Page 23 of A Secret Crush Valentine's

She’d been waiting for the final bell so she could head home, where her mother was waiting. As soon as it rang, she’d burst out of the classroom but had barely made it three steps down the hallway before she slammed into someone.

And, just her rotten luck, that someone happened to be one of the jerks on the football team. And behind him were other jocks. Julia froze as she caught sight of a familiar face.

Damon McLaurent blinked back at her.

“S-sorry,” she told the guy she’d run into. “I wasn’t really paying attention.”

She tugged at the papers under his foot, but he wouldn’t budge. “Could you please lift your foot?”

“You really shouldn’t stick your newsletters under people’s feet, Miss Chief Editor,” the boy replied. “Someone could trip on them, you know.”

With that, he dragged his foot across the floor, ripping the cover off the newsletter in the process. The other boys chuckled.

“Leave her alone, Connor,” said a voice.

Julia’s breath faltered. It was Damon. He brushed his brown hair across his forehead in a slick move that nearly made her heart flip and stepped forward, those gorgeous green eyes meeting hers for a moment.

“What, McLaurent?” replied the beefy jock. “Got a thing for this nerd?”

“Just leave her alone.” Damon’s voice had a dangerous edge to it. “Don’t make me ask you again.”

Clearly, she wasn’t the only one who noticed the edge. Connor’s eyes widened for a second, but he quickly regained his composure. He lifted his foot off the newsletter and stepped away.

“Whatever, man,” he said. “She’s not even worth it.”

He continued walking down the hall, and the rest of the jocks followed.

Julia continued picking up her books.

When she looked up, Damon’s face was inches away from hers.

“H-hi,” she breathed.

“Hey, Red.” The sound of his voice, so close to her, was almost hypnotic. “Need some help with that?”

Before she could respond, he reached for some of the books, handing them to her. They rose together, Julia clutching her books to her chest as her heart fluttered. He flashed her a tiny smile that knocked her pulse up a notch.

“Sorry about that,” he said. “Those guys can be jerks sometimes. The only reason I hang around them is—”

“You’re all on the football team.” She realized she was staring at him and looked away. Kids were filing into the hallway as classes changed. Several pairs of eyes were trained in her direction, reflecting everything from disbelief to jealousy. “It… it’s fine. I don’t really care about the newsletter anyway.” That was only half true.

She glanced up at him again just in time to see his eyebrow rise. “Why not? You write really well. I’ve seen your articles. And your poetry? It’s neat.”

Julia almost fainted on the spot. “You… you read the newsletter?”

He shrugged. “Now and then.”

Be cool, Julia.“That’s nice. I’m glad you like it. I write the articles because I’m expected to, not because I like writing them. The poems… those are different.”

“How so?”

“I love writing them.”

“I can tell. You write beautifully, Red.” He frowned, then chuckled. “That’s something you don’t often hear from a guy like me.” He stuck out a hand. “I’m Damon. McLaurent.”

Gingerly, she shook his hand. “I know.”

Great, Julia. Now, you sound like a creep.

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