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

“Um...yeah. I got fired by Mr. Rees after that article came out.”

She nodded and then shrugged as if I shouldn’t have let that bother me. “I don’t remember firing you. And I believe I was the one who hired you after Zane Rees begged me to take you on.”

The room tilted for a moment and I reached out to touch the wall to

make sure I was still standing straight up. Had I heard her right? Zane had asked her to hire me?

“But I thought my dad had gotten me this job,” I said, staring wide-eyed at her.

For the first time, her gaze flicked to mine and I saw amusement dancing there. “You really think I’d agree to take on some spoiled lawyer’s daughter as my assistant just to make the studio execs happy? Not happening. But Zane told me you were different and talented. He insisted that I give you a chance and that’s what I did.”

My heart melted with gratitude for the boy who’d done so much more for me than I’d realized. That was the night I’d been furious with him for pretending not to know me. Little did I realize he was battling for me behind the scenes at the same time I was cursing his name. It made me want to break out into hysterical giggles. He really was too good. I could only hope that someday I could return the favor for him a hundred times over.

“I’m sorry, then, that I didn’t live up to his description of me.” I hugged my arms around my stomach and smiled painfully at her. “But I just wanted to make sure that I got a chance to thank you before you left town. Maybe I turned out to be a disappointment, but just in these couple weeks, I’ve learned so much from you. Thank you for taking a chance on me. I know now, more than ever, this is where I want to be.”

Her lips formed a hard-lined smile. “And you’re sure of that?”

I nodded. Makeup was no longer a shield for me. It was art. It was whatever beauty standard I wanted to display. It was creativity. It was the way I expressed myself. I wanted so badly to learn more and to be where Alanis was someday. I wanted that with every fiber of my being.

Alanis smiled sadly at my insistence. She looked back down at the cucumber water in her hands and frowned. “You know, I remember when I used to be like that. I wanted to make my mark on the world with makeup brushes and eyeliners. It was all I ever thought about. Nowadays, it feels like the only thing I ever want is a drink. More than anything, I wish I could turn this water into something stiffer.”

She sighed as she turned the bottle in her hand. I stood still against the wall, unsure how to follow that up. I’d never expected Alanis to share about her drinking problems. She wasn’t a very open person. In fact, I was pretty sure we’d never talked about anything except for work while I’d been assisting her. Still, my lack of response didn’t seem to bother her. She turned her gaze back to mine and sighed again.

“Having you around these last few weeks has reminded me of what I’ve lost. And what I’m battling to get back. And you did live up to your side of the bargain. You were eager to learn. You picked up techniques faster than I could’ve expected. You’ll make a wonderful makeup artist.”

My mouth opened and closed as I fought for the words to express just how much that meant to me.

Alanis waved her hand at me and smiled. “When you’re ready to apply to schools, put my name down as a reference. Maybe I’m fighting to get back what I lost, but my name still holds some power in most circles. I’d be willing to bet you can go to any school you want.”

I rushed toward her and pulled her into a hug. I couldn’t help it. She stiffened in my arms at first, but gave in to pat me awkwardly on the shoulder. I didn’t even care, I was so happy. Pulling back from her, I wiped the corner of my eyes with my sleeves.

“Thank you, Alanis. You’re the best.”

A proud smile quirked on her lips and she lifted her chin defiantly. “I really am. And don’t you forget it. Not even when we get nominated for the same awards some ten years from now.”

I was in danger of hyperventilating. The fact that Alanis thought someday we could be competing for the same awards was everything. I could already see the Oscar in my hands. That was my dream!

“Now, get out of here,” Alanis said, shooing me away with her hands. I was pretty sure she was worried I was going to tackle her into another hug. “They’ll be coming for the trailer any minute now and I don’t want to get locked in here with you the whole way back to LA. There’s only so much chatter I can take.”

I tried to fight back a smile as I made my way to the door. Alanis could try to fight it all she wanted, but I was growing on her. Maybe even someday, I could claim that she liked me. But until then, I’d have to stay here and finish my schooling.

It wasn’t easy leaving the set. This was the last time I’d be walking through random set parts, trailers, and the hustle and bustle of an entire film crew trying to put together a hit. My heart ached with an anguish that felt like it was coming from everywhere. From saying goodbye to Alanis, to not knowing if I’d ever get to work on a movie set again, to knowing that Zane was only a few hundred feet away on that soccer field, filming the very last scene for his big movie break. It was hard to cope with, so I pushed myself faster toward the parking lot.

Marie’s BMW stood waiting for me in the parking lot. It was old and had a bit of rust around the wheels, but for a high school kid it was a royal treat. She’d loaned it to me this morning after I’d told her about my bare-faced movement at school. I was pretty sure that if she’d still been in high school, she would’ve been one of the awesome girls who’d stood beside me as I stared down Janelle.

It had been a rocky couple years for my entire family, but I was glad to have Marie in our lives now. She was good for Dad. And she was good to my sister and me. The inside of her BMW smelled like her favorite Jasmine Vanilla perfume. I concentrated on that as I drove home, willing myself not to break down again. I’d done enough crying over the past couple days. If I never cried another tear, I’d be ecstatic.

Letting go of Zane had been one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do—and that included showing up at school without makeup. I was really going to miss him. Like, ache in my gut that would never go away, miss him. But life wasn’t a movie. The girl didn’t always get the boy. Sometimes, the girl had to chase her dream in a different direction so no one else got hurt.

Despite my best effort, tears still blurred my vision slightly as I pulled into the drive at my dad’s house. I parked the BMW on the driveway and sniffled, wishing I had my girls around me again. If there was ever a time I needed a chick flick kind of night, it was now. Swallowing back my tears, I opened the car door and slid the phone out of my backpack pocket.

But just as I was about to walk toward the house and call Beth, my gaze landed on a hooded figure sitting on the front porch. I froze, my finger hovering over the call button. That hoodie was all too familiar. And so were the brilliant blue eyes gazing out from beneath the hood.

Zane was here.

Chapter Twenty-Four

“Zane...?”