Until the Sun Burns Out by Amber Garza Read Free Book Online Page A

suit. “No. I think we can stick to summer girl.” Shyly, I glanced at my feet under the table, unable to meet his eye. I kind of liked the nickname he came up with for me.
    “You were right.” He paused, taking a gulp of water. “You told me you’d win, and you did.”
    I was surprised by his admission. Even after I’d kicked his butt, he’d been talking smack the entire walk back here.
    “Of course you did leave out a vital piece of information.” Setting down the water bottle, he leaned back in the chair. “You didn’t mention that you were a cheater.”
    “I didn’t cheat,” I insisted, slamming my water down on the table. A little splattered out of the top, landing on my arm. I brushed it off.
    “You kicked the ball right between my legs.”
    “That’s allowed.”
    His eyes widened. “When I wasn’t ready?”
    I grinned. “Hey, it’s not my fault if you weren’t prepared.”
    Austin leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table. His gaze crashed into mine, those crazy blue eyes of his sparkling. Once again I was struck with how surreal this was. A guy this good-looking had never hung out with me before. But the weirdest part was that I felt comfortable around him. Sure, he made my heart beat fast and my hands clam up. And, okay, at first he had turned me into a bit of a klutz. But today I’d held my own. I’d played a mean game of soccer. I’d bantered and teased, held an interesting conversation. Usually cute guys had the magical ability to turn me into a bumbling idiot, and at first Austin had done the same thing.
    Then again, maybe my newfound comfortability had to do with the fact that Austin only wanted friendship from me. He may have been slightly flirty, but it was clear that he thought of me as nothing more than a friend. To him I was a summer kid, a person he could kill time with until he got back home. And I was okay with that. I’d been lonely too. It worked out well for both of us.
    “Do you cheat like this on your high school soccer team?” he asked.
    I giggled. “I don’t cheat at all. Anywhere.”
    Crossing his arms over his chest, he shook his head. “I don’t buy it.”
    Luca shuffled into the room wearing jeans and a t-shirt, a baseball cap on his head.
    Austin turned to him with a smile. Uh-oh . I was starting to read Austin pretty well, and that grin could only mean something bad. “Hey, bud?”
    “Yeah?” Luca stepped forward, eyes alight. I could tell Luca already liked Austin. And I got it. He was older than Luca, and charming. 
    “Tell me the truth. Does your sister cheat when she plays soccer on her high school team?”
    Luca glanced at me briefly, and my stomach tightened. I knew where this was headed. “Not that I know of. But it doesn’t matter. She’s not playing this year.”
    “Is that so?” Austin tossed me a curious expression.
    I glared at Luca. He held my gaze for a minute before looking down at the ground. Then he mumbled something unintelligible and hurried from the room. I felt a little bad for scaring him off, but he deserved it. There was no reason for him to air my dirty laundry to Austin.
    “Why are you quittin’ soccer, summer girl?”
    Instead of answering, I turned the question around on him. “Why don’t you play basketball anymore?”
    “I asked you first,” he said. “Besides, for all you know I’m horrible at basketball. But I’ve seen you play soccer. You’re good, and you love it. So spill.”
    I sighed, my gaze momentarily flickering towards Dad’s office. “It was something I did with Dad, but now that he’s here and I’m there, it’s just not the same.” It was weird to share this with Austin. We hardly knew each other. But for some reason it felt right to say it, safe even. Maybe because there was no chance of him spreading it around. He didn’t know any of my friends. And I doubted we’d ever connect again after the summer. But I suspected it was more than that. Beneath all the joking and mock arrogance,