Page 78 of Sporty Girls Don't Fall For Loners

Feeling confident and super happy with my yummy-looking apple, I move to another tempting apple that’s within reach, as long as I use my apple picker. I once again raise it and try to pluck off the apple, but it’s much higher than I thought and I have to stretch my arms as much as I can and stand on tiptoes.

“Come on, come on,” I grumble as I wrestle with the apple. “You’re coming home with me, stubborn apple. There’s no point putting up a fight. You have been chosen.” I stand even higher on my tiptoes. “Fighting is futile. I’m going to win this battle—” I gasp when Kade places his hands on my waist and lifts me off the ground.

“I’ve got you,” he murmurs.

The area where his hands touch my waist burns, and a shiver runs down my spine. I remain completely still in the air, my brain not seeming to work right. Kade is touching me. He’s holding me securely, but he’s gentle, too, so as to not hurt me. Not squeezing too tight. I think I’ve forgotten how to breathe.

“Got it?” he asks.

I blink, snapping out of it. “What? Oh, one sec.” There’s no way my arms are functioning properly now, but I force them to do the task—get the darn apple.

As I’m trying to yank it off with the apple picker, Kade’s arms shake, and I release a small yelp when he almost drops me. But he strengthens his hold on me and pushes me higher, making it easier for me to pick the apple.

“Sorry,” he says.

“I got it,” I tell him.

He carefully lowers me to the ground.

“Thanks,” I say, dropping my apple into my bag. “And sorry about…um…I guess I’m heavier than I look.”

“No way. You’re not heavy at all. I just…” He snaps his lips shut. “I guess I need to work on my arms.” He turns toward the tree and reaches to pluck off an apple.

“I don’t know why I’m so short,” I say with a nervous laugh. “My dad is so tall and my mom’s…well, she’s not as short as me.”

“I can get your apples for you,” he offers.

I smile wryly. “Where’s the fun in that?”

He smiles, too. “Good point. But maybe we should look for trees that have apples you can actually reach.”

I kind of like that you picked me up.

My eyes nearly pop off my face. What did I just think?

“Yeah, I’m sure we can find trees with lots of apples. My bag is almost full,” I tell him. “Just a few more apples and I’m good to go.”

“Me, too.”

We walk around for a short while until we finally find a large apple tree full of apples. Many of the other kids are around this area, too. A part of me is disappointed that I could reach most of the apples, but I shove that away. I can very well get my apples on my own without help from anyone. Even though I want to feel his hands on my waist again…

“Oh my gosh, stop it,” I mutter.

Kade glances at me. “What?”

“N-nothing!” I focus on getting my apples.

“My bag is full.” He raises it. “Filled to the max.”

“Mine, too. Ready to head back?”

It’s quite a walk to the bus. Kade and I don’t really say much, each of us seeming to be caught up in our thoughts. I have no idea what he’s thinking, but I can’t forget how he picked me up, and how he caught me before I went splat on the ground. But more importantly, I can’t help but imagine what it would be like if he would touch me again.

“Look at that,” I say. “Zoey can actually walk without falling flat on her face. Looks like her legs are working right.”

Kade laughs. “I think the ground was the problem.”

“That darn nature,” I joke.

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