Page 4 of Saving the Halfback

“Bailey.”

At the sound of Chase’s voice, I closed my eyes to calm my racing heart. When was the last time I’d heard him speak myname? I didn’t want it to turn into something weird if I became a puddle of goo right here in the middle of English class.

I turned around, really looking at him. The way his dark blond hair fell into his face was so unlike the person I’d known before. Chase had always had clean-cut hair and freshly pressed clothes. When I looked into the swirling grey eyes, though, I saw a flicker of the kid I’d known. “Yeah?” I asked.

“You forgot your hat.” He held out the worn cap, and I gently took it.

I cleared my throat. “Thanks. Hey, listen I’d really like—”

Chase pushed past me. “Whatever,” he snapped, his tone hard.

The first time he’d dismissed me, in the parking lot, it had hurt. Crushed me, really. This time, it pissed me off.This isn’t going to work,I told myself. I couldn’t keep getting hurt like this. Maybe Ed was right—maybe he had been protecting me from something.

What if the other two treated me exactly as Chase had? Could I handle it? Would I turn into a pile of sopping mess every time? Would I go back to Ed—

No.

I had to do this. This was my chance. So what if they wanted to act like butt hurt kids? Something bubbled inside of me, flipping between the urge to cry and scream. Maybe it was better if I just went back to being a fly on the wall than to come out and know they hated me. That had been hate, right? Chase hated me.

Anger simmered within me. I was working hard to make a change, what was his problem? He had no idea what I’d gone through, what I did to be here today. I’d fought to find myself again, to take charge of my life. He didn’t want to talk to me? Fine. But he didn’t have to be a dick about it.

I put my head down and rushed through the halls without looking where I was going, grumbling to myself about thestupidness of it all, when I ended up smacking directly into someone.

Not only did I run into his ripped, muscular chest that felt more like a brick wall, but I turned away so fast, quickly mumbling a sorry, that I smacked my face into an open locker door and fell back. Gentle hands reached for me, but of course, my humiliation couldn’t stop there. Instead of falling back onto my ass and having this guy catch me, I ended up trying to save myself, jumping straight up, and plowing my head into his nose.

I never said I was graceful.

“Shit.” The guy laughed as he grabbed his nose. I rubbed my head. Was his face made of steel? “Sorry, I tried to help.” His voice was nasally as he continued to hold his nose.

I leaned against the lockers behind me, rubbing my head and wincing, but the moment I caught sight of blood, I panicked. “Are you okay? Come with me.” I grabbed his hand, the one not holding his now bleeding nose, and pulled him quickly into the girls’ restroom. Thankfully, it was empty.

My heart was pounding from the adrenaline, but all I could think about was that he was hurt, and I had to help him. I pushed him against the sink and grabbed a bunch of paper towels, pulling his hand away and placing them on his nose. “Lean your head down a bit,” I instructed. “If you lean back, it will go down your throat.”

He laughed, a deep chuckle that had my lips twitching at the insanity of this all. Was this what I got for stepping out of my comfort zone? “I heard this school was tough, but I didn’t expect to get my nose broken by the cutest girl here on my first day.”

I blew out a breath, realizing he was okay. I didn’t even want to process the second part of what he said.

“Nolan is my name.”

When my eyes met Nolan’s, the first thing that came to mind was that he was absolute eye candy.

Now that the adrenaline in me had settled, I was able to get a good look at him. His eyes were nearly as breathtaking as Chase’s, but in a different way. Chase’s eyes swirled like a grey vortex in a storm. Nolan’s were a dark shade of blue, with some green in them near the center. Where Chase’s eyes swirled, Nolan’s shone. I could see kindness in them.

Nolan’s dark hair was short and styled, the sides shaved. He wore a plain white shirt, that now sported some drops of blood, and dark jeans. He was tall, lean, and muscular, and for the first time in a long time, my heart did little flips from just being around a guy. I refused to feel guilty about it.

“Bailey,” I said. “I’m sorry about the nose. And the shirt.” I winced.

“Don’t worry about it, it was an accident.” Nolan looked around. “So, this is the girls’ bathroom. Thought it would be a little more done up. Girly-ish.”

This was the part where I should flirt with him—normal girls would—but I had zero experience in this department. So, I said the first thing that came to mind. “It’s a bathroom, full of shitters and stalls.”

Nolan choked out a laugh, pulling the paper towel away to see if his nose was still bleeding.

I went up on my tiptoes, looking at him. “I think you’re good.”

His lips pulled into a heart-stopping smile. “Thanks.”

I was just glad my comment about shitters hadn’t grossed him out. Was this all it took to flirt with a guy?

---