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A round of applause resounded and I automatically joined in, though having no idea why. A group of students were making their way up to the stage, Bianca one of them. I turned to Miles and frowned.
“Student ambassadors,” he whispered.
I huffed and rolled my eyes and immediately stared down at the floor. Avoiding Bianca was going to be hard—she was involved in virtually everything at Covington Prep. I needed a distraction.
Lunch couldn’t come quick enough, and not just because of my rumbling stomach. With my tray piled high, I was about to join Miles, but caught sight of Bianca at the table. The cafeteria had been upgraded last year and the tables were now circular—apparently in a bid to be more inclusive. No kid had to be awkwardly stuck at the end. However, it had eventuated that there wasThe Popular Table, and that’s where Bianca was. Not wanting a confrontation, I glanced around the room, my eyes stopping on Lucy Berryman. Well, not exactly Lucy, but the girl she was sitting next to, someone I didn’t recognize. For some reason I was instantly drawn to her, my heart skipping a beat. Instigating a conversation with Lucy would not be considered unusual—we shared a couple of classes and our mothers played tennis together in a ladies social league.
Diverting from the main table, my legs made their way toward Lucy. I stood there for a moment, Lucy and the girl chatting away. Her hair was a light color, a blend of blonde and brown shades, but it seemed natural. And soft. It looked incredibly soft, tied back in a simple ponytail with a black hair tie. Who knows why I noticed that detail?
“What do you have next period?” Lucy’s question hung there, because the new girl sensed me standing there and looked up.
I wouldn’t have thought you could fall in love at first sight. Not with one glance, one glimpse, one connection of her striking blue eyes.
But I think I did.
I thought I said hi or hey, but maybe not. Lucy was waving her fingers and saying, “Max?Max?”
The girl had turned back to her plate of food, a turkey wrap, a pot of strawberries and a small carton of chocolate milk.
“Hi,” I heard the word come from my mouth but it was weak, so weak. And at the same time my heart was pumping blood expeditiously.
“Do you want to join us?”
I didn’t need a second invitation; I walked behind Lucy and dropped my tray on the table. The chair scraped on the floor as I pulled it out. The girl looked up briefly, her lips twitching but not forming a smile. Or perhaps she was chewing.
“Have you met Taylor?” Lucy asked. “She’s new and I’m her student ambassador.”
“Taylor. Welcome to Covington!” I said, probably with too much enthusiasm. That’s what happens when your heartbeat is out of control.
“This is Max,” Lucy introduced me without any flourish. I held my hand up across the table, hovering over my chicken sub. I thought it was going to be ignored, until Lucy added, “He plays in the boys tennis team.”
At the wordtennis,Taylor’s eyes lit up, and her hand clasped mine for a moment in time. It was enough to consolidate my undying love for her. Her warm, soft skin was imprinted on mine for eternity. Okay, so she might have gone back to eating her wrap, but I was seriously spellbound, a surge running up my spine, my brain cells in overdrive trying to work out what was happening to my body. An adrenaline rush of epic proportions. It didn’t seem like the right time to announce that I wasn’t planning on playing tennis this year.
“Taylor’s here on a tennis scholarship,” Lucy was saying.
“Oh, wow,” I said, delaying biting into my sandwich. “Congrats.” A tennis scholarship to Covington was a big deal—it meant she could play. I was surprised I hadn’t heard about it, but then again, I hadn’t played all summer.
“Thank you,” she said shyly, her cheeks flushing the gentlest shade of pink. Another thing to love about her—modesty. I don’t think Bianca possessed an ounce of it.
“I was going to introduce her to the rest of the team.”
“Oh, sure,” I said, hoping that she wouldn’t tell her that Bianca was my ex.
“So, how was your summer?” Lucy asked. “Did you play tournaments?” It was aimed at me, but I saw Taylor’s ears perk up.
I shook my head. “I was pretty busy.”
No, tennis hadn’t been on my radar over summer. Instead, I’d stepped up a notch to help Mom and Dad in their business. They owned a real estate company and in the past few years the housing market had exploded, meaning they were busier than ever and making more money than ever. Not only did they sell houses but they developed and managed rental properties, and that’s where I’d come into it. They had a secondary company called Gardening Maintenance 4U, and I was employed to cut grass and keep yards tidy. I was pretty handy with a weed eater, hedge trimmer and leaf blower, and surprisingly, I liked the work.
In fact, I loved it. There was something about working outdoors, especially in the heat. Maybe I wouldn’t feel the same come winter, but there was a real sense of satisfaction when you finished a property.
“Did you play any tournaments?” I jumped at the chance to speak directly to Taylor.
She put down her food, giving me her undivided attention, her wide blue eyes watching me intently. Cornflower blue, is that a color?
“I played a few.” My eyebrow raise indicated I wanted more detail, and she obliged. “Uh, Bloomingfield, Junior Mid West, Camden—”
I cut her off. “Junior Mid West?” The Junior Mid West was the most prestigious tournament on the summer calendar, and she’d just casually slipped it in there?
