Page 1 of Breakaway Goal

1

RHYS

Ishouldn’t feel this way every time I look at my best friend’s little sister.

I know it’s cliché to say that my heart skips a beat when I see her, but I swear that’s what happens, every damn time. And when it gets back into its rhythm, the first beat thunders in my chest. Then it feels like there are a million wings fluttering in my stomach, and the edges of my lips pull into a stupid grin like they have a mind of their own.

That’s what happens every time I turn a corner, lift my head, or walk through a door and see Maddie Larsen in front of me.

And that’s what’s happening right now. I just stepped from the backyard into our house that’s packed wall to wall for our traditional party before the first day of classes. Immediately, my gaze lands on Maddie, who’s standing with her friend Jasmine in the middle of the living room.

It’d be a fucking game of Where’s Waldo to try and spot any one person in this house right now, with rowdy Brumehill College students packed like sardines in a way that must violate at least a dozen safety codes.

Still, Maddie’s exactly who my eyes naturally settle on the moment I glance into the crowded room.

Somehow, that’s the way it always is—whenever we’re close to each other, my eyes find her.

There’s a long beat of time where the loud music sounds distant in my ears while I drink up the sight of her. Her bright blue eyes, the way her pink lips form the perfect heart shape, the soft curve of her jaw, the alluring glow on the apples of her cheeks contrasting with her creamy complexion, the silky sheen of her dark black hair.

It wasn’t always like this between us. She didn’t always make my heart stutter in my chest the way she does now.

First, she was just my best friend’s younger sister, a girl who’d annoy us sometimes when I came over to hang out with Lane.

Then, as she got older, and the stock of memories we shared together grew, and I got to know her more, she became my friend, too. Almost as close a friend as her brother.

And then, somewhere along the way, she became …

I shake myself out of it.My friendis all she’ll ever be. I know that. I’ve accepted it. No matter what my stupid heart does whenever I look at her.

Forcing myself back into reality, I notice Maddie and Jasmine start to weave through the crowd of drunken college students toward the kitchen, where I’m standing.

I push down the feelings that swell so strongly in my chest that it feels ready to burst, those feelings that blossom in the wake of my skipped heartbeat every time I see Maddie. At this point, I’m an expert at doing so. It’s as second nature to me as handling a puck on the ice.

The side of my mouth ticks up as Maddie and her friend approach closer, and I realize they still haven’t noticed me. I takea step back out and to the side, hiding behind the wall next to the open door.

Maddie and I have a bunch of little traditions we’ve built up between us over the years, and I’m sensing the perfect opportunity to indulge in one of our more childish ones.

It all started back when I was twelve years old, and she was ten.

It was the day before Halloween, and I was over at her and Lane’s house like I was just about every day of the year. I’d just stepped out of the bathroom—and a figure wearing a black robe and a ghost mask leaped in front of me, holding up a giant knife.

In the heat of the moment, it didn’t look like the plastic prop it was.

I let out an extremely embarrassing high-pitched scream and jumped backward so hard that I fell and landed right on my ass on the hard tile of the bathroom floor.

While I cursed up a storm and rubbed my sore butt, Maddie cackled with glee underneath that mask.

Ever since then, sneaking up and trying to scare each other has been one of our things.

So now I’m hiding in wait next to the open door, hoping that Maddie and her friend are tired of the packed living room and decide to come out to get some fresh air. I’ll be in perfect position to pounce right as she unknowingly steps past me, yellbooin her ear, and see how high I can get her to jump.

Immature? You bet. A grin carves on my face just imagining her reaction.

I’m also imagining the rosy flush that’ll fill her cheeks when she turns around, the way her full, pink lips are going to be parted in a circle as she yelps in surprise … and the tightness in my jeans tells me I really need to stop dwelling onthatimage.

The song blaring on the speakers in the living room fades into a quiet ending. I strain my ears to see if I can pick up ona conversation between Maddie and Jasmine, expecting them to be at the kitchen island right by the door refilling their drinks.

My ears find the note of Maddie’s voice. “Let’s look around to see if we can find Lane or Rhys to say hi,” she’s telling Jasmine. “Maybe they’re outside.”

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