Crud.
Lisa grinned and kicked it back to me. “Again.”
I tried again.
She stole it again.
And again.
I wiped the back of my hand across my forehead and glanced over my shoulder. Coach Young was watching us. Come on, Trisha.
I lined up again, drew deep on what Graham and I’d been working on, and went for it. I made it fifteen feet, before Lisa stole it for the fourth time.
Crud.
I looked up just in time to see Sara kick a goal, her varsity defender grimacing as she picked herself up off the turf.
Great. Just great.
As Coach Merrill and Coach Young disappeared into the gym behind the last of the girls, I plunked myself down on the field and dropped my head between my knees. I was beat and completely frustrated. I’d been totally hosed by Lisa the entire practice, and I knew it. I was sunk.
Sara was bouncing all over the place, fired up after her great performance. “You weren’t that bad.”
I lifted my head to look at her.
She gave me a sheepish smile. “You’ll do better next time, at least. You still have next Friday.”
Beth sat next to me and put her arm around my shoulder. “And even if you don’t do better and don’t make the team, you can hang out with me on JV. That’s not so bad.”
I let out a deep breath. “I love hanging out with you, but I want to make varsity.” I wanted it even more after practicing with the varsity team today and seeing their intensity, but it seemed so much further away now. Like, out of reach. Totally.
“What’s the big deal with varsity, anyway?” Sara grabbed her shirt and rubbed the hem of it under her eyes, wiping off her smeared mascara. “I mean, either way, it’s still soccer.”
I frowned at her. “You’re kidding, right? They’re totally different.”
Sara dropped her shirt back down and started running her fingers through her hair, trying to untangle her dark curls. “Yeah, because varsity practices later and if we make varsity, we’ll miss out on time at Pop’s.”
“Really?” Beth sat up. “You’ll stop going? But what about Ross…and Kirk?”
“Well, I was actually thinking about that, you know?” Sara sat down in front of us and crossed her legs. “I mean, the whole point of doing soccer is to hang out, so if the three of us get split between two teams, then where’s the fun?” Sara leaned forward, her gaze pinned to my face. “I was actually kind of thinking that maybe we should both drop out, since Beth’s not going for varsity. What do you think?”
I was too surprised to answer. Drop out of contention for varsity so I could be social?
She grinned, a twinkle in her eye I hadn’t seen before, winking at Beth. “I saw Kirk earlier today. He said he and Ross are going to Pop’s tonight at six to study for the history test tomorrow. You want to go?”
Beth’s face turned red. “Maybe. Trisha? You coming?”
I stared at them in disbelief. “Are you guys serious? You’re worried about hanging out with Kirk and Ross instead of soccer?”
“Face it, Trisha,” Beth said. “You’re not going to make varsity. Those girls are so good.”
I clenched my fists. “I can make it. I’ll just work harder.”
Sara rolled her eyes. “Trish, you have to mellow out about soccer. It’s just a game. Who really cares if you make varsity?”
“I do!” I stood up, unable to take their attitude anymore. How could they not understand how important this was? “I’m going to go practice with Graham. I’ll see you guys later.”
“But what about Pop’s tonight?”
“Can’t do it.” I grabbed a ball and left them in the field, too frustrated even to feel depressed about them going out without me. I mean, I didn’t want to lose them as friends, but I wanted varsity too. Why couldn’t they understand it?
Graham would understand…not that I was going to go complain to him. A guy wouldn’t get all upset over a bad practice, and I wasn’t about to go pathetic and girly on him. I’d seen him run away from Ashley, and there was no way I could take that kind of rejection today.
He was already on the field when I got there. He’d set up a bunch of cones all over the place in front of the goal. He smiled when he saw me. “We’re practicing at this end today. Cool?”
“Yeah. Great.” I dropped my ball at my feet and sighed. Did I really have what it took to make varsity, or was I kidding myself? Was I wasting my time? I mean…I suddenly became aware of Graham waving his hand slowly in front of my face. “What?”
He chuckled. “You were totally spacing out. What’s up?”
I bit my lower lip to keep myself from blurting it out. I would not become a high-maintenance chick. I was going to be like a guy. Cool.
His left eyebrow cocked. “Trisha? What’s wrong?”
I studied his face for a second, but he didn’t turn away or start doing his hackey sack thing. He was actually waiting for me to answer him. Maybe I should. He would get it. “Can I ask you something?”
He nodded.
“Do you think I really have a chance to make varsity? I mean, we had to practice with them today and they were so much better. This one girl kicked my butt all over the field.” All my frustration returned and I couldn’t stop myself. “And my stupid friends think it’s not a big deal if I don’t make varsity, and it’s driving me crazy!” He opened his mouth to answer, and I smacked my hand over his lips. “Tell me the truth. I need to know. Am I wasting my time with this varsity thing? Tell me the truth or I’ll sic Ashley on you, I swear I will!” His skin was warm under my hand, and it sort of distracted me from how upset I was making myself. I cleared my throat. “Do you promise to tell me the truth?”
At his nod, I moved my hand away. He was smiling again, almost laughing. I scowled. “What’s so funny?”
“You.”
I set my hand on my hips. “Why?”
“Because you’re all insecure and I didn’t think you ever got that way.”
Oh, great. Now he was going to blow me off. Too wimpy. Too girly. Too annoying. “I’m not insecure,” I snapped.
He simply cocked his head and looked at me. “Honestly, I think a lot of the varsity girls are better than you….” He caught my arm as I started to turn away. “But that’s to be expected. There aren’t any freshmen on the team, are there?”
I eyed him. “No. Not unless some of us get moved up next week.”
He nodded. “See? So, of course, they’re going to be better than you right now. But that’s not the issue. The question is whether you’re one of the top two JV girls, right? Because two girls are moving up, right?”
“I guess so.”
“So, that’s all you need to think about. Once you make varsity, you have the rest of the season to catch up to the other varsity girls.”
I pursed my lips while I considered his comment. “I guess…” He did have a point. I could be top two on JV, couldn’t I?
He slung his arm around my shoulder and messed up my hair. “Trisha, relax. You’re a great player and we have almost two weeks to train.”
I froze at the feeling of his arm around me. My shoulder was pressed up against his side, and his whole body was warm against me, and my stomach did a little flip-flop. This wasn’t how it felt when Beth or Sara put an arm around me.
This was different.
He started walking toward the cones he’d set up, keeping his arm around my shoulders. Why was he doing that? Had he suddenly decided he liked me? That would be bad. I didn’t like guys like that. Not even Graham, who Sara and Beth thought was so hot. Was he hot? Were they right? I mean, he wasn’t ugly for sure…but hot?
He dropped his arm, and I sighed with relief. Yeah, relief. But then he put his hands on my shoulders and turned me to face him. Um, hello? Total eye contact. Was this the moment? Was he going to change our relationship and force me to run away from him?
“Trisha.”
I swallowed hard. “What?”
Varsity? That’s what this was about? Good. That’s what I wanted it to be about. Um, yeah.
“Trisha?”
“Varsity’s all I want.”
He nodded with satisfaction, like he totally heard me. Like he got me. Like I’d said what he wanted to hear. “You can make it. I know you can.”
I met his determined gaze and felt all the pressure and frustration fall away from me. “Yeah, I can.”
He grinned. “Then we better get to work, huh?”
“You’ll help?”
“Of course.”
Of course. A warm feeling settled in my belly. Graham did get me. Soccer was just as important to him as it was to me. We were a team, kinda. “I’ll owe you.”
“No sweat.” He turned away and headed toward the cones. “Practicing with you helps my game, you know?”
Of course that was why he was helping me. Because it helped his game. Made sense. That was how it should be. See? We were good. It was still just us, doing soccer.
I lifted my chin, realizing that I wasn’t feeling bummed out and frustrated about soccer anymore, thanks to Graham, and I jogged after him. “I’ll kick your butt today,” I announced.
He shot me a grin as he moved the cones. “You’re so going down, Perkins.”
“Not even!” I gave him a friendly hip check. “No mercy.”
His eyes glittered at me. “No mercy,” he agreed. Then he tossed me a ball. “You have to get through all the cones and then kick a goal. Timed, as usual.”
“Got it.” I took my ball and headed toward my end, not even bothering to get upset that he had a longer course than I did. He was better than I was, and that was okay. It didn’t bother him and it didn’t bother me. It simply gave me motivation to kick his butt so he had to make his course shorter.
I dropped the ball. “Ready?”
“Set.”
“Go!”
And then we were off. Adrenaline surged, my mind focused, and I charged forward, pretending Coach Young was watching me and I was going against Lisa with my varsity spot on the line. Around this cone, that one, to the end, and voilà! I slammed my ball into the upper right corner of the net a full half second before Graham’s ball did. It was by far the most I’d ever beat him, and I threw my arms up in victory.
I laughed at the disgruntled look on his face. “What can I say? You inspire me. Take a lap, buddy.”
He chuckled and smacked me lightly on the back of the head as he ran by. “I’m going to have to stop taking it easy on you.”
I laughed as I watched him take off. He’d been breathing hard after that run. I’d pushed him, and I’d beat him legit.
As I watched him jog around the field, I felt the tension from JV practice ease from my shoulders. Not only did Graham get me and help my soccer, but he hadn’t even cared when I’d sort of wigged out on him. He was good for me.
Then my smile faded as I realized I was watching his quads flex with each step. Watching the ripple of muscles under the skin.
I immediately cleared my throat and yanked my gaze off him, totally flustered as I hustled over to take a couple of his cones away. What was wrong with me? We were soccer partners. He didn’t like girls, and I didn’t like guys. That’s why we got along so well.
There would be no changing of the rules, even if I wanted to change them.
Which I didn’t.
Because if I did, soccer practice would be over. I’d seen how he ditched Ashley. There was no way I was giving him a reason to do the same to me. I needed him, at least until the tryouts.
Which meant we were soccer buddies only.
Which meant no more noticing his quads.
End. Of. Story.
5
It was almost dark when I walked out of the locker room after our practice session, after a quick shower. My hair was still wet, but why bother to dry it? I was just going home. Who was going to see it?
I jumped down the stairs, humming to myself as I hit the street.
“Wait up!”
I immediately stopped and turned around in time to see Graham jogging up behind me. His backpack was over one shoulder, and his gym bag over his other one. His hair was sticking up straight from the shower.
“What’s going on?” I shifted my weight and fiddled with the strap on my bag.
“Where are you headed?” He fell in next to me, and I started walking again.
“Home. You?”
“My sister’s picking me up at the ice-cream shop down the street. She’s going to be late today, so I figured I’d grab some food there and study ’til she gets here.”
“That’s on my way home. I walk right past there.” How often did he go there? Had I walked by him other times and not noticed? How weird would that be?
“You walk all the way home?” he asked.
I nodded. “It’s only a ten-minute walk. Works for me.”
“Cool.”
We fell silent, and I became aware of the sound of his sneakers crunching on the leaves, and I realized I was matching my steps to his. I immediately shifted my gait to a different tempo. “So, I liked that new one-on-one drill we did today.”
He caught my arm as I was about to cross the street, nodding at a car that was coming. “My brother plays college soccer and he told me about it. I asked him for some drills the other night.”
His hand was warm around my arm and I couldn’t stop myself from noticing.
The car passed, he dropped his hand, and headed across the street, still rambling on about soccer. I jogged after him to catch up, trying to focus on what he was talking about.
But all I could think of was the fact that Beth and Sara thought he was hot. And he’d been holding my arm.
He stopped suddenly and I almost ran into him. “So, we’re here. You going to stop for some ice cream or head home?”
“Ice cream,” I blurted. “I’m going to have some ice cream.”
He dropped his bags on the one open bench out front. It was crowded inside, mostly with families and little kids. All the tables were taken both inside and outside, and all that was left was the bench. There was music being piped out from under the green-and-white-striped awning, but I didn’t recognize it. Sounded like the kind of music my parents listened to. “I’ll get the ice cream. The guy behind the counter has a brother on the soccer team, and he lets us skip the line. What do you want?”
“Chocolate with Reese’s peanut butter cups would be awesome.”
He grinned. “No protests of how you’re on a diet and just want water?”
I snorted. “As if! You really think I’m that kind of girl? I’m totally offended.”
He batted me softly on the head. “Don’t worry, Trisha, you’re not like other girls. Why do you think I’m hanging with you and practicing with you? If you were like other girls and all into that kind of girl stuff and stalking me, I’d be gone. You’re like…a guy with highlights.”
A surge of warmth went through me. “Really? That’s so cool.” A guy with highlights had to be the highest compliment Graham offered. Guess I didn’t have to worry anymore about whether he liked me. Question answered. I felt so much better knowing he didn’t like me.
Really. I felt better. I was pretty sure of it.
“Swear,” he said. “Now, are you going to save my seat or what?”
I put my foot up on the bench as he stood up. “I’ll take out anyone who dares take your spot.”
“Thanks.” He gave me his cute little salute, then ducked inside the store.
I sighed and let my head flop against the wood, but my cell phone buzzed before I could get my thoughts in order. I jerked it out of my pocket, my heart skipping when I saw who it was. I flipped it open. “Dad?”
“Hey, hon. Sorry I missed our date last weekend.”
I picked at a loose paint chip on the bench. “No, that’s fine. Whatever.” It wasn’t like I’d expected him to be there. “Did you get my messages?”
>
Graham sat down next to me and handed me a ginormous chocolate-dipped waffle cone the size of my head. I grinned. “Thanks,” I mouthed.
He nodded and took a bite of his equally huge Oreo cookie cone.
“I didn’t listen to your messages,” my dad said. “I just saw you called so I called you back. Figured it was faster.”
I scowled. “I left those messages days ago.”
Graham watched me as he took another bite.
“Now, Trisha, don’t get all defensive on me. I’ve been busy and this is my first free moment. Why’d you call?”
I took a deep breath and told him about the varsity thing. By the end, I was all excited again. “So, anyway, the tryouts are next Friday. You think you can come?”
“I’d love to, hon. I’ll see if I have any meetings.”
My throat tightened. “I really want you to come.”
My dad sighed. “I know, hon, but you know it’s difficult for me to take time off work during the day.”
“Yeah, and you can’t take time off at night, either. When can you ever take time for me anymore? You move out of the house and it’s like you moved out of my life. Don’t you even care anymore?”
“Honey, I said I’ll try to make it, okay? I just can’t promise, you understand—”
Oh, I understood. “Forget it. Forget I asked. Bye, Dad.” I slammed my phone shut and shoved it in my pocket.
“Problem with the ’rental units?” Graham grabbed my ice cream, which I’d forgotten I was holding, as it tipped precariously to the side. He smiled and held up my waffle cone. “Ice cream solves all problems.”
I glared at it.
So he angled it and popped the end of it against my nose. “Sorry.”
I snickered and wiped the ice cream off. “You are not.”
“Sure I am. You better take it before I eat it.”
“Pig.” But I took the cone and took a bite. It was smooth and chocolaty and tasted awesome. I sighed and let the ice cream roll over my tongue. So what if my dad didn’t care enough to come?
Graham leaned back next to me, his shoulder against mine as we ate our ice cream.
The Boyfriend Game Page 4