"So. The draft's tomorrow," I say to Jace as we walk to the dining room.
He scoffs. "Don't remind me."
We walk into the dining room and see all the coaches standing around. Right, the draft order is today. Jace and I grab some food and sit down near the front. I see Sofi shooting me a dirty look. I roll my eyes and turn back to Jace. Coach Cole walks to the front of the room by Marni.
"Look, there he is," Jace points out. "Bet he's going to pick me tomorrow and then it's just gonna be another summer of hell."
"Maybe he won't," I say, shrugging. "You kinda suck right now, so you got that going for you."
Jace laughs. "Yeah, true."
Coach starts talking at that point and Jace and I are the only ones who don't cheer when he starts talking about the draft. Then of course, Coach Cole gets the first pick.
Jace and I look at each other, rolling our eyes.
"The last pick goes to Coach Alex!" Marni announces. Jace and I look at each other.
I lean closer to him and whisper, "Since when was she a coach?"
"Since last night, when Coach Johnson got hurt."
"That'll be fun. Bet she'll pick her own son too."
"Nah, I think I heard him ask her to not pick him."
"Why don't you do the same with your dad?"
"Please, my dad would never listen. That would probably make him more determined to pick me, actually."
The next night, I show up to the draft with Jace. We always make the point to do the bare minimum when it comes to dressing up. A nice shirt, nice pants. No dresses for me.
We don't sit down with the other campers, rather, we stand by one of the columns, separated from the rest of the camp. Coach Cole's speech is less serious and more funny this time, but none of the jokes are really worth laughing at.
"There's been a slight change. The first pick of the draft goes to Coach Alex Morrow!" Coach Cole announces.
"Your dad gave away his first pick?" I ask Jace, bewildered.
"I have no idea what's happening," Jace says, sighing.
Then, the twist of Nick getting picked first.
"She's just changing the entire game," I say.
"Yeah. I don't think she knows how this really works," Jace says, snickering.
"For my second pick," Coach Cole says when it's his second turn. He points over to where Jace and I are standing. Jace goes stiff, and shakes his head. I can see in his eyes that he's pleading with his entire life. Coach Cole pauses and sighs. "Uh, my second pick, I'll take Brian Lee."
Jace loosens up and takes a deep breath. The draft continues, and I notice that Coach Alex is picking everyone from the Mighty Ducks team. Then Coach Cole picks Evan, and I can see the big smile on his face. I'm happy for him.
"My final pick," Alex says, looking back at Coach Cole. "Is Jace Cole."
I smile at him before he leaves. "At least it's not your dad."
He smiles back and walks away, standing next to his new team. I try not to think about the fact that he stood right next to Sofi. But he smiles at me again before anything else and I know it means nothing. Not that I would care if it did mean something, right? I mean, Sofi's right, I'm not his girlfriend or anything. Just a best friend who cares. Really, really cares. Gosh this summer is weird. I mean, I noticed that he was hotter at the beginning of the summer. And then we grew closer in these past few weeks, closer than we were before. But Jace would never like me like that. And we could never make a relationship work.
Announcing the team names is next, and I'm the only one in the crowd. I always feel awkward at this point, but Jace is still looking at me, like he's nervous, so I keep looking at him, smiling reassuringly.
"We are the Mighty Ducks," Alex announces, putting the team hat on. Jace turns to me and smiles.
I raise my eyebrows and smile back. I can tell he's happy that he's not on his dad's team. Maybe this won't be another summer of hell for him.
Jace and I are sitting on the steps later, away from everyone else. We aren't talking, just sitting. That's what we do sometimes, just sit in comfortable silence. Talking isn't everything in a relationship like ours.
I see Coach Cole walk past and slow down. I lock eyes with him, nod, and stand up.
"Um, I'll be right back," I say to Jace.
"Wait, where are you going?" Jace asks, frowning.
"Just to the bathroom, I'll be right back." I walk away and let Coach Cole talk to him. I hope he sees now that I'm actually a good kid and not a bad influence following his son around.
I don't leave the area, just stand far away and watch them talk. It's a short conversation, but Jace's face looks different. Not mad or sad, but almost appreciative. Then Coach Cole walks away and I make my way back over to Jace.
"Hey," I say sitting down.
Jace swings his arm around my shoulders and I lean into him. "You're the best, Eve."
I snicker. "I know, you told me after the Coach Classic."
"No really. I mean it," Jace says. "I love you."
I pause, unsure of what he means. Of course, I have to respond with, "I love you, too, Jace."
I try not to think of it as anything too serious. He loves me like a friend. Like a sister. We could never be anything more, it wouldn't work.
"I hope we'll always be there for each other," Jace says.
"Always have been, always will be."
