CHAPTER 2

She knew her face was probably red because her cheeks felt hot, but thanks to her tanned skin, it wouldn't be noticeable anyway.

"She's not my girlfriend," Finn said as he finally sat down and handed back the half-empty bottle.

She casually took a sip from it, making sure the imprint of his lips was still on the rim. She felt like squealing from the thrill of it—her lips touching the same spot his had. It almost felt like kissing Finnley Bridgeworth.

"Are you okay?" Finn suddenly turned to her.

"Y-yeah, w-why?" she answered, stammering slightly.

"You look weird. And you look like you don't wanna let go of that bottle," he said, noticing she still hadn't removed it from her mouth.

She rolled her eyes and quickly drank the rest.

"Good thing I caught that ball earlier or Fritz's pretty face would've been wrecked," he said with a grin, glancing toward the girl who had been shooting daggers at Zeph earlier but was now batting her lashes and smiling at Finn from afar.

"She's not even that pretty. Just pale," Zephyre muttered with irritation.

Finn turned his gaze to her with an amused expression, then squinted as if studying her face.

"Yeah, I know. I have no right to talk because I look like a sunburned rag. But I only got this dark from playing under the sun. Once my skin lightens, I'll look better than her," she said without looking at him, noticing that he seemed to be staring at her intently.

He shook his head with a laugh.

"If I didn't know you better, I'd think you were jealous," he said, laughing even harder.

She immediately punched him on the arm.

"You're so full of yourself!"

"Ow!" he said, though it clearly didn't hurt, and laughed even more—nearly rolling on the grass.

"Idiot," she muttered with another eye roll.

But inside, she felt a flicker of panic. Was he starting to figure her out? She didn't know when her feelings for him started to change. They had always been together, even as kids, because their moms were best friends and their houses were right across from each other in a subdivision near their school.

Now both in third year high school, they had always been in the same class. Not to brag, but they were both smart—Finn was always top of the class, while she was consistently in the top ten. It was no surprise that even senior girls were going crazy for him. He wasn't just good-looking—he was smart too. A complete package.

She suddenly noticed Fritz approaching them. The same girl who had earlier glared daggers at her was now smiling sweetly at Finn as she walked toward them.

Finn smiled back and when she got close, he looked around like he was searching for something. Spotting a T-shirt lying on the grass, he picked it up and laid it down beside him.

"Hi again! Have a seat," he said brightly.

That's my shirt! Zeph stood up, ready to grab it back, but paused when Fritz shook her head.

"I'd love to, but no thanks. My uniform will get wrinkled," she said primly, smoothing her skirt.

"Oh, I see. So, what's up?" Finn asked, still smiling.

They both looked up at Fritz, who kept putting on a cutesy act, completely ignoring Zeph's presence.

"Ahm, I think you forgot something," she said in an overly sweet voice, brushing a few strands of hair from her face.

"And that is?" Finn asked, playing along.

Ugh! Did she really have to witness this flirting up close?

"My number," Fritz giggled as she handed him a small piece of paper. Zeph didn't need to guess what was written on it.

"Oh!" Finn said, taking the paper without even glancing at it and slipping it straight into his pocket, still smiling at Fritz.

"Well, I have to go," Fritz said with fake sweetness and hesitated, clearly waiting for Finn to ask her to stay.

Zeph frowned, glancing between the two of them. Were they planning to just gaze at each other like that forever?

Annoyed, she stood up and snatched the shirt Finn had used.

Finn immediately noticed and grabbed her wrist before she could walk away.

"Hey, wait!" He stood up too, nodding at Fritz who, despite her goodbye, hadn't moved an inch.

Zeph saw Fritz scowl at Finn's hand, still holding Zeph's, and her expression worsened when Finn casually threw an arm around Zeph's shoulders.

"Where do you think you're going? Your game's not over yet," he asked, still holding her close.

She was used to him throwing his arm around her, but ever since she started crushing on him, his touch sent shivers down her spine.

She looked at the scoreboard.

"Pretty sure we've already won. I'm gonna change and head home. You coming with me?" she asked.

Fritz stood stiff as a statue in front of them, arms crossed, clearly not planning to leave anytime soon.

Zeph raised her brow as she stared at her.

What is this girl even waiting for?

"Coming with you where? While you change?" Finn teased.

Zeph saw Fritz's lips twitch as she looked at them.

"Idiot! I meant going home after I change. You tagging along or are you staying here to flirt more?" she said pointedly, emphasizing the last word and giving Fritz a pointed look.

"Of course, I'm coming with you," Finn said and started walking off with his arm still draped around her. Fritz was left standing there in disbelief.

Zeph looked back and saw the stunned expression on Fritz's face. She smiled sweetly at her before letting herself be led away by Finn.

She absolutely loved the feeling she got whenever she annoyed the girls who flirted with Finn. It wasn't the first time she had done it either. Even though she didn't want to admit it, a part of her liked thinking that Finn always chose her over the girls who constantly tried to get his attention. Even if she knew that Finn didn't mean anything deeper by it, she couldn't help but feel giddy whenever he made her feel more important than all the sexy, pretty girls throwing themselves at him.