Lovestruck Summer by Melissa Walker Page B

slams into the ground after an elbow gets thrown at her from the side. “Oh, nothing,”I say. “Just this thing Russ made.”“Russ?!”Jade asks, snapping her head toward me. “He made you a mix?”“It’s not really like a mix mix,”I say. “It’s
    148 more like his way of trying to get me to like country music.”“He probably wants to get you to like more than country music,”says Jade. “He wants you to like country guys. And from the tone of your humming, it sounds like it’s working.”“Is not!”I shout. “Whatever,”says Jade. I focus on the game in front of me, where one skater named Daisy Hazzard is passing every- one and earning huge cheers from the crowd. “He’s getting to you, isn’t he?”asks Jade. “This frat cowboy.”“No,”I say. “I’m really into Sebastian.”Jade perks up then. “He’s so completely hot,”she says. “So are you guys full-on dating or what?”“I think so,”I say. “I mean, we’ve been hang- ing out, like, twice a week.”“Right,”says Jade. “Defi nitely. He’s yours. Unless you’re starting to like someone else or something. . . .”“I’m not,”I say. “Okay, cool,”says Jade, sipping on her straw and getting back into the game.
    149 “Go, Chrisifi er!”she stands up and shouts as a buxom blond girl with awesomely ripped thigh muscles makes another successful loop around the track. When Chrisifi er faces me, I freeze. It’s Chrissy! “Oh my God, I know that girl,”I say to Jade. “Who, Chrisifi er?”asks Jade. “She is balls- out competitive. I’ve seen her make other girls cry before—and this isn’t a crying group of girls.”“Seriously?”I ask. “She’s my cousin’s soror- ity sister and she comes over all the time to watch romantic comedies—and she cries.”“That’s so cool,”says Jade, missing the part about Chrissy’s penchant for cheesy movies. “You get to hang out with Chrisifi er!”“I had no idea,”I say, as I watch her body- check another victim. Do I really have Chrissy all wrong? I hate to admit it, but I had her pegged as a girly girl who wears pink and weeps during The Bachelor and shrieks so loudly that my ears hurt when something scares her. That might all be true, but there’s a lot more to this girl than
    150 I assumed. Which makes me wonder who else I’ve maybe unfairly stereotyped. I’m quiet for the rest of the game, and I don’t let Chrissy see me before we leave. “You don’t wanna go say hi and congratu- late her?”asks Jade. Chrissy’s massive scoring power—not to mention her herculean defensive moves—defi nitely won the game for her team. “Nah,”I say. “I’ll see her later.”On the drive back to the condo, I text Sebastian. “Who are you texting?”asks Jade. “My best friend from home,”I lie. I don’t want her to know that I’m actually asking Sebastian if he’ll make me a mix of his favorite songs to spin right now. When I get that, I’ll have proof that he and I have something going. And I’ll have something else to listen to besides Russ’s manipulative soundtrack. “So what did you do yesterday?”asks Jade. “I just hung out with my cousin,”I say. “We listened to music mostly.”“Like Mr. Muscle’s Mix?”asks Jade, laughing. I don’t respond.
    151 When Jade drops me off, I walk up to the condo and unlock the door. Then I fl op down on the couch, slip in my earbuds, and press PLAY. Music usually clarifi es everything for me- helps me know how I feel, what I think, what the truth is. But right now the playlist I want to hear just confuses me more.
    152 Chapter 14 When I get into work on Monday, Jade is wearing a summer jumpsuit in bright purple and her hair is definitely done. As in, red movie- star waves cascading down her tanned, exposed shoulders. I look down at my Pursued by Bear concert T-shirt and, for the fi rst time, feel a little . . . I don’t know . . . frumpy? “Someone’s dressed to impress,”I say, set- tling into my