A dog runs up to me, wagging his tail excitedly. Behind him is a girl about my age, scrambling to her feet. She yells at the dog to leave me alone, but I don’t mind dogs. I’ve always wanted a dog but my mom has allergies and won’t allow them into our house.
With all the stress of moving and changing schools, I didn’t think I’d be able to relax any time soon. But as soon as I meet Zara, my insides go all warm. She seems sweet. And she’s beautiful in that kind of way that makes me nervous around her. She has dark silky hair and tanned skin and a smile that makes it hard to concentrate.
This entire move has felt like a huge stab of bad luck.
But my new neighbor? She might be the only saving grace of moving here.
Three
Zara
After we introduce ourselves,a weird silence falls over us. Luckily Fluffy is here to break the awkwardness. He keeps running into Zane and begging for pets. I don’t know why I feel so awkward and weak in the knees right now. I don’t normally have a hard time talking to guys. Of course the guys at my school are all guys I’ve known for years. It’s now weird talking to them because we know each other.
This guy is different. I bite down on the inside of my cheek. I can’t say anything that will give away the fact that I already knew he moved in next door. Or that I even know who he is. I have to play it cool.
“So, are you in high school?” I ask.
Zane looks up from petting Fluffy. “Yeah. I’m a senior. I just enrolled at Brazos High.”
“Cool,” I say with a nod. “I go there too. I’m also a senior.”
Zane’s blue eyes match the sky above us. He runs a hand through his hair again. I wonder if he knows how cute he looks when he does that?
“That’s good,” he says, and I’ve kind of already forgotten what we were even talking about. I look down at Fluffy while he talks. “Now I will have at least one friend when I start school tomorrow.”
I chuckle. “I dunno… Iamextremely popular and cool. I don’t know if you’re cool enough to be my friend,” I tease him.
He grins. “Well, maybe I’m extremely popular and cool, too.”
I roll my eyes. “Guess we have to be friends now.”
“Yep,” he says, shoving his hands in the pockets of his shorts. He glances back at his house through the open gate. “You mind if I hang out with you a bit? I don’t feel like going back in there to the mess of boxes.”
“Sure,” I say, hoping he can’t hear the pounding of my heart. I was only joking earlier—I am not popular. I’m friendly with everyone at school, but there’s a difference in being popular and being people’s friend. I don’t need to know anything else about Zane to know that he’ll be tagged as one of the popular kids the second he walks into our school tomorrow. He is Texas football royalty.
And he’ll be homecoming royalty, too.
I draw in a sharp breath. As annoying as my sister is, she’s right about this. The other guys at school have no chance to be crowned king now that Zane Warren is here. I also have no chance of still being his friend once he goes to school and gets tossed in with the popular crowd. Guess I better enjoy this small moment of fun while I have it. In a couple of weeks we’ll be homecoming king and queen and then we’ll probably never talk again.
I toss Fluffy’s ball so he can run after it. Zane and I walk slowly down the grassy field behind our houses.
“So your dog’s name is Fluffy?” he asks.
“He’s not my dog. He belongs to my neighbor—my other neighbor,” I say. “She pays me to take him on a walk every day. She’s older and has a hard time managing all his energy so I like to play fetch with him to wear him out.”
Fluffy brings the ball back to me and I throw it again.
“That’s a fun gig,” he says. “I love dogs.”
“Me too,” I say, watching Fluffy run after the ball because it’s much easier than looking at this hot guy standing next to me. I swear, half of my body is warmer from all the heat radiating off this dude. Up close, he’s not only tall and tan and gorgeous, he’s got a sharp jawline and dazzling blue eyes and the sculpted body of an athlete. I might actually attend more games this year if it means getting to watch him run around on the field.
That awkward silence falls over us again, so I keep talking. “I have ten dog walking clients in the neighborhood. It’s the best part time job I can think of. Way better than working at fast food places.”
“For sure,” he says. “I’m not allowed to work during school, but I always find some gig in the summer just to save up money for the year.”
“Why can’t you work?” I ask, daring a peek at him. Yep. Still gorgeous.
He draws in a deep breath, then slowly exhales. Is he stalling from answering my question?
