For the Rush (Playing for Keeps #3) (8 page)

Holden

I wasn’t sure how I would prove myself to Chloe until now. The answer stood right in front of me wearing a wrinkled t-shirt and jeans, glasses sliding down his nose. Preston was hunched over his backpack in front of an open locker. After zipping it up, he stood and readjusted his glasses. Then he slammed his locker shut, and the metal rattled on the hinges. His eyes widened, his body stiffening when he saw me approaching. As I got closer, his gaze shifted the hallway like he was searching for backup.

Oh, hell. He was afraid of me.
I’d never given him any reason to be, never picked on him. Still, I didn’t blame him for being wary. It’s not like I’d ever reached out to him. I’d never lifted a finger to help, never stood up for him, never even spoke to the guy. But that would change today. I was determined to show Chloe I was a good guy. Not a bully like Ryan. She was giving me a second chance, and I wouldn’t blow it.

“Hey, Preston,” I greeted him with a smile.

He took a step backward, his head hitting the locker behind him. I winced. That couldn’t have felt good.

“Relax,” I told him, putting out a steadying hand as if he was a stray cat I was attempting to calm. And actually that’s what he reminded me of – a skittish cat. Students filled the halls, voices circling us. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a few of them peering over curiously. My chest tightened. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m just being friendly.”

He snorted. “Heard that before.”

By the way his hands shook and he inched away from me, I was betting that was true. My stomach hurt at the thought. Had he really been tricked into thinking someone was being nice just to end up being attacked? Remembering how Ryan teased Chloe, my stomach knotted. Had she experienced the same thing? Was that why she was so upset about this? I had to fist my hands at my sides as anger overtook me. I would seriously beat the hell out of someone who hurt Chloe. Shaking my head, I willed my body to calm and focus. The surge of anger came out of nowhere, surprising me. I hardly knew Chloe. Why was I already so protective of her? What was it about her that made me so desperate to make her mine?

“I’m being serious, man,” I said to Preston.

His eyes narrowed. “Oh, yeah?” Amidst the skepticism was a glimmer of hope.

“Hey, loser,” Ryan’s voice bellowed over my shoulder. When I turned, his gaze was trained on Preston. “Holden doesn’t swing that way, okay? So take your nasty thoughts and get the hell outta here.” His arm shot out and he shoved Preston against the locker.

“Ry!” I said, attempting to stop him. But it was too late. Preston scrambled away from us, his expression hard. Clearly, he thought I set him up for this. “What the hell, man?”

“Sorry.” He shrugged. “I didn’t realize you wanted to mess with him yourself.”

I froze, dark hair catching my attention. Chloe stood just feet away, and judging by the look on her face I’d say that she caught the whole show.
Damn it.
I glanced over at Ryan before walking away.  “Is it possible for you to stop acting like a dick for two seconds?”

“I could try, but I’m not making any promises.” Ryan flashed me a grin.

“Hey, man.” Sawyer joined us.

“Riddles, what’s up?” Ryan lifted his hand and they engaged in a fist bump.

I had to get out of here. “I’ll catch up with you guys later.” Spinning around, I went after Chloe. She was already at the end of the hallway, but I wove through the students, moving quickly.

“Chloe!” I called after her.

Her body flinched, but she didn’t turn. In fact, she moved faster, disappearing around the corner.
Shit.
Taking a deep breath, I slowed down.

“Holden?” Bethany’s voice was like a splash of cold water on my face.

A frustrated breath escaped through my lips. She was the last damn person I wanted to see at this moment. Pressing my lips into a tight line, I stared at her. I was hoping my hard expression would scare her, but I should’ve known better. Bethany never did know when to walk away.

“Why do you need the new girl? Did she drop something?” She glanced down at my hands. This was a classic Bethany tactic.

“Jealousy doesn’t look good on you, Beth,” I said.

Her cheeks colored. “What would I have to be jealous about? I have a boyfriend, remember?”

My insides twisted. How could I forget? Her boyfriend was the guy she had cheated on me with.

“Besides, I’d never be jealous of a band geek.” Her brows furrowed. “Wait, you’re not like seeing her or something, are you?”

So this was all about getting information from me. That made sense. Bethany always was one for gossip. I shoved past her. “Nice to see you, Beth. Tell Dusty I said hi.”

“His name’s Rusty,” she corrected me.

“Is it?” My lips tugged at the edges as I swaggered away from her. She may not have known when to walk away, but I sure as hell did.

Once I rounded the corner, I glanced around at the last place I’d seen Chloe. The hallway had cleared out. When the bell rang out, I sighed. It seemed I couldn’t catch a break when it came to Chloe.

But I wasn’t giving up.

Not now.

Not ever.

Chloe had no idea who she was up against. Ask any guy on the team. I never backed down. I was relentless. I fought. I won. Every time. And this time would be no different.

Chloe avoided me the remainder of the week. Whenever I tried to approach her she took off. I thought of chasing her, but decided against it. There were a lot of girls who would respond to being chased. Girls who would love it even. Bethany was like that. She got a kick out of the chase. Liked making me humiliate myself for her. Liked knowing that I would run around like a freaking idiot for her. Chloe didn’t strike me as that kind of girl. No, this wasn’t about her wanting to be pursued. This was about me proving I was worthy of her.

About me proving that I wouldn’t treat her the way others had treated her at school. That I wasn’t the kind of guy who judged others based on looks and social status. Since I knew chasing her was out, I had to come up with a different plan. Grand, romantic gestures were something I could do, but I wasn’t sure if that would work either.

I didn’t have much time to mull over options since my week was jam-packed with school work and football practice. Before I knew it, the Friday night game was upon me. As I stood on the field in my football gear, bright lights shining down, I felt at peace for the first time all week. All the turmoil I’d been experiencing dissipated. Even my irritation with Ryan flew out the window. On the football field, he wasn’t my friend. He was my teammate. He was the best damn wide receiver I knew. And we made a great team. The only chink in my armor was when I spotted Mom in the bleachers, sitting alone. My heart pinched at James’ absence. Where the hell was he lately? But I shoved away the thought, vowing to take care of him later. This was what football did for me. It grounded me. It was my happy place. The place I felt most content. With a football in my hand and turf under my feet, I could let everything else go.

I wondered if it was this way for Chloe when she played her instrument. And it was at that moment when I knew exactly what I had to do.

And I had to do it tonight.

Chloe

I’d been taking Mom’s advice, and it seemed to be working. Preston appeared to be coming out of his shell a little, and he was happier than when I’d first met him. Perhaps that was what he needed the entire time. Just someone to befriend him. It was so simple. And it bothered me that no one else had tried it before. He wasn’t that bad. God, the other kids acted like he had leprosy or something. It didn’t make sense to me, and I felt like I was missing something.

After adjusting my hat, I turned away from the mirror in the band room and spotted Preston in the corner. He was bent over his instrument’s case fiddling with something inside. His eyes were downcast, his face shrouded in the shadows. A couple of kids sidestepped him, and he glanced up, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses. The look he shot them was chilling, and it hit me. Kids didn’t act like he had leprosy, they acted like they were scared of him.

“Hey.” Jasmine’s hand clamped down on my shoulder, and I flinched. When my head turned in her direction, her eyebrows knit together. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. When I glanced back at Preston he was looking right at me, his expression pensive. But when our eyes locked, a smile swept across his face. My shoulders relaxed, and I grinned back.

“Cool, because we’ve gotta head out,” Jasmine said.

“It’s already time?” I shook out my hands, releasing my nerves. We’d done all right at our first competition, but not great. Mr. Grant had been riding us hard since then. But the truth was that I wasn’t nervous about not performing well.

I was nervous about seeing Holden.

After witnessing Holden and Ryan picking on Preston the other morning, I’d steered clear of Holden. But that didn’t stop him from staring at me whenever our paths crossed. I hated that my heart skipped a beat whenever I caught his eyes piercing into mine. No matter how much I wanted to dislike him, deep down there was a part of me that was drawn to him. He was gorgeous. That much was obvious, but usually I wasn’t sucked in by looks. I’d never been that shallow. So what was it about Holden that intrigued me so much?

Jasmine and Gianna talked animatedly by my side as we trekked out to the field. As we neared it, I slowed down. Holden stood across the field with the ball in his hand. The bright light above him shone down like a spotlight. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him as he threw the ball toward a teammate. The muscles in his arm bulged with the effort. Even though his helmet obscured his face, his dark eyes were visible, and it made my stomach flip.
Damn, why’d he have to be so hot?

After our team scored a touchdown, halftime was called, and the players jogged off the field. My heart thumped in my chest as I walked forward, my eyes watching Holden. I prayed he wouldn’t spot me. We all matched, so it would be hard to find me in this crowd. Lowering my head, I hoped to blend in. I stepped in line with the rest of the band as we made our way onto the turf. Out of the corner of my eye, I observed the football players as they exited the field. My heart sank when Holden ran off without even a second glance back to me. It’s what I wanted, so why did it irk me? Mentally scolding myself for my wishy-washy emotions, I stalked forward, clutching tightly to my saxophone.

The air was cool tonight as it feathered over my face. But my long-sleeved uniform kept me warm. More than warm. It was a freaking sauna in this thing. Numb, I made my way over to my spot on the field. Standing up tall, I held my saxophone in front of me and stared forward at the drum major. Taking a deep breath, I waited for her cue. The music started up, loudly spilling through the speakers surrounding us. When the drum major raised her arm, I lifted the saxophone and closed my lips around the mouthpiece. My gloved fingers pressed down on the notes as I played. Tuning out thoughts of Holden and all the other things crowding my mind, I focused on the notes I needed to play, and the placement of my feet as I marched. I moved skillfully over the field, losing myself in the music and the movements. When the show wound down, I slowed. The drum major dropped her arms, and I lowered my instrument. Blinking, I scanned the stadium as if seeing it for the first time. That’s what playing was like for me. I got caught up in it. It was the only time I could quiet my racing thoughts and just be me.

As my gaze scoured the bleachers, I saw my parents sitting in the second row. Mom was drinking a bottle of water, and Dad had his hand in a bag of chips. Both of them wore excited grins. Seriously, they made better teenagers than I did. Turning to leave the field, my breath caught in my throat. Holden stood at the edge of the field, his gaze glued to me. He had one arm slung over the metal fence separating the field from the bleachers. The relaxed way he stood there caused me to wonder if he’d been there the entire show.

I didn’t dare allow myself to ponder what that meant if he had been.

Forcing my legs to move, I stepped forward. I barely got two steps down when Holden pushed off the fence and swaggered in my direction. His cleats crunched on the turf as he neared us. Swallowing hard, I could hear my heart hammering in my ears as if it had literally traveled from my chest and now resided in my head. Holden elbowed his way through the band students, his gaze never leaving me. The hunger in his eyes crashed over me like a powerful ocean wave.
What the hell was he doing?
Curious glances and loud whispers spun around me the closer he got. When he reached me, I stopped walking, afraid I would walk right into his chest.

Before I could register what was happening, his hand reached up to cup my face. He was so close I could smell sweat and the faint scent of his deodorant. I sucked in a breath, unable to move.

“You were amazing,” Holden breathed.

“You saw?” I whispered, not fully trusting my voice right now.

“The entire thing.” He grinned, his hand still on my face. “And now I know.”

“Know what?” I bit my lip. It terrified me how much I liked the feel of his hand on my skin. I prayed he’d never release it.

“That you love music the way I love football. I’ve never seen anyone look as gorgeous as you did in your element.”

I snorted, his words breaking through the trance he’d had me under. “Yeah, right. There is nothing pretty about me in this monstrosity.” Cringing, I peered down at my marching band uniform.

“I didn’t say beautiful. I said gorgeous. And I meant it.” The sincerity in his eyes made me clamp my mouth shut, closing in the sarcastic remark that threatened to come out. When I dared to peek around us, I saw that the field had pretty much cleared out. The band had made it off the turf, and the football team was just filing out of the locker room. Everyone in the bleachers were watching us. I froze. “Let them stare.” Holden’s hand curved further around my face, and he moved closer. So close I thought he might kiss me. His warm breath fanned over my flesh. “I want them to know how I feel. I like you, Chloe. It never mattered to me that you were in band. I want to be with you, and I’m not going to let our social status get in the way of that. Are you?”

Well, when he put it that way, how I could I refuse?

Besides, he was right. He’d made it clear that he liked me from the first day we met. It was me who’d let our labels get in the way. My lips twitched, curving upward.

“I like you too, Holden.”

A grin leapt to his lips, and he stepped even closer.

My pulse quickened. “But I’m not kissing you in front of all these people.”

“Fair enough.” He winked, dropping his hand. “I can wait.”

“We’ll take things slow?” I may have liked him, but I hardly knew him. And I still had some reservations about the whole thing.

“As slow or fast as you want. You make the call.”

My cheeks colored. “I meant with our relationship…not, you know, sexually.” God, did I just say the word ‘sexually’ to Holden Reece? “Although, I do want to go slow with that. I mean…” I was making this worse. Why couldn’t I shut up?

“Relax. I knew what you meant.” He grabbed my hand, and I noticed the team had taken the field. “Let me walk you off.”

I nodded, acutely aware of all the eyes on me. Every single player was staring at me, wide-eyed. Not to mention the cheerleaders were having a free-for-all. Some of them smiled with a giddiness I’d never possessed, but one of them looked outright pissed. I shuddered, grasping tightly to Holden’s hand. I wished I didn’t have my gloves on. It would be nice to feel his skin against mine.

“Wait for me. We’ll talk after the game,” Holden said when we got to the edge of the field.

“Okay.” My head swirled. This was all happening so fast. A half hour ago I was angry with Holden. I wanted nothing to do with him. Now I was holding his hand and agreeing to wait for him after the game.

He smiled before releasing my hand and racing back out onto the field. My chest heaved with each breath as I watched him. It all felt so surreal. Had he really met me out on the field, touching my face and saying sweet things in front of everyone? He’d proven to me that he didn’t care what others thought, and that spoke volumes.

I felt someone watching me, and I turned. Preston was standing a few feet away, his expression dark. I smiled, but he didn’t return it. Instead, his gaze slid past me, honing in on Holden. Then he shook his head and stormed off angrily. My chest tightened. Had Holden really done what I asked of him? Had he really proven that he wasn’t a bully?

Thinking of all I’d witnessed between him and Preston, I wasn’t sure. I caught him out on the field, and my heart soared. The guy I’d gotten to know wasn’t a bully. I was sure of that. And I was starting to like him….a lot. No one had ever treated me the way he did tonight. I didn’t want to walk away from that. In fact, a part of me wanted to jump in with both feet. To see where this would lead between us. My parents were right. I spent too much of my time trying to save everyone. It was how I got mixed up in my last relationship. But I didn’t want to do that right now. For once, I wanted to do something just for me. Was that so wrong?

“Oh, my god.” Jasmine approached. “Did that seriously just happen?”

Gianna stood next to her, mouth gaping. “That was like something out of a movie.” She clutched her chest and sighed heavily. If playing music didn’t work out for her, she could take up acting.

“What did he say to you?” Jasmine nudged me.

I stared out at the field as Holden made another throw. “He told me he liked me.” The words tasted good on my tongue. I liked the way they felt as I tossed them around.

“No way!” Gianna shoved me in the shoulder.

“Way,” I responded.

“What did you say?” Jasmine asked pointedly.

“That I…” I paused, suddenly wishing we could have kept the moment private. Sure, it was awesome the way Holden declared his feelings for me in front of everyone, but now I wanted to hold the moment close. To ponder it on my own. To replay it over and over in my mind. Not share it with the whole world. But I knew they’d never stop asking if I didn’t tell them. “I said that I liked him too.”

“This is epic.” Gianna swooned.

And she was right. This
was
epic. I smiled. “Yeah, it kinda is.”

After the game, I changed out of my uniform and slipped into the yoga pants and tank top I’d been wearing when I’d arrived. If only I’d known where the night would lead, I would’ve chosen something cuter. But how could have I known what Holden had planned?

“You and Holden, huh?” Preston intercepted me on the way out the door. I held my purse in one hand and my instrument in the other. Sometimes I rode with Jasmine to the games, but I was glad I had chosen to drive myself tonight. Once I dropped this stuff in my car, I had planned to wait outside of the locker room for Holden.

“Yeah,” I answered.

He shook his head. “And here I thought you were different.”

“This doesn’t change anything, Pres. I’m still your friend.”

“You don’t get it, do you?” With nervous motions he pushed his glasses up his nose.

“Don’t get what?” My gaze flickered to the clock on the wall, my heart seizing. I needed to get out of here quick. I didn’t want Holden to think I left.

Preston followed my gaze. “Nothing. Never mind. Go be with Mr. Superstar.”

Clearly he was upset, and I knew I should’ve stayed to chat it out, but I didn’t want to miss my opportunity to meet Holden. I’d made him a promise, and I planned to keep it. “We’ll talk later, okay?” I flashed him an apologetic look as I moved around him. Then I hurried to my car and dumped my stuff inside. I shoved my keys and phone into my pocket and then ran to the locker room. By the time I reached it, I was out of breath. Leaning against the fence, I allowed the cool air to skate over my skin as I calmed my breathing.

“You waited,” Holden’s voice startled me.

I turned toward him. “You told me to.”

“I wasn’t sure you would listen.” His nearness caused my knees to soften. He’d changed into jeans and a white t-shirt that clung to his muscles. His hair was damp, his face flushed. Man, he looked so good. “You don’t strike me as the obedient type.” One side of his lip curled upward in an amused expression.

“I’m not.” I stood up taller. “I do what I want. Not what I’m told. Is that going to be an issue?”