-18-
KAYLA
There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. There wasn’t a breeze, either, which meant the sun was brutal. As I slathered a new coat of sunscreen on my nose, I watched the marching band’s halftime performance on the field. A sea of white spats moved with precision, all while the powerful music flowed from their instruments. I loved our band so much. I’d been so thrilled when Chuck told me not only was he going to Ohio State, but he was going to try out for the sousaphone line.
Our game against Tulsa was going well. We were up by fourteen points at the half, and the stadium had a jovial, relaxed feel. I finished smearing on sunscreen and dug my phone out of my bag, using the camera to make sure I didn’t miss any globs of white or need to touch up my makeup.
The home screen was full of notifications, mostly score updates. But I’d also put an alert on Jay’s name, and it was like a twisted game of fantasy football, where you find yourself rooting for players on teams you don’t like. Only this was serious.
Jay was an amazing athlete. That wasn’t debatable—it was fact. These alerts were the proof. I scrolled through them, trying to get the highlights. Their opponent was scoreless, but Michigan had one touchdown. A short pass to J. Harris.
I was so engrossed in my phone, I didn’t realize until it was too late. Lisa was now sitting beside me and leaned over, her voice dipping low. “We need to chat.”
“About?” I turned off my phone and tossed it into my equipment bag, acting indifferent while unease spiked inside. Had she seen my screen? Was she wondering why I was looking at Michigan’s game summary?
“Let’s talk about your man.” She lifted one eyebrow. “And what you’re going to do to keep me quiet.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Really?” Her grin was evil and she raised her voice over the marching band. “You’ve never seen Sleeping with the Enemy? They only run that movie, like, eighty-eight times a month on Lifetime!”
Oh, shit. The cheerleaders sitting nearby turned their heads toward Lisa.
I scowled and dropped my voice low. “Who cares if I’m friends with a guy who might play for Michigan?”
“Are you insane?” She looked at me like I was wearing a yellow and blue uniform. “Well, I mean, clearly you are, given your boyfriend. But they’re going to flip out, big time.”
My voice was small, and I couldn’t even convince myself. “Not my boyfriend, and it’s not that big of a deal.”
“Not that . . .? You’re the captain.” Lisa’s gaze narrowed, as if she were evaluating me for delusions. She shrugged it off and brightened. “Okay. I need a heads-up when you’re going to tell them. I want to video with my phone. It’s going to be too much drama for me to take in all at once.”
Was Lisa right? Would the squad deem me unfit to be captain when they learned the truth? I’d worked so hard to get the spot, and I loved it. I couldn’t risk Lisa blurting it out in the most damaging way. Which she’d absolutely do.
I didn’t want to cave to her blackmail, but did I have any other option? “What do you want?”
“The travel squad. I deserve a spot.”
This wasn’t hard to sacrifice, especially because she was right. Our coach had asked me for recommendations on Friday, and I’d included Lisa. She was a great cheerleader, and a senior.
But I wasn’t going to be a pushover either. “I don’t have control over that.”
“Bull. You and I both know Samantha lets the captain set the line-up.”
I clenched my teeth. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Great.” She smiled a big, toothy grin. “You do that.” Her tone made it clear this was just the tip of the iceberg. If I’d let her, Lisa would bleed me dry.
Two-and-oh. The crowd at the Buckeye Bar was buzzing. The first games of the season weren’t within our conference, but we typically won, since we were playing at home. Although our fans went with us everywhere, making every game feel like a home game.
“Where are you rushing off to?” my mother asked.
I’d finished my wrap in record time, but couldn’t exactly tell her a guy was driving down from Ann Arbor for a visit. Or that I needed time to get mentally ready for being near Jay again.
“Chuck invited some people over and our place is a mess,” I said.
This was only half of a lie. Our place was messy, but Chuck hadn’t invited people over. He was going to a drumline kegger, and he’d commented not to wait up for him, which worked out perfectly. And perhaps Beth would make an appearance at the party, and Chuck could have enough liquid courage to make his approach.
“An apartment party?” Alarm rang on my father’s face. My dad was generally awesome, but the downfall of him coaching at a collegiate level meant he’d seen more than his fair share of bad behavior. Parties that had gotten out of hand, students with alcohol poisoning, and all the other trouble college kids got into.
“Calm down, Coach,” I said. “Not a party. A few band friends.”
Dad’s shoulders relaxed, when they probably shouldn’t have. I’d met plenty of band members who could hang hardcore, but the label “band member” deceptively equaled wholesome to my parents.
My phone buzzed in my hand and I jolted. I was wound tight as a spring, equal parts of being on edge around my parents and my excitement for this evening.
Jay: On the road finally. See you in three hours.
I thumbed out a response telling him to drive safe.
“Who are you texting?” Mom asked. “Jason?”
I swallowed a breath. “Yeah.”
“You should tell him he can join us for dinner next time,” Dad said.
Cooper laughed, and I punched his knee under the table. “I’m not ready for that,” I blurted out. At least that wasn’t a lie.
My dad frowned. “What?”
“I think she means you can be a little intimidating, Bob,” my mom said as if it were obvious.
“I’m not intimidating,” my dad scoffed. “Unless he’s a pussy.”
“Bob,” my mom scolded, her eyes wide.
Cooper and I exchanged an amused look. Dad tried so hard not to use his “football language” around us, but when we came to the Buckeye Bar, where he was around other coaches and he’d had a few beers, it slipped out.
“I’ll make sure he’s on his best behavior,” my mom said, her tone firm as she leveled her gaze at my father.
“What about you?” I joked, although I was mostly serious.
“Oh, I never behave.”
Cooper’s eyes glazed over as our mom leaned her shoulder into our dad’s chest, nudging him. Oh, God. I couldn’t deal with the idea of my parents as sexual beings.
“They’re like this all the time now,” Cooper whispered. “It’s horrifying.”
“Yeah, that sucks.” I grabbed my equipment bag and rose from my seat. “And I’m out. Thanks for dinner.”
“You never answered your father.” My mom’s tone was urgent. “Are you bringing Jason to dinner after the Purdue game?”
There was a hopeful gleam in her eye, and my heart dropped down to my white game-day sneakers. I’d never brought a guy to a postgame family dinner, because on top of her scrutiny, it meant things were serious. She wanted that for me. I’d gone to OSU as my parents had hoped, I got good grades, and I was the cheerleading captain. All that was missing from my picture-perfect life was the picture-perfect Buckeye guy.
“Let me think about it and talk to him.” My voice was uneven. “I gotta go. See you in two weeks.”
“Go, Bucks!” My brother’s enthusiasm was over the top. This was a dig at my relationship with Jay, I was sure.
“Yeah,” I said, determined. “Always.”