"Are you okay?" he asked, taking me by surprise.

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"I'm fine. I'm sorry that happened," I began just as one of the junior girls inched closer to me. Her innocent action didn’t go unnoticed and I realized I had to guard my speech.

"That was really unprofessional," I said, looking up at him and pleading with him to understand my veiled words. His eyes weren't angry or brooding, instead he was studying me with a wistful smile.

"I'm not afraid of a little competition, Kinsley," he whispered. "I play to win."

A smile spread across my lips, but I did my best to hide it. He moved behind me, heading toward Coach Davis to help her with drills, but his hand skipped along the base of my back as he walked by. The casual touch made goose bumps bloom across my body, 422/890

and I knew I was making the right decision.

Liam could disarm me with a single touch, and I'd never felt that way about either Trey or Josh. I was officially in over my head.

Once I'd showered and changed after practice, I laid back on my bed and checked my phone. There was a text message from Liam that I decided to check first.

Liam: I'll pick you up around 7. Don't eat dinner.

I texted him back right away.

Kinsley: Any hints? What should I wear?

Liam: Pajamas.

I laughed and swapped screens to check the missed call and voicemail I also had waiting for me.

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"Hello Kinsley. This is Brian King. We spoke in Coach Davis' office last week about a potential interview opportunity for you. I know this is last minute, but I’ve been called away to Europe and my editor would really like this interview set up before I leave. That puts you in a tight spot, but if there’s any way I could convince you, would you be willing to meet me for the interview after you’re done with practice on Wednesday? I realize this is very late notice, but unfortunately the magazine has left me with very few options.

We could meet at a coffee shop in West Hollywood. I’ll be coming from downtown LA.

Also, I’ve sent Coach Davis a list of possible interview questions that you can run through with her. Let me know what you think.” 424/890

The voicemail cut off and I was left momentarily stunned. I hadn’t thought about Brian’s offer in a few days and now I was suddenly forced to decide one way or the other ASAP. I wasn’t 100% sold on putting my personal life out there for everyone to see, but if I looked over the interview questions and thought they seemed okay, I’d agree to the interview. Brian seemed like a nice person, and I didn’t want him to get in trouble with his editor if I turned down the interview.

I glanced down at my phone and hit

“call” before I even fully realized what I was doing.

"Hi Brian, this is Kinsley."

"Kinsley! Hi," he answered, shuffling papers.

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"I listened to your message and I think I'd be able to meet with you on Wednesday. I could be in West Hollywood around 5:00

P.M.?"

"That's great. 5:00 P.M. works for me as well. I know this is hardly any notice, but it will be a short interview, mainly about your position at ULA and your training for the Olympic tryouts. If our readers enjoy it, we'll do a more in depth interview in a few weeks.

That is, if you agree to it."

I laughed politely. "Let's get through this one first. Could you forward me the interview questions you sent to Coach Davis?"

"Sure thing. I'll also text you the address to a coffee shop where we can meet."

I rattled off my email and thanked him for his time. I had a good feeling about the 426/890

article. I still had no clue what to expect, but at least I'd have the questions beforehand.

As soon as I hung up, I called my mom and filled her in. She promised she’d run through the questions with me tomorrow after practice, just to make sure I didn’t make a fool out of myself.

Five minutes before 7:00 P.M., Liam texted me that he was waiting around the corner. I hopped off my bed and threw on a jacket and my Converse. Then I shouted bye to Becca on my way down the stairs. I rounded the corner at top speed, jumped into Liam's car, and planted a kiss right on his mouth before I'd even realized my shoes were untied and I'd put my jacket on inside out. Details.

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"Well hello there," he laughed against my lips after I pulled away to catch my breath.

"Hi," I murmured, then sat back and adjusted myself in my seat.

"That was a good greeting."

I smiled and shrugged. "I was just excited to see you, I guess. Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise," he answered, putting the car in drive and heading away from my house.

"Ah, fine, but I wore my pajamas. I couldn't tell if you were kidding, but I decided I'd take you up on the offer anyway." I unzipped my jacket to show him my faded

"Made in the ‘90s" shirt that was on its last leg and my sleeping shorts.

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"I wasn't bluffing. You'll be glad you wore them."

I smiled and watched him drive. I had no clue where he was leading me, but the uncertainty was half the fun.

"I think I'm doing my first interview on Wednesday," I mentioned as he exited the highway.

"Really? With who?"

"Brian King. I met him the other day with Coach Davis."

"Ah, I know Brian. He's a decent guy."

His eyes were focused on the road and I couldn't tell if there was more he wanted to say about the subject.

"Have you ever done an interview with him?"

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"No. We played soccer together for a year, though."

I didn't have time to ask more, because Liam was pulling into a small Drive-in Movie Theater. Who knew they even existed in LA still?

"I figured since going to the movies is out of the question, we could at least sneak into a drive in movie and pretend like it's a real date," Liam explained with an earnest expression.

A giant smile spread across my lips. "It's an awesome date. I'm in pajamas… it doesn't get better than that."

He laughed at my joke as he pulled his SUV into one of the middle parking spots. It was a small theater with room for twenty or thirty cars at most. It was filling up fast 430/890

around us and I knew we’d gotten there just in time.

“How will we watch the movie if the screen is behind us?” I asked, twisting my head to look through the back window.

He smirked and hopped out. “C’mon, we’re sitting in the trunk.” I had no choice but to follow him to the back of the car, and when he lifted the back latch, I was glad I did. He’d set up a picnic of sorts. Well a picnic made up mostly of candy, does that count? He had it all lined up perfectly. Twizzlers, Skittles, Sour Patch Kids, Snickers, Butterfingers, and M&Ms… to name a few. There was a little cooler of drinks pushed off the side next to a tub of popcorn that he’d put a lid on for our drive over.

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“Did you raid a small candy village to get all of this stuff?”

He smirked. “I have a sweet tooth. It’s my one flaw.”

I rolled my eyes and shoved his arm playfully.

"I think they're showing Sixteen Candles tonight. I've never seen it,” he said.

I gasped. "What! How have you not seen it? It's on TV like once a week.

He shrugged. “Okay, so I have two flaws."

I smiled. "I can't believe you did all of this.”

"I hate not being able to take you on real dates, so I wanted to make it special," he admitted, then followed with, "I also just really like candy."

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He flashed me a wicked grin and helped me up into the back of the car. Once we'd stuffed our faces, we pushed the food and drinks to the side and laid down on the blanket Liam had brought.