“Eh,” he says finally. Fluffy brings back the ball and this time Zane bends down to pick it up. He throws it three times farther than I ever could and Fluffy takes off after it, his tail wagging happily. “I play sports,” he says finally. When he looks at me I see a bit of regret on his face. “My parents are determined to make sure I get an athletic scholarship, so I can only focus on sports during the school year. A job would get in the way of football.”
I nod, pretending I don’t already know about his biggest hobby. “I don’t do sports. I’m extremely uncoordinated so it’s just better for all teams if I stay far, far away.”
He laughs. Fluffy keeps bringing the ball back to Zane instead of me, but he seems more than happy to keep throwing it. We walk all the way to the end of the field where it meets the road, and then we turn back around.
“So what is there to do in this town?” he asks.
I blow a raspberry with my tongue. “Not much.”
“Dang. Surely there’s something fun around here?”
I consider it for a moment. “There’s the Fastpitch Sporting Complex. It’s a baseball field with batting cages. You might like it there?”
He shrugs. “Anything non-sports related?”
“We have a great coffee shop called Minuti’s. A lot of people hang out there. And then we have the movie theater, and a few parks that have some good hiking trails.” Holy cow, I’m boring myself with these lame suggestions. Zane is a famous high school ball player. He’s not some dork who hangs out at coffee shops. I clear my throat and try to think of something he’d be interested in. “I’m not much of a party person,” I admit. “But a few seniors throw some good house parties—or so I’ve heard. I’m sure you’ll be invited to them.”
“Eh, I’m not really a party person either,” he says. My heart lights up at this news.
“Oh yeah?” I give him a playful grin. “I thought you were super popular and cool.”
He laughs in this way that’s so sexy I didn’t realize laughs could be sexy. “I am, I am,” he says playfully. “But I’m so popular I actually have transcended house parties. I’m just too popular for them.”
I can’t help but smile. Coming from anyone else, it might sound arrogant, but Zane just sounds adorable.
“Here’s an idea,” I say, pausing so he can throw the ball for Fluffy again. “You tell me what you like and I’ll tell you if it exists here in Brazos City.”
“I like good people,” he says. “I like watching TV with junk food and a good friend or two. Bonfires in the back yard with some Texas country playing.”
I lift an eyebrow. “You like Texas country?”
He nods. “Oh yeah. For sure.”
When he sees the look I give him his eyes widen. “What?” he says, holding his hands up. “You don’t believe me?”
I shrug. “You just don’t seem like a country music fan.”
“Ah, but Texas country is great. Mainstream country sucks.”
“I can get behind that,” I say.
Before I know it, we’ve walked back to our houses and an hour has passed. “It’s time to bring Fluffy back home,” I say after checking the time on my phone. “His owner will be worried if I’m not back on time.”
“This was fun,” Zane says, stopping at the gate to his back yard. “If you ever want a dog walking partner again, just let me know.”
“Sure thing.”
He turns to leave and then he stops. “Zara?”
My teeth dig into my bottom lip. “Yeah?”
He looks hesitant, but then he says, “Would you want to ride to school with me tomorrow? Maybe show me around campus and stuff?”
Oh my. Calm down, Zara. It’s not like he’s asking me on a date or anything! But still…
“Sure,” I say as casually as possible.
He grins. “See you tomorrow.”
