Page 10 of Sporty Girls Don't Fall For Loners

“I don’t see you that way,” I tell her. “Growing up, you’ve always seemed strong and brave. I mean, the fact that you can take a bunch of rowdy high school kids who don’t give a crap about books and enchant them for a full period? That’s bravery, Aunt Ally.”

She smiles. “Thanks, sweetie. You sound exactly like Zack.”

I beam. “I do have half the genes of his younger brother, you know. Even though everyone always claims I’m exactly like my mom.”

“That’s true, you’re very similar to your mom. When you were a kid, you were nearly identical to her at that age.”

I raise a brow. “I was?”

“You were obsessed with football and princesses just like she was. Your favorite color was pink, just like hers.”

“Pink? Gross. My favorite color is blue. And I was so not girly or into princesses.”

Aunt Ally chuckles again. “Actually, you were very into princesses and tea parties. Your mom would host tea parties all the time and invite us all. It was adorable. But you grew out of it.”

“Thankfully.”

Aunt Ally glances at Kade again. “What were you into when you were younger, Kade?”

He’s quiet for a bit before saying, “My dad and I used to play football together.”

“Another football fan! You’ll fit right in here.”

Kade doesn’t smile at that. His eyes are full of pain, though it disappears when he notices me looking at him. I turn around and play with my phone.

“It’s funny what kids grow out of,” Aunt Ally muses. “Or what they stick with. Liam loved cooking and baking since he was a little boy and Lily never grew out of her love of romance. And Evie was drawing on the walls as soon as she could hold a crayon or marker in her little fist.” Aunt Ally sighs like she misses her kids to death. Liam and Lily are away at college and Evie and her husband, Noah, who is Rylee’s older brother, are on tour with their band.

“Hey, are Evie and Noah having a concert here?” I ask her.

“They promised they would. Probably later this year.”

“I can’t wait. Those two are like magic on stage.”

Aunt Ally has nothing but love and pride in her eyes. “They sure are.”

We talk about many other things on the drive to my house. Well, it’s mostly my aunt and me. She tries to include Kade in the conversation, but he seems content playing on his phone. Still, she makes sure to include him even if he barely says a word.

Aunt Ally pulls up before my house. “Tell your parents hi for me.”

“Thanks.” I give her a hug. “See you tomorrow.” I close my fingers over the door handle, then turn around to face Kade. “Uh…I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, too.”

He raises his head long enough to nod, then focuses back on his phone.

I get out of the car and wave as Aunt Ally drives off. Then I enter my house and call out, “Dad? I’m home.”

He comes out of his office and smiles. “Hey, sweetie. How was school and practice?”

“Good.” I reach for a glass and fill it with water. “Uncle Brayden is prepping us for the game this Friday, but we have it in the bag.”

He gets a glass of water, too, and swallows it down. “I love how confident you are.”

“Oh, Aunt Ally says hi.”

Dad pours himself another glass of water. “I’ll have to send her a thank you text for offering to pick you up. The new book is really kicking my butt.”

“What are you struggling with?”

“Romance, what else?” He chuckles as he rests his elbows on the counter and runs his hand through his long, dark hair. “My male main character just told my female main character that he loves her—while their two kingdoms are currently at war—and my FMC didn’t say it back. And now I’m trying to figure out why she didn’t say it back.”

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