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

I didn’t dare breathe in, for fear of scaring off this strange illusion in front of me. Was he really here, or had I officially lost my mind?

“Lexi.” He quickly stood up and took a halting step toward me. Hesitation was written in his eyes as he worked his jaw. “I hoped I’d find you here. I don’t even know where your mom lives.”

“It’s an apartment across town,” I said vaguely. This still felt like some sort of dream. “What are you doing here? I thought you were shooting your last scene and then hitting the road.”

He lowered his chin and stared intently at me. “Finished up early, actually. Everyone else is celebrating, but I had something more important I needed to do.”

“Oh, yeah?” I fiddled with the straps of my backpack as it hung limply at my side.

“Yeah.” His tongue darted out across his bottom lip and he frowned. “Can we talk?”

I nodded, although I was pretty sure that was my head moving on its own. I had lost all motor function the moment my eyes landed on Zane. My heart had already convinced me that this morning had been the last time I’d ever see him again—at least, in person. I’d see him on the big screen and in the tabloids, but not in front of me. Not looking at me in the electric way he did. This was a shock to the system.

Moving past him, I had to try several times before I could get the key into the lock. My hands shook like I’d just downed two energy drinks in a row. Striding inside, I dragged my backpack into the entryway and abandoned it on the floor. Marie and Dad were still at work. The house was completely empty. I walked to the kitchen and went straight to the fridge for a bottle of water.

Taking two out, I tore the cap off and took a large gulp. When I shut the door, my heart stuttered again to see Zane standing close behind it. I tossed him the other bottle, which he set carefully on the granite-top island.

“Thank you.” He stuffed his hands into his hoodie pocket and then cocked his head to one side as he stared at my face. “You look beautiful, by the way. You always do.”

My cheeks warmed and I ducked my chin. No one quite had the power to make me blush the way Zane did. And maybe no one ever would.

Suddenly, I had the overwhelming urge to giggle. I was doing that a lot lately. I clenched the cold water bottle between my hands and leaned against the kitchen island for support. My chest shook with the effort to keep it all locked inside, but the impulse was too strong to fight. The only think I could do was keep my lips pressed together tightly and squeeze my eyes shut.

“Lexi?” Zane sounded concerned. “Are you okay? I can’t tell if you’re laughing or crying.”

“I’m not really sure.” I opened my eyes to look at him and tears began to roll down my cheeks. Wiping them away, I felt grateful for the first time not to be wearing mascara. At least there were no more black tear-trails to worry about. “I think I’m going into shock. I fully expected to never see you again.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I walked away.” I sniffled. At least the

tears and giggles had stopped. I could finally start to make my way through the tangled web of thoughts in my mind. “But then I find you on my doorstep. You definitely don’t make it easy on a girl to say goodbye.”

“Was that goodbye?” He gripped the countertop with his left hand, his knuckles white. “Do you want me to leave? Say the words, and I’ll go out the door and never contact you again.”

I shook my head, the same sorrow overcoming me. “No, I don’t want you to leave. That was the problem. I walked away so you wouldn’t have to sacrifice your career for me any longer. We already messed things up so badly, I didn’t want to make things harder for you.”

He exhaled with control, his eyes closing for a moment as the tension left his face. And when he opened them again, a smile worked its way onto his face. “That’s a relief.”

“A relief?” I stared incredulously at him. “How is any of this a relief? Walking away from you was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. If it’s a relief to you, then maybe we weren’t on the same page with this stupid relationship thingy the whole time.”

The idea that he could shrug off the ending of our friendship or relationship or whatever it was between us had me fuming mad. But the temperature on my anger only grew hotter as he grinned at me.

“What?” I snapped, gripping my water bottle so tightly that it crackled under my palm. “What is so funny?”

“You.” He chuckled and tilted his head toward me. “And believe me, we’re both on the same page with this stupid relationship thingy, as you so lovingly put it. It was just a relief to me that you don’t want me to leave.”

“Oh.” That single syllable took all the fighting energy out of me.

“To tell you the truth, I had a lot of doubts today.” Zane’s brow wrinkled in disgust. “For a few ugly seconds, I wondered if my dad was right and you’d used me for your fifteen minutes of fame.” I opened my mouth to argue, but he shook his head and continued before I could. “I know, I know, it was so far from the truth. I never should’ve let him say those things to you. I’m sorry I didn’t stick up for you. I’ve let my dad call all the shots since Mom died. He’s got my best interest in mind, but that doesn’t always mean he’s right. And I know without a doubt that he was wrong about you.”

Chewing on my bottom lip, I watched the righteous anger flare in Zane’s eyes. It made me so grateful to have known him, even for a second. We’d only spent a couple weeks together, but he already knew me well enough to defend me without a doubt. That was priceless.

“Thank you,” I said softly. “Thank you for telling me. That means a lot.”

“I just wish I would’ve told him that then and there. That I hadn’t been such a coward. I wanted to do something. Something to show him that he wasn’t always right, but then you had that no-makeup movement outside the set this morning that went viral. And that set the stage for me to finally take control.”

A bolt of shock went through me. My eyes widened as I stared at him. “...went viral?”