Free Brightest Kind of Darkness by P. T. Michelle, Patrice Michelle Page B

accuracy.”
    After that, Ethan just kicked the ball toward me. He changed it up a bit, tasking my ability to watch the signs he’d suggested while I kept my eye on the ball.
    At one point, he stopped and just stood there staring me down. Crouched and waiting, I locked my gaze on him, my adrenaline pumping. I got tired of waiting for him to decide which way he’d kick it, so I took a small step to the left, then dove to the right, saving the ball he’d quickly kicked in the opposite direction I’d stepped.
    I stood up with a wide grin. “Psyched you!”
    Ethan nodded. “You’ll be playing goalie full-time again soon.”
    His reminder that I could be riding the bench half the time rubbed salt in the wound, so I threw the ball his way and asked, “Why did you give up soccer?”
    Stopping the ball in the air with his cleat, his gaze followed it to the ground. He stared at it for a couple of seconds, his jaw tense. Glancing up, he said in a gruff tone, “I quit playing when I was fifteen,” right before he hammered the ball at me.
    I tried to stop it, but the dew-coated ball shot past my gloves into my chest. The impact threw me back and pain splintered as I collapsed on the ground, coughing and wheezing.
    I must’ve zoned out for a second, because when I opened my eyes, Ethan sat beside me. His arm was wrapped around my shoulders as he held me off the ground. “Nara, talk to me. Are you okay?”
    I coughed once more. “Ugh, not the best way to find out you’ve been holding back on me.”
    Ethan’s brows pushed together. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to kick the ball that hard.”
    I gave a wobbly smile. He had a few freckles on his nose and a chicken pox scar next to his left eyebrow, both things I’d never noticed. “I’ve never caught air like that before, but I’ll live.”
    “Jumping back to soften the blow was pretty smart.”
    I didn’t jump back , I wanted to tell him, but the gentle sweeping brush of his thumb across the hollow of my throat distracted me. Tiny shivers shot through me when I realized his palm was resting on my chest. Holding my breath, I glanced down and saw the dark edge of a tattoo on his arm where his shirt’s sleeve had ridden up slightly. Curved and intricately designed, it looked like some kind of tail that curled all the way around his forearm.
    Lainey’s comment about his scary drawings came back to me, along with that horror image I’d seen in the hall. Secrets swirled in Ethan’s eyes, making me shudder with conflicting emotions of hesitation and curiosity.
    “You’re cold,” he said, gripping my hand. “Can you stand now?”
    “Yeah.” I felt like a complete wuss.
    Pulling me to my feet, Ethan scooped up the ball. “We should pack it in anyway. You’re probably tired from the extra practice time.”
    Adrenaline pumped through my veins, whooshing to the rhythm of my thunderous heartbeat. I could do this all night, so long as Ethan was involved. “Thanks for your help, but yeah, I should get home and start on my homework.”
    As we headed toward the bench, Ethan tossed the ball in the air and caught it. “Want to practice some more tomorrow?”
    “That’d be great if it’s not too much trouble.” A thrill went through me as we stopped at the bench and I kicked off my cleats to slide into my flops. I couldn’t believe how much I’d grown to like his company, but I did. A lot.
    Ethan grabbed my bag’s strap before I could. “It’s a good refresher for me, too,” he said, hoisting my bag onto his shoulder. “Heads up.”
    I caught the soccer ball he tossed my way, and then we headed for the parking lot. When we reached my car, he dropped the bag into my trunk and I tossed his ball back to him. “Thanks for everything.”
    “Anytime,” Ethan said.
    “See you tomorrow,” I called as he walked off toward his car sitting across the parking lot. Why did tomorrow have to be far away? Climbing into my car, I’d never felt more energized. I wasn’t really sure