Page 81 of Sporty Girls Don't Fall For Loners

A few guys run up and down the aisle in another game or challenge or whatever it is the kids are doing. Isaiah stops before passing us and sticks his head in. I pause the music so we can hear what he’s saying.

“Hey, Zoey, how’s it going?”

“Good.”

He smiles. “The guys are throwing a football from the front of the bus. Wanna join?”

“No, and I don’t think you should be doing that on the bus.”

He waves his hand. “It’s no big. Not like anyone will get hurt. You sure you don’t wanna play?”

“Very sure.”

He frowns, but nods. “All right.”

As soon as he and a few others go to the front of the bus and start throwing the ball, the driver yells at them to sit down. He threatens to stop the bus and not return us to school. The guys laugh as they dart to the back of the bus where they continue their snack game.

“Gosh, I can’t believe them,” Zoey mutters. “My teammates are good guys, but they can be real idiots sometimes.”

I chuckle. “Comes with the territory of being a teenager. We do stupid things.”

“I try not to. I mean, my friends and I used to do crazy things when we were little. Like, we got in trouble all the time. Rylee was the leader, and she still is a little mischievous. But for the most part, we’re well behaved.”

I blink at her. “Goody Two Shoes was a bad kid?”

She playfully whacks my arm. “If I’m a goody two shoes, then you’re…you’re…a bad boy.” She cringes as she throws her hands up. “I mean, you don’t follow the rules. Or…you didn’t. Anyway, you’re…you’re…”

I bend so close I see how beautiful her brown eyes are, and that does something strange to my heart. “I’m what?”

She opens her mouth, then shuts it. Her eyebrows furrow. “You’re…you’re…fine, whatever.” She turns to the window.

“I’m still waiting,” I tease.

She crosses her arms over her chest. Then after a few seconds, she faces me. “You’re different than I thought you were. When you first came to Edenbury High, I thought you were trouble. Everyone did. But you’re not trouble. You’re just misunderstood.”

“Misunderstood?”

“Like…” Her eyes soften. “If people got to know you, they’d see how wrong they were. Just like I was wrong.”

“I don’t need them to get to know me,” I whisper as I gaze into her eyes. “All I need is for…” Her to know me.

The bus jumps over a bump and we fly a few inches off the seat. Zoey crashes into my chest, her head slamming into my jaw.

My arms come around her as the bus continues to bounce around. Then it stops, resuming a normal pace.

“You okay?” I ask her.

She slowly glances up at me. “Uh, yeah.”

It takes me a second to remember I’m still holding her tightly and she can’t move. I lower my arms from around her. “Sorry.”

“No, I…I mean, thanks. I probably would have crashed into the window.”

I nod, trying not to focus on how good she felt in my arms.

“Is your chin okay?” she asks as she touches it, her fingers as light as feathers. “I banged into it pretty hard.”

“I’m fine. Is your head okay?”

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