Starstruck (20 page)

“Rigel, you’d better go join the team,” Mr. Stuart said as we all got out of the car. “I see the bus is already here. Marsha, would you like to sit with us, or will some of your friends be here?”

I was torn, but figured I’d never get anything out of them during the game, so I opted for honesty. “I sort of promised my friend Brianna I’d sit with her.”

“That’s fine,” said Dr. Stuart with her warm smile. “You’ll have more fun that way, I’m sure. We can all meet down on the field after the game.”

Nodding, I turned toward the stands but Rigel took my hand and stopped me. “Walk with me first?” he asked, and something in his eyes made my heart speed up again.

“Sure.”

He led me in the direction of the team bus, over by Springdale’s gym, but before we reached it, he swerved off to the right, behind a corner of the building. Another corner jutted out a few yards further down, which put us in a slightly secluded angle—at least, no one was directly in sight at the moment.

Rigel stopped and looked down at me, a tiny frown between his dark brows. “I was, um, wondering . . . That is, would it be okay . . .” He paused and cleared his throat.

“What, Rigel?” I couldn’t imagine what could make him so nervous all of a sudden.

“Could I have a . . . a kiss for luck?” he asked in a rush.

Oh!
I could tell from the heat in my face that I’d suddenly gone bright red—but I nodded. I’d been wanting this, dying for this, ever since that first quick kiss on Wednesday, and now I was at least as nervous as he was. My heart pounding like a jackhammer, I tilted my face up and waited.

As he lowered his lips to mine—slowly, this time—I let my eyes flutter closed. And at the first touch of his mouth, all my nervousness magically disappeared. He felt wonderful. Amazing. Impossibly fabulous.

Without even thinking about it, I slid my hands up his shoulders, and at the same time I felt his arms come around my waist. His lips were firm, warm . . . perfect. I thought I might just die from happiness.

Even though it was about five times longer than our first kiss, it was still over way too soon. With obvious reluctance, he pulled away, then planted one last feather-light kiss on the corner of my mouth before straightening up.

“If I don’t have the best game of my life now, it’ll be a miracle.” His voice was husky, which kept his words from being as light as he probably intended them. “I’ll see you after.”

He touched my cheek one more time, then hurried off around the corner to go join the team for warmups.

I stayed where I was for a couple of minutes, waiting for my heart to slow to—well, not normal, but maybe only double speed. Then, in a euphoric daze, I smoothed my hair and headed for the visitor bleachers on the far side of the field to find Bri, already eager for the game to be over so I could be with Rigel again.

CHAPTER 12

Axial tilt

“Hey! I was starting to wonder if you were coming after all,” Bri greeted me when I joined her in the middle of the third row of the visitor stands a few minutes later.

The one small section of metal bleachers on this side of the field was already starting to fill up—probably because Jewel had done so much better than expected last week.

“I mean, the team’s starting to warm up,” she continued as I sat down. “I’m sure the coaches are getting antsy because Rigel’s not—oh, there he is.”

Of course my head whipped around when she said that, in time to see him trotting onto the field. I wondered how he’d changed so fast.

“Where’s Deb?” I asked, forcing my attention back to Bri.

“She couldn’t come. She told us. Both of us, but I guess you didn’t hear her. As usual. So,” she continued, looking more closely at me, “were you two making out?”

“What?” I was sure I’d waited long enough that it wouldn’t be obvious, but of course when she said that, I felt my face heat. I probably looked guilty as sin. Too late to deny it. “Um, not exactly. Just a, um, quick kiss for luck.”

“Hey, I’m the last person to blame you,” she said, throwing up her hands to stop my stammering. “I mean, who
wouldn’t
want to—” She broke off at the look on my face and shrugged. “Sorry.”

I forced a smile, though I was still embarrassed—and a little irritated. “That’s okay. We stopped for dinner on the way and it made us a few minutes late, I guess.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not like Coach Glazier will throw him off the team for it.” Now I was sure there was a sour edge to her tone.

“It’s not like he was late on purpose. And he did clear it with the coach ahead of time—coming separately, I mean.”

“So you could ride with him?”

I stared at her. “Bri, what is up with you? Are you pissed about me riding with Rigel after all?”

Now it was her turn to blush. Red crept up her neck to her ears as she looked away from me. “Why would I be pissed? I think it’s great that Rigel likes you.”

“You’re not acting like it.”

“Sorry,” she said again, though she didn’t quite look at me. “I guess I’m just not in a great mood today.”

“What’s wrong?” I wanted to watch Rigel out on the field, but Bri was my friend and if she needed to talk, it was my duty to listen.

“It’s just—nah, it’s nothing. Just . . . PMS or something.”

I frowned at her for a long moment, wondering if I should try harder to make her spill whatever it was, but she turned away to watch the players, so I gave up—for the moment. Besides, it meant I could turn my own attention to the field . . . and Rigel.

The pull I felt toward him was stronger than ever. In fact, it was nearly impossible for me
not
to stare at him. I knew, intellectually, that should bother me, but somehow it didn’t. I just feasted my eyes on him with pure pleasure, enjoying the way he moved. A little sigh escaped me when the coach called them off the field before the start of the game. Unfortunately, Bri heard it.

“I’m starting to worry about you, Marsha,” she said, again with that edge in her voice. “I mean, I know Rigel is your first boyfriend and all, but it’s like he’s got you hypnotized or something. You’re not acting like yourself at all lately.”

I had to stifle an urge to laugh. Not myself? If only she knew! But of course I couldn’t tell her anything I’d learned. Probably ever. That thought suddenly sucked all the humor out of the situation. Would I ever be able to have close friends again? Non-Martian friends, anyway?

“Sorry,” I said, after too long a pause. “I know I’ve been kind of wrapped up in him. It’s, well . . .” I chose my words carefully. “This is all so new, so different.” That was definitely true, in more ways than one.

“Yeah, I guess.” She half turned her shoulder to me. “I wouldn’t know.”

So that was it. Bri was jealous. Maybe not about Rigel specifically, but that I had a boyfriend and she didn’t. Not something I could fix, unfortunately.

Before I could think of anything to say that wouldn’t sound patronizing, the whistle blew and the game started. I was relieved, then immediately felt guilty for that relief. Bri had been my best friend for most of my life. If I was somehow making her unhappy, I should want to do something about it, shouldn’t I? Even if I didn’t know what I could do.

That worry dimmed my pleasure in watching Rigel, for a few minutes, anyway. But soon I pretty much forgot everything except the amazingness of his playing. He’d been right, I realized. He really was having his best game ever. Even Bri couldn’t hold onto her snit in her excitement over how well our team was doing with Rigel at the helm.

“What a pass!” she exclaimed at one point. “Did you see how he threaded it between those two defenders to land it right in Jaworski’s hands? And he made it look so easy. He’s playing even better than he did last week!”

I couldn’t disagree. I wondered if that “good luck” kiss had made the difference. Was that cheating? And . . . should I feel used? But remembering his look, the tone of his voice, I couldn’t believe he’d kissed me just to improve his game.

“Our receivers seem to be doing better, too,” I said, mostly to take Bri’s focus off Rigel.

“Yeah, they are,” she agreed, “though I think it’s mostly because Rigel’s figured out how to compensate for them. He’s not throwing as hard this game—though he’s still throwing plenty long. I don’t know quite how he does it, but it’s definitely working.”

At halftime, Jewel was ahead by ten points, something Bri claimed hadn’t happened in years.

“I really think we might win tonight,” she said excitedly when the whistle blew. “And if we do, we’re bound to beat Alexandria next week. What a great party there’ll be, if that happens! Oh, hey, can you swing an invite for me? And Deb, if she can get out of the house?”

I blinked at her in confusion. “Invite? To what?”

“The after party,” she explained with a “duh” expression. “There’s one after every home game, but when we lose, it’s just the players and their girlfriends. Where will it be next week, do you know?”

I shook my head. “I didn’t even know they had parties. Wouldn’t your dad know?”

She gave me a pained, patient look. “Like he’d tell me, even if he did? The
coaches
don’t go—it’s not official or anything. But Deb and I were thinking you could get us in—and maybe set us up with a couple of the players?”

“My aunt would never let me go to a party that late,” I reminded her. “And . . . I haven’t gotten to know any of the other players.”

“But you’ve been going to practices and stuff. You have to be talking to them.”

“Two practices. And no, I really haven’t.” Unwillingly, I remembered Bryce Farmer. “Just Rigel.”

“So I guess it’s true. You really are out of our league now that you’re dating the hot quarterback.” Now she wasn’t even trying to hide her sour tone. “Lunches in the courtyard, riding his bus home. Now you’re all that, you’re embarrassed to introduce his teammates to your best friends. Or maybe I should say
ex
best friends.”

I gaped at her, but before I could think of anything to say, she stood up.

“I’m getting a Coke.” She stalked off to the concession stand. And she didn’t come back. Instead, she went down and stood behind the Jaguar bench, near her dad.

I stared at her back, tears prickling behind my eyelids, trying to figure out what I’d done to make her so mad. All I’d done was tell the truth—but it obviously wasn’t what she wanted to hear. Should I have fudged and made some kind of half promise that I’d try to get her a date with one of the football players? Maybe. But then she’d have expected me to follow through, and I had no clue how to do that.

“Fine,” I muttered. If she didn’t want to be my friend unless I could get her a football player for a boyfriend, then she wasn’t really much of a friend anyway. At least, that’s what I told myself.

I was glad when the game started again a couple minutes later. When I could watch Rigel, I could block everything else out.

Almost everything.

I couldn’t help noticing when Trina broke away from the other cheerleaders between cheers to go say something to Bri, down on the sidelines. They both turned to look up at me and then Trina laughed and said something else before skipping back to the squad. I didn’t know what it was, but it made Bri glare at me for several long seconds before she went back to watching the game.

Whatever it was, I’d fix it later, I promised myself as my eyes automatically snapped back to Rigel—just in time to see him run the ball down the field for another touchdown.

Bri’s prediction was right—we did win the game, and by a resounding 33-17. The visitor stands went wild, of course, since it was our first win in almost two years. I saw Bri jumping up and down on the sidelines and thought this might be a good time to go talk to her, while she was in such a good mood. It took some effort to squeeze past the students and parents celebrating in the stands, but I made my way through the happy crowd and down to the field.

Then I saw Rigel coming toward me with a huge grin and all thoughts of Bri went right out of my head. I sped up, almost against my will, like a scrap of metal drawn to a powerful magnet.

“You did it!” I cried as we met on the track. “You won!”

Before I had time to think, he grabbed me and swung me around in a tight bear hug. “I couldn’t have done it without you,” he murmured in my ear as he set me back down.

I wasn’t sure I believed that, but it was still wonderful to hear. Almost as wonderful as that unexpected hug had been. Belatedly, I became aware of the crowd around us, all eager to congratulate Rigel on the amazing game he’d played.

And then I remembered Bri.

Reluctantly, I let some of the other Jewel fans have their chance to talk to Rigel and turned to look for her—only to see her staring at me from several yards away. I smiled and waved as I started toward her, but before I’d taken three steps, she suddenly whirled around and headed for the parking lot.

I stopped, hurt all over again. She’d definitely seen me, and just as clearly didn’t want to talk to me. It looked like I was going to have to chase her down and force her to listen, even though I didn’t know what I’d say.

“Where are you going?” Rigel asked from behind me. “Mom and Dad are over here.” He draped an arm over my shoulders as he gestured to where they stood with the coaches and some other parents.