Read Online Secret Catch by Cassie Mae, Jessica Salyer - Free Book Online Page A

headed where, or where they were just coming from.” He points to a light in the distant sky. “Look here comes one—probably from, I’m gonna say, Texas.”
    We watch it get bigger and bigger until you can see the outline of the plane. Then it’s flying over us, so loud it vibrates in my chest, and soon after it lands on the runway in front of us.
    “Cool.” I smile and wipe my hands on a napkin and take a swig of Coke. It’s nice he wants to be alone with me, but I can’t believe he thought I would fall for the BS he fed me earlier. I mean come on . Pushing me in the car and then blocking his friend’s view of me kind of gave it away.
    When I saw him jog onto the field tonight, his droopy shoulders and half-assed high-fives made me think he was just disappointed about not playing. I’m sure it was hard for him to sit on the bench, especially when they lost. I bet every part of him wanted to be out there next to his teammates giving it his all. I ended up texting Brad to make sure he had a good night despite the fact that he too was on the bench. His “Skyhawks are the shit!” text with accompanying sideways capital D emoticon eased my mind.
    But the way Tyler acted at his truck… it has to be something more than just about the game.
    The pizza box moves silently when I push it down the hood a little. I scoot closer to him and then say, “Do you think I’m ugly?”
    He chokes a little on the food in his mouth. “H-hell no. Why would you ask that?”
    I pat him on the back. “Well, there has to be a reason you’re hiding me from your friends.” I give him a cheesy grin. “So what’s up?”
    He blows out a big breath and tentatively taps the back of my hand with his. I turn my palm, rollercoaster heading down in my stomach.
    “First, I just want to say”—he pauses again—“you know I like you, right?” His thumb moves back and forth over my knuckles, making my stomach jump over on the tilt-a-whirl.
    “I like you, too. A hell of a lot.”
    That smile is so damn hot I’m tempted to keep going on just how much I like him, but then it fades.
    “Well, tonight, uh…” He blows out another breath. “Our locker room was trashed. Shit thrown everywhere. Lockers destroyed. It was bad.”
    “Skyhawks.” Figures . Suddenly Brad’s “morning runs” make sense.
    “Yeah.” He places a kiss on the inside of my wrist. “We don’t have any proof, but—”
    “You don’t have to say it. I know who it was.”
    His blue eyes turn apologetic. Like he has anything to be sorry for. It’s just one of the things that happens during football season in this town. One team starts it, the other retaliates, and it loops and loops in an endless cycle. I’ve fortunately been able to keep my ass out of all of that, but with Brad basically leading the mob with pitchfork in hand directed at the guy I like “a hell of a lot” I’m guessing I won’t be out of the rivalry business for long.
    “All the jerseys were spray-painted with shit,” Tyler says, and I squeeze his hand. “Except for mine.”
    “Yours was fine?” My forehead crinkles together.
    “Mine is missing.”
    I shake my head. Guess I’ll be looking for Tyler’s jersey next time I visit Aunt Gabby’s place.
    “Yeah,” he continues when I don’t say anything. “So I wondered if they did this because I knocked Nolan’s lights out, or did he—”
    “See us together.” I finish for him.
    He boldly pulls me into his side, and so I boldly rest my head on his shoulder. He’s probably saying goodbye before this gets messy. I totally get it, I just wish we would’ve been able to kiss at least once befor—
    “I don’t want to stop seeing you because of this,” he says, and I find myself smiling.
    “Me neither.”
    “So… what do you suggest?”
    I gaze down at his jeans, tempted to touch the pocket near his hip. Hanging out with Tyler doesn’t scare me. I mean it does… but in the way I think it’s supposed to. I’m nervous around