by Sherri Renee
I pressed my lips together. I knew I’d blindsided him too when I told him I loved him. It wouldn’t be surprising if he was as confused as I was.
Kristen had flipped to her stomach with her head resting on her folded hands, as relaxed in my home as I was in hers. She let out a loud laugh at something on the movie. I glanced at the screen to see what was so funny, but as much as I usually enjoyed movies, I couldn’t focus tonight. I’d forced all my thoughts to Danny, trying to remember every tiny detail that made our relationship special. Everything that had made me love him or at least think I loved him.
As hard as I tried, the only memories willing to parade themselves for me were those of him standing on my porch with his hands jammed deep in his pockets and his car loaded for his move. I dug for the sweet sensation of being wrapped tight in his arms, but it alluded me, and instead, I saw a quick flash of Jace’s strong arms.
Traitorous brain. That was absolutely not the memory I’d been searching for. With a mental sigh, I swatted it away like the bad thought it was. I couldn’t like two guys at the same time. It wasn’t fair to either of them, and it just wasn’t who I was.
Danny was still my boyfriend, and unless I decided to change that I needed to put some distance between myself and Jace. I felt bad leading Jace on because I was sure I had. He’d just been in the right place at the wrong time. I’d needed someone and he’d been there.
As much as I tried to convince myself that was true, I couldn’t entirely believe it. If that was all Jace was, just someone in the right place at the wrong time, why did the thought of never being more than his friend hurt so bad?
Chapter 11
Thursday I was so full of excited energy I got to the gym an hour before the game started. After hours of internal debate, I’d finally convinced myself that I wasn’t wrong about Danny and I having something special. Maybe it wasn’t love, but we’d been good together.
I still wasn’t sure where that left Jace, but this wasn’t the time to think about it. Any minute now I’d get to see Danny, and as confused and mixed up as my feelings had been the last few days, I could hardly wait.
I’d already imagined our reunion a hundred times, and it would be better than any movie. As soon as Danny walked in the gym our eyes would meet across the room. I’d run to him and he’d sweep me off of my feet into a giant hug because he’d missed me so much. Maybe he’d even bring me flowers. He knew I loved flowers. I bit my lip and nodded. Tonight was going to be amazing.
Danny’s team wasn’t there yet so I spent some time in front of the mirror in the empty girls’ locker room.
Studying my reflection I decided I looked about as good as I could. My dark hair was loose and curled. I had spent extra time on my makeup until my green eyes stood out and my cheekbones looked high and defined. I smoothed on a fresh layer of strawberry scented lip gloss and smacked my lips together, making a popping sound.
I peeked out the door to see if Danny was there, but he still wasn’t. Our team was starting to straggle in and the sound of basketballs hitting the floor and the backboard filled the gym. Someone started some loud music and my heart pounded in time with the heavy bass.
I went to check my reflection one last time. I wanted to look perfect for Danny when he got there. We’d talked for a couple of hours last night, and he’d already texted me once today.
I mean it was all about basketball and getting settled back in at his old school, but at least we were talking. I guessed Kristen was right and he did just need some time to get used to his new life before he could make time for me.
I hated that I’d dragged Jace into the middle of my insecurities, but I was glad I hadn’t been wrong about Danny. Okay, so he still didn’t love me as far as I knew, but he wasn’t a callous guy who’d walked away without looking back either.
The locker room door flew open letting in all the noise from the gym. Kara poked her head around the corner and when she saw me a wide smile lit her face. “Wylie’s bus just pulled in,” she said.
I’d ended up telling the girls about Danny’s move. I mean it wasn’t like they wouldn’t notice he was wearing the wrong jersey when they saw him at the game tonight.
Everyone had felt sorry for me, but they were really supportive. Kara had even said her sister and her boyfriend had dated long distance for over a year and they were happily married now. It was nice to hear that it really could be done.
Nerves flared in my stomach, and I turned to Kara, running a hand down my cheerleading skirt. “How do I look?”
She grabbed my forearms and looked me up and down critically. “You look gorgeous,” she said. “Danny will probably decide to move back after he sees you tonight.”
I beamed a smile at her. That was the most perfect thing she could have said because it was exactly what I was wishing for. School hadn’t even started yet. Danny could move back and it would be like he’d never gone at all.
“Are you ready?” she asked.
“Wait.” I unzipped my bag and took out a carefully wrapped gift box. I probably wouldn’t see most of the girls again before Christmas so I’d brought their presents tonight. I handed Kara the box and her eyes lit up.
“For me?”
“Yes. Open it.”
“It’s so pretty,” she said, turning the box from side to side to look at it. “I don’t want to ruin it.”
And that was the reaction I was going for. Some people didn’t even notice if a gift was carefully wrapped but to others, like me and Kara apparently, it made the present extra special.
“Tear into it,” I urged her.
“Okay!” She untied the ribbon before ripping through the paper. Taking the lid off the white box inside, she squealed. “It’s so cute!” She held up the ankle bracelet and read the inscription. Cheerleaders Rock.
It was simple and not too expensive, but I thought it was fun. I lifted my leg to show her I was wearing mine.
“I love it. Thank you.” She put hers on then looked at me. “I’m sure Wylie’s coming in by now. We need to get out there so you don’t miss Danny.”
I nodded, suddenly nervous, and she took my hand, pulling me into the gym. She was right Wylie was already coming in. Two more minutes and I would have missed my first chance of seeing Danny.
I spotted him right away. He didn’t look as tall as usual, surrounded by his equally tall teammates, but he was still heart-stopping-ly gorgeous. I stared hard at him, waiting for him to look my way so the perfect reunion I’d imagined could begin, but he walked straight to the guest locker room with the rest of his team without a glance my direction.
I frowned as the door closed behind him and let out a sigh. That wasn’t the way our reunion started in any of the scenarios I’d imagined.
“Aw.” Kara’s brow wrinkled in disappointment. “Well, I’m sure they’ll come out soon.” She patted my arm and ran over to talk to Megan. I watched the locker room door for a second then went back to get my bag of presents so all the girls could wear their ankle bracelets for the game if they wanted.
By the time I’d given them all out I was feeling antsy. I thought Danny would have come out of the locker room by now but none of his team had yet. I chewed on my nail and looked around the gym.
Matt was dribbling a ball from one hand to another as he talked to Kristen. It was clear they were lost in their own world. I glanced at the rest of the players. Our team was smaller than usual.
Unless more showed up later it looked like we had a total of eight players. I knew George would have been there if it hadn’t been for the drugs so I figured that was the reason some of the other guys probably weren’t there this year too.
I heard someone come running up fast behind me, dribbling a ball. I spun around, hoping I wasn’t about to get trampled. I was met with a smiling face, happy brown eyes, and arms more muscular than I’d imagined even though I’d spent quite a bit of time wrapped up in them recently.
“Hey!” Jace said. “You look really great.” He eyed me up and down exaggerate
dly. I twisted back and forth making my cheerleading skirt fly out to the sides before I laughed and swatted his arm, but then let my hand rest there.
“And look at you?” I teased. “Who knew you had all these muscles hidden under those sweaters you wear.”
He waggled his eyebrows at me while keeping the basketball in constant motion as we talked. “So nice of you to notice.”
I laughed at him then bit my lip. I’d never gotten back to him about hanging out Tuesday and he hadn’t texted again. “I wanted to thank you for the pen,” I said. “It’s beautiful, and it writes so smoothly. It’s like I’m writing with liquid satin.”
He nodded, looking pleased. “I have a matching one and I love it. I use it to outline before I move my thoughts to the computer.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t texted. It’s just, Danny . . .”
He held up one hand while he dribbled with the other. “I get it. He should be here tonight, right? You did say he went to Wylie.”
I glanced back at the closed locker room door. “Yeah, he just got here. I haven’t even talked to him yet.”
Jace held my eyes for a minute with a solemn look I couldn’t read before he smiled. “Well, I’ll get out of here so you can spend time with him. I just wanted to say hi.”
He dribbled around me with a wide grin before heading down the court. I watched as he made a layup then glanced back to be sure I was watching. I smiled, holding my hands up so he could see me clapping. He laughed and turned away to start running through drills.
I watched the guest locker room feeling more anxious by the minute. They’d been in there at least fifteen minutes already. It was all I could do to keep from barging in and asking how long it could possibly take to hang up their jackets.
Just when I didn’t think I could wait another minute, the door burst open with a loud yell. Wylie’s team ran out in a single file line, each player looking fierce and intimidating, as their cheerleaders waved their pom-poms and cheered them on. They ran to the ball rack, the first four guys grabbing balls before lining up for drills.
“Impressive.”
I jumped at the voice right beside my ear and looked over to see Jules standing close. I hadn’t even noticed her walk up. Her blond hair was curled and so shiny it was almost glossy. Her crystal blue eyes were locked on the rival team.
“I love the bracelet.” She held onto my arm and lifted her leg so I could see she was wearing it. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Her eyes went straight back to the opposing players while mine zeroed in on just one of them. Danny. I’d never seen him play basketball before. He handled the ball with ease and looked so graceful as he moved around the court.
“What are we looking at?” Megan bounced over and draped her arms around our necks. Her silky black hair was cut short in the back and longer in the front. The ends brushed her cheeks as she swung her head back and forth between us.
“We’re checking out the hot guys on the other team,” Jules said without looking away from them.
“Oh! There’s Danny,” Megan exclaimed as she saw him. She fluttered her hand in an excited wave, but he never glanced our way. Megan shrugged and stood on her tiptoes for a better view.
She swore she was a solid 5’5”, but I’d be surprised if she measured in at 5’3”. In heels. She was the tiniest girl on our squad which meant she was almost always on the top of the stunts. She said she loved it so it was a perfect fit.
She could have it. I was secretly glad I was too tall to be a flyer. The idea of being tossed into the air and trusting my squad to catch me was a little terrifying.
We silently watched Wylie’s team for several minutes. Pregame music blared from across the gym, and as the stands filled, talking and laughter joined it. Suddenly Jules said, “Do you think you can get Danny to set me up with that tall guy with the really short blond hair?”
My focus had been solely on Danny so it took me a minute to pick out the guy she was talking about. “Him?” I asked, pointing to the only guy with short blond hair I saw..
She pushed my arm down and spun away, hiding her face. “Oh gosh. He didn’t see you, did he?” She peeked over her shoulder.
Megan let out a twinkling laugh.
“No, you’re good,” I said, and Jules carefully peeked back around. When she was sure the guy she’d been staring at hadn’t noticed her, she turned to watch some more. I was pretty sure I could have held up a flashing sign asking if he was interested in her, and he wouldn't have noticed.
No offense to Jules or anything it was just that no one on their team even looked around. They only focused on the ball. I think it was all part of a big intimidation thing, and it was actually pretty cool. Other than the fact that I wished Danny would at least glance at me. A wave—heck, a wink—would be enough to let me know he was excited to see me even if he did have to act all standoffish for his team.
I tried really hard not to, but I couldn’t help comparing Jace’s eager greeting with Danny’s nonexistent one.
Chapter 12
Wylie was up twenty points at half-time. It wasn’t that our team was terrible. We had some great plays. Matt even made a three-pointer. Our players were just kind of clumsy with each other, unsure where they should be while Danny’s team worked like they were different parts of the same body.
One player would pass to the other without ever looking his direction and his teammate would be there every time. I remembered Danny saying most of the guys had played together before, and it really made a difference.
Not that I was watching him in particular, but I did notice Jace scored more than his share of the points for Forest Ridge. A jock-author. I smirked at the thought.
As soon as he told me he wrote, I’d pegged him as a geek. Not in a bad way. I just pictured him spending all his time in front of a computer or maybe reading books by other authors for inspiration. I wasn’t expecting him to be a star on the court, but he kind of was.
Jace smiled at me a couple of times from the court. I would smile back and then turn my focus on Danny, boring holes in him with my stare, trying to force him by sheer will alone to at least look at me. It hadn’t worked so far.
I was doing my best not to let it get to me. I imagined he was working hard to impress his coach and earn his spot on the team. Flirting with cheerleaders while he was supposed to be focused on the game would surely get him in trouble. But it still hurt.
I’d been eagerly awaiting half-time, counting the seconds on the clock and grumbling at each time out. I was certain Danny would be able to at least tell me hi then, but his team disappeared into the locker room as soon as the buzzer sounded and didn’t come back out until it was time to warm up again.
“Have you even talked to him yet?” Kristen stood beside me and whispered.
Matt scored and we automatically ran through a cheer.
As soon as we finished, I answered, “He won’t even look at me.”
Kristen gave me a pitying look that I tried to ignore. “No one on his team is looking around,” Kristen said. “It’s not just him. They actually look pretty scary.”
I laughed but agreed. They were probably all terrific guys, just like Danny, but I wouldn’t want to run into any of them in a dark alley, looking as they did now.
“Matt’s doing great.” I gave her a little nudge with my elbow.
She sent a sweet smile his direction. “Without him and Jace, we’d barely be on the scoreboard.” She glanced over at me. “I saw you and Jace talking. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, he was great. He just wanted to tell me hi. I said something about Danny, and he was totally cool with it.”
“I’m glad. He’s been at Matt’s house a lot so I’ve gotten to know him better, and I really like him.”
“Uh-oh! Does Matt know about this?”
She shoved me, and I laughed. “Not like that.” She rolled her eyes. “I just think it will be fun if things are smooth between you two and we can all hang out
sometime. You really do need to come over and play basketball with us. They always team up against me.”
“Are you actually going to play this time or are you going to run around the yard so Matt chases you.”
She tucked her hair behind her ears with a prim look. “I’m not making any promises,” she said before grinning.
Danny scored, and I wanted to cheer for him but restrained myself. I heard Wylie’s cheerleaders going crazy though. Especially a perky little blond who looked like she might hurt herself from the way she was slinging her pom-poms and yelling his name.
Kristen raised a brow at her, and we shared a glance. It looked like Danny had a fan club. I hoped it was one-sided.
At the end of the night, we were only down twenty-two points which was kind of a relief. There were a few times that I was afraid we were going to get beat so bad we’d all have to hang our heads in shame.
I watched Danny on the floor as the teams slapped hands. Seeing him made me miss him more than ever. All I wanted to do was run over to him and throw my arms around him and let him tell me he missed me too. Only the lead ball in my stomach was pretty sure that wasn’t going to happen.
When the Wylie team went directly back into the locker room, I forced myself to keep my expression calm and even. Inside though, where it mattered, I was screaming, “Please don’t let him leave without a word.”
He’d shattered my heart Monday. If he left without acknowledging me today I felt it would be like him ripping out my soul. He was slowly dismantling me until I would be no more than an empty shell. I stared at that closed door unable to look away, afraid I’d miss him when he came out.
Matt and Jace came over. Kristen gave Jace a fist bump before Matt swept her up in his arms and spun her around. I knew Jace was watching me, but I couldn’t tear my eyes from the door. I couldn’t even blink.
“You should wait for him by the exit.” Jace’s voice was almost beside my ear.
“Huh?” I asked lost in my own tormented thoughts.
“Wylie’s coach is pretty strict, but he’ll probably head out to the bus first. If you wait by the exit you can probably steal a minute with Danny before he’s missed.”