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For a moment, I forgot that we’d been singing on a karaoke stage. All I saw was Collin, staring down at me with that intense look in his eyes, his chest heaving. I had the sudden desire to press against him. Claim that kiss that he’d owed me from the beach party. Liquid heat spread throughout my body at the mere thought and my cheeks flushed. Collin’s eyes flicked to my lips and I wondered if there was a smallest chance in the world that he was feeling the same thing, too.
But all of that was chased away by the sudden burst of applause from our audience. Collin blinked hard, as if he’d forgotten they were there. Chuckling nervously, he ran his fingers through his hair and turned toward the crowd to flash his infamous cocky grin. I shook my curls, as if awakening from a lazy afternoon nap. My head was fuzzy and my heart thumping loudly.
While Collin enjoyed the limelight, I held back, giving myself time to come down from that amazing high. Singing up here had been indescribable. There was no question now. This really was my calling. And Collin’s too. The energy of the crowd had flowed right through us. After a performance like that, I couldn’t wait to see what kind of song we put together. If we could sing like that on a karaoke stage, then we could definitely write a killer song for the performance. In the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but think that maybe Mrs. Banks really knew what she was doing when she put us together.
Only time would tell.
Chapter Thirteen
“She’s drooling again. Trina, isn’t she drooling?” Mandy leaned against the chain link fence surrounding the football field and gave me a smirk.
On my other side, Trina smiled softly and sighed. “Love stories are my favorite.”
“Guys, I’m not drooling and I’m definitely not in love.” I crossed my arms over my chest and gave them a surly look. “I’m just waiting for Collin to get done with his post-game meeting with the coaches. We’re supposed to chat about Mrs. Banks’ notes on our song.”
It had been two weeks since that karaoke night. There were no more spine-tingling moments of triumph to share in, but we’d gotten together at the park nearly every day since to work on the song. We’d come to an unsaid agreement to work together. He didn’t trash my ideas and I didn’t bulldoze him over. And it was working. Really working. Our songs were getting better. And Collin didn’t seem so cocky anymore.
We hadn’t talked much about karaoke night. Collin had driven me home shortly after our performance. I think he’d wanted to get me as far away from Ally as possible, especially when she started wagging her eyebrows at both of us at the end of our song.
He’d dropped me off at my apartment with hardly a goodbye. Didn’t even look at me. Just sped off on his bike, probably in search of a good time that didn’t involve the school mascot. It was a resounding reminder of the fact that I could never fall for a guy like him and he could never fall for a girl like me. I could comfortably say that we were now friends. That was it. Nothing more.
“Sure, whatever you say.” Mandy cocked her hip and placed her hand on it. “But I’m shipping you and Collin, for sure. You make a cute couple.”
“Don’t you have a track to go run?” I asked, vaguely amused.
She splayed her hand on her chest and gasped dramatically. “Trina, I think she’s trying to get rid of us so she can flirt with Mr. Hot Quarterback all by herself.”
Trina laughed and then shot me a guilty smile. “See you tomorrow at the Halloween shop after my volunteer shift at the hospital? We need to find our costumes for Susie’s party before t
hey’re all sold out.”
Every year, we looked forward to Susie Platt’s Halloween parties. She was a senior with us at Rock Valley and everyone who was anyone went to her party. It was a tradition. With the date just two weeks away, it was going to be harder to find what we wanted.
“Yes!” I pushed my wet hair out of my face, thankful that I’d had the time to take a quick shower after the game. Mascot stink was no joke. If I didn’t immediately wash it off, it sunk into my pores for days. “I’ll be there. Any costume that doesn’t involve a raccoon, I’m gonna buy it!”
They laughed at me as they walked away and I returned my attention to the field. Collin was still taking a knee with the rest of the football players on the fifty yard line, the coaches lecturing to them. It had been a tough game for our boys. We’d nearly lost. During the second half, Collin had been viciously sacked by the opposing team. I had to fight the strong desire to rush out there and make sure he was all right. It had been a brutal hit. But he’d managed to limp off the field and return to play a while later.
Still, I was looking forward to checking him over myself, just to be sure he was okay. That’s what friends did, right?
Moments later, the team clapped and hopped off the ground. They began to run toward the stadium exit, heading to the locker rooms back at the school. I leaned over the fence, feeling my heart do a little flip when I spotted Collin in the pack. He saw me too, and cut from the group to jog my way. The smile on his face was infectious.
“I barely recognized you without the tail,” he said, holding his helmet underneath his arm and dragging his other hand through his sweaty hair. Even after that mess of a game, he still looked like a Greek statue. “Or the whiskers. That raccoon is pretty sexy.”
I rolled my eyes. “Ha, ha, ha. Rascal the Bandit is now safely stuffed into the athletic closet. You’ll just have to settle for me.”
He leaned on the opposite side of the fence next to me, his shoulder grazing mine. “I’m more than okay with that.”
A thrill shot through me and I closed my eyes against the feeling, trying my best to brush it off. “So, how’s that knee? You went down pretty hard.”
“It’s fine. I twinged it, but I’ll live.”
“I wanted to run out onto the field and tackle that linebacker for you, he made me so angry. That ref should’ve called a penalty.”
Collin chuckled softly. “Now that, I would’ve liked to see. Audrey Black, coming to my rescue. What would the Rock Valley Biz have posted about that?”
My cheeks heated and I pressed my lips together. No doubt, they would’ve posted something awful or untrue. That seemed to be the case for us lately.
“Mrs. Black seemed to like some of our lyric changes,” Collin said, turning around to lean his back against the fence, his arms resting on top. “Think she’ll actually approve it before we graduate? Or are we doomed to never finish this project?”
