I shove at his arm. “Fuck off. I can be optimistic when it comes to soccer.”
He lifts one brow in protest.
“Go throw up, and then get ready to play, Keller.” I stop walking with him and turn to go the other direction. I’m not sure where I’m going until I reach Lacey’s Physics class. I peer inside and easily find Lacey. Of course she sits in the front row.
Mr. Holis notices me outside the door, and I freeze. He smiles hesitantly and walks across the classroom to greet me.
“Mr. Collins. Can I help you?” he asks.
I feel Lacey’s and the rest of the class’s eyes on me.
“I need to borrow Lacey Kerr,” I say.
I’m prepared for him to ask me more questions, and I have no idea what I’ll say. Lie, I guess. Tell him my dad sent me to get her or that there’s a cheer emergency. But instead, he looks to Lacey and nods. She stands hesitantly like she can’t believe he’s letting her go that easily either.
I step to the side in the hallway, trying not to appear too eager while I wait for her. Nervous energy drums through me until she steps outside and the classroom door shuts behind her.
“What’s going on?” she asks, smiling but looking a little uneasy.
I grab her hand and tug her to me, then drop my mouth to hers. She squeaks her surprise, then softens against me, drops her things at our feet, and throws her arms over my shoulders.
My hands rest on her hips, and I relax for the first time since this morning as we fall into a now-familiar kiss that makes me forget about everything else.
Maybe she has changed me. Or maybe I’m just finally figuring out who I really am.
Chapter Thirty-one
Lacey
A few weeks ago, I couldn’t understand why my friends got so worked up before their boyfriends’ games. Claire and Andie are different in their panic when it comes to cheering on their guys, but they both absolutely lose their minds. Don’t get me wrong, I love the excitement and nerves of sports, but caring about someone on the field has pushed that anticipation and anxiety to a whole new level.
As the starters for Frost Lake run out onto the field, I get my first hit of nausea. I’m generally a positive person, and I’m confident in the team, especially Vaughn, but knowing how much this means to him has me as much of a mess as Claire next to me.
She squeezes my hand, and I squeeze back until I’m not sure either of us can feel our fingers.
From the jump, Frost Lake starts out strong. The guys look calm and focused, and Pacific is sloppy and can’t seem to keep control of the ball. Despite that, it’s the end of the first half before we manage to score. Rowan kicks in a short rebound to the left corner.
Relief swoops through me, and I jump and scream with the rest of the crowd. Everyone chills out a little after that first goal. We finally sit, and I take another deep breath that has my shoulders falling from where they were hunched up and my stomach stops clenching with pain.
Torrance is sitting on the other side of Claire. She leans over her to ask me, “Are you dating Vaughn Collins now?”
“Oh.” I’m surprised by her question. Actually, I’m surprised she’s talking to me at all. I didn’t say much to her the other night at the movies.
“Umm…yes. Sort of.” We haven’t put a definite label on it, but he said he wanted to be better at relationships and we’re kissing an awful lot.
Claire shoots me an amused expression. “You’re wearing his number on your back and face. I think you’re solidly in the dating phase.”
She turns to Torrance. “They’re in thatawkward yet funbeginning stage where communication is trumped by all the making out they’re doing.”
She’s not wrong about that last part.
“He’s really cute.” Torrance smiles at me. She’s pretty. Her smile lifts higher on one side, and she has a small beauty mark. “When I found out Claire had gone from Vaughn to my brother, I couldn’t believe it.”
She looks at Claire with a mildly sympathetic grin. “No offense; it’s just he’s my brother.”
She screws up her face and Claire laughs.
“None taken.”
