mix-up to play a show tonight in Orlando, and my mom and I were flying out tomorrow to meet them in Jacksonville.
It was total and complete chaos, but I found myself excited to get back to the tour. Excited to get back to Zach.
“It feels like you’re leaving all over again,” Jenica said. She’d made herself comfortable on my bed. We were both exhausted and sore after a full day of training.
“I know, but I’m coming right back. And then we’ll be doing some traveling, playing some soccer, and living our best life together.”
My phone buzzed, and Jenica got to it before me.
“It’s the boyfriend,” Jenica teased. “Wants to know if you’ll be there before the show tomorrow.”
I held out my hand. “Give me my phone.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll answer him for you.”
“I’d rather you didn’t.”
She handed me my phone back. “Too bad, I already did.”
most definitely. can’t wait to
see you snookums.
It didn’t even surprise me anymore. “I hate you so much.”
“That’s a fraction of my payback for what the two of you put me through with Coach. This, my friend, is only the beginning.”
My mom knocked on the door, peeking inside. “I’m ordering dinner, do you girls have a preference?”
“Pizza!” Jenica called out, before I had the chance to answer.
“Pizza is good by me. Thanks, Mom.”
She closed the door, and I sat down next to Jenica.
“One last round of Drama Llama before you leave me again?” she asked, picking up my remote.
“DL and pizza, the perfect night.”
JACKSONVILLE, FL
CHAPTER 20
My afternoon run quickly turned into a fight against the humidity.
It felt like I was sucking water into my lungs, sweat pouring down every inch of my body. The sun was sucking the life out of me, my face burning with the intensity of the heat.
Florida in the summer is hell on Earth.
I dragged myself up to my hotel room, contemplating the true necessity of a shower versus collapsing in a sweaty pile on the bed.
The need for a shower won out.
As I finished my cold shower, my phone went off, a FaceTime request from Zach. The phone call rang through as I quickly threw on a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt before immediately calling him back.
He answered backstage at the arena. “Are you in Jacksonville?”
“I took the worst run of my life, honestly almost died.”
“Never go outside in the afternoon in Florida,” Zach laughed.
“It’s a death wish.”
“A little late with the reminder.”
“Are you coming to the show?” Zach asked.
“My body has no idea what time zone we’re in right now. I’m going to keep it low-key tonight and try to go to sleep at a decent time to get myself back on track.”
As I was talking, I could see myself relaxing into the bed, my head resting on my pillow. I was much more tired than I’d originally thought.
“You’re going to fall asleep before we hang up,” Zach said, with a teasing smile.
“I’ve been traveling nonstop,” I whined. “I’m not made for this tour life. I miss my bed.”
“I’ll text you after the show. If you’re still awake you can come night swimming with us,” Zach said.
As much as I wanted to, I knew as soon as my eyes closed I would be out for the night. “I’ll try my best.”
“Get some rest. If nothing else, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Have a good show. I’ll be rooting for you in my sleep.” I blew him a kiss as he ended the call.
I plugged in my phone before pulling the comforter over me, closing my eyes.
It was only seven, but I needed a good, twelve-hour nap.
I woke up to the sound of voices, ones that sounded awfully close.
“Shouldn’t we make sure she’s alive?”
That sounded like Connor.
“Is she breathing? Can you see her chest moving?”
Connor again.
“Did you ever stop to consider maybe she’s tired?”
Definitely Zach.
I pried my eyes open to see Zach and Connor both leaning over me.
“She’s awake!” Connor exclaimed. “She’s alive!”
“Of course she’s alive,” Zach said. “Sorry, Kate.”
I reached up to rub my eyes, taking a moment to take in my surroundings. “What the
hell are you guys doing?”
“You’ve been asleep for, like, twelve hours,” Connor said. “I was worried.”
I flipped over my phone to see it was seven a.m. “Oh.”
“I figured you were probably exhausted,” Zach said. “And I’m guessing you don’t want to go to breakfast, since we woke you up.”
“But we have to get moving,” Connor added. “Tour buses are scheduled to leave in half an hour. We’ve got to drive to Atlanta for the show tonight.”
“How did you guys get in here?” I asked.
Connor flashed me a room key. “The rooms are under my name.”
I pulled the covers back up to my neck. “I absolutely do not want to get out of bed and go anywhere. But if you want to bring me breakfast, I won’t complain.”
Connor threw his hands up, looking at Zach. “That’s all you, bro.”
“Wow, thank you, oh-so-kind-and-considerate brother,” I said.
“You’ve got a boyfriend now, that’s what they’re good for.”
Connor walked out of the room, chuckling to himself.
We had never approached the boyfriend-girlfriend topic. And this wasn’t when I wanted to have the conversation, half-awake in my pajamas.
Zach was also clearly thrown off guard, silent as he stood next to my bed.
“We need to head to the buses,” Zach said. “I’ll grab breakfast and meet you there?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
I forced myself to get out of the comfort and warmth of my bed, my feet stepping onto the cold tile of the bathroom floor as I closed the door behind me. Brush my teeth. Run a hairbrush through my hair. Wash my face. How do people wake up next to their boyfriends in the morning? I’d always be so self-conscious about my morning breath and rat’s nest hair.
Leaving the hotel room, I made my way down to where the buses were parked. Zach was standing outside of my bus, his gaze on his phone. Hopefully the weird tension had passed. I took a sidled up next to him, glancing over at the text he was sending to Jesse.
“Where’s the food?”
“Jesse is grabbing fast food, he should be here any minute.”
“How is it that most of the time we’ve spent together so far involves food?”
“Because we’re two lazy people.”
“Very true.”
Zach answered a text before tucking his phone away in his pocket. Silence hung between us, and I realized that the awkward tension hadn’t passed. This was something we were going to have to address.
Luckily, Zach also came to that same conclusion. “I guess we should probably talk about the whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing and what that means?”
“Yeah, maybe.”
He ran his fingers through his hair, and I could feel the anxiety radiating from him. I’d thought that we were on the same page, both happy at the pace at which we were moving and open to whatever came next. But maybe that had been something I’d been inferring; maybe Zach was on a different wavelength.
“How public do you want to go with this?” Zach asked. “Being someone in the public eye, if I mention I have a girlfriend, it’ll blow up.”
Was I ready for all of that? I’d watched the fame consume Connor, watched it change him, whether he realized it or not. Everybody changes with fame.
“I’m not going to lie, I’m nervous,” I said. “I don’t really know how to be in the spotlight. That’s more Connor’s thing than mine.”
“Then we keep doing what we’re doing,” Zach said.
I felt torn. While I liked having Zach all to myself, I wanted to be able to scream from the rooftops that I, Katelyn Jackson, was falling head over heels for Zachary Matthews. I wanted to be able to tell people that he wrote a song for me, that he anxiously waited for me to realize for over a week before finally telling me himself. I wanted to be able to share our story.
“You’re being awfully quiet,” Zach said. “Let me in.”
“I like you, Zach.”
“That’s good, because I like you too.”
“And I want to be able to tell people that.”
“Like, publicly?”
“I don’t want to have to keep this a secret. I want everyone to know how taken you are.”
“How taken I am?” he said.
“That you and I are together and that you’re off the market and that I like you.”
“I’ll only do whatever you’re comfortable with.”
I leaned in, and he immediately did so, too, giving me a slow kiss. There was a sense of passion behind it, urgency almost. I tugged Zach’s shirt closer to me. He reached around my neck, and I rose up on my tiptoes, pressing myself into him.
This is the part of Zach I wanted all to myself. I didn’t want to have to keep our relationship secret, but I wanted to be able to keep a part of him for me. And it was going to be hard to find that line.
“Can you do me one favor?” I whispered.
Zach nodded, his forehead pressed against mine. “Of course.”
“Please break the news on Drama Llama.”
He threw his head back in laughter, his shoulders shaking.
“I’m not kidding!”
He looked back at me. “I know you’re not. And that’s what makes it so funny.”
“Can you?”
He reached up to wipe the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes. “Of course we can.”
ATLANTA, GA
CHAPTER 21
My mom was waiting for me in the hotel room once I got out of the shower. She was sitting on my bed, her iPad in hand as she flipped through her emails.
“Good morning,” I said.
She glanced up, flashing me a smile. “Good morning, hon. I wanted to catch you before you left.”
“I didn’t really plan on going anywhere,” I said, as I sat down next to her. “What’s up?”
She set down her iPad, angling herself to face me. “I noticed that you’ve been spending a lot of time with the young Zach boy.”
I already felt uncomfortable. “Yeah.”
“I need to remind you that you have to be safe,” she said.
Oh no. “We are not having the talk.”
“Don’t make any decisions that you’ll regret later,” Mom said,
“He’s a nice kid, but you’ve got soccer, and big dreams too.”
I quickly shook my head, my face immediately flushing red.
“Nope. Nothing like that. We’re not . . . nope.”
My mom reached out and placed her hand on my knee. “You know you can always come and talk to me, right? About anything?’
“Sure do, Mom. Absolutely.” I desperately tried to shut this down.
“Your father and I were discussing some boundaries,” she said.
“Some rules to make sure that you’re being safe and that we’re monitoring you as parents.”
It was bound to come sooner or later. My mom had been more than lenient in letting me spend all of my free time with Zach. “Like what?”
“A curfew of midnight, unless we discuss something else ahead of time. Absolutely no sleepovers, and if he’s over in a hotel room with you, then the door cannot be fully closed. Whenever you’re on his bus or in a hotel room, you need to text us and let us know where you are.”
Basically every rule I’ve broken up until now. “Understood.”
“We trust you, Katelyn. Don’t let us regret that.”
And a little dose of guilt to wrap up the conversation. “I won’t, Mom.”
She leaned in and kissed my forehead before standing up. “Are you coming down to the arena?”
I’d already gone on my morning run and done some ball skill work this morning. And it was only nine a.m.
“I might take a nap,” I said. “Maybe later?”
I pulled out my phone as she left, pulling up my social media.
skyline’s new song? zach matthews reveals that he wrote it for connor jackson’s sister
As I kept scrolling, the headlines kept p
ouring in.
lone wolf zach matthews rumored to be dating connor jackson’s sister
ross matthews tells all: the story of
zach and katelyn jackson
I searched for the Drama Llama story, and wasn’t disappointed by the headline.
hot & steamy: zach matthews gives us an inside look into his relationship with katelyn jackson. tonight at eight.
When Zach said he was going to break the news, he meant immediately.
My phone buzzed with a text from Zach, and I quickly opened it in surprise. It was way too early for Zach to be awake.
Drama Llama wants a live interview tonight with us during their show. You in?
My jaw dropped as I read the text. My favorite gossip show wanted to do an interview with me?
Of course I’m in!!!
Zach sent back a laughing emoji before FaceTiming me.
“You’re up early,” I answered.
“Very. I wanted to take advantage of the day with you.”
I raised an eyebrow in question.
“Atlanta is one of my favorite cities,” he said. “So I want to spend the day with you.”
My heart did a flip as I shared a smile with him. “You woke up early to spend the day with me?”
“I figured we could meet downstairs in thirty?” he suggested. “I’ll definitely need some coffee as our first stop.”
“Deal.”
Zach was already in the downstairs lobby. Contrary to his usual white T-shirt and sweatpants, he was wearing a short-sleeve, light blue button-up shirt and a pair of khaki shorts.
“You clean up well,” I said.
“We stepped out of our comfort zones today, I see.”
I stood up on my toes, giving him a good morning kiss. “What’s the plan for today?”
“The plan is to make you the ultimate Atlanta tourist.”
“First stop, Beans?”
“Absolutely. Caffeine is a must.”
Zach’s hand made his way into mine as we walked a few blocks to the nearest coffee shop.
“I like swinging hands with you,” I said, as I swung his arm all the way up into the air.
“And I like coffee,” he answered.
Along for the Ride Page 16