Page 50 of Falling Into You

“But what’re you going to do about Coach Fitz?” Owen said. “He teaches my gym class, and he’s a total jerk.”

“Owen! Don’t talk about your teachers like that!” his father said.

“What? He makes us do burpees if he catches us slacking. I hate burpees.”

“Who doesn’t?” Rory and her dad said at the same time.

“Even if he is a jerk, he wants the soccer team to win,” Rory said. “Maybe if I talk to him... tell him about the dedication Jacob’s shown to our squad... he’ll soften up and let him play?”

Her father grinned and ruffled her hair. “That’s my girl.” He tore off another piece of bread and popped it into his mouth. “So if you and Tucker are no longer a thing, then who are you going to homecoming with?”

Rory lifted her shoulders. “Layla says we could just go together. Gwen’s bringing a guy friend from her youth group. We could all just hang.”

“You should ask Jacob!” Owen said.

“Exactly what I was thinking,” her father added, eating more bread. “Your face kind of lights up when you talk about him.”

“It does not!” she said, blushing.

“Does so!” her dad and brother said in unison.

“You can go now, Dad.” Rory shoved him out of the booth with both hands.

“Okay, okay. I know when I’m not wanted.” He got up from the table and clapped his hands together. “All right, my VIPs. You know where to find me if you need anything else.”

They waved goodbye and Rory dug into her food, already planning her speech to Coach Fitz.

“Text Jacob!” Owen said. “Tell him we figured it out!”

“No. Not until it’s a done deal. I don’t want to get his hopes up,” she said.

But she was going to make it happen. And Jacob was going to love her forever when she did.

Jacob

“All right, everyone, my apologies for the suspense,” Mrs. Dutton said on Friday afternoon. Because of the rotation schedule, math was Jacob’s last class of the day before the pep rally, and he quite literally couldn’t take it anymore. He’d felt sick to his stomach all day long. Most teachers just posted grades on Saturn, the school’s academic hub. But not Mrs. Dutton. She was old school. She liked to hand the tests back in class, despite the fact that everyone could see your reaction when you turned your paper over.

Good times.

Everyone in the classroom was dressed in red and gold, and some kids had even painted their faces. One thing that could never be said about Woodmont High School was that it lacked school spirit. Somehow it made Jacob feel even more anxious, though. Spirit day always had this frenetic,anticipatory energy, and it was only adding to the drama. Even his palms were sweaty.

Mrs. Dutton slowly moved down the aisle, handing papers back face down on each desk. Why did he have to sit in the back? What was he thinking?

She finally arrived at his side. Jacob gripped his hands into fists under the desk, held his breath, and looked up at her. She met his gaze and... smiled.

“Mr. Reilly. Big improvement,” she said, loud enough for the entire room to hear.

As she moved on, he slid the paper toward him and turned it over. There was a giant, red B+ in the top right corner.

Holy shit.

Quickly, Jacob logged on to Saturn on his phone. If she had already entered the grades into the system, it would have recalculated his average. The test was worth twenty-five percent of his semester grade, so it should have brought it up high enough, but his brain was racing too fast to even try to do that math. His hands shook as he logged in. And there it was.

A seventy-four percent average in math. He had a C. He could stay on the squad.

Somehow, Jacob managed to sit still through the rest of the class period, but the second the bell rang he darted for the door so fast he got there before anyone else. The hallsinstantly filled with kids cheering and laughing, excited as they streamed toward the gym for the pep rally. Jacob fought the current, headed instead toward the world languages hallway. He knew Rory had French this period, and he wanted to intercept her.

Just as he was walking into the breezeway from one side, she stepped in from the other. She was wearing her uniform—as was he—and her hair was in those two braids that he loved so much. She instantly found him, her expression questioning and hopeful. He held up the paper with the big B+.