Love on the Edge by Jennifer Echols

Author:Jennifer Echols
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: MTV Books

3

“Thanks a lot, Zoey.”

I was shocked to hear Doug’s voice. I looked up at him before I could stop myself. I’d been afraid he’d have words with me tonight, after I turned him in and Coach talked with him behind closed doors in the office. That would never have prevented me from coming to the football game to cheer Brandon on and hang with the rest of the swim team in the crowded stadium. Still, I’d felt relieved when Doug didn’t show up quarter after quarter. And now here he was in the fourth, typically late, typically wandering in for free after the booster club abandoned taking tickets at the gate.

“Coach didn’t kick you off the team, did he?” I hoped I sounded surprised Doug was upset. He was the best swimmer we had, too good for Coach to kick off for minor infractions. He wasn’t in any real trouble, and I hoped by pointing this out, I would take the edge off his anger at me.

Avoiding his gaze, I turned back to the game far below us on the spotlit field. I looked for Brandon’s white 24 on his red Bulldogs jersey. He nabbed the ball and plowed his way upfield. “Go, Brandon!” I screamed. “Go, go, go—ouch!” He slammed into an enemy player even bigger than him and stopped short. Whistles blew, the refs gestured toward a penalty somewhere downfield, and the game paused. The marching band broke into “Who Let the Dogs Out?” for the third time in the fourth quarter. My excuse was gone to ignore Doug.

He stared down at me, waiting for me to give him my full attention before he answered my question with an insult. “No, Coach didn’t kick me off,” he sneered. “But that’s what you wanted, Zoey. You can pull that sweetheart act with anyone but me.”

The sneering made me uneasy. I hoped my mother’s secret was still secret. And I found it hard to remember what I’d planned to say next with Doug glaring at me.

Finally I managed, “I have nothing against you, Doug. Nothing except you’ve been late for practice every day this week. It’s my job to mark you tardy.”

“And point it out to Coach? He never would have noticed I was late if you hadn’t told him.” Doug’s voice rose as he spoke. Mike and Ian, standing on the row below us, heard him even with “Who Let the Dogs Out?” still blasting through the stadium. They turned around to look at us. Mike blushed red—which wasn’t unusual for Mike, but indicated he could hear Doug clearly. Ian, with sandy brown hair, stayed sand colored, as if he were trying to blend into his beach surroundings. But his eyes met mine for the briefest moment. This argument between Doug and me was bound to stir up talk again that something had happened between us.

My heart sped up. I could feel it knocking against my chest and hear the blood pumping in my ears. I said, clearly and

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.