Ryan Hunter

by Piper Shelly

  The pink T-shirt she wore today was my favorite, because it fit her like a second skin. From beneath the collar, two neon green straps ran up and around her neck to tie in the back. A bikini I guessed, remembering the text message I’d read on Tony’s phone earlier. She was up for a swim. And as I looked at her pretty, naked legs, I decided a swim was just what I needed to cool off. I pulled my cap a little lower over my forehead, tearing my eyes off my personal sunshine, and cleared my throat that had gone from okay to dry as a bone within moments.

  They hadn’t even made it to my table when Cloey rose from her seat. “You’re late, Anthony. I almost thought you wouldn’t come.”

  I found it hilarious how she was the only person I knew who ever called him Anthony, but he seemed to like it, so what the heck. But when she walked toward Tony and kissed his left cheek, all the hilariousness was blown out of this situation, and I found myself holding my breath. Alex and Frederickson seemed as stunned as Liza and I obviously were. The scene went from bad to worse when Tony placed his hands on Cloey’s hips and let her kiss his other cheek as well.

  Right now I wished I had the guts to stand up and wrap Liza in a tender hug, and not for my personal pleasure, but because she looked like she had been run over by a bus and needed some comfort.

  “Mixed soccer teams, huh?” she growled at Mitchell then took a seat next to him, which also made her sit directly opposite Cloey.

  The least I could do was to tease her a little and cheer her up. “The tryouts are tomorrow, Matthews. I can put you on the list, if you’re interested.” She didn’t seem particularly happy about my joke, which wasn’t really a joke anyway, but an attempt to get her on a team where I could play with her twice a week and have a reason to touch her. But she sent a surprised look in my direction. Maybe because this was the most I had said to her in one breath in all the time I had known her. I’d always found it easier to resist her when I didn’t have to talk to her.

  “Liz and soccer?” Tony laughed. “You might as well try to get an elephant to dance the tango. Right, Liz?”

  Oh shit. Could he be anymore tactless? I’d never heard him talk to Liza in this mean way. When she turned her head to him, her eyes held a damn lot of hurt. But it seemed, I was the only one to notice.

  And then the unthinkable happened. Cloey opened her mouth, and I knew nothing nice would come out. “The elephant hits home.”

  There it was. Short, biting, and so Cloey-like. She definitely felt threatened by Liza, or she wouldn’t revert to bitchiness to carve out her territories with Tony. Somewhere in the back of my head, I was impressed. Cloey really looked like she felt a thing or two for this boy.

  And this boy just epically failed in the friend test. He didn’t say one word when Summers insulted Liza, and that, hooking up with Cloey or not, was totally intolerable. I wondered what Liza was going to do.

  “I tried puking up my meals in ninth grade, but then this seems to be more your thing than mine,” was her retort. And damn, it was a cool one. That girl wasn’t as shy and silent as she made everyone believe.

  I laughed, but apparently I was the only one who dared to. Everyone else was shocked into silence and tried to get out of their field of fire.

  “Did you just insult me?”

  Yes, Summers, she did! Of course, this was a first for my equivalent. She and I weren’t used to being bested by anyone. I was pretty sure that hurt her on a level she would never let on.

  Liza seemed more than relieved when Tony got a text message and asked her if she’d like to stay or walk back home with him. I’d never seen anyone knock back an almost full glass of soda as fast as Liza did while she rose from her chair. “Nope, I’m ready,” she told him.

  Tony shook his head at her, then he grimaced and shrugged in my direction.

  “See you tomorrow, Anthony,” Cloey called out after him.

  With her chin low and her gaze fixed on the ground, Liza gritted her teeth in a way that made me fear for her molars. I didn’t want to be in her shoes right now. But then, it had been hard enough to be in my shoes the past few years where she was concerned. Maybe things were finally playing out to my tune here, sad as it made me to see her so crushed.

  When she walked past me, I suddenly realized if I didn’t act now, I might not get another chance. The least I could do was try harder to make her come to the tryouts. Maybe if I could show her that soccer wasn’t all bad, she’d be on my team, and yeah, pretty clear visuals of how I’d get closer to her then already played out in my mind. In a mad lack of self-control, I almost reached out to grab her hand and make her stop. She couldn’t walk away from me just yet. But I pulled myself together and kept my fingers laced over my stomach when I asked her, “How about it, Matthews? Will you opt for the team or not?”

  She stopped dead and looked down at me, seriously surprised. “I—”

  “You shouldn’t tease her. She’s just not made for soccer,” Tony said, cutting her off. He tried to shove her on, away from me.

  Oh, how I wanted to kick his ass for that.

  I don’t know what really swayed her at that moment, whether it was just the wish to spend more time with Tony, or if it had to do with Cloey’s snortling laughter. But when she turned around to Mitchell and told him, “Know what? I think I’ll just give it a shot,” I had to really struggle to keep my anticipation and a stupid grin under control.

  Tony gave her a dubious look. “You’re shitting me.”

  Damn, she wouldn’t dare change her mind, would she? But her expression said What you gonna bet, buddy? And it was obvious she’d bite his head off if he said just one more stupid word.

  “Cool, so you’re on the list.” Now I couldn’t help but smile, also because with her standing right in front of me, I could enjoy her beautiful view without seeming like a peeping tom. The little strap of bare skin flashing out between her tee and shorts was an illegal temptation. “We meet at ten on the field,” I murmured.

  “I’ll be there.”

  This held the seal of a promise. And I’d nail her to it.

  Once more, her delicious, long legs dragged my gaze down. I wanted to touch them—Lord, kill me now. I drank in every inch of her exposed skin, from her thighs over the little bruise on her left knee, to her bare feet in those light blue flip-flops. I swallowed, forcing my glance back up to her face. We looked at each other for a silent second, which gave me a strange feeling of goose bumps at the back of my neck, like she knew I was seizing her with my eyes—and like she enjoyed that. “Bring shoes,” I told her and winked in a way she’d probably never seen from me.

  Her lips parted very slightly. Just looking at them made me want to kiss her senseless. But I never got to hear the end of it, because Mitchell made her move.

  When they were gone, I caught Alex staring at me in, and it got on my nerves in the span of a millisecond. “What?” I mouthed at him.

  Alex smirked and shook his head, getting the same backup from Frederickson next to him. I flipped them the bird, covering the move by dragging my cap a little deeper still, so the others wouldn’t notice, but a grin sneaked to my lips, and I could do nothing to stop it.

  Chapter 3

  DINNER WITH MOM was exhausting. She knocked a hole in my head with her questions, and I struggled to enjoy my sea food between talking to her and eating. Right then, I decided I really needed to call her more often when I was gone for a time.

  After dinner I got a text message from Mitchell asking me to meet him outside my house in twenty minutes. There was nothing else I had planned for the evening, so hanging out with him was cool. I asked him in when I opened the door a bit later, but he made a face and said he’d rather walk.

  Walk? The guy, who came to my house three times a week to play video games and who inhaled tons of cheese crackers every time, who was the reason why my mom now kept a supply especially for him, shrugged my invitation off and just nodded in the direction of the old playground a few streets up. Something was off.

  I nodde
d and started walking alongside him, tucking my hands deep into my pockets. “What’s up, Mitchell?”

  It took him a few moments to answer. “I’m totally screwed, man.”

  I cocked a brow at him. Tony cut me a glance, but then he focused on the pavement again, dragging out a deep sigh. “I need your help with Liza.”

  Ah heck, no! Don’t talk to me about her. Giving another guy good advice on how to make it right with the girl I wanted was ranking seriously low on my wish-to-do list. And here I was still biting my lower lip and answering, “What can I do?”

  “I want her on the team.”

  I almost stopped walking. Okay, this was something I definitely wanted, too. “She said she’ll come to the tryouts tomorrow. That’s a start, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, she’ll come. But you haven’t seen her handle a soccer ball yet. If she could, I swear she’d rather touch it with chopsticks than with bare hands.”

  “That’s just because she hates you playing ball when you should spend time with her instead.” I winced. Why the hell did I say that?

  Tony was distracted with kicking a stone in front of him, so he didn’t notice my grimace. “Maybe. But she won’t stand a chance in the tryouts tomorrow.”

  Aha. He was worried about her failing. He shouldn’t be. Heck, I had been waiting too damn long for her to be on my team to care about her skills. Whatever Liza was going to do tomorrow, I’d make sure she’d be a member of the Grover Beach Bay Sharks at the end of the day.

  But then I started to wonder. “Why do you want her on the team, anyway?”

  We reached the playground where Rachel and I used to play every day when we were children, and while I took a seat on the swing, Mitchell sat on the slide, resting his elbows on his knees, staking me with a meaningful look. “You were right today. I’m kind of dating Cloey Summers.”

  Excuse me if I have to get up and do a stupid victory dance right now. I cleared my throat, kept my expression even, and said, “That’s cool.”

  “I just don’t know how to break it to Liz. She was pissed earlier because of a few things I did…or apparently didn’t do. I don’t want to hurt her, but I know it will be horrible for her if she finds out that I’m seeing another girl.”

  “Yep, you’re going to break the girl. That’s a given.” But don’t you worry, I’ll be there and make her feel better. “So having her on the team helps you how?”

  “Liz really hates Cloey. And that after only twenty minutes together. I’m hoping for them to get to know each other better. Maybe they’ll become friends.” Tony leaned back on the metal slide, crossed his hands behind his head, and gazed up at the already dark sky. “I don’t want to lose Liza just because I have a girlfriend now.”

  I didn’t know what to say other than, “Tough situation.” And it sure was for everyone. Did none of those jerks see that I was the wrong person to give relationship advice when it came to that girl? It would be so easy to talk Mitchell into something that would drive a wedge between him and Liza. But I liked Mitchell, and once again, I put my own needs aside and said what he needed to hear from a good friend.

  “Are you sure you’re doing the right thing, Mitchell? I mean, Liza Matthews is madly in love with you. Just the way every guy probably would wish for. She’s nice, she’s pretty, she’s cool, and she’s fun. That’s everything I always hear from you.” I heaved a deep sigh and swung a few times back and forth, seriously wishing I didn’t have to say this. “What in the world keeps you from hooking up with her?”

  Tony sat up again, legs crossed. “I don’t know.” He sounded every bit sincere. “You know how much I like her. But I just can’t see us being together in a way like I want to be with Cloey. Not that I don’t find Liza attractive, that’s not it. Heck, she’s probably the prettiest girl in town.”

  She damn sure was. I got more and more confused as he continued.

  “But I already know her. Like every little thing about her. She’s been my best friend since forever and I love to hang out with her. But Cloey…”

  Damn, there was this devoted sigh that had gotten many men before him into trouble.

  “She’s so different. She’s wild and tells me what she wants. It doesn’t even bother her that she’s a few months older than me and going to be a senior.”

  The chains of the swing rattled when I got to my feet and walked to a tree, leaning one shoulder against it, folding my arms over my chest. “You do realize that she might have said the same thing to all the other guys she was together with in the past? And by together with, I mean for a couple of weeks if we stretch it.”

  “She told me it’s different this time. That she hasn’t felt this for any other guy before.”

  Hah! I wanted to laugh about that, but it was late and dark on the silent playground and would have made me sound like a mad serial killer. Besides, I wouldn’t laugh at a friend.

  “I think I want us to be official,” Tony confessed.

  I rubbed my hands over my face, feeling the need to drag Tony under a cold shower to open his eyes. “Look, I don’t want to sound like the older brother now.” Mostly because I always hated when Rachel did that shit with me. “But you should really think about it again. You and Cloey…well, you don’t have a future together. She’s not the type for a relationship. She’s like—”

  “You?”

  “Yeah, thanks,” I muttered. “But that’s probably what it is. That girl has a record where guys are concerned. You’re interesting for her now, but she’ll dump you before you can put your pants back on.”

  “That won’t happen. She really likes me.”

  Damn, he wouldn’t listen. How very frustrating. I straightened, and my voice became cold. “You planning on sleeping with her any time soon?”

  Tony pressed his lips together and shrugged one shoulder.

  “Fine. We’ll talk again then. But be prepared that by the time you messed with someone else, Liza might not be there waiting for you to return to her.”

  “Liz and I becoming a couple, that’s not going to happen. I don’t need her to wait for me. I just don’t want to lose my friend.”

  “The way she feels about you, that might just happen, Mitchell.”

  “I just need time to tell her. So I want you and the guys to shut up about me and Cloey, until I get the chance to come clean.”

  I chuckled. “Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  And then it became clear to me that I might destroy what little chance just dangled in front of my face if I said anything more. I didn’t intend to give that up when Tony was so set on the course he was currently taking with Cloey. However, there was one thing I needed to get straight. The bark of the tree rubbed against my back when I pressed a little harder against the trunk. “You want Cloey? Take her. I’ll keep my mouth shut. You want Matthews on the team? Consider her a member. But under one condition only.”

  “And that would be what?”

  “As part of my team, everyone sees her as that and no longer as your sacred little girlfriend.” I paused to let that first bit sink in before I went on. “She plays soccer, she comes to my parties. You don’t stop her. And whatever happens there—if guys hit on her—you keep it together, man.”

  Seconds passed, and Tony remained silent.

  “I just don’t want any rivalries on our team,” I added. “Are we clear?”

  Mouth still shut, Tony stood and slowly walked toward the exit of the playground. He didn’t turn around when he told me, “Deal.”

  I lay awake for half of the night, wondering if I should have tried harder to talk sense into my friend. He was going to fall flat on his face, and the jerk just didn’t want to see it. If it was only because of Cloey and him, I wouldn’t have thought about it twice but let Mitchell head into the adventure and come out of it a wiser man.

  However, I knew what was going to happen, and I hated to think of Liza getting hurt in the game and my friend flushing the chance that I had always wanted, and which he had had his e
ntire life, down the gutter.

  But it was not my job to change the world. And after so many years of having a crush on Liza, it was time to think only about myself for once. Well, about myself and her. She’d be in my house tomorrow night as part of my team. After-match parties were customary, and heck, I’d make sure to throw one for the new team members after the tryouts. I punched a short message with the dates into my phone and sent the text off to a group of sixty people. They would spread the word. My mom was on the texting list, too, just in case I forgot to tell her about the party in the morning. I never had to worry about running late to stock the fridge. Drinks and snacks were always there, and some of the kids would bring beer and the wine cooler, anyway. But the best thing was, tomorrow the girl of my dreams would be there. Sometime after midnight I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

  The next morning I went through my usual routine of showering, shaving, and getting dressed, all with music thundering from the speakers in my room. Currently, it was Pink and Nate Ruess asking for a 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?”