Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 48146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 241(@200wpm)___ 193(@250wpm)___ 160(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 241(@200wpm)___ 193(@250wpm)___ 160(@300wpm)
I gave a little wave before packing up my things and trudging off to class. I was distracted all through ballet and nearly botched a lift.
“Are you trying to kill me?” Lark teased as he twirled away in that gauzy, ethereal skirt he loved so much.
“Sorry,” I muttered, glad that was the last practice round before we moved into another routine that did not include me carrying anything over a hundred pounds.
After class, I changed for marching band and walked out with Leah, Justin, and Lark, who were also finished for the day. As we neared the fence lining the field, my gaze immediately found Bones near the fifty-yard line, stretching his calves in those tight padded shorts he wore for practice.
I must’ve smiled without realizing it because Leah playfully bumped me. “Uh-oh, I recognize that look. Though never saw it from you.”
I played dumb as my pulse throbbed. “What look?”
“Someone’s got a crush, and from this vantage point, it’s a football player.”
I threw Lark a wary glance, but he remained impassive, letting me call the shots. Maybe he thought it was time. They had become my closest confidants.
“Ugh, I like someone a lot.” More than like, but that was a start.
My friends stared at me, and when I didn’t add anything more, Leah asked timidly, “Is it Bones? After the stuff he said under anesthesia, it makes the most sense.”
Justin glanced toward the field. “Plus, I heard Bones came out.”
“It’s him,” I admitted. “But I probably haven’t given him a fair shake.”
“Why not?” she asked.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Justin joked. “The guy calls himself a football god.”
I grinned and shook my head. “He was a bit of a jerk last year and sometimes still does senseless stuff, but…he’s different now, and I really like hanging out with him.”
“He even admitted Bones is sweet,” Lark teased.
“So what are you going to do?” Leah asked.
“I’m nervous that he won’t feel the same way.” Lark threw me a doubtful look, but I ignored him. “I know I need to put myself out there—because he sort of did, which is a story for another time—but I can’t think how.”
As Jonah made his way to the fence, greeting us and telling me that practice was about to start, Lark squealed. “I have an idea! But we’ll need some favors.”
22
BONES
After practice on Friday, I was beat. We had an away game tomorrow, but the guys were meeting in the common room to have a low-key night of pizza and cards. I decided not to invite Emil because I needed to get over him already. We had a lot of fun together as friends, so I still got to be around him all the time. Hopefully, my crush would fade soon enough.
I showered, changed, and was ready to head back to the dorm when Henners motioned for me to follow him back to the stadium. “Wanna show you something.”
“Can it wait? Not in the mood.”
That was another thing that was different about me. Normally, I went along with anything, just trying to fill my time with opportunities for fun. But I was learning how to say no and set limits.
“I promise it won’t take long,” Henners replied, urging me along.
When I saw Lark, Justin, and Leah waiting in the stands, I figured it had something to do with them. Some of the other players were up there too, so I figured it was something big.
“Why are you all up here in the nosebleed seats?” I asked as I scaled the stairs.
Lark smirked. “Watching the marching band.”
“They’re still practicing?”
My gaze swung to the field, where the band was indeed marching in a formation toward the fifty-yard line. I wondered if they had been kept after to practice for a new routine or to perfect something. That was when the music started, and there was a low buzz all around me. A new song, perhaps? I recognized the melody—“Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars.
Easily able to spot Emil on his trumpet, I focused on him as the band began leaving the line and spreading out in some configuration. But Emil moved forward, separating from the other members as if he were the focal point, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away.
Because I was so focused on him, I apparently wasn’t paying enough attention to what the others in the band were doing until Henners jerked my shoulder and motioned to the field.
By that point, Emil had knelt and lifted a poster board with a gigantic question mark on it. I narrowed my eyes, trying to make sense of it all…until I finally focused on the marching band behind him.
They’d spelled out: DATE ME.
Everyone around me started whooping and hollering and patting me on the back.
My head was swimming as I tried to comprehend what was happening.
“What…?”
“Emil organized this for you,” Lark said when I gawked at him. “It was too hard to get the question mark right, so we came up with this idea instead.”