Page 85 of Sporty Girls Don't Fall For Loners

“Totally. Zoey, what do you think?” Mia slides her phone across the table. “Read the blurb and tell us if you want to read this one next. Zoey?”

I shake my head and snap back in. “Huh?”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Rylee asks. “You really seem out of it.”

“I’m fine. I just…” I run my hand through my hair. “I guess I’m distracted.”

“What’s up?” Mia asks.

I look from one to the other, then puff out my cheeks. “You promise not to make fun?”

“Of course,” they say.

I puff out my cheeks again. “So you know yesterday, we went on the trip?”

“I think I was there,” Mia jokes.

“Right. But, um…so Kade and I…”

Both of them sit forward in their seats. “What about him?” they gush.

“Nothing! Nothing. He and I were buddies.”

“And…?” Mia prompts.

“And…stuff happened.”

“What kind of stuff?” Rylee asks.

“I tripped while we were apple picking and he caught me before I kissed the ground.”

“Oh my gosh.” Mia leans even closer with bright eyes. “That’s so romantic! Tell me what happened. Every detail. I need to know everything.”

“Me too, me too, me too!”

I motion for them to keep their voices down.

Rylee waves her hand. “No one’s paying attention to us, like usual. Spill, Zoey Hastings. We’re not getting any younger.”

I release a breath. “Fine. He caught me before I became one with the ground and then he said…”

Rylee and Mia look like they’re about to launch off their seats with impatience and anticipation.

I shut my eyes. “I thanked him for looking out for me, and he said: “‘As long as I’m with you, I won’t let you fall.’”

When I open my eyes, I find my best friends gawking at me like they can’t believe Kade actually said that to me.

“That has to be one of the most romantic things I’ve ever heard!” Rylee squeals.

“Did that melt your insides?” Mia asks. “Because that would totally melt my insides.”

“All of my organs are still intact.”

She gives me a face. “Haha. But did you feel anything at all?”

“I don’t know…But that’s not all. When I was reaching for an apple with the apple picker, he put his arms around me and lifted me so I could reach it.”

“How gentlemanly of him,” Rylee says.

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