Perfect for You(51)

She shrugs. “He could’ve been. You never know.”

“I can’t go throwing myself at him and begging him to take me back based on a ‘you never know’. I need some sort of proof that he might still have feelings for me. That he might want to give us another try.”

“Try talking to him. If he walks away, you know he’s not interested. But if he talks to you…”

It’s not a bad plan, but I don’t know if I’m up for it. “If he shoots me down, I won’t be able to handle it.” I can’t go through the pain of losing him twice.

“I won’t let you fall apart, Meg. Don’t you think you owe it to yourself and to Ash to find out for sure if it’s over? If you don’t do this, you’ll kick yourself later.”

I’ll do more than kick myself, but still, this seems impossible. “I’m not sure.”

“Okay, then let’s leave it up to fate.”

“Fate?”

“Well, the tennis gods then.” Gray puts her racket head on the ground and holds the grip in her hand. “If the racket lands face up, you talk to Ash. If it lands face down, you leave the past in the past.”

Why not? “Spin.”

She spins the racket and steps back, making sure she doesn’t interfere with how it lands. It clatters to the ground.

Grayson smiles. “Looks like you’re talking to Ash.”





Chapter Twenty-Three


I have no idea how to approach Ash, so Gray convinces me to go to the football game. It’s almost too painful. The season is a bust. The team only won three games, despite Ash’s awesome arm. He’s lucky that colleges notice him at all. It’s really not his fault, though. His receivers can’t seem to hold on to the ball in the end zone after they catch it. Still, Ash’s stats are good as far as yardage and completions. It’s only touchdown passes that are awful. And the fact that I know all this even though Ash and I are broken up is more evidence of my extreme pathetic-ness.

Gray drives me to the game because she knows I’ll chicken out if I’m behind the wheel. She’s not giving me the opportunity to screw this up. It’s kind of funny how she went from being jealous of my relationship with Ash to trying to help me patch it up. Just another reason why I love her.

We take seats in the first row of the bleachers. Gray wants to make sure Ash will see me, but I’d rather hide under the bleachers right about now. I scan the crowd, looking for Liz. She’s been sulking and following Ash around all week. I’m sure she’ll show up today. I spot her in the top row. Even in the cooler weather, she’s still barely wearing clothes. I’m sure she’s wishing she made the varsity cheerleading team so she could be closer to the field…and Ash. She’s really not that good of a cheerleader, though. She fits the profile, but has no real athletic ability.

“Ignore her.” Grayson tugs my arm, forcing me to turn my eyes back to the field. Ash is throwing passes to Jackson. My heart skips when I see him.

“Maybe this isn’t a good idea. I’m not ready to be around him right now.”

Gray isn’t fooled. She hears what I’m really saying. I’m not ready to be rejected by him. “Do you want to spend the rest of senior year wondering if you could’ve fixed things?”

No. What I really want to do is hop the fence, run onto the field, and throw myself into his arms. I want him to kiss me and tell me to forget about us breaking up. I want him. Grayson’s right. I have to do this. If I don’t, I’ll lose him forever. I give her a weak smile.

She wraps her arm around me. “That’s my girl.”

“Gray, thanks again.”

“No problem. You’d do the same for me.”

“I would. I’m sorry I let this mess come between us. It won’t happen again.”

“I know.” She puts her arm down and nudges me with her shoulder. “Someone’s looking this way.”

Ash is at the water cooler. His helmet is off, and he’s scanning the bleachers. He finds Liz first, but his eyes don’t linger on her. They lower until they reach me. We stare at each other, both frozen in place.

Oh, God! I can’t do this. What was I thinking? He doesn’t want to get back together. I hurt him. He wants to forget about me.

Ash looks away and starts to turn back to the field, but then he stops. He glances at me again, not long, but he definitely gives me a second glance.

Grayson leans in and whispers, “Second glance, second chance. What do you think?”

Could she be right? Could Ash be wondering if we still have a shot together? There’s only one way to find out. I can’t approach him before the game. That would throw him off, and I don’t want to ruin his season stats. I have to wait this out and talk to him after the game is over.

Ash falters a bit at the start. He’s distracted, and I wonder if having Liz and me here is contributing to that. By halftime, he gets his head together and starts playing like he usually does. He makes an amazing pass downfield to Jackson, who actually holds on to the ball and scores a touchdown. I jump out of my seat and cheer for Ash. Luckily, Grayson does the same. Otherwise, I’d feel like such a stalker right now. She hugs me and squeals in my ear. I look over my shoulder and see Liz cheering, too. Long after the rest of the crowd quiets down, Liz is still screaming, “Yeah, Ash! Great job!”