Sparks Fly

Chapter Nine: Soccer and the Solar System

Then again, Teagan Miller was nothing like the monster who'd killed something precious inside her. If anything, he was the complete opposite. Where he had been sauve and cultured, Teagan was unapologetically flirtatious and just a little crass. Where he had been the spitting image of regality, Teagan was down-to-earth, approachable, and real. Where he had been as discreet as a monk with his relationships, Teagan was uncensored and proud of his conquests.

The irony in that was that Teagan's approach should have been enough to make her turn tail and run for the hills. Yet she didn't.

Instead, she chose to step closer. To cross over to his side of Granite Woods and see for herself what his life was really like.

Right now? Right now his life seemed centered around lecturing the little flirt with dimples.

Rain couldn't help the smile that came to her face when she neared the two and overheard their conversation. Something about getting her name right, which was ridiculous since "Ice Queen" wasn't really her name.

She told them as much.

Gavin was proving to be quite the ladies' man. He had all the right lines down to perfection, and the little smirk he gave to flash those dimples was going to do crazy things to the girls.

Rain glanced at Teagan as he alternated between being a referee and a coach to the boys. He was dedicated at least. He appeared completely different with them. There was no pretentious act, no game to play that did not include the boys on the field.

Maybe the stripes did bring out the best in him.

She smiled, remembering the look of shock on his face when she told him she hadn't come to watch the game for Tilden's project. If he hadn't looked so flustered by her obvious flirting, she would have died of humiliation. She wasn't the type of girl who engaged in witty, sarcastic banter. And the few times she did, she immediately wanted to crawl into a deep hole and die.

Not very practical behavior for a girl who built her entire facade on practicality, but what people didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

Just like it wouldn't hurt them to overlook her lacking skills in Kiss N Tell 101. Idle talk- really, it was more like the foreplay of words- wasn't an art you could master when the opposite sex thought you were an icicle frozen to the bone.

Yet with Teagan, things were different. Her automatic, and decidedly awkward attempts at flirtation weren't completely unsuccessful.

Wishful thinking, Rainy.

Well, it wasn't like she cared if her flirting worked on him or not. If he saw more into what she said, that was his problem. That was the thing with boys who grew up thinking the world was an endless playing field of willing girls looking for a roll in the sheets. They thought they could have any girl at their disposal.

And wouldn't you like to be a roll in his sheets?

"I take it soccer isn't your cup of tea?" Teagan's sudden question cut off the mental reply she'd been formulating.

Rain blew at the uneven bangs on her forehead to get the ends out of her eyes. "What gave it away?"

"Look, it doesn't take a genius to read the signs, sugar." He smirked at the roll of her eyes. "Classy girls like you don't necessarily like to get all sweaty and dirty. At least, not while chasing a stupid ball," he told her, his smirk more of a wolfish grin now.

Oh, boy. She didn't know much about how to flirt, but she knew when his words took on an entirely different meaning. Rain wrinkled her nose at him. "You're right, actually."