The Last Hero (Book 1): Ultra by Matt Blake Read Free Book Online

started to laugh.
    I felt myself easing as she laughed. As she actually genuinely laughed at my joke. And I started to wonder if maybe sitting next to her and watching the game wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
    So I did it. I swallowed my nerves, fought every urge inside telling me to run away far away from here, and I walked down the row and sat beside Ellicia.
    I wasn’t sure I’d ever been this close to her. Funny when you’re close to someone. You notice things you didn’t even know existed when you were far away. A little gap between the teeth. A little freckle under the eye. The smell of sweet perfume.
    Hell, more than anything, I noticed just how much more beautiful Ellicia actually was than I’d realized.
    I didn’t think that was possible. But it was.
    And I was sat next to her.
    And she was smiling at me.
    This was not a dream.
    I didn’t say anything for a while. I listened to the loudspeaker announce the teams and stood up to clap. That’s when Ellicia leaned over.
    “Never knew you were into soccer,” she said.
    Shit. Shit. What was the cool thing to say?
    “Yeah,” I said. “Pretty big fan.”
    “Oh yeah? Who’s your favorite player?”
    Shitting shit.
    I scanned my limited sports knowledge for the name of any random player.
    “Um, Andy Murray, probably.”
    Ellicia burst out laughing. Her friend, who I recognized as Sally from school, did too.
    “What?” I asked, feeling totally uneasy about what I’d just said. “You… you not like him?”
    “Oh, I like Andy Murray,” Ellicia said. “Just I didn’t know he was such a big soccer player, being one of the best tennis players in the world, of course.”
    If a hole opened up in the earth right now, I’d happily plunge myself right into it.
    “It’s okay,” Ellicia said, nudging my arm. “Everybody’s gotta start somewhere.”
    It took me a little longer to realize what’d just occurred. Not only had I just made a complete and utter fool of myself in front of Ellicia; she’d let me off the hook. Again.
    Nothing of the like had ever happened to me before.
    I genuinely didn’t know what to do, what to say, what to think .
    Something else weird happened. We small talked. We chatted. Ellicia asked what my plans were for the summer. She asked me about my plans when I finally graduated from high school, and when I told her I was planning on taking a few months in paid work experience at a local law firm before moving on to college, I was relieved to hear she was staying local too, her heart set on Columbia.
    And then the weirdest weird of all happened.
    “Are you going to the party, then?”
    Funnily enough, I hadn’t really thought much about the end of year party. I’d never been to a single one, and I’d never had any plans to go. I mean, why would I go? I was a loser. I wasn’t likely to be going with anyone. And I’d be even funnier and even more notable by my lack of a companion.
    I dreamed of going to the party with Ellicia. But that wasn’t happening.
    And now here she was, asking me about the party.
    I wanted to say yes. I wanted to tell her that I was going and that she was coming with me. I wanted to hold her in my arms while the crowd cheered and press my lips against hers.
    But of course, what did I do?
    “Nah. I’m not going.”
    I felt Damon smack me in the ribs and tried to keep my cool.
    Ellicia lowered her head, turned her gorgeous blue eyes away from mine. “Oh. Oh, well… well, that’s a shame.”
    Idiot. She’s disappointed. She’s actually disappointed.
    I couldn’t end it like this. I could tell her the truth.
    She was disappointed I wasn’t going to the party.
    The girl of my dreams was disappointed I wasn’t going to the party, and I was letting her be disappointed.
    “Actually—”
    The crowd lifted from their seats. I took an elbow to the chin, from Ellicia, which made my head spin.
    Ellicia laughed as the crowd, Damon included, roared around me, celebrating a goal. She grabbed my arm.