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Chapter S E V E N T E E N

Grace's POV

It was Tuesday evening and Tiana was taking me with her to her first soccer practice so I could meet Rico. I was really excited and nervous. I didn't have a good history with boys, so I wanted this one to go well, assuming it got somewhere.

We were going to a park, so I didn't want to look too fancy. I decided to wear a yellow floral sundress that stopped mid-thigh with brown, flat sandals. I perched brown sunglasses on top of my head.

"So, there he is." Tiana turned her car off and pointed to a tall, tan boy standing with a clipboard. He was wearing a tight athletic shirt and black shorts. His muscles flexed as he wrote.

"My god, he is an angel." I couldn't help but stare. It's a good thing we were in the car or else he might've noticed me.

"Let's go so you can meet him." She said before opening her door and getting out.

I took a couple of deep breaths and straightened my hair a bit. I applied lip gloss and smacked my lips together. I'd taken an aspirin before leaving home to get rid of any mental signs of drinking.

I felt confident all of a sudden. I got out the car and strode to where the two were talking.

"Hey, guys." I smiled.

"Rico, this is Grace. Grace, this is Rico." She looked between us. I extended my hand and he shook it.

"It's nice to meet you." He grinned. My heart fluttered from the sight of his beautiful smile.

"O-M-G, how cute! Exchange numbers or something so you two can hang out." Tiana's eyes danced with excitement. We'd been through a lot lately, but I loved her. Seeing her making an effort to make me happy, made me realize that she is truly my best friend.

"Of course." Rico reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He saved his number in my phone with the blue heart emoji next to it. I put a crown next to mine in his phone.

About five girls approached us on the field.

"Are you Coach Ross?" a girl with purple streaks asked Tiana. She must've noticed Tiana's soccer gear.

"Yes, I am. You guys must be on our team. Well, you can call me Coach Tiana and this is Coach Rico." She beamed at them. Tiana was passionate about soccer. She and Rico were going to do a great job with their team.

The girls nodded and went to go pass the ball around.

"We're waiting on about ten more." Rico said, glancing down at his clipboard.

"I'll text you. You guys go do your thing." I waved. Tiana smiled and went to go talk to the girls on the field. Rico winked at me before joining her.

I sat in the bleachers and tried to read on my phone, but Rico was very distracting. I constantly lost myself staring at his body.

The way his legs flexed when he ran, the way his hair flowed backwards, the way his arms swayed by his side all made me want to run out onto the field and embrace him.

I definitely wasn't going to let him get away.

***

Miley's POV

Since Grace and I weren't talking, I wanted to go get some of my things from her house. Her car was in her driveway, meaning she was probably home. My stomach ached because I knew awkward this was going to be.

I knocked on the door, expecting Grace to answer. But, Tario swung the door open shirtless. I grimaced at the sight of him. He had abs, but could he at least open the door with a shirt?