Page 105 of Sporty Girls Don't Fall For Loners

“Sure,” Mia says. “But if Kade asks you, Zoey, you’d better say yes. Or like Rylee said, you can ask him.”

Okay, I’ll admit that the thought of going to the dance with Kade…it makes my heart skip a beat. How weird is that? For years I hated dances. I thought all they do is make people who don’t have a boyfriend or girlfriend feel bad, and dances are the perfect place for kids to show off how happy they are. But my friends and I still attended because we wanted to have fun together. But now that Rylee has Mason and there’s Kade…maybe dances aren’t so horrible after all. It’s not a place to show off your boyfriend or girlfriend or make single people feel bad. It’s a special time to celebrate with your special person.

But Kade isn’t going to ask me. And I’m not going to ask him because I don’t want him to feel uncomfortable. Or weird.

“Here’s hoping a guy will fall into my lap within the next two weeks,” Mia says.

“You can ask someone,” Rylee suggests.

“I tried at homecoming, remember? Crickets. I bet if I post on my social media that I need a date for the dance, I’ll have lots of boys lined up.” She sighs. “But they would only want to go with Mia Park the actor, not plain Mia.”

“Someone one day will love plain Mia,” I tell her. “Until then, you’re stuck with me.”

She smiles as she flings her arm around my shoulder. “It’ll be the best night of my life because I’m hanging out with my besties.” She removes her arm. “Though, I’m still hoping you’ll go with Kade.”

“Mia…”

She’s about to say something, but Rylee gets a text. “It’s my brother!” she says as she scans the screen. “Oh my gosh.”

“What?” Mia and I ask.

“It’s official. Noah and Evie’s band are having a concert here in Edenbury!”

“Really? That’s so exciting,” Mia says. “We haven’t heard them live in so long.”

Noah and Evie’s band has been touring the country over the last few months. They mentioned wanting to perform here in Edenbury, but we didn’t think it would actually happen.

“When is it?” I ask.

“Later this year. I can’t wait. This is going to be awesome, guys. And it’ll be nice to finally see them in the flesh. It feels like they’ve been on tour forever.”

We gush about the wonderful news and text as many people as possible. Everyone is over the moon ecstatic to hear this. My fingers move on their own, and before I know what I’m doing, I’ve composed a text to Kade and send it off.

Zoey: My cousins Evie and Noah are having a concert here in a few months. They’re amazing! You’ll love them.

It doesn’t take him more than a minute to respond.

Kade: Sounds cool. I hope I’ll still be in Edenbury then.

My heart sinks. Of course. He might be placed in a new home, possibly in a different town, and who knows if I’ll ever see him again?

I quickly shake my head, scolding myself for allowing those thoughts to enter my head. I want him to live in a good home, a permanent place where he’ll be happy. My feelings are irrelevant.

Zoey: If you’re put in a new home and it’s not far from Edenbury, maybe you can still go to the concert.

He’s quiet for a bit before he texts back.

Kade: Yeah, maybe.

“Zoey, you okay?” Rylee asks.

I blink and lower my phone. “Yeah…I guess it just hit me that I’ll miss Kade when he moves into another home.” I shake my head again. “I feel so rotten for being so selfish. It doesn’t matter how I feel. All that matters is that he’s safe and happy.”

“You can still be sad, though,” Mia points out. “Whatever you feel is okay.”

“I just can’t imagine him not being in my life anymore,” I admit.

“You guys can still be friends,” Rylee says. “You can visit each other and video chat.”

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