Free Tackled by Love by Rachael Duncan Page A

embarrassed and giddy at the same time. Tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, I glance down at the floor.
    “H-hi, I’m Autumn.” I hate the fact that my nerves are showing by stuttering, but I’ve never had a guy be nice to me before.
    “So, I’ve seen you around and was wondering if you’d want to go out with me sometime.” My eyes snap up in time to see him flash me a cocky grin. I’m so excited I can feel my body vibrating. My insides are jumping up and down, shouting to the rooftops that I’m being asked on a date! And not by any guy either, but by a total hottie! I never thought I’d have this moment, but here it is and I finally feel like a normal teenager doing normal things.
    “Yes!” I say with a little too much enthusiasm. Trying to reel it back a little, I press my lips together, but it’s no use. The wide smile on my face can’t be contained. This is the first moment I’ve been happy since before my mom died and I want everyone to know it. I’m about to ask him when he wants to go out, but he speaks up first.
    “Good, I’ll need someone that’s as big as a horse to pull my car, in case it breaks down on me and my date.”
    As his words slowly sink in, my smile slowly fades. A few of the guys on the baseball team come from around the corner and give him high fives and slaps on the back as they continue to laugh at me. The nausea begins to creep up my esophagus and the bile burns the back of my throat. Trying desperately to salvage what little dignity I have left, I calmly walk away.
    I was completely horrified and crushed. I felt the ache in my heart from years of this shit grow exponentially. That was probably the closest I ever got to crying in front of everyone. To go from having such high hopes of making a friend and having a date, to the massive blow of being at the butt of another vicious joke was almost my undoing. To make matters worse, someone was right around the corner of the hallway filming the whole thing. That recording soon circulated through the whole school and everyone got to watch my devastation and humiliation over and over. Ever since then, I’ve been very cautious when approached by a guy.
    A light touch to my arm brings me back to the present. Snapping out of my daze, I look up at Landon, whose eyebrows are furrowed in confusion. “I’m sorry, what were you saying?” I ask, giving him a tight smile.
    “Are you okay? You looked a little ill and started scanning the room like someone was watching you or something.”
    With his hand still on my arm, I feel a strange sense of comfort. Like I’m pulling his inner strength and confidence into myself. “Oh, it’s nothing. I was supposed to meet my friend here and she never showed up. I just wanted to make sure I didn’t miss her before I left,” I lie.
    “If you don’t have time to show me around right now, we could always reschedule.” I look down at the hand that has yet to leave my skin. Landon catches my line of sight and smoothly removes his hand.
    “No, no. I don’t have anywhere I need to be at the moment, so I don’t mind giving you a quick tour.”
    Landon flashes me a smile that I know has the power to melt panties off of women. “After you,” he gestures for me to start ahead of him.
    We spend the next 15 minutes or so walking around the gym where I show him all the equipment. I even tell him about the classes they have here, although I doubt he’d go to any of them. Zumba just doesn’t seem like his thing.
    “I’m going to grab a shake, do you want to join me?” I find myself asking.
    “Sure,” he says with a smile. Once we order our shakes, we grab them and take a seat at one of the tables they have set up nearby. The silence stretches between us and I start thinking of anything to fill it because it’s starting to make me feel uncomfortable.
    “How’s your knee feeling? I noticed you still favor the other side slightly.”
    “It’s getting better, just taking longer to heal than the