Page 104 of Sporty Girls Don't Fall For Loners

“I can name a few people,” I mutter, thinking back to the jerks who messed with me in the alley near the movie theater.

“Huh?” Rylee asks.

With a sigh, I tell them about the jerks. I didn’t want to bring it up because they don’t deserve to be talked about—or even thought about—but I do want my friends to know about the incident.

“What the heck?” Rylee has a furious expression. “What a bunch of low lives.”

“Did Kade really stick up for you?” Mia’s eyes are shining. “Your knight in shining armor?”

“Yeah, he was really sweet.”

Mia clutches her heart and faints again.

“So are you guys like…going to date?” Rylee asks.

“Whoa.” I hold up my hands. “You’re getting way ahead of yourself. I don’t even know if he feels that way about me—”

“We already established that he does,” Mia says, from where she still lies flat on my bed with her eyes shut tight.

“No, we didn’t,” I say. “Look, can we not make a big deal about this? I get you guys are excited, but I don’t want this to drive me any crazier than it already does. It’s bad enough I’m always thinking about him and replaying our moments together.”

Mia’s eyes flash open and she squeals.

“I bet he’s always thinking about you, too,” Rylee says with a humongous grin.

I shrug, even though the thought of that makes my heart race. “We’re here to hang out, not talk about Kade and me.”

“Dude, sleepovers are where we talk boys,” Mia says.

“I’d rather talk about your boys,” I grumble.

“I would if I had one,” Mia mutters.

“Okay, I’ll relieve you of your misery,” Rylee says. “You have to hear about the sweet thing Mason did for me.”

As she tells us about the surprise he planned for her at the ice cream shop, all of our phones buzz with notifications.

“What’s that?” I ask as I reach for my phone and scan the screen. It’s an email reminder from the school about the fall dance in two weeks.

Rylee shrieks when she reads her email because for the first time, she’ll be able to go to a dance with her boyfriend. Then she looks at us with a guilty expression. “I wish we all had boyfriends to go with.”

“Don’t feel bad,” Mia tells us. “I’m so happy you have Mason, Rylee. You guys will have an awesome time.”

“Yeah, you should bask in every moment,” I add. “Have the most romantic night of your lives.”

She gets a faraway look in her eyes as she pictures it. “Thanks, guys. But maybe someone will ask you, Mia. And Zoey…do you think Kade will ask you? You can always ask him.”

“I don’t think dances are his thing. And you know I’m not crazy about them.”

“But if he asked, would you say yes?” Mia asks.

“He’s not going to ask.”

“But what if he does?”

“Mia, he’s not going to ask. I know you want to go, though. If no one asks you, we can go together.”

“We’ll all go together,” Rylee says.

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