Crushing on the Enemy by Sarah Adams Page B

jealous of you! I just don't want to lose you again!”

    “I'm right here!” Alyssa sighed.

    “You'll be in Georgia next year,” Mattie said.

    “Maybe, but we'll still be friends,” Alyssa said.

    “Really?” Mattie asked.

    “Yes, really,” Alyssa said.

    “Okay, so now what?” Mattie asked.

    “Now you help me decide what to wear tomorrow when I hangout with Jake and his friends before the game,” Alyssa smiled.

    “Awesome!” she grinned.

    Together they decided that Alyssa would wear her sea foam green skirt and a white top. Mattie also let Alyssa borrow the chain she usually wore her locket on until she could pick up one of her own for Jake's ring.

    Mattie slept over and the girls stayed up late catching up with one another. Mattie was worried that she was going to flunk out of English Lit. and her older sister would be visiting this summer. Alyssa remembered Samantha and understood why her friend was thrilled at the prospect of her visit.

    Alyssa fell asleep wondering how she could help Mattie get out of seeing her sister. Unfortunately, if she was in Georgia she wouldn't be able to do anything, besides lend a sympathetic ear over the phone.

    The next morning the girls slept in until nearly ten, which only left Alyssa two hours to get ready. She was starving, but would be eating out with Jake, so she only had toast for breakfast, while her mom and Mattie pigged out on sausage, bacon, and scrambled eggs.

    She showered and dried her hair. Alyssa considered curling it, but that seemed a little over the top for a football game. She slipped into her outfit of choice and was ready with time to spare.

    She sat on the porch with Mattie nervously fidgeting.

    “What's wrong with you?” Mattie asked.

    “I'm nervous!” Alyssa blurted out.

    “Why?” Mattie asked.

    “I've never hung out with Jake's friends before, and the last time I seen them they were destroying our football field,” Alyssa said, feeling like she was stating the obvious to the oblivious Mattie.

    “Oh yea,” her friend said, “I had forgotten all about that.”

    “I haven't,” Alyssa sighed as Jake's truck pulled into the driveway.

    “Looks like he's here,” Mattie said patting her on the arm.

    “Yep, off to face the firing squad,” Alyssa said.

    “Good luck,” Mattie grinned.

    “I'm going to need it,” Alyssa laughed.

    Alyssa climbed into Jake's truck and gave him a quick kiss before fastening her seat belt.

    “So you and Mattie made up?” Jake asked.

    “Yep, she apologized,” Alyssa said.

    “About time,” Jake laughed.

    “Yea, tell me about it!” Alyssa agreed.

    Alyssa's hands trembled as she climbed out of the truck. Craig's driveway was full of cars and his yard was covered with people. She hesitated a moment, but Jake gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and Alyssa managed not to turn tail and run.

    She clung to Jake as he introduced her to his teammates and other friends. Alyssa recognized a few of them from the night she met them on the field. Craig, the brute who stomped her poor phone hung towards the back, which Alyssa thought was a strange thing to do at his own party.

    He was the last person she was introduced to. She could tell that Jake was nervous about this particular introduction.

    “Look about that night, it was a crappy thing to do,” Craig said, “I'm sorry about your phone.”

    “So am I,” Alyssa giggled nervously, “I liked that one and had to buy a new one because the screen was never the same after that.”

    “I was surprised the phone survived at all,” Jake laughed.

    “It survived my foot?” Craig asked.

    “Yep, it had a great case! The case is still amongst the living, so you just stay away from it,” Alyssa teased.

    Once the tension about the past was out of the way, Alyssa felt her shoulders relax. She devoured Craig's dad's delicious barbeque chicken wings and his mother's potato salad.

    There was an air of excitement over the whole party, but as