I had dreamed of this day since I was a little Pop Warner cheerleader. In the den with my family, I grew up watching LSU football games religiously. We were die hard Tiger fans.

Geaux Tigers!

Of course, I loved football, but my favorite parts of the telecast were the close-ups of the cheerleaders. All I wanted to be was just like them.

And now, I was one of them. There I was cheering at my very first college football game ever. In my yellow and purple cheerleading outfit and my big purple bow in my hair, I was finally one of those LSU cheerleaders I’d grown up seeing on TV. It was a dream come true.

My parents had five kids and worked hard as shrimp fishermen. Shrimping had been a way of life for my family for several generations, but the shrimping business had gotten more and more competitive. Without the cheerleading scholarship LSU offered me, I wouldn’t have been able to go to college. All those cheer competitions and practices paid off.

Lots of my classmates in high school dismissed my cheerleading ambitions as a silly hobby, but I knew that cheerleading would be my ticket to an education and greatness, in general. Mama always said that if I worked hard enough and believed in myself, I could accomplish anything.

Humblebrag: And I did it. I was an LSU cheerleader!

My chest swelled with pride, standing there, looking up at the stands. With my team on the sidelines, I chanted in earnest our famous ‘Hot Boudin’ cheer. “Hot ! Cold coush-coush! Come on tigers! Push push push!”

I made sure to smile big for the cameras, just in case a little girl like I once was, was watching. I even winked for effect, loving the thrill of being on the field for a televised game.

Boudin was what we called sausage down in Louisiana. I was from New Orleans where I grew up eating Cajun boudin, my absolute fave. Boudin was such a well-worn tradition in Louisiana, convenience stores along Interstate 10 sold them right out of the rice cookers. It was so good.

I loved Louisiana, the LSU Tigers, and Cajun food. So, ‘Hot Boudin’ was my favorite cheer. When I was a little girl, all dressed up in my cheerleading uniform, I’d cheer along with the cheerleaders on the TV, following their lead.

But finally, it was me leading fans in the stadium and at home in the celebrated cheer. Me!

Mama, Daddy, and my brothers and sisters were watching the game at home, huddled in the den. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

My family had called me that morning. I’d already been up, getting a head start with my Chemistry homework. Environmental Engineering was a tough program at LSU, and I intended to not let it get the best of me.

The junior and senior cheerleaders on the squad warned the freshman not to get behind on our studies. Cheering and schoolwork made for a demanding schedule. They also warned us to not let our partying get out of hand. Poor grades would lead to being kicked off the team. That was the last thing I wanted to happen.

I came to LSU for two things: 1. My engineering degree. 2. To cheer.

When my family called, they were all on speakerphone: Mama, Daddy, Jeanie, James, Lilah, and baby Toby.

“We can’t wait to see you today on TV, Kassie Lee,” my mom said in a chipper voice.

My dad’s voice bellowed, “The Tigers are gonna win this one against Crimson Tide, no doubt. You’re going to do great today, pumpkin.”

“I miss you,” Lilah, my sweet seven-year-old little sister said.

“I miss all of you too so much.” I held the phone close to my ear.

“Do you miss me?” James said while crunching on something, most likely his beloved Apple Jacks. I could hear baby Toby cooing in the background.

I heard Mama say, “James, Kassie doesn’t need to hear your chewing.”

“Yes, I miss all of you,” I cried. “I miss you all so much.”

Jeanie, the second oldest at sixteen, asked, “Do you like it?”

“I love it, Jeanie. You’re going to love college too. You’ll be here in a couple years with me. It’s going to be great.”

“Okay. We’ll let you get back to studying. Just wanted to tell you that we’ll be looking out for your beautiful smile during the game, sweetheart,” my mom’s voice cracked.

“Mom, are you crying?” My heart thumped.

James, Jeanie, and Lilah chimed, “Yes.” Baby Toby giggled.

“Tears of joy, baby.” My mom sniffled. “Geaux get ‘em today!”

We ended the call with the ‘Geaux Tigers’ cheer.

I missed my family so much, but it made me happy to think about them at home watching the game.

“Hot boudin,” I belted out, happily. “Cold coush-coush!” As I sang, I saw a super hot guy in the bleachers, looking down in my direction. He had strong broad shoulders and emerald green eyes. He was smoking hot. Even from where I was, I could see his sculpted biceps and thick forearms. I smiled up at him.

But wait. Was he even looking at me?

Then, I remembered. Who was I kidding? Helena was cheering right behind me. He was most likely staring at her. Everyone stared at her. She had dark raven hair and the brightest blue eyes. She had that Snow White look going for her. Guys loved it.

“Come on tigers! Push! Push! Push!” the crowd cheered along. The energy on the field was electric. The Tigers were leading Crimson Tide by ten points. The fans were hyped up.

The hot guy kept looking in my direction so I had no choice but to smile right back at him just in case, he was looking at me. This time, he smiled back.

I tried to keep my cool. No biggie. Just that the hottest guy in the world smiled at me.

On the next play, Number 25, LSU Tiger, Tom Morrison went out for a shallow pass on a goal-line play and caught it.

Touchdown!

The stadium lit up in a roar. The band exploded into ‘Hold That Tiger.’ The jubilant tune roared from the marching band section. After every touchdown, the band played that song, and the cheerleaders led the crowd in spelling ‘T-I-G-E-R-S’ at the end.

“T-I-G-E-R-S!” I screamed. The excitement from the happy fans was infectious. I went for a backhand somersault. When I landed, I looked in the stands for the hot guy. He was staring right at me. Helena was nowhere near me.

So he is looking at me!

I made sure to give him a gigantic smile. He smiled back at me.

OMG!

I suddenly felt giddy inside. Who was this mystery man?

When we took a water break, I decided to investigate. Helena was a senior and knew everybody on campus. I whispered in her ear, “There’s a guy in the stands. He has on a yellow LSU hat.”

Helena looked up into the crowd. “There are a ton of guys in yellow LSU hats.”

“This guy is four rows up on your left,” I said, trying to play it cool. “Look, but don’t be too obvious.” I nudged Helena as she turned her head to look. “But don’t look right now, he’s looking right at us.”

Helena laughed and bopped my ponytail. “Kassie, you’re too adorable.” She sipped her water bottle while looking down at the ground. “Can I look yet?”

The mystery guy was talking to his friend. “Yes. Look now. Hurry. Four rows up. Left.”

Helena glanced up, following my instructions. She turned back around to me and smiled. “That’s Ryan Romero. He’s our star pitcher on the baseball team. A senior. And very very dangerous.”

“Dangerous?” I asked intrigued.

“He’s a player, Kassie. He breaks girls’ hearts on the reg. He’s gorgeous, but not worth it.”

“Ew. Really? Well, that’s def not my thing.” I shook my head, grossed out.

Helena put a hand on my arm. "Good. You're too sweet for a jerk like that." She bopped the bow in my ponytail again before checking her makeup with her pocket mirror. "You deserve a nice guy."

When our water break was over, we got back out there to cheer. Ryan’s eyes were all over me. It felt like he was watching me more than the game.

It was really too bad that he was a bad boy. I didn't need that kind of distraction. Bad boys were too much trouble and not worth it at all.

I had a packed schedule as it was. And, remember: I came to LSU for two things: 1. My engineering degree. 2. To cheer.

My top two goals did not and would not include wasting my time with a bad boy, no matter how gorgeous he was.

I looked up at the stands at Ryan. He smiled right at me, but I looked away and focused my eyes on a little girl in the stands as I cheered. I smiled big for her, and she waved at me.

Quickly, my eyes darted back over to Ryan. He looked confused by my diss.

Good. A guy like him needed to be rejected more often. I bet he got any girl he wanted and then dumped her after one night.

What a jerk.

When I looked over at him again, because I couldn’t help myself, he smiled and shrugged his shoulders, holding his arms out. I looked away without letting my face betray me. He was great to look at, but it was too bad he wasn’t a nice guy. I whipped my eyes away from his.

In my book, bad boys deserved to be ignored. So that’s what I did to Mr. Ryan Romero.