“Maybe you’re right.” Emotion makes my throat tight, and I wave a hand in front of my face to keep the tears at bay. “To be clear, I’m upset right now because I was dumb enough to buy into Ezra’s bullshit, not because I have feelings for him. That man is dead to me. I just don’t know how I’m supposed to navigate the next eighteen years by myself. Honestly, I’m terrified.”
He nods slowly. “It’s okay to be overwhelmed.” Reaching across the table, he takes my hand in his giant paw. “I know you’re afraid to tell your parents, but they’ve got your back. Your dad might hate me, but you’re his pride and joy.”
I question whether my dad will feel that way after I tell him I got knocked up by one of his players.
Billy squeezes my hand. “You’ve got me and Charlotte and Jake. Hell, my whole household will be there for you and your baby. And what about your roommates?”
“Debbie made them take me in after the fire.” Charlotte and I briefly lived together before our apartment went up in flames last fall due to our negligent neighbors. When my squad coach Debbie encouraged me to move in with some of the cheer girls, she was only trying to help. But my current living situation isn’t the best. “The girls are nice, but I competed against them for the last year and a half. And…”
“And you always won, so now they’re butthurt.”
I nod. We might be a team, but there’s a lot of individual competition that goes on to make mat for certain events. “Plus, I got a spot because I was basically a package deal with my dad. He worked it into his contract because he knew I’d go wherever he and my mom moved. So Lone Star had to make a place for me on the squad. I sent in my tapes, so they didn’t exactly accept me blind, but I didn’t really understand what bypassing the official tryouts would mean for the camaraderie on the squad until some of the girls started throwing me shade.” I groan, hating the drama.
“But you tried out for Indiana, right?”
“Yeah. I made that all on my own as an incoming freshman, which is why Lone Star agreed to the terms. My dad was already coaching at Indiana when I tried out there, but he said if I wanted to cheer at a collegiate level, I had to have what it takes. He said he wasn’t going to pull any strings. With the transferhere, though, he said I had already proven myself by making the Indiana squad. I don’t think he liked the idea of leaving me behind.”
Billy’s lips tilt up. “Your dad’s protective of you. I’d be the same way if I had a daughter.”
That statement makes me pause.
Billy with a daughter? The image of him holding a baby girl makes me weak-kneed.
Focus, Roxy. Even if Billy was into relationships, you don’t have time for anything but the baby you’re gestating.
“So yeah. I’m not close to my roommates. It’s tough being a transfer. It was so much easier to make friends as a freshman at Indiana, but I wanted to go wherever my dad coached. You know how much I love football. Can you imagine me cheering for a team after my dad had just left the head coaching position?”
“Not really.”
“It broke my heart when he said he got the job down here. As much as I love the Broncos and the school spirit here, uprooting your life sucks. We moved my entire childhood for his teams. First when he was in the pros and then coaching. I was so ready to settle down somewhere, and I thought I’d get that chance in college. I was good friends with the girls on my old squad, but I don’t have the same camaraderie here. And maybe that’s why I went a little off the reservation when I transferred.”
It’s embarrassing to admit, but my dad put me on lockdown for a while over the summer to “settle down” and stop partying.
The waitress brings our food, and we chow down for a few minutes. I’m mid-bite when Billy pushes his plate back. “What do you need from me? I can help.”
My eyes sting, and I slowly chew, overwhelmed. It chokes me up to ask this favor. “You can say no.”
“I won’t.”
I give him a wobbly smile. “Could you take me to my doctor appointment next week? I’m anxious about going by myself. Charlotte has a meeting with her counselor that she can’t reschedule, or she would take me. She already tried, andI’m—”
“Done. What day and time?”
7
ROXY
Rain pelts the window,and I take in Charming as Billy drives me to my appointment.
The cobblestone streets are slick and glisten in the early morning sun that peeks out from behind the clouds. The holiday lights are still up and wrap around the great oaks along Main Street.
Charming is so quaint. I love the postcard-pretty downtown area with its vintage storefronts and historic buildings. Even though Lone Star is an enormous school, there’s still a small-town feel. The baristas at the Rise ’N Grind know my name and order. Sometimes, when I miss my friends in Indiana, I grab a coffee or chai tea there. I like talking to the staff and curling up with a book. It makes me less homesick. Not that I lived in Indiana that long, just a few years, but of all the places we’ve resided, that felt the most like home.
“So what did your brother say about not telling you he was transferring to Lone Star?”
“He thought my parents would tell me. Which, yeah, I get that. But they’re in their own little world right now. My dad’s still on some post-game high, and my mom just got back froma trip. I asked if I could come over last weekend, and they said no because they wanted ‘time to reconnect.’ They’re probably making out all over the house. Gross.”
Billy chuckles. “It’s great that your parents are still into each other. I have a hard time thinking mine ever liked each other, much less loved one another.”
