Chapter 19.

Later that day, I was sitting on the couch, killing time watching TV. Technically, I should have been doing the extra credit science assignment Mr. Davidson had given me to make up some of the points I'd lost on the science project I didn't turn in. But it looked really hard, and it was the weekend, and science was my least favorite subject. I'd get to it later.

The doorbell rang, interrupting my lazy afternoon. I jumped up from the coach, rushing to door.

"Just a minute," I shouted, making my way to the door. Pulling the door open, I looked up and was immediately caught off guard. It wasn't Kelsey or Tae, like I had assumed. It wasn't even Dylan.

"Luke?" I asked.

"Hey," Luke said, a small, semi-amused smile on his face.

"Hey?"

"You seem surprised to see me," he chuckled, shoving his hands into his front pockets. He looked almost nervous.

My lips curved upward into a small smile. "Well, I can't lie and say I was expecting you. What are you doing here?"

Luke shrugged. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay after the whole Madison thing."

I shrugged. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I—well, Madison hasn't exactly been very nice to you."

"You haven't exactly been much better," I muttered. I didn't mean for him to overhear, but judging by the pained expression on his face, he'd caught at least part of it.

This was getting awkward fast. Worse, I saw an all-too-familiar face heading up the driveway, glaring at Luke.

"Dylan?" I called. "What are you doing here?"

"Why do I always find you lurking around Lilly?" Luke scowled. "She's a nice girl and doesn't deserve to have her heart broken."

"You mean the way you hurt her?" Dylan retorted. The way they were looking at each other was none too friendly. Apparently, they took their football rivalry way too seriously.

Looking between the two of them, I noticed they looked a lot alike. Same basic body shape and muscle tone, both adorably cute in their own way. It must be a football player thing.

"How do you two know each other?" I asked Luke, even though Dylan had kind of told me that yesterday.

Luke looked over and rolled his eyes. "Through football."

"Right, right. Clinton is the one who beat you." I gave Luke a cheeky grin to show that I was just teasing.

"Barely," Luke muttered under his breath, and I could tell I had hit a nerve. Someone was a little hostile.

Dylan smirked. "Maybe you guys should learn to actually play football if you want to win."

"You guys only won in overtime because you won the coin flip," Luke snapped, sending a death glare at Dylan. "That's not that impressive from a guy who gets extra coaching from an ex-NFL player."

Dylan shook his head. "Jealous much? As far as I'm concerned, you're welcome to him. It's more stressful than helpful. Besides, that's just another excuse."

"Okay guys, that's enough," I laughed awkwardly. I didn't know how to handle two football plays who clearly had a huge rivalry.

"Dylan, I'm not sure what you're doing here, but I have plans with my Mom tonight. She's visiting from out of town, so I wanted to catch up with her."

Dylan's eyes fell on Luke's, and for a second it looked like he gave him some kind of warning look. Which didn't make any sense to me. By the time he looked at me, he was acting more like his usual self. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then."

I nodded, watching Dylan turn and walk back over to his house.

Luke grinned at me. "So, now that he's out of the way, do you want to get something to eat?"

I shook my head. "I wasn't lying to Dylan," I insisted. "My mom really is here, and I want to spend time with her."

Unfortunately for me, Mom was lurking nearby in the hallway. She took one look at Luke and her face lit up into a grin.

"It's fine, Lilly," she called, giving me a wink. Apparently, she suspected that Luke was the guy I liked. "We can hang out afterward. Just be home by 8:00."

I sighed. Apparently, everyone in my life got to decide my dates for me.

Luke took me to Subway for dinner, since I wasn't really in the mood for fast food and grease. On the way there, we talked about random things from school and sports and some of our favorite things. I learned that he actually enjoyed math and had been taking college math classes since his junior year.

A small part of me was afraid that he would bring up the whole thing with Madison, but he never did.

"Do you like playing football for my dad?" I asked, thinking about all the times my dad would come home bragging about another win thanks to his favorite players.

Luke looked over at me and nodded. "Yeah. He can be a little hardcore sometimes, but I like that. It keeps us playing at our full potential."

"He seems to really like you."

"Well, he was really good friends with my dad back in high school. So our families have a little bit of history."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

I didn't know that. Dad had never talked about having any friends. He never mentioned anything to me about his high school days or childhood at all. The only thing I ever really heard him talk about was football.

Luke nodded, an amused grin on his lips. "Yeah. My dad told me that back when I was heading into my freshman year and he found out who the football coach was."

"Are they still friends? Because my dad hasn't said a word about anything besides his precious football team."

Luke shook his head. "Not really. They went on to play for different college teams. I don't think they stayed in contact." He turned his head, looking around at all the empty tables. "So how do you know Dylan?"

I looked up from my drink. He had just changed the subject completely, and he hadn't exactly been subtle about it. "He's my new neighbor. We've talked a little, but I still don't know much about him."

"But you know him well enough to get ice cream together?" Luke questioned, an amused gleam in his eye.

"Once. And it didn't exactly go well, as you very well know."

Luke nodded. "So what does your dad think? He must have hated you going out with him, since he's the quarterback for Clinton."

I shrugged, trying to figure out what exactly my dad thought of Dylan. "Surprisingly, he seems okay with him. As okay as he is with any guy I hang out with, anyway."

Luke frowned, as if that wasn't the answer he had hoped to hear.

"What were you talking about earlier? You know, about why they won the game?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "I guess Dylan didn't tell you, but his dad was a hotshot NFL rookie, 3rd round draft pick, with a great first season, right up until he had a career-ending injury. So naturally, Dylan thinks he hot stuff, even though our team has the better record."

"That's all?" I pressed. The conversation had seemed more personal than that, not just about who had the better team.

"Yeah," Luke laughed. "Why, you don't think I'm telling the truth?"

I shrugged. "It's hard to tell."

He smiled, standing up from the table. "You ready to get home?"

I pulled out my phone to check the time. 7:23. "Sure."

The car ride was uncomfortably silent. I didn't really know what to say or how to act around Luke, especially now that he had broken up with Madison. Things were just awkward between us.

"You really aren't going to ask?" Luke said. He sounded almost disappointed, as if he had been waiting on me to say something.

"Ask what?"

"Why Madison and I broke up."

I shrugged. "I figured that was your business. Besides, it's not like she was right or anything. You don't actually like me. At least not romantically. We're just friends."

"Yeah," Luke said softly, glancing at me for a moment before returning his eyes to the road. "Just friends."

"Besides, I already know why," I told him, smirking.

"Oh yeah? And whys that?"

"It's because Kelsey was right, and you're secretly pining over some other girl. Probably a college girl or a supermodel or something. Poor Madison never had a chance."

Luke chuckled. "Something like that I guess." He didn't offer any further explanation, and I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of asking. I was so over him.

"So, do you like Dylan then?"

I bit my lip. "Yeah, I really do," I admitted. "We have a lot of fun together."

I knew he meant romantically, and even though there was nothing even remotely romantic between Dylan and me, I figured it wouldn't hurt to let Luke believe that we were an item. Maybe it would alleviate some of the awkwardness between us. Maybe then, he would know that I didn't still have a schoolgirl crush, and we could move on and be friends.

Luke pulled into my driveway and put his car in park, studying me closely. Sighing, he finally said, "Just...be careful. I'd hate to see you get hurt."

I waved goodbye and headed inside, wondering what exactly had just happened. One thing was certain: my life was never boring.

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