scoring. They passed the ball easily back and forth until the shooting guard, suddenly

surrounded, tried, and failed to get around the guys who were guarding him. I held my breath

while he dribbled in place, looking for an opening, then passed to the center, who, in a nearly

impossible shot from just outside the three-point circle, sank the ball. I pumped my fist in the air

and screamed, "YES!"

"What?" asked Jessica, who'd been talking to Madison.

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"You missed that?" I asked. Our whole side was cheering. Even though we were sitting right next to each other, I had to shout to be heard.

"What?" she asked, "What did I miss?" and suddenly Madison was staring at me, too.

"Number seventeen just scored," I explained. "We're up by two." I wondered if the reason they weren't exactly watching the game had something to do with the fact that Matt and Dave had yet

to get off the bench.

"Oh my god, that's Matt's brother," said Madison, slapping her cheeks with her hands so that she looked like The Scream. "I can't believe I missed it."

"Nice you," said Jessica. "Better hope Matt doesn't ask about it."

Madison flipped her hair out of her face. "Puh-leeze," she said. "What's he going to do, grill me about the game?" Then she laughed. "And if he does, Lucy can help me. Right Lucy?" She

dropped her arm around my shoulders and gave me a squeeze, pressing her cheek into my back

for a second before letting go.

"Right," I said.

When Connor sank the final winning basket, even Jessica and Madison were on their feet. The

wave of pleasure that washed over me was something way more intense than any kind of school

spirit. All over the bleachers people were calling Connor's name. He smiled up at the fans and

even gave a little wave, which just

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made people yell louder. I knew he hadn't been waving at me, but still. Connor Pearson knows

who I am, I found myself thinking. He knows my name. Of course, my name was just about the only thing he did know about me, but it was something.

After all, what did Prince Charming know about Cinderella besides her shoe size?

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Chapter Seven

Piazzolla's is in the village of Glen Lake in an old wooden structure that used to be a working

mill and sits right on the river that runs through the center of town. It's actually a cool-looking

building, unlike the rest of Glen Lake, which has this whole faux "ye olde towne of Glenne

Loch" thing going. If you saw Piazzolla's from the outside you might think it's a fancy Italian

restaurant because it's all dark wood and dim lighting, but basically it's just a pizza place. When

we got inside, there was a long line made up almost entirely of people who had been at the game.

Jessica, Madison, and I had taken a cab over from school, and by the time Dave, Matt, and

Connor arrived, hair wet from the showers, there was only one group ahead of us waiting for a

table. Personally, I wouldn't have minded if there were fifty groups ahead of us, since

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I was a nervous wreck. How was I possibly going to swallow even a single bite of pizza? I was

on a date. I was on a date with the most popular guy in school. I was on a date with the most

popular guy in school and I had never been on a date in my life.

My anxiety wasn't exactly assuaged by the fact that as soon as the guys walked in, the two

couples started making out while Connor and I just stood there. His wet hair was shiny, and his

cheeks were flushed.

"Hey," he said, smiling. "You made it."

"I made it," I said. His eyes were impossibly blue, and as we looked at each other, he put his

hand on my shoulder, leaned in, and just barely grazed my cheek with his lips. I got the faintest

whiff of something musky and delicious--cologne or soap or shampoo, I wasn't sure. My heart

leaped into my throat and I couldn't catch my breath. I was positive I was going to pass out.

Luckily right then the couples stopped kissing and Connor took a step back.

"Dave, Matt, you know Lucy," said Jessica.

"Hey," said Dave.

"Hey," said Matt.

"Hey," I said. "Great game."

Matt and Dave both grunted their thanks; I wondered if they felt weird taking credit for a victory

they'd had nothing to do with. Then again, maybe they were just bitter about Chicago losing to

the Lakers last week. As I was trying to decide how I could broach the subject

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of the Bulls without sounding like I was gloating, the hostess came over to where we were

standing and called Jessica's name.

"That's us," said Jessica. "Table for six."

As we snaked through the restaurant behind the hostess, Connor draped his arm casually over my

shoulder, like it was something he'd done a million times before. We passed at least four or five

tables of Glen Lake students, and at each one someone waved and said, "Hey, Connor" or "Great game, Connor" or "How's it going, Connor?" and even, simply, "C-dawg!" Connor didn't stop to talk to anyone, but he smiled a lot and said, "Hey, man," a few times to people I didn't know.

Everyone who called out to Connor smiled at me, which was pretty cool, even if some of the

smiles felt like little question marks.

As soon as the waiter took our orders, Madison turned to Connor. "That was an incredible shot,"

she said. I wondered if she had actually seen him sink the winning basket, or if she was just

repeating what she'd heard other people say.

"Yeah," said Dave. "Nice going." He and Connor high-fived across the table.

"Thanks, man," said Connor. He'd taken off his jacket and his sweater and was just wearing a

snug gray T-shirt that showed how well defined his shoulders were. My stomach flipped over,

and I had to look away.

"So, Red," he said. It took a minute before I realized

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he was talking to me. "How'd you like the game?" He put his hand on the back of my chair.

"It was a great game," I told him. "I was biting my nails the whole time."

"Lucy knows everything about basketball," Jessica informed Connor.

"Well, after that Lakers' victory, I'm planning to take her predictions a lot more seriously," said Connor, smiling a private smile at me.

"What?" asked Madison, and when Connor didn't explain, she turned to Matt. "What

predictions?" she asked.

I smiled back at Connor and looked into his blue, blue eyes. "Is that why you wanted me to come

tonight?" I asked, tilting my head. "To get my picks for the finals?"

He arched an eyebrow at me. "Maybe it is," he said. "Maybe it is."

When there was nothing left of the two large pies we'd ordered except a few pieces of crust,

Jessica, Madison, and I excused ourselves and went to the bathroom. While Jessica and I peed,

Madison stood in front of the mirror telling us how many calories are in a slice. As soon as I

came out of the stall, Madison turned to me and asked if I thought she looked fat. When I said

no, she waited for Jessica to emerge and then asked if she thought she looked fat. Jessica said no.

Madison said we

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were both lying and pinched the flesh just above her hip to prove it.