Page 36 of Sporty Girls Don't Fall For Loners

“Yeah…” I shake my head. “Never mind. We’re taking time away from book club.”

“Wait, weren’t you telling us about something weird that happened?” Rylee asks.

“Oh, right.” I lean closer and tell them about the incident that happened yesterday with Kade.

“You wrestle with your teammates all the time,” Rylee points out.

“Right? But Kade didn’t know that. He really thought I was in trouble.”

“And he swooped in like your knight in shining armor?” Mia asks with wide, excited eyes. “That’s so romantic.”

I give her a face. “No. It felt…weird. I don’t know.”

“Maybe you feel weird because your feelings for Kade are different,” Rylee muses.

“I don’t have feelings for Kade!” I cringe when I realize I said that too loudly. When I glance at him, I notice that he has just gotten two bowls of chili and is looking for somewhere to sit.

“Zoey, calm down.” Rylee giggles. “I never implied that you have feelings for Kade. I just said that you feel differently about him. Like, you don’t hate him anymore, do you?”

“I guess not?”

“Okay, so the dynamics of your relationship have changed,” she continues. “And you’re confused about it. That’s normal.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “How did you become such an expert on this sort of thing?”

She beams. “Being in a relationship has matured me.”

Mia and I exchange a chuckle.

“What? It has.”

“Forget this,” I mumble. “Let’s discuss the book. We only have half an hour left for lunch period.”

“You sure?” Mia asks. “We can cancel book club for today if you want to talk.”

I shake my head. “There’s nothing to talk about. Kade and I…well, we’re just two people who happen to live under the same roof.”

Rylee raises a brow. “Two people who don’t hate each other’s guts, you mean.”

I lift my copy of On Emerald Seas. “Can we discuss the book now?”

Rylee frowns. “Fine.”

“I love the part where Kira dressed up like a guy and snuck aboard the pirate ship.”

“And she totally pulled it off!” Mia says. “Well, until Wes found her. I love how he recognized her because of her eyes.”

“The eyes he fell in love with when they were eight years old.” Rylee swoons.

“Too bad the book barely focused on the romance, though,” Mia says. “I think it could have been such a great love story.”

“Agreed,” Rylee says. “Those two are the epitome of star-crossed lovers.”

I shrug. “You know I don’t care if there’s romance or not. But if there is romance, it should be done well. I didn’t feel like the book lacked romance because there were so many other things going on, but I agree that a romance subplot could have changed the dynamics of the entire book. But I’m okay with the way it is.”

As we continue discussing the book, my eyes stumble to Kade’s table. He usually sits at a different table every day because…well, he hasn’t exactly made any friends. He always chooses one with the least amount of people. I kind of feel bad for him, but it seems he’d rather be alone, so maybe he’s fine with it? He’s scrolling through his phone while eating his food.

I shake my head to snap out of it and pull my gaze away. Why in the world am I always looking at him?

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