Page 16 of Thrown for a Loop
She scowls.
Letting her off the hook, he takes a peek at the vending machine closest to her. Sure enough, there’s a forlorn packet of those neon orange peanut butter crackers dangling in the middle of the rack.
“Huh,” he says, smirking. “I can probably bully those into falling down, but frankly I’m a little worried about your taste. That’s a snack of true desperation. We’re going to have to work on your concept of fun.”
She gapes at him. “At least they have some protein. Not that I asked your opinion. And maybe itisa snack of true desperation.”
“Did you miss dinner in the caf?”
She shakes her head. “It’s complicated.”
He’s about to argue that there’s nothing at all complicated about eating your fill in the dining hall. But then he has a thought. Maybehe’s not the only one on a coach’s training plan. “Are you snacking in secret?”
She crosses her arms in front of that perfect chest. “My coach and I don’t see eye to eye on my calorie count right now.” She waves her hand toward the machine. “Can you do your macho thing, or should I take another crack at it?”
He looks Zoe up and down, but not in a sleazy way. In an assessing way. “You’re, what, a hundred and ten pounds? And you skated for ten hours today? I don’t get it.”
“Youreallyaren’t from around here, are you? An ice princess has to be pencil thin and still jump like a kangaroo.”
Jesus.“Okay, Ice Princess. But crackers aren’t the answer. You’re not thinking big enough. No half measures.” He pulls his phone out of his pocket and scrolls to a number he’d been saving to bribe his campers. “What don’t you like on pizza?”
Her eyes widen. “What?”
“Pizza? You’ve heard of it?” He taps the number. “Quick, what don’t you like?”
“Uh, mushrooms?”
“No way. Me too!” He grins.
“But I can’t carry a pizza into the dorm. There are spies everywhere.”
He studies her again, thinking how sad that is. But how believable. “I can, though. Hello? Hi. Yes. Can you deliver to Filbert Hall, entryway F? Cool. A large pie with meatballs, pepperoni, and maybe olives?” He glances at Zoe.
She nods quickly.
“Yup, olives. Thanks, my dude. Actually—double that order. I have some hungry friends. Thirty-five minutes? Okay, I’ll be waiting outside.” He ends the call. “You’ll meet me on the roof, all right?” He’s actually giddy about this plan. A private party for two.
“On theroof?” she repeats skeptically. “What if it’s locked?”
“It’s not. I scoped it out already. There’s even lawn chairs up there because I’m not the only fun person with big ideas.”
Her eyes widen. Suddenly, the urge to kiss her is overwhelming. But he turns to the vending machine instead. “Stand back, little lady. I’m going to get your horrible crackers now.”
She snorts. “It’ll be really funny if this doesn’t work.”
It might not, but Chase doesn’t actually care. He’s got her full attention and he’s loving every minute of it. He takes three steps back, raising his arms into a kung fu stance. Or at least as much of one as a guy can learn from Keanu inThe Matrix. Then, with a highly comical shout, he does a spinning move before firmly hip-checking the vending machine.
The crackers drop neatly into the slot below.
He lets out a war whoop. “Save ’em for tomorrow,” he says, heading for the door. “Because we got a pizza on the way. Meet me on the roof in thirty-five.”
Feeling like he could run another seven miles just on the glow of winning a private hour of Zoe’s company, Chase takes off without a backward glance. He has very little time to shower and change into a T-shirt in the exact shade of blue that makes all the girls coo over his eyes.
But if he had looked back, he would have seen Zoe watching him with a dazzled expression on her young face.
Chapter 7
Present Day
