Along For the Ride

Chapter 1

Los Angeles, CA

"Excuse me?" a voice asked behind me. I turned to see a young girl, a bright smile on her face. "Could you take our picture?"

Looking up, there was a life-sized cutout of Connor Jackson a foot away from me. He was wearing a white button-up and navy shorts, his brunette hair mussed to perfection. It looked like they'd added a little bit of sparkle to his brown eyes, his smile flashing a row of pearly white teeth. He sported the newest edition of Luxem shoes, which is why he'd been conveniently placed in the middle of the shoe store.

Standing next to the cutout was a group of teenage girls, all around the same age as me. And they were more than eager to pose next to the fake Connor Jackson.

"Of course," I said, taking her phone. I snapped a couple of pictures before handing it back to her.

"Thank you," she gushed, her eyes bright with excitement.

It was a very surreal experience to see a cardboard figure of my brother in a shoe store. It was even stranger to have a group of girls ask to take a photo with it.

"What's your favorite song?" I asked, unable to hide my smile.

"'Shades!'" she proudly exclaimed, and the other girls nodded in agreement.

Only the worst song that Connor had ever released. "Really?"

"Do you listen to Connor Jackson?"

"Only every day."

I felt a tug on my arm, and I turned to see my best friend, Jenica Terry, standing behind me. "We're going to be late!"

"It was nice meeting you!" I called over my shoulder, as Jenica all but dragged me toward the store exit.

Jenica's mom was waiting outside, keys in hand. "Come on, girls!"

I slid into the back of the minivan, followed closely by Jenica.

"Did you get something to eat?"

Jenica's mom was like a second mom to me. Due to my parents' busy schedule, Momma Terry was always the one to take me to soccer practice and games. We'd spent many long hours in the car, complaining about schoolwork and listening to Jenica gush about Connor while we laughed and rolled our eyes.

"Who were those girls?" Jenica asked.

"Connor Jackson fans."

Her eyes lit up. "Really?"

Momma Terry and I both let out a laugh.

"You girls are in need of a shower," Momma Terry said, with a shake of her head. "I can't imagine what state your uniforms must be in. That won't be a fun laundry load."

"We had a game this morning," Jenica said, laughing. "What did you expect us to smell like?"

"I didn't realize how terrible it was." She reached over and opened up the sunroof. "Luckily this is the last game of the tournament."

We pulled into the parking lot, the mall only a short distance from the soccer fields.

"I really hope we win," I said as the car came to a stop. "I can't handle making it to the championship game and then losing."

Jenica let out an annoyed huff. "And I can't handle being this incredibly sore for nothing."

We grabbed our soccer bags from the trunk before meeting up with the rest of the team.

"Where did you guys go?" Leslie asked, as we joined the rest of the team, who'd clearly hung around the fields between games.

I plopped down on the ground. "The mall."