Page 46 of XOXO, Valentina

I nodded in understanding. If anyone talked about my mom like that, they would regret it. “Maybe not on the bus,” I said. “Or school property either.”

Shane laughed, and I saw Gabriella in him for the first time. They had the same expressive eyes framed by long, dark lashes. Otherwise, he didn’t favor her very much. He was tall and lanky, with big hands and feet, a sure sign he wasn’t done growing. Once he added in lifting weights, he was going to be unstoppable in any sport he chose.

“Nice racing tonight,” I said, leaning into the aisle for a fist bump.

His smile faded, but he reached out to tap my fist with his. “Thanks.”

Obviously, he wasn’t satisfied with his performance. “You broke a record as a freshman,” I said to remind him.

“Yeah.” He shrugged.

My jaw tightened. I hated to think Shane was the kind of kid who wasn’t happy unless he won. I leaned farther into the aisle. “Are you upset about not winning?”

His shoulders lifted again. “Nah. I don’t care about getting first. I just thought I was gonna do a lot better.” His mouth twisted, and he hung his head. “I know I can go so much faster.” He lifted his eyes to mine. “I’m running in the low forties at practice, so I should be much faster on race day.”

My shoulders relaxed when I recognized the tone of impatience in a gifted athlete. “You’ll get there.”

“You think it was because I had lane one?”

I shook my head. “Lane one can be an advantage.” I’d run some of my best races from lanes one and six. “No one’s expecting the outside smoke. They can’t see you coming, and they aren’t prepared for you.”

Shane leaned forward, hanging on my words.

“If you train for lane one, think how good you can be in lanes three and four. We’ll focus on your start next week, get rid of your initial stutter step, and I bet you can go under thirty-nine at the next meet.”

Shane’s eyes widened. “You think so?”

“I know it.”

“That’s dope.” His smile returned. “I saw your race at Great Southern Conference Championships. You crushed everyone. What did you go? Thirty-seven fifty?”

“That’s right.” I thought fondly of my fastest race. The best part was my family had been there to see it. Mom and Dad had taken a rare vacation from the restaurant and brought the entire family to Dallas.

“Where’d you see my race?” I asked.

“YouTube.”

I nodded. “That’s pretty dope.”

Shane gave me a funny look, and I realized he thought I was far too old to use teenager slang.

I was dying to pull out my phone and watch my race on YouTube, but I couldn’t afford to lose any more cool points.

Shane got up from his seat, came closer to the back of the bus, and sat in the empty seat across the aisle from me. He leaned forward, suddenly serious, as he studied me. “You like my mom, don’t you?”

His question was like a cold splash of water on my face. “What?”

His brown eyes crinkled with laughter, and he snorted. “It’s so obvious. You’re always making heart eyes at each other when she picks me up from practice. And I caught her listening toSpanish for Dummieson audiobook.”

Gabriella was learning Spanish? Warmth spread through my chest.

“You like her, don’t you?” Shane asked again.

“Your mom is pretty amazing, but she’s my boss.”

Shane’s eyebrows pinched together. “So?”

Frustration coiled in my gut. “Between you and me?”

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