"Ah now, that's not very nice, flower. What did I ever do to you?"
With a sigh, I said, "I've asked you before not to call me that."
Dare Frost lifted his lips in a slow smile. "I know. But it just fits you so well."
My heart skipped, and I cursed internally. Yes, okay, Dare Frost was gorgeous. That smile had been known to wreak havoc, devastating members of Durham High's female population, breaking hearts left and right. And his gaze was so rarely directed at me, of course, I stuttered a bit. But that was no excuse. His teeth were, admittedly, perfect, paired with lips I'd heard other girls call "totally kissable". But the strong chin, the dark hair and those sky blue eyes? They were so unnecessary. The only thing that saved him from being too perfect was a large nose that was almost too big for his face. Add in his air of confidence that bordered on cocky, and Dare Frost was a big deal here at Durham High.
But he'd always been too much for me.
I crossed my arms, looking away. "I actually am waiting for someone. So, if you could please go now, that would be nice."
Dare mirrored my position. "I don't think I've ever been asked to leave so nicely before. That brush off was beautiful, flower. I'll have to use it sometime."
Gah. Was he for real?
"So, who are we waiting for?" he asked.
"We aren't doing anything," I said, getting a little nervous now as more players filed past us, saying bye to Dare, doing that chin lift guys do. Where was Ty? I thought. I needed to do this before I lost my nerve.
"If you're looking for your dad, Coach won't be out for a while."
"I know that." I shot Dare a look. "He always leaves last."
And I hoped he wouldn't decide to change up his routine today of all days. Having my dad witness my confession would be almost as bad as having the school's golden boy standing here—refusing to leave.
"Seriously, would you just go?" I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, feeling Dare's eyes on me the whole time. A few guys from the team walked by, but none of them was Ty. "I'm here on important personal business."
"Hmm, sounds serious," Dare said.
"It is," I agreed.
"In that case, I think I'd better stay."
I had opened my mouth to say something—what, I didn't know—but then Tyson, my long-awaited crush, finally exited the locker room.
"Hey, D," he called out with a grin that made my breath catch, his steps eating up the space between us. Tyson was like a tall glass of water, his blond hair still wet from the showers, his light golden eyes shining like the sun. When he and Dare stood next to each other, looking like day and night, I felt the need to look away so as not to be blinded. They were that pretty. "What's up?"
"Nothing much," Dare said back.
"You need me for something? Most of the team's gone already." Looking my way for the first time, Ty nodded. "How's it going, Viola?"
A blush rose to my cheeks as I cleared my throat. "Going okay, and you?"
"No complaints," he said and shot me a wink. I swear I nearly died on the spot.
"Oh well, that's good," I murmured.
Dare coughed.
"So, what were you guys doing before I got here?" Ty asked.
"Vi was telling me about some important personal business she has going."
I shot Dare a dark glance, but he just smiled.
Tyson looked between the two of us. "Oh really? I didn't know you were close." He elbowed Dare. "Hanging out with the coach's daughter now, huh? Careful there, D. Wouldn't want to get on Coach Kent's bad side."
"Nah, it's cool," Dare said. "She was waiting on someone, but it wasn't me."
"Oh yeah?"
Dare nodded as my face flamed red. "She'd just asked me to leave actually."
"More than once," I said through gritted teeth, but that only seemed to amuse him.
A group of cheerleaders passed by then, wearing short shorts and crop tops, saying hi to Tyson and Dare while completely ignoring me—which was to be expected. Just because some of us had been friends in elementary school didn't mean we were friends now. But it didn't bother me. That felt like a lifetime ago.
Whitney Moorehouse and Ingrid Pinsky tried to hide it, but I noticed they kept throwing glances over their shoulders, probably wondering what I was doing with the school's #1 bromance. Case in point…
"You need a lift?" Tyson asked Dare after the girls were gone. "I didn't see your car in the lot, heard about the latest fender bender. Was your dad mad?"
Dare's smile was fierce. "Furious."
"Man, you look way too pleased about that."
"You've got to take pleasure where you can get it."
Ty shook his head. "You really should be more careful."
"I know," Dare said deadpan. "If I get injured, who's going to work with you on your crap dribbling skills?"
Tyson scoffed. "One, my dribbling isn't crap—yours is just better. Two, I'll probably be the best soccer player in Korea. That's a whole country, man. And three, you're going to miss me so much when I'm gone."
"Pretty sure they call it football over there. Might want to work on that before the big move."
The two laughed good-naturedly. Tyson and Dare had been BFFs since freshman year. Best friends to the core, brothers on the soccer pitch, as talented and handsome a duo as there ever was. But it wasn't their beauty that made me sigh. It was the bond they seemed to share. As someone who was usually content with being a loner, I had to admit it left a pang in my chest.
Hearing my sigh, Dare looked over to
