“You’re a cheerleader?”
I shouldn’t have been stunned. She had been one when we were in school. “So that’s why you’re here now.”
School hadn’t started. I’d assumed she’d come early because of her boyfriend.
She looked a little ashamed. “I knew how you’d feel about it. So I kept quiet.”
I didn’t hate the sport, more the fact that my father would throw it in my face. Why do you have to be like your brothers? Why not be a cheerleader? He’d made me hate the sport more than the mean girls at school.
“I don’t hate cheerleading,” I said.
Emily’s smile was at half-mast. “Just the girls part of it.”
“Not really.” Only one, but I kept that to myself. “I’m for anyone following their dreams.”
“It’s not really a dream. But I did get a scholarship,” Emily said.
“And that’s great. I’m happy for you,” I said.
She beamed, and I met Tori’s gaze. “So you’ll give us a ride?”
Her grin rivaled Emily’s. “Of course. If you’re ready to go.”
We rode in style. Tori’s Porsche SUV defined just how different we were. The female football player, the cheerleader, and the wealthy academic sounded like the beginning of a joke. Yet, when she turned on music, we quickly found out that we liked the same bands. Our karaoke car ride just might be the first of many. And that turned out to be the best thing out of the day. I wasn’t without friends. I was finding my tribe.
The only thing was the pang of jealousy I felt after we got back to the townhouse and Shepard pulled Tori aside to talk. Emily noticed.
“You like him,” she teased, not giving up her quest for me to admit it.
I nodded, what was the harm? I’d given myself away with the slight bitterness that wrinkled the spot between my brows.
My phone buzzed, ending any possibility of conversation. There was a text from Billy. I’d forgotten that I’d given him my number.
Billy: Sorry about earlier. Forgive me. Come over. Last party before school starts.
18
shepard
The afternoon was warm made cooler by the longneck I had in my hands. I was taking a long pull when August came over.
“Have you ever seen Cooper like this?”
Amusement laced his tone, which matched the grin on his face.
Cooper was animatedly talking to Tori, and I smiled to myself.
“I think he likes her,” I pronounced, thinking of the good deed I’d done and taking another swallow of my beer.
“Likes her? He’s drooling. He needs some lessons on how to play it cool.”
Glancing over, I couldn’t see her expression, but I caught his. That had been the sole reason why I’d asked her to come over––to try to set them up. Tori was great, but she would have been my Plan B. She deserved far more than that, and the way Cooper fixated on her every word, he could make her feel as special as she was.
“I think he’s doing just fine,” I said.
August did a slow perusal of the backyard. “Is Cricket here?”
I almost choked, spilling some of my beer in the process. I’d hoped he’d forgotten all about that. Though August never forgot much. More like I’d hoped he would have moved on to something else.
“Damn, dude, this girl has you all tied up. Why don’t you just go for it?”
His prodding gave me permission to search for Finley in the crowd. I’d tried my best not to stalk her with my eyes, afraid someone would notice me checking her out. But she was gone.
“Is she here? Why don’t you admit who this girl is?” he asked.
I hadn’t ever kept secrets from him with the exception of this one. He was smart, maybe too smart to have not figured out that his sister was who I craved. So I opted to turn the tables on him.
“As soon as you tell me what you’re going to do about Emily.”
He dropped his hand, and it was suddenly like a mini winter storm surrounded us.
“She’s got a boyfriend. Besides, I broke up with her, remember? Why would I want her back?”
Obviously, he hadn’t realized that I’d noticed him tracking her like prey since she showed up.
One of the many cheerleaders he had invited came over and wrapped an arm around his waist. He had a thing for girls in uniform. And she was definitely his type, cute with girl next door looks, long red hair, and a bright smile. They traded whispered words. Not wanting to be a third wheel, I excused myself, though I doubted they noticed.
I went into the house, and Finn was in the kitchen alone. I surveyed the rest of the lower level and found that no one was inside except him.
“Looking for Finley?”
My eyes widened afraid that August would come in and overhear his observation. I quickly closed the gap between us and stood between two of the bar stools to lean on the counter.
“Why would you ask that?”
He set down a takeout container.
“You have three expressions. One is indifference. You’re walking around the party right now wearing that face. Any time Finley is around, your expression softens when you see her.”
Soft, I asked myself. I was never soft. Not when I lived next door to the Farrows nor when I ended up living in my grandmother’s trailer on the other side of town.
“The clincher is if you catch another guy getting too close to her, you get a murderous face. It’s not hard to see you have a thing for her. Why don’t you do something about it?”
Finn was good people. Outside of him, the two closest people to me were Finley’s brothers. Who else could I talk to? I sat up and dropped my hands to my sides.
“August would try to tear out my throat.” When Finn smirked, I added. “Try. In the end, I’d lose my best friend. And Cooper, you never really know what he’s thinking. Besides Finley’s got a boyfriend.”
I’d had to force that last word out of my mouth.
“Are you sure about that?” he asked.
I wasn’t sure about anything. That was the problem. So I gave him the universal sign for I don’t know and shrugged.
“I think if you don’t act soon, you could lose her forever,” he said.
Forever?
“Why? What do you know?”
“Sawyer, Ash, Chance, and Kelley, all walked into this house as single guys. They all left with someone I’m sure they’ll marry. College isn’t high school, or so I hear. Relationships formed now have higher odds of lasting.”
Forever. The idea that she’d marry Billy made the beer sour in my gut.
I dug half-moons in my palms as I fisted my hands. I focused on him and held his gaze a second before I asked a question with determination in my heart.
“Do you know where she is?”
“You just missed her. I believe she got a text from a Billy.” His brow lifted as he paused for effect. “From the smile on her face, she was happy to hear from him. Then she and . . .” He tapped a finger on the counter.
“Emily,” I supplied.
“Yes, Emily. They left for a party.”
My mind circled back to his words from the smile on her face, she was happy to hear from him. She’d told us Coach put her on notice not to start a relationship with the guy. Had we pushed her into Billy’s direction?
I cursed under my breath when August walked in trailed by a line of people. He stopped to stand next to me as people exited the house.
“Party at the Omega house. It’s for the football team as a sort of last thing before classes begin on Monday.”
August continued to tap at his phone, barely glancing up at me.
“We’re going?” I asked, though I knew Finley was there, of course I wanted to go.
“Yep.” He hadn’t looked up. “We’re riding with Tori. Finley took the car, and I plan to get fucked up.”
“Yeah okay.”
Cooper sported a grin ear to ear as he was the last in t
he long line of people leaving the backyard.
“Are we ready?” I asked.
No one had made a move to leave, and August was still texting on his phone.
“You guys have a good time.”
I glanced up at Finn. “You should come.”
He lifted his one good arm. “Funny guy. I should say fuck you, but I think you’re honestly sincere. And I have to decline. I’ve got a long night of planning for my first class, and my TA is on her way over.”
Everyone turned to face him, which only amused him more. I had a feeling Finn had more moves than all of us combined. He was Sawyer’s brother, the self-proclaimed god of women. The stories I’d heard back that up, so I wasn’t exactly surprised.
August reached out, and they high fived and fist bumped each other.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” August joked.
Finn only smirked. “I guess that leaves everything on the table.” When his eyes trailed over to the dining room table, he added, “I probably should warn you that I wouldn’t suggest you eat there, food I mean.”
Our heads collectively turned as one before we barked out in laughter. Finn was using that table for more than meals.
As we left, August in awe of Finn said, “You are the man.”
The short ride made for a long walk. We were among the last to arrive, and street parking was at a premium. By the time we walked in, a ring of our teammates had formed in the living room with Billy in the center. He waved us over to the impromptu huddle as everyone started a chant like a high school pep rally. In those few minutes, our de facto leader riled everyone up with excitement for our first game in a week.
I focused on the girl tucked close to his side. She looked feverishly happy as she animatedly chanted the words he’d started. When it was over, I headed outside to the keg. I needed more than my conviction to spill my secret to her. I needed something to help me endure the painful view of her and Billy together until I could get her alone.
19
finley
Beer ranked up there with drinking piss, in my view. Still I drank from my second plastic cup like everyone else, though maybe a bit slower.
Emily, on the other hand, was taking huge gulps from hers.
“Slow it down,” I said with a hand on her arm to stop her from finishing the last bit.
“You don’t understand,” she said.
I couldn’t pinpoint the reason for the worry in her eye.
“Where’s Kevin?”
Her gaze shifted from the girl held into a handstand position above the keg in the center of the living room.
“He’s not here. And I need to talk to your brother before he arrives.”
All my probing questions were halted when she darted forward. I watched as if I held a bucket of popcorn while I waited to see what would happen next.
August stood next to a redhead. I’d seen her a lot lately, especially under my brother’s arm. He hadn’t introduced me, but that didn’t mean anything. We hadn’t talked much since our fight. I wasn’t backing down. I’d wanted my independence, and I’d finally gotten it.
“What’s going on?”
A quick glance over revealed Tori, but my focused shifted back to my brother. “Emily’s going to talk to my brother,” I said as softly as I could with crowd noise and music in the background.
I didn’t explain further, just watched. He was grinning at the redhead, who only had eyes for him. When Emily’s hand landed on his bicep, he glanced down, smile vanishing. I couldn’t hear what was said, but the redhead seemed confused, not pissed. Points to her for that.
August said something, and Emily replied. Finally, he whispered in the ear of the redhead, who was his maybe girlfriend, and she giggled. Then he left with Emily towards the sliding glass doors of the pool area.
“What was that all about?” Tori asked.
“Not sure but it should be interesting to see how that plays out. How about you? Where’s Shepard? Did you come with him?”
Subtle, Finley. I forced a smile like it was cool because I needed to get used to the idea of them together.
“Yeah, I drove them over after you and Emily ditched me, and from what I could tell it was for a certain someone,” she lightly teased, aiming her gaze at Billy who helped hold up willing girls to chug from the keg upside down.
I giggled and wondered where that had come from. It had to be from the beer because I didn’t giggle, at least not all girly like how I’d just done. Had to be the beer. “You were busy, and we didn’t want to interrupt. We texted you.”
“Yeah, I suppose. But this is my first frat party.”
That jerked my attention toward her. “Really?”
“Well, my dad isn’t exactly all about extracurricular activities that don’t further my future.”
I didn’t have to think about that one. “I’m sure my dad wouldn’t be pleased to know I was here either.”
I lifted up my fist because we were sisters in solidarity. She bumped it.
“What about your mom?” I asked.
Her face grew pensive, and I knew I’d hit a touchy topic.
“My mom died when I was little,” she said.
“Oh crap, I’m sorry.”
She waved it off. “I don’t really remember her all that much.”
“So it’s just you and your dad.”
Her head bobbed. “And his new wife and my half-sibs, but they’re cool for the most part. Anyway, how are things with you and Billy?”
I laughed. “I probably shouldn’t tell you since Coach declared us off-limits to each other.”
“No way,” she said, exaggerating the words like they had double the syllables.
“Yes, but Billy seems determined to break that rule.”
I wasn’t sure what to do. He was fun and made me laugh. He didn’t give me butterflies, but I liked him. And maybe butterflies weren’t what everyone made them out to be.
That was when everything changed. Kevin walked in and talked to Billy. He pointed outside. Cooper noticed and got Shepard’s attention. Then everyone paraded outside.
August might not have been my favorite person at the moment, but he was my brother. I didn’t like the look in Kevin’s eye.
“Come on,” I said to Tori and followed on the heels of everyone else who had felt the tension change in the air.
I made it in time to see Emily standing in front of August. Cooper and Shepard had already flanked him.
“You don’t understand—” she said.
“What is your problem? She and I were just talking,” August said, sizing Kevin up. “It’s not a crime.”
“She talks to whomever I want her to talk to, and that’s not you.”
I couldn’t stay silent. I jumped to stand next to her. “What did you just say?” The crowd watched, and I made myself more clear. “As far as I can tell, she’s not property. Right, Emily?”
Emily’s voice vibrated with something, either fear or anger.
Billy reached for me. “This isn’t our business.”
Shepard leaped forward, and I was quickly sandwiched between two angry guys.
“Don’t touch her,” Shep said, pushing his hand away from me.
I glared at Billy and then Shepard. “Back off.”
They stepped back.
“Emily, are you coming with me?” Kevin asked, as stern as a father, having completely ignored the near fight between Billy and Shepard.
“You don’t have to go,” August said with pleading eyes.
I glanced over to where the redhead stood patiently waiting without an ounce of jealousy. That could be a good or bad sign for my brother, but I refocused my attention on Emily.
“You deserve better than this,” I said quietly.
I didn’t want to force her into a decision she didn’t want to make.
“I’m not going,” she said as quiet as a mouse. When he didn’t seem to hear or believe her
, she straightened and repeated herself a little louder.
“Fine,” he said. “Your loss.”
He walked away, which wasn’t what I expected. Billy glanced at me, but I shook my head and wrapped a weeping Emily in my arms. The crowd dispersed, leaving Emily, Tori, and me with my brothers and Shepard not too far away.
When I let her go, Tori was there.
“Has he ever hurt you?” she asked Emily.
Emily sniffled and shook her head. “No, I swear. He’s controlling, but that’s it.”
She nodded. I wanted to say more, but August came over.
Tori and I gave them room, but we overhead their hushed conversation.
“Can we finish talking?” Emily asked him.
August looked over her shoulder at the redhead who hadn’t inserted herself into the situation.
“There isn’t really much to say. You never once responded to my letters, and we both have moved on. That doesn’t mean I want some asshole to hurt you.”
Her mouth trembled. “I really need to tell you something.”
August seemed almost sad when he spoke next. “It’s too late for that. But you should stay away from that guy,” he said before sidestepping Emily and wrapping an arm around the redhead to lead her inside.
Emily covered her face and sobbed. When she took a breath, she said, “I need to leave.”
“I can go with you,” I offered.
She shook her head and disappeared into the house presumably to leave. I made a mental note to text her later to make sure she was okay.
Cooper walked over, making it clear he wasn’t there to talk to me by focusing on Tori.
“Do you want to . . . um . . . get something to eat? They have the grill going.”
I pursed my lips because poor Cooper was clueless and super nervous to trip over his words like that.
She grinned at me. “I won’t leave without you,” she said before walking away with him. I glanced over at Shepard, wondering what he felt about it when Billy appeared.
“Come with me,” he urged. “Please.”
His eyes danced, and it didn’t take a genius to know he wanted us to find a spot where we could be alone. Did I want to go? I asked myself as I let him lead me away. Maybe he wanted to apologize. I’d hoped that was it, at least.
Songs For Cricket Page 10