“You think anyone else noticed?” I look around at each one of them.
“I doubt it,” Penn says. “It’s just because we know you guys. So what’s going on? You were weird at Friendsgiving too…and at the dance recital.”
“Are we really saying Friendsgiving when the girls aren’t around? It’s just so…” I sigh.
“We do Friendsgiving now and we own it,” Weston says, laughing.
“I love doing it, it’s thewordthat I never thought I’d be saying…”
They all laugh.
Weston elbows me. “Out with it. If it were one of us not talking about our mess by now, you’d be all over us. Spill.”
I groan and pick up a napkin, twisting it. “I don’t know where to begin, I guess. When she told me she wanted to be a cheerleader for the Mustangs, I was all for it. She loves to dance…she was the best cheerleader on our college team. She has that IT factor that makes everyone want to get another look at her. I mean, you’ve all seen her. She’sfuckinggorgeous,” I whisper the F-word since Levi and Caleb are here. “She belongs out there, and she needed something to boost her confidence. She’s spent her whole life trying to fit into the box her parents wanted her to be in…she deserves this time. But she’s busier than she’s ever been. And you guys know we’re skirting the rules even hanging out at all, with the no-fraternization policy between us and the cheerleaders. But it’sme and Elle. Everyone knows we’ve been best friends forever.”
Thirteen years is alongtime.
“Can’t the rules be bent a little?” Penn asks.
I tilt my head and make a face. “I thought so. But since she got on the team, we’ve hardly seen each other. We’ve hung out at Henley’s and at each other’s houses a couple of times, which is technically prohibited, but come on! It’s ridiculous to think that we’d cut off ties with each other just because she’s a cheerleader on the team.”
I scowl at the floor.
“Elle doesn’t think it’s so ridiculous,” I add. “She’s been adamant that we can’t be seen together, ever, and she camethisclose to not showing up at Friendsgiving. She’d come over the night before upset, and we drank a little…and…” I pause, still unable to meet them in the eye because again, it’sme and Elle.
“The anticipation is killing me,” Bowie says.
“Same, bro. What happened?” Penn pounds on the table.
I clear my throat. “Well, one thing led to another, and…”
The room is silent. I look up at them and they’re staring at me in shock before they all start speaking at once, demanding to know what happened.
“We kissed,” I admit, wincing.And a little more than that, I think but don’t say.
“Why are you making that face? Was it bad? Did it feel wrong?” Henley leans in, disbelief on his face.
“No, not even a little bit. I thought it was all kinds of right…but apparently she didn’t, because she’s been pissed at me ever since.”
CHAPTER TWO
DETERMINED
ELLE
Now
We finishpractice and I’m on that high I get after I’ve danced my heart out, but it’s laced with more fatigue than usual. Being a cheerleader is so much harder at thirty-one than it was at eighteen, and the hours I’ve been keeping haven’tbeen helping.
Our director, Lisa, is in a mood today. She rode us hard during practice and has followed us into the dressing room, which doesn’t bode well for me getting out as soon as I’d hoped. I need to shower and meet my girlfriends at Starlight Cafe in an hour and a half, and it takes a while to drive to Silver Hills.
“I want to talk about something. Can we all take a seat?” Lisa calls out.
I can tell by the look on her face that we’re not going to enjoy whatever she’s about to say.
We drop to the floor and she faces us.
“I just want to reiterate some of the rules we have to uphold when we’re part of this organization. I’ve noticed some of you have not been wearing a full face when you go out, and that’s just not acceptable. Brynn, I also want to mention that your tanner is a little too orange-y this week, while I’m thinking about it.” She sighs and Brynn nods, her orange-y cheeks darkening in embarrassment.
