I felt small and protected.
I never knew I could feel like that.
Olivia snorted and my cheeks flushed. Crap. I had told myself to stop thinking of Ethan like that and yet, here I was breaking my own rule.
“What?” I said as I tucked my hair behind my ear.
“Nothing.” Then Olivia leaned over. “You’re just blushing and you got this goofy look on your face. I have a feeling that a certain brooding football player may be the source of that reaction.” Then she raised her hands and made air quotes as she said, “But you’re just friends so what do I know?”
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel as I calmed the butterflies inmy stomach. “Wearejust friends.”
“Uh huh.”
I glared at her. “We are.”
“Mmhmm.”
“Olivia,” I groaned as I turned on my blinker and merged into the lane next to us. We were a few streets away from Oakwood High and I needed her to believe me before we climbed out of the car. I couldn’t have my friend ruining what I had with Ethan.
She was sweet but she was about as subtle as a bomb.
Olivia must have picked up on my desperation because she nodded and held up her hands. “Okay, fine. You’re just friends.”
Relief coursed through my veins as I glanced over at her. She was snapping her gum and staring out the window. “Does he have any single friends? You know, for someone who doesn’t want to bejust friendswith a hot football player?”
I cleared my throat and shrugged. “There are a few guys on his team that I think are single. One is Ryan and the other is Cooper. They’re both cute.”
Olivia smiled over at me. “Okay, okay. I can get on board with that. Can you ask him to introduce me?”
I shrugged as I pulled into the parking lot, narrowly missing an overly supportive parent who sprinted past. He was completely decked out in hunter green and silver attire. Another parent appeared in similar garb and they both high fived before they disappearedbetween the parked cars.
“It’s like some weird social experiment here,” Olivia said, craning her neck for a better look at a mom hoisting signs that said “We’re #1!”
“Sports parents are different than ballet parents,” I said as I pulled into an empty parking spot and turned off the engine. The type of parents surrounding us was only the tip of the iceberg. The students who were flocking into the stadium were just as strange. To us, at least. For a second, I wondered what my life would be like if I’d gone to a normal school with normal kids. If I’d grown up with boys in my life and surrounded by people of all shapes and sizes…
But I hadn’t. And watching a horde of teen guys walk past my car with their, all booming voices and indecipherable shouts made me feel like a stranger in a strange land. I was fighting the urge to slip my key back into the ignition and getting the heck out of here. This was so not my scene.
I knew how to be around Ethan when he and I were in the studio but out in public? How was I supposed to act?
We weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend, and besides Olivia, no one else knew that we spent time together. I’d say we were friends, but even that didn’t feel right. Friends didn’t have clandestine rendezvous after dark, now did they?
We were secret…somethings.
How do secret somethings act in public?
“Relax,” Olivia said.
I glanced over at her. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she studied me. Then she smiled. “He invited you, remember? He’s going to be so excited that you’re here.”
I swallowed as I nodded but didn’t move to get out. I took in a deep breath and turned to look at Olivia. “How do I act? I mean, we have fun in the studio but this is the first time we are doing anything together…in public.”
Olivia chewed her gum with a thoughtful expression before she reached out and rested her hand on mine. “It’s just a football game. I’m guessing he’s going to spend most of his time on the field throwing a ball around.” A smile spread across her lips as she held my gaze. “But I could be wrong.”
I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Well, duh.”
Olivia chuckled as she climbed out of the car. “Other than that, just let him lead. From what I can see, he likes you.”
I raised my eyebrows. That wordlikeshad so many meanings to it and I wanted to know which one she meant.
