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She had no problem recognizing Lucas Jordan, junior star of the basketball court and Charmaine Buxton’s current crush.
“Let me help you,” he offered. “I saw what happened...”
And now her humiliation was complete. “Uh, I’m fine—”
“No, you’re hurt. Here, use me like a crutch.” He slung her arm over his shoulders—oh, wow, he had really broad shoulders—and walked her through the doorway and over to one of the benches that was nailed against the wall outside. Her lips rubbed inward. His body was pressed against her side, and all she could feel was hard muscle, and he smelled divine. She inhaled as he lowered her to the bench, trying to get as much of his scent before he left. Yep, she was sniffing the jock. She’d found an all new low.
“Uh, thank you,” she said in a low voice, and reached down to rub the top of her converse shoe.
He chuckled, the sound warm and smooth in the gloom beyond the ballroom gymnasium as he looked down at her feet. “You’re wearing sneakers?”
She shrugged as she hiked the long, flowing, baby-poo brown skirt up so that she could rest her ankle on her opposite knee. “They’re more comfortable,” she muttered defensively.
Lucas raised his hands. “Oh, hey, I’m not dissing your wardrobe. I think it’s awesome, actually.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Awesome? Your girlfriend is Charmaine Buxton, who channels the Kardashians, and you think my sneakers are awesome?” She shook her head in disbelief. She’d drawn on her shoes, so they weren’t even clean. She looked down at the little peace sign on her left toe. She sucked at art. She’d drawn it the day her brother had last shipped out, and it was a constant reminder of him. There was no way she was cleaning it off. Not now.
Lucas shrugged as he sat down on the bench next to her. “I like it when people keep it real,” he said. “And Charmaine and I are just dating.”
Bobbie shifted to give him a little more room on the seat. “Uh-huh.” Charmaine seemed to think they were a legal age away from marriage. “Um, look, thanks for helping me, but it’s fine if you want to go back inside...” She kept her eyes averted as she undid the double knot on her sneakers and slipped her shoe off.
Lucas grimaced. “Nah. I need a breather. It’s too ... busy.”
“Must be hard, being so popular...” She tried to be sincere. Really. She winced as she rubbed her foot. Fortunately she couldn’t feel any puncture wounds through her sock, but she wasn’t about to remove it to check. Not in front of Lucas Jordan.
Lucas gave her a half-hearted smile, then frowned. “It’s not fair. You obviously know who I am, but I have no clue who you are...?” He raised his hand toward her mask, and Bobbie pulled away, dodging his grasp. She couldn’t help the frown that tugged at her eyebrows. Lucas, too? God, was she really that invisible? That inconsequential? They’d all gone to the same elementary school, for crying out loud. Did a revoltingly-colored dress, a careless up-do, and a mask seriously make that much of a difference to a person’s appearance? God, if only it was that easy to be someone else. The concept was so damn tempting. Just for one night, to live outside of her normal skin...
“Call me Cindy,” she muttered.
Lucas tsked. “That’s the same line you used on Charmaine. Let me guess, short for Cinderella?”
“Yeah. At midnight I’ll turn back into a pumpkin.”
Lucas looked at the curls her mother had pinned to the top of her head, toured down over the mask, to her mouth, and then met her gaze. He slowly shook his head. “No. You could never be a pumpkin.” Then he grinned. “Besides, it was the coach that turned into a pumpkin, not the chick.”
He reached over and grabbed her foot, and she squeaked as he rested her leg on his lap. “Does it hurt?”
“Uh, no—not really...” She winced when his fingers found the bruise on the top of her foot.
“You are a lousy liar,” he said, and started to gently massage her foot.
She had to close her mouth with a snap. Lucas Jordan was massaging her foot. She could close her eyes and drift away on this bliss forever.
Until Charmaine came looking for her man.
Bobbie tilted her head to the side. “Seriously, wouldn’t you rather be inside with your friends then out here holding my stinky foot?”
Lucas held up a hand. “Hey, I’m trying to have a chick flick moment here, do you mind?”
Her lips curved, but then she frowned. “Why are you hiding out here?”
She knew why she was happy to hide out here, but why the star basketball player? Wouldn’t he prefer to be inside with his hot girlfriend and teammates?
“Who says I’m hiding?”
“When Mr. Popularity prefers to hold my stinky foot, he’s got to be hiding from something. What?”
Lucas stopped with the massage and looked at her. “Wow, you don’t mess around, do you? No chit-chat, just straight out with it.”
Bobbie shrugged. “Why waste time with being fake? I’d prefer to be straight and honest. Saves a lot of time in getting to know the real person.”
“That’s funny, coming from someone who won’t even tell me her real name.”
She tried to pull her leg back, but his grip tightened on her ankle. He tilted his head. “Is that too honest for you?”