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

“Whatever you say.” Mr. Garret flicked his hand in my direction, not looking up from his papers. “Just pass your quiz next week with flying colors or not even this makeup school will take you. Understand me?”

“Oh, I’ll pass it,” I said, not bothering to wait for a verbal dismissal to head for the door. Mr. Garret had written me off the first time I stepped into his class. He didn’t get to treat me like that.

Once I was in the hall, I didn’t stop until I’d made it to my locker and yanked it open. Thankfully, Charlotte and Beth hadn’t waited for me. Their next class was on the other side of the school. Sticking my head behind the door, I allowed myself ten seconds to silently sob while hidden from the rest of the student body.

This wasn’t me. I was perky Lexi. The girl who let everything slide right off her back. Teachers like Mr. Garret didn’t get to me. Bosses like Alanis Nori didn’t get to me.

And boys like Zane didn’t get to me.

This was starting to feel like a school year in another dimension. Something was off about it. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but it was definitely wrong.

With a grunt, I grabbed the compress I kept on my top locker shelf for emergencies like this. All it took was a quick look in my locker mirror to see that my mascara had run, creating streaks down my cheeks. With a few pats of the applicator, all emotional outbursts were erased. My complexion was perfectly dewy once again. If only all of my problems could be solved like foundation smoothed over a face.

Just like the scars on my cheeks, I wouldn’t let them know they got to me. I couldn’t. Not when I had so much to work for.

I’d show Mr. Garret. And Alanis.

I was so much more than they expected.

Chapter Twelve

“I’m just saying, maybe I need a little exposure therapy so I’m not so tongue-tied whenever he comes around.”

I stuffed a soggy cafeteria fry into my mouth and bit down. The noise of the cafeteria around me felt like it was reacting to my excitement. I’d long since recovered from my experience with Mr. Garret this morning. The fire was still there, simmering deep inside of me

, but I was no longer raging mad on the outside. That’s what an hour of painting in art class could do for a girl.

And now, my mind was solidly back on boys. Namely, Zane Rees. Fighting my attraction to him seemed like a losing battle, so I was throwing out alternative options, but my friends sitting across from me were having none of it.

“I thought you said he couldn’t date.” Charlotte paused from opening her milk carton and shot me a concerned expression. “That it was in his contract?”

“Yeah, but it’s only for two weeks more. Maybe we’ve gone at this the wrong way. Maybe I just need to give in and date him in secret. Then, it won’t be so hard to be around him. I’d be used to it. It’s like exposure therapy. I mean, what kind of problems could we cause in that short amount of time?”

“A lot.” Beth had one earphone in and was listening to music as we stuffed in our food before the next bell. “I’m thinking both of you could get fired.”

“Puhleeze.” I waved at her. “He can’t get fired from the movie. He’s the star. And we wouldn’t get caught. It’s brilliant, right?”

I’d been thinking it over in my head. During the call last night with Zane, we’d spent an hour just talking about nothing, wishing that we didn’t have this stupid contract standing between us. Things with Alanis were finally starting to work out. Why couldn’t I have the boy, too?

Maybe resisting the tug in my tummy around him wasn’t the right thing to do. Maybe, the best thing to do was give in.

Despite what Charlotte and Beth thought, I really didn’t want to get him in trouble. And I didn’t want to ruin my hopes at having a career in Hollywood. But the temptation was real. Zane was so perfect. It was like someone had set a freshly baked sugar cookie in front of my nose and ordered me not to taste it.

Impossible!

“What’s so great about this guy anyway?” Beth shoved her forkful of pasta into her mouth and chewed. “I mean, you’re Lexi Black. You’re cute and petite and girly. You can date any of the guys in Rock Valley. And I’m pretty sure you have.”

I shot her an offended look. I had so not dated every guy in school...just a few.

“Maybe you guys should come on set with me today. I’ll give you the tour and you can meet Zane for real this time. Then, you’ll see why he’s so impossible to resist.”

They exchanged a look, then Charlotte smiled at me. “I suppose I could take some time out of my busy day to meet some movie stars...”

I could feel my face brighten as I looked over at Beth. She was fighting her own smile.

“Whatever.” She flicked her fork. “I guess I could cancel my campaign tonight, but my partner’s not going to be happy. You’ll owe me.”

I squealed and launched myself across the table to pull them both into a crushing hug. “Thank you! Thank you!”