Souls in Peril (21 page)

But all that was about to change. He brought Leo along for support, wishing now he hadn
’
t. His stupid pickup lines only made Max more nervous.

“
Okay. I
’
m going to give you my best line,
”
his friend said heroically.
“
I
’
ve been saving it for just the right girl, but since you are my best friend and all, I
’
m going to let you have it.
”

Max pinched his eyes shut, preparing himself for another stupid line. After Leo finished, Max opened his eyes.
“
Okay. Maybe that one,
”
he conceded.

“
I know. It
’
s a good one. Now you better get over there. She
’
s almost done stretching.
”
Leo pushed Max toward Emma.
“
And don
’
t forget to trip.
”

Max jogged over to Emma
who
stood taking a long draw on her water bottle. He ran up to her, took a deep breath, and following Leo
’
s advice he pretended to trip. As he stumbled a few steps, Emma reached out to stable him.

Max drew on his best smile, swallowed the lump in his throat, and said,
“
I
’
m not drunk, I
’
m just intoxicated by you.
”

Emma
’
s
hand flew to her mouth as she covered her giggle.
“
Does that line actually work?
”

“
You tell me.
”
Max hoped she didn
’
t notice how red his ears were.

“
I
’
m Emma McKay.
”
She smiled and Max
’
s heart melted.

“
Max
Sánchez
.
”

“
Hi, Max.
So, I lost my phone number
,
can I borrow yours?
”

Max laughed.
“
One cheesy pick
-
up line deserves another?
”

“
Something like that.
”
She grabbed her ponytail and twisted it around her finger. It made the ponytail look like a mini tornado
.

“
Someone told me you
’
re the starting pitcher next year. Pretty impressive for a junior.
”

“
I guess they
’
re desperate,
”
Max said humbly.

“
Really? Because the way I hear it, you
’
re the first junior in twenty-five years to be named pitcher at Port Fare.
”

“
You
’
ve been researching me, have you?
”
He offered her a crooked smile.

“
Maybe.
”
Emma laughed.
“
I
’
m on the school newspaper. They
’
re running a story about it next week and I proofed it for errors.
”

Max nodded.
“
So
,
do budding journalist
s
like the frozen yogurt at the Burger Barn?
”

“
Frozen yogurt? I sort of figured you for an ice cream kind of guy.
”

“
My mom would give me up for adoption if I dared to eat ice cream. She put the word health in nut.
”
Max joked, plunging his sweaty hands into the pockets of his jean shorts.

“
I
’
d love to. I
’
m not in the mood for jogging today anyway.
”
She followed Max to his car and he opened the door for her. She glanced at him in surprise.

“
My mom would give me up for adoption if I didn
’
t
the
open door for a girl also,
”
he said. She smiled and settled into the tan Camry. He all but skipped around and got in.

“
What brought you to the park?
”
Emma asked.

“
I run four days a week when the weather
’
s good,
”
he replied, leaving out the part about him stalking her.
“
How often do you run?
”

“
Not very often. Cheerleader tryouts are coming up and I want to be in top condition. Back in Vegas I danced for exercise.
”

“
Danced? As in showgirls?
”
Max tried not to picture her in a spangley showgirl
’
s costume, complete with feathers, but failed.

“
No
”
she laughed.
“
I guess that does sound really bad. I meant aerobics, ballet, modern dance
. T
hose kinds of dancing.
”

“
My mom does Zumba.
”
Max
’
s face scrunched a little as he remembered
finding
her and a bunch of other mom
’
s in leotards doing Zumba in their basement once. The jarring image will forever be burned into his brain.

“
I love Zumba,
”
she smiled.
“
It
’
s quite popular back at my old high school in Vegas.
”

“
You moved here from the land of sunshine to the home of the gray. You and your family vampires or something?
”
Max teased.

“
You aren
’
t kidding.
”
She
noted
the steel gray sky.
“
I do miss the sun, but I like it here. The people are friendly, and I enjoy having four seasons.
”
She unrolled her window halfway and lifted her face to the wind. Max thought she looked like an angel.

He pulled into the drive-thr
u
and ordered two frozen yogurts, chocolate for him, vanilla for her. They drove back to the park and ate in the car, talking for hours.

“
Favorite color?
”
he asked.

“
Yellow. What
’
s your all-time favorite movie,
”
she asked as they toggled back and forth about each other
’
s favorite things.

“
Napoleon Dynamite,
”
he answered, to which she said,
“
Mine too!
”

“
Napoleon, give me some of your tots
,
”
Max quoted.

“
No. I
’
m freakin
’
starved. I didn
’
t get to eat anything today,
”
she quoted back with a laugh. Max didn
’
t point out she
’
d missed a line.

“
Least favorite animal,
”
Max said.

“
Frogs,
”
she shivered.
“
Yet I love snakes. Weird, huh? Okay, what
’
s your favorite food?
”

“
That would have to be my dad
’
s taco salad. Yours?
”

“
Diet Pepsi.
”

“
That
’
s not a food, it
’
s a drink. And it
’
s bad for you. Do you have any idea what all that carbonation does to your body?
”
Max pressed.

“
Hmm, I think I hear your mother again.
”

“
Point taken. No more lecturing about food if you promise me something.
”

“
Okay?
”
 
S
he laughed nervously.

“
Meet me here tomorrow and we
’
ll go running together,
”
he suggested as his heart rate doubled.

“
I
’
d like that,
”
she answered softly.
“
And thanks for the yogurt.
”
Max watched as she got into her
Acura
, waving as she drove off.

The next three weeks of his life consisted of everything Emma. He woke in the morning with her face present in his mind. He did chores, wondering what chores she had. Throughout the day, thoughts of Emma were front and center in his head, so much so Leo seldom called him to hang out anymore.

“
Come on, Leo. I need some help practicing a new pitch I
’
ve been working on,
”
Max pleaded one afternoon.
“
I have a date with Emma tonight and have to practice now so I
’
ll have time to shower before I see her.
”

“
Dude, you
’
re going running with her. You
’
ll be a sweaty mess when you
’
re done. Take a shower after,
”
Leo reasoned.

“
Are you crazy? I don
’
t want to stink before we even start running.
”
He rolled his eyes as if Leo were nuts.
“
Man, Leo.
She’
s so amazing. I
’
ve never met anyone—
”

“
I
’
m sick of hearing about Emma
.
S
hut up already,
”
Leo complained.
“
I can
’
t practice with you. I have a date myself.
”

“
With who?
”
Max asked, tucking his bat into his black canvas bag.

“
Lisa, who else
?
She wants to double-date with you and Emma. What do you say?
”

“
No. I
’
m not ready to share her yet.
”
Max put his ball equipment in the trunk of his car and shut the hood.

“
I
’
m outta here.
”
Leo
stomped off
.

Max hoped he wasn
’
t mad, but he really didn
’
t want to share Emma just yet. He
’
d never met anyone like her before. He was head over heels crazy about her and he hadn
’
t even kissed her, something he hoped to remedy today. He thought about it all the time, but always chickened out.

He drove over to the batting cages and practiced his batting instead, then went home to shower. When he arrived at the park, Emma stood there stretching.

“
Hey,
”
he said with a goofy grin.

“
Hey, back,
”
she said with an equally goofy grin
;
a grin Max loved.

“
Are you up for a race?
”
Emma asked.

“
I
’
m afraid I
’
d win by the mere fact that I
’
m six inches taller,
”
he pointed out.

“
Yes, but,
”
she slipped a six inch piece of pink paper out of her pocket,
“
I played around with the numbers a little
.
”