by Kata Čuić
“Oh, I’m going to get it,” I assure him, firmly holding my mace in my grip as I march to the center of the field. “And when I’m done with you, you’ll be sorry and also probably stupidly begging for more.”
The band reacts to that burn as expected. “Ooh!”
“I’m going to bring my best,” he warns. Promises.
“I’ve always given you my best,” I retort.
“Not yet you haven’t.”
If he needs me to ram those three little words down his throat with my mace, then I’m all for that.
“Pregame!” Nate shouts from the sidelines. “Run the whole thing!”
Instead of performing the drill separately, we make the unanimous decision to run it side by side, so the band can more easily view the comparison in our style and technique.
We’re evenly matched for our high step, for every twirl and toss of the mace. Our aim is so accurate and precise that our maces battle a duel of their own when we javelin-throw them into the turf. The metal clanks with a never-before-heard sound on the field as the poles vibrate against each other.
He’s been privately working on a hatless backbend, too, so I don’t best him at that.
We complete the entirety of pregame neck and neck. There’s no clear winner.
“Conducting!” Nate shouts. “Measures three through twenty of ‘The Imperial March’!”
“We don’t even play ‘The Imperial March’ for the halftime show!” Shannon yells.
“I know.” Nate rolls his eyes. “But it’s a stand song. I’m trying to think of subtler ways to break this tie! If you have any brighter ideas, then get your ass over here!”
Jim and I both smile when Shannon hightails it to the sideline to huddle with the other drum majors. Then, we simultaneously frown when Kim joins their ranks.
Before we ever actually conduct a single measure, the entire section leader squad and drum major squad are forming a new plan.
“They have no idea what to do now,” Jim mutters.
“Absolutely none,” I agree.
Dr. Kimball steps onto the field. “I want to hear from each of you why you think the other should be head drum major.”
Jim and I exchange a surprised glance.
He steps forward first. “You’ve already heard it from me. The Marching Miners have been stuck in the past. Even though the band is made up of predominantly female members, we’ve never had a female drum major. It’s time to say good-bye to the good ole boys’ club and move into the future. We’re already behind the times because we weren’t the first collegiate band in the country to select a woman as head drum major. We need strong female leadership to pave the way for the next generation of female bandies.”
I shake my head. His heart is in the right place for sure, but he’s still missing the bigger picture.
I step forward. “While I admire Jimbo’s egalitarian ideals, this is the wrong way to go about it. The head drum major position should be what it’s always been. An accomplishment only the best of the best can achieve. Feminism isn’t putting a woman in this position simply to even the odds. Real feminism is a woman earning this position because she’s beaten the odds by being given a fair chance to compete with the men around her. The band deserves the best head drum major from their ranks regardless of gender. Jimbo loves band. He’s devoted to the band. If he hadn’t campaigned for me, most of you would have voted for him. I would have voted for him.”
“What are you doing?” he hisses out of the side of his mouth. “If you wanted a fair fight, this is not the way to get it.”
“Fighting for you,” I reply. “Doting on you. Showing you I think you’re more special than you believe you are.”
He casts his gaze to the turf, shaking his head as a smile toys with his lips. His shoulders rise with a deep inhale before he raises his head. “You know what? Fuck it,” he mutters before he shouts loud enough for everyone in the stadium to hear. “I should be head drum major. I give music lessons to little kids, for Christ’s sake! I’m the ITK president! And if I’m head drum major, then other guys in the stands aren’t going to add Sophie doing a backbend in her skirt during pregame to their spank banks!” He points at Ty, who’s doubled over with laughter with the rest of the band. “And assholes like you won’t offer the woman I love their best dicking when they think she’s in a bad mood. You haven’t seen her in a bad mood, trust me.”
He is seriously the worst feminist ever.
Shannon agrees. She yells from the sideline, “You are the worst feminist ever, you caveman!”
From somewhere in the sandwich of trumpets, Emily calls, “Get him, Sophia!”
So, I do.
I literally do. His body meets the turf with a dull thud when I tackle him to the ground. Who cares what the band and the staff think of this reality show? The fact is, I’ve missed touching him more than I’ve enjoyed making him sweat.
“You really are the worst feminist alive even though you try.”
He laughs as he swipes my hair behind my ear. “Yeah, but you love me because I always try.”
“I do,” I murmur as I brush my lips against his. “I love you, James Fossoway. I love you, even when you don’t try. I love you because you’re you.”
He grins before he raises his head from the turf to return my kiss. His skull thumps back to the ground when we need air. He raises his fist up. “Jimbo for head DM, so no other dudes will be tempted to fantasize about what’s mine!”
“You’re ridiculous.” I roll my eyes.
He grins. “You love that I’m ridiculous.”
Dr. Kimball frowns down at us. “Sophia’s still head DM. I’m not changing the press releases. And I would appreciate it if you two could put your private life on the back burner, so it’s not a distraction to the band for the rest of the season.”
“Why not? A good reality show is healthy motivation,” I quip.
“I’m not sure your relationship is entirely healthy.” He walks away.
“I think it is,” I tell a smiling Jim. “We refuse to accept anything but the best of each other. We keep the beat.”
“I am going to challenge you for the rest of your life,” he swears. “Your heartbeat, I am definitely keeping.”
“That’s … kind of weird but also weirdly endearing. Bring it, baby.”
Epilogue
James
“Ty’s really good,” Sophie murmurs, her sparkling green eyes fixed on the current act onstage.
“Yeah, I know. I’ve seen his band before.”
She swivels her head toward me with a raised eyebrow that screams suspicion. “That’s it? You’re not going to threaten to shove his drumsticks where the sun doesn’t shine?”
“Has he threatened to give you his best dicking recently?”
Even with the house lights down and the stage lights up, her blush is noticeable. She’s gotten a lot better with handling public embarrassment, but there’s just something about still being able to rile her up that riles me up. I adjust my dick in my pants. It’s going to be a long night if I keep torturing myself this way.
Her lips brush seductively against my ear when she leans in to whisper, “Don’t be jealous. I’ve told you before, no one has ever given me a better dicking than you do.”
That is not necessarily what I want to hear. The little caveman who lives in my brain roars with jealousy. “You’ve slept with Ty before?”
She laughs as she pats my shoulder. “No, but you should see the look of horror on your face right now.”
These are not the kinds of challenges I enjoy. Most creative way to deliver an orgasm to each other? Yes. Talk of sleeping with other people? Not so much.
“And you should see the people trying to get in the door right now.”
She glances at the main entrance, where, sure enough, a group huddles just outside the doorway, peering in through the glass. “What the hell? The show started two hours ago.”
Sophie might be better at dealing with humiliation,
but she’s still as anal retentive as she’s ever been. Everything in its right place is her motto, and I’ve grown to love this side of her, too. We balance the negative pieces of our personalities and always challenge each other to turn those traits into positives.
“If they’re willing to pay, don’t turn them away,” I tell her.
She smirks as she rises from her seat to address the issue. “Cute. I’ll be sure to remember that.”
“You should,” I insist. “The show runs until six a.m. I doubt these are going to be the only people who decide to randomly pop in. If it increases our profit, then bend the rules.”
“Fine.” She sighs. “I’ll bend, but I won’t break. I’m still not admitting anyone who’s visibly intoxicated if they decide to show up here after they’re done partying for the night.”
“I’m not saying you should break the rules, sweetheart. Just be flexible if it’s in our best interest.” I grab her hand and kiss her open palm before letting her go take care of business.
She broke me a long time ago, and if I didn’t already know how flexible she could be, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
Ty’s band finishes their last number then bows to thunderous applause from the audience. It’s a packed house, so it’s considerably loud. The first annual Marching Miners Sing Out fundraiser has done better than our wildest dreams. We had to abandon plans for ticketed entry when we sold out of tickets within the first week of advertising. To accommodate the larger than planned crowd, we begged and pleaded with State’s administration to let us use the student union ballroom instead of the band auditorium.
I don’t know how Dr. Kimball got them to agree, but he really came through for us in a pinch.
The section leaders pulled together with the planning phase, too. They canvassed out and got donations rolling in from every local business within a twenty-mile radius of campus. Free food, free soft drinks, decorations, raffle and Chinese auction prizes, stage setup, and equipment. You name it, and we got it at no charge.
Frankly, I think the businesses who donated are looking to get on the radar of some very specific founding members of Sing Out. A quick plug on social media as a thank-you for their contribution by some famous NFL players is just good for business. I don’t really care about political science, but understanding simple economy has its perks.
And I have connections I didn’t hesitate to use for this event.
I scan the perimeter of the ballroom but still no sign of the surprise I’ve secured for Sophie. I know they won’t be using the main entrance though.
Shannon takes Sophie’s empty chair and puts her feet up on the table. She’s been running her ass off tonight, acting as Sophie’s right-hand woman, so I don’t doubt she needs to take a load off for a few minutes. “Can you believe this? It’s awesome.”
“It is,” I agree. It’s going to get much more awesome soon, which is why I kept this surprise under wraps. If I had advertised it, we would never have been able to keep this first-time event from getting too out of control. Still, I’m getting antsy. “Hey, I never did get to thank you for dragging Sophie to that secret drum major meeting during camp.”
She snorts and rolls her eyes. “I told you it wouldn’t be hard. All I had to do was imply you were up to your old tricks, and she was champing at the bit to get to that meeting.”
“I can’t believe I pulled that off.” It was one of my crazier plans. Way too much room for error. And it almost exploded in my face.
“I can’t believe you waited until the summer before this year to ask me to help you. You really went down to the wire.”
No kidding. “You wouldn’t have helped me before then anyway.”
“You’re right.” She grins. “I wouldn’t have. If it wasn’t for you getting piss-faced drunk and spilling your sad heart out about your unrequited love that summer night, I would have just as happily helped her hide your body as helped you win her over.”
Huh. Sophie hasn’t confessed to murder plans. I can’t say I’m exactly surprised though.
“Wait a minute.” Shannon studies me. “You pulled one on me! You weren’t drunk at all that night, were you?”
“Nope.” It’s my turn to grin.
She shakes her head, but she’s smiling, so she’s not that mad. “You really are devious, Jimbo. I expect your first child to be named after me as thanks.”
“I was only kidding when I told her parents she was going to have all my babies.”
“No, you weren’t.”
“No, I wasn’t.”
Shannon smiles as we both watch the woman of the hour work her way through the crowd, making sure everyone is having a good time and reminding them to bid on the raffle prizes. “Be good to her, Jim. She trusts you with her heart, and she doesn’t trust just anyone with that.”
“I will,” I promise.
Shannon gets back on her feet, ready to work again, too. “You’re damn right you will because, otherwise, you’ll answer to me.” She points at herself, and honestly, she intimidates the hell out of me. I don’t know how Jake does it. Maybe he wasn’t joking about that domme fetish.
Just as I’m getting ready to push back from the table to see what else needs to be taken care of, a rough clap on my shoulder precedes another body filling the empty chair.
Third time’s a charm because my dumb brother grins at me.
“How the hell did you sneak in here without anyone noticing?” How did he sneak in without me noticing?
He knows exactly what I’m asking, so he shrugs and stretches his long legs out in front of him as he slouches in his seat. “You’ve had your eyes glued to a certain blond bombshell. It wasn’t all that hard to sneak up on you.”
Damn. I didn’t even realize I was doing it.
“So, that’s her, huh?” Alex raps the table with his knuckles as he stares in Sophie’s direction. “She’s beautiful, Jimmy.”
“That’s her. And, yes, she is.”
He nods before turning his gaze back to me. “Does she know we’re supposed to be here?”
“No. I wanted it to be a surprise, and I’m glad I didn’t say anything yet,” I hiss, leaning closer to him. “You’re two hours late; they’re not here at all. Are you the only one showing up?”
He laughs. “You didn’t say anything because she still doesn’t like me, huh?”
“No,” I answer automatically because fucking with my brother is almost as fun as fucking with Sophie. “She still thinks you’re a slut.”
“She really doesn’t follow football at all, does she?” Alex laughs again but raises his eyebrows like he’s got a secret. In some ways, he does. “Your niece says hello by the way. She’s mad at me because I wouldn’t bring her. And Rob and Evie have a kid they didn’t want to drag from California this late at night, too. They’ll be here. Security’s probably running facial recognition before they let them in.”
I cannot imagine living that kind of life. Everyone thinks it’s a crock I don’t play ball like Alex, but frankly, I think it’s a blessing. “Is Mike still coming?”
Alex checks his very expensive watch. “His flight just landed. He’ll probably be here in about an hour. Give us a break, will ya? It’s not easy for us to get away on a Friday night in the middle of the season.”
“Yes, it is,” I argue. Everything I learned about arguing and competition, I learned from my brother. “You guys do all your charity events and public engagements on Friday nights.”
“Yes,” he concedes slowly, “but we also keep those events closer to home during the season.”
“Bullshit,” I call. “You told me last week how you, Rob, and Mike all flew to Vegas a month ago. That was during the season.”
He chuckles. “That was another charity event. One we collectively agreed was worth the travel time.”
His admission brings up something I’ve been meaning to talk to him about. Alex has never given me bad advice even if I don’t always ask him for it. “How do you do that?”
&nbs
p; “Fly to Vegas?” he asks, deadpan. “It’s pretty simple, Jimmy. Buy a ticket, board a plane, drink champagne in first class …”
Yeah, easy to do for the guy with millions to burn.
“I mean, how are you still such good friends with those guys you went to high school with?”
He nods, understanding what I’m really asking without me having to explain. “Senior year jitters getting to you?”
“Yeah.”
“Well…” He sighs. “It hasn’t always been easy. Honest to God, I fight with them way more than I fight with you. But I also love them every bit as much as I love you and Davey. Once you graduate, and you don’t see your brothers from other mothers every day, you’ll lose touch every now and again when your lives get too busy. But you and I live in different states, and we make time to talk, right?”
I nod.
“The guys who are truly your brothers will make time for you, too. And you’ll make time for them. No matter how far apart you roam.” He glances over his shoulder where Sophie is beaming at the newest act taking the stage. “And, hey, no matter what, you got the girl. She’s going to cross over to the other side with you.”
I watch her as she watches the band. She is the most beautiful thing in my world, and it has nothing to do with her great rack and blond-bombshell appearance. Don’t get me wrong—the great rack is a great bonus. But I got a great woman to fall in love with me. It might be the most amazing thing I have ever done or will ever do.
She smirks when she catches me staring at her. She thinks I’m staring at her rack, but I’m staring at her heart. The one that beats for me.
Her eyes widen in recognition when her gaze flits to the grinning idiot sitting beside me.
For a split second, she blinks like her eyes might be playing tricks on her. Alex and I look a lot alike, so I guess from across a crowded, dimly lit room, it might seem like double vision. Except I’m the better-looking brother up close.