Dare You to Chase the Soccer Player (Rock Valley High 5)

I headed toward the door as Alanis opened a mini fridge in the corner and took out a cucumber water. She didn’t even look at me or return my goodbye wave. It was a complete and utter dismissal.

As I opened the door, the afternoon heat hit me in the face like a semi truck on the interstate. I hadn’t realized the trailer had been so chilly. Silly me, thinking that had all been because of Alanis’ cold attitude toward me. I fanned my face with the clipboard and looked out across the busy intersection of trailers and set equipment. People moved back and forth, each with their own purpose and work.

I envied them. At this point, it seemed like I was going to spend most of my assistantship to Alanis sitting on her chair. Still, I was determined to be grateful. Dad had worked miracles getting me this job. And at least Alanis had given me one task: hunt down the boy who’d brushed me off yesterday.

I wandered toward the set, where the director was getting everything ready for the next shot. But no Zane. It wasn’t until I managed to snag one of the crew and ask where the star of the film wa

s did I get directed back toward the trailers. Apparently, he was practicing his lines for his next scene.

My sour soul couldn’t help but wonder if he’d also practiced the lines he’d fed me only two days ago.

Probably.

Preparing myself for the sight of him, I strode in the direction I’d been pointed toward. He wasn’t going to affect me today. Not even a tiny bit. The boy was bad news and I was through with him. But when I heard his low, smooth voice coming from up ahead, my traitorous heart did a little flutter. And when I lifted my gaze from the asphalt walkway and locked eyes on him, it thumped painfully, as if to remind me how pathetic I was.

Zane sat on a little patch of grass, still wearing the same athletic outfit from yesterday. His legs were crossed, his lanky torso leaning forward over his knees. Next to him sat the blonde girl from the make-out bush. She watched Zane with heart-shaped eyes as he plucked grass from the ground. He mouthed something, too quiet for me to hear, and then he looked up at her, the same tender emotion reflected back in his gaze.

Jealousy hit me like a soccer ball to the chest. It almost hurt to see him looking at another girl like that. Not two days ago he’d been giving me those kinds of looks. The kind that could make a girl go all weak. My feet slowed to a stop and I watched as he reached up to cup her cheek. I could feel his thumb doing the same meticulously slow caress across my lips. And when he leaned in slowly, as if to kiss her, a strained noise burst from my lungs.

“Excuse me,” I eeked out in a decibel too high to be human.

They broke apart to look up at me. I shifted my feet, trying my best to act casual and not like a major creep who’d been staring at them as if they were characters on a TV screen. Zane’s gaze flicked to me for a mere second before he dropped it back to the ground. The blonde pushed herself to her feet and smiled at me, her eyes sparkling with meanness.

“Hey look, Zane, it’s the stalker. She’s back for the boys on set. Better watch yourself. Yesterday, she was after Freddy. Today it’s you.”

My mouth fell open in righteous anger before I could stop it. Stalker? In what world was I a stalker? I was just trying to do my job.

“She’s not a stalker, Janelle.” Zane looked back up at me, as my insides cheered at how he’d defended me. The weight of his heavy gaze could’ve knocked me out. A flush began at my cheeks and ran all the way down my body. So much for not letting him affect me. I was 2 and 0 in that department. “She works here, now. See? She’s got an employee ID.”

“Yeah. That’s right.” I stood a little taller, despite the fact that I couldn’t tear my gaze away from Zane’s, no matter how hard I tried. “I work here now. I’m part of the crew, thank you very much.”

A small smile tugged at Zane’s lips. He nodded slightly and then looked back down at the blades of grass between his fingers. The loss of his gaze felt like the world around me had dimmed several shades. I pressed my lips tightly together, internally begging myself to get my act together. This boy clearly wasn’t worth the time, effort, or mental space. I had to get him out of my system.

Obviously, the exfoliation trick yesterday hadn’t worked as well as I thought it had. I definitely didn’t feel like an ancient queen of Egypt.

Marie needed to ask for her money back.

“Ugh, whatever,” Janelle said, rolling her eyes. “I need an energy drink if I’m going to make it through this next scene.” She scrunched up her nose and pointed to me. “I’ll take a Monster drink. And make it snappy.”

I hugged the clipboard close to my chest and grimaced at her. Apparently, manners didn’t come standard with stunning long legs or an angelic face made for the screen. “I’m sorry, but I can’t help you. I’m here to take Zane back to the makeup trailer. Alanis is expecting him.”

She rolled her eyes yet again. They were going to get stuck if she kept that up. “Zane knows the way to the trailer. He doesn’t need a babysitter.”

It was obvious this one was going to be a problem. I’d met plenty of girls like her before. They always seemed to get their way, one way or another. Mom worked with a lot of them in her line of work as a PR consultant. She called them prima donnas, which was pretty much a fancy way of calling someone a spoiled brat. I stood my ground, putting my hand on my hip, and smiled sweetly at her. She met my gaze head-on, tension snapping in the air while she dared me with her eyes to argue with her.

Zane stood up from the ground and casually brushed off his hands, as if he couldn’t feel the lightning striking around him from an impending girl fight. “Janelle, it’s not her job to get you anything. And you’re not on set for another hour. You can get your own drink. Leave. Her. Alone.”

Even with that short speech, I could instantly see why he would be a great actor. He wasn’t loud or showy, like some people on the stage. It was his presence that was stunning. He had a rare quality that made people sit up and listen when he talked. The intensity of it caused me take an involuntary step back.

However, Janelle didn’t seem to be so easily impressed. Gone were the heart-eyes from moments before when they were practicing their scene. She shrugged at him and then fixed me with a smirk that told me this wasn’t over. “Fine. Whatever.”

She turned on her heels and began to walk away. I couldn’t help but study Zane’s face as he stared at her retreating back. What I would’ve given to be able to know what he was thinking. Was this the kind of girl he went for? A girl he could show off in the tabloids? Who would use him right back to get her career where she wanted it?

He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing, and then he turned to me, his gaze redirected back to the ground. “Alanis hates to be kept waiting. We’d better hurry.”

Oh yeah. Alanis. I’d almost forgotten.

He had a point. The last thing I wanted to do was make her angry at me on my first day. I nodded and walked silently beside him in the direction of the makeup trailer.