Authors: Natalie Decker
“What?” He shakes his head and then blinks. “No, no. It was fine. Where are you going?”
“To the game.”
He gulps. “Dressed like that?”
I look down at myself. “Yeah. What’s wrong with it?”
“Nothing.” He blinks again. “It’s…you look really good.”
I nod. “Thanks. Well, good luck.” I head out the door before I do something stupid like hug him or kiss him on his cheek. I want to be so close to him, inhale his delicious scent, and play with his hair. Oh man, do I ever want to do that. But he’s got Danielle and going after him is wrong. No matter how he affects me.
Chapter 38
Caleb
Coach looks at all of us and then stops on me. With a single nod, he smiles. “Gentleman, we’re here. No matter what we do here today, I want you all to know you’re all champions to me. Trust each other. Play with your hearts, and trust your captains.”
Captains.
I used to be happy about being chosen; now I feel like a fraud. Hell, we would have never won against Harris during the regular season if it weren’t for Skylar’s insight.
Derrick punches me in the shoulder. “Cabs, man, you look like you’re going puke.”
I shake my head. “I’m cool.”
“All right, man.” He gives me a look that says he doesn’t believe me but I don’t have time to assure him.
Coach has us form two lines and then we’re jogging down a long hallway, picking up speed, and entering the stadium filled with three thousand or more screaming fans. Tiny flashes go off in all different sections of the stadium, and the bands are both playing music at each end of the field. The cheerleaders are running in their short-ass skirts, waving pompoms. A few of them wink at me and two of them blow kisses. This is everything I’ve ever dreamed of, but my stomach is in knots and it all seems wrong.
I feel as if I’m going to hurl all over the field and this is not me. Nerves before a game, absolutely not. In fact, I’m always ready. But as my eyes re-examine the stands I can’t help but think of Skylar being somewhere in the crowd, looking so sexy and smelling as good as she does every damn day. I wish she’d come to the railing near the sidelines and yell my name, give me some kind of indication she’s cheering for me.
“Morgan, Rivers, Granger, coin toss!” Coach yells.
I run out to the middle of the field with the others. Derrick eyes up one of the Bulldogs. “Someone send one of your playmates to the pound?”
I shake my head; it’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Oh crap, she’s really rubbing off on me. I look around and notice Kevin is glaring at me. “Having fun with sloppy seconds, Morgan?”
I snort with laughter. “It’s not really seconds if you never had her to begin with, now is it?” I brush my fingers against my collar and smile at him.
Kevin growls, “She wouldn’t fuck you.”
I shrug. The ref interrupts us and starts to read off the rules. “All right boys. Harris Academy Bulldogs, you get to choose which end of the field will be yours. Delmont Bobcats, please pick heads or tails and tell me if you want to receive or kick.”
“We choose heads. If we win we want to kick,” Zachary says.
The coin is tossed. It flips rapidly in the air, and then falls upon the grass, heads up. I high-five the guys and shake hands with the enemy. Kevin tiger-grips my hand and pulls me in close. “You’re going to dream about this game and remember me. Remember my face walking off this field with the trophy.”
“Yeah, that won’t be happening. It’ll be me walking off with the trophy and your ex.” I push away from him and walk back with a grin on my face.
***
It’s halftime, and I’m running on the high of having a seventeen-point lead. Nothing can bring me down. Nothing.
Entering the locker room, I head over to the cooler. My hair is dripping with sweat and falling into my eyes, causing them to sting. I reach over and snatch a towel to wipe my forehead and use it to push back some of my hair. I snatch a cup from the table, push the button on the cooler, and watch water dispense into my cup. As I’m lifting the glass to my lips, my body is thrown forward, causing me to slam right into the table. The water cooler and table crash onto the floor with me.
Derrick glares at me, towering over my body, and screams, “Tell me it isn’t true! Tell me you haven’t been fucking the enemy this entire time!”
“Calm down!” I yell back while Lance comes over and tries to break us apart. I stand, my hands balled up into tight fists. I’m ready to beat the hell out of one of my closest friends. I can feel my nostrils flaring as I see nothing but red while glaring at Derrick.
Lance tells him who Liv is, but that sets Derrick off more. Derrick shoves against Lance. “She lives with him! We’ve been played by the two of them, and for all we know he’s fucking her. Don’t tell me to calm down.”
“Shut up! Just shut the hell up!” Lance snaps. “No one is playing anyone. Big deal, Fletcher lives with him. It’s not exactly Caleb’s fault. And if it wasn’t for that girl I sure as hell wouldn’t have played any games this season. So I’m glad she’s here and living with him. As far as the fucking thing, dude, he’s dating that bitch, Danielle.” He turns his head to me. “No offense man, but I’d rather have a Bulldog sit at our table than be greeted by that two-faced slut. Everyone—and when I say everyone I mean it—but you can’t stand her.”
Derrick huffs and crosses his arms. “You know what, he’s right. Everyone hates Danielle. And all right, when I thought her damn name was Liv, she seemed really cool. Still man, you could have told us. You should have told us.”
“Now you know. And I should have told you, but I knew you would go off on me like this.” I shrug in defeat. There’s nothing more I can do.
“What’s going on, boys?” Coach Dillion asks in a stern voice as he and the rest of the team enters the locker room. They see the cooler and table knocked over. Cups, clumps of ice, and water are everywhere. “I want an explanation this minute!”
I swallow hard. “I was screwing around and knocked into the table. Sorry, Coach.”
Derrick and Lance glance over at me and then back to Coach.
“Well, quit messing around and get in the middle here.”
We do as the coach says, but as he goes over the game plan, my mind is wandering off. A relief fills me, and I’m curious if this is what being free feels like. It feels great. Now all I need to do is get through the rest of this game, win, and break up with Danielle.
Chapter 39
Skylar
The Bulldogs are about to attempt a three-point field goal. If they make it, they’ll win this game. I’m a sweaty mess of nerves, chewing on my nails as I watch the game from the press box. The players are getting into position, the clock is starting to wind down, and I squeeze my eyes shut. There’s no way I can watch this.
My heart is in a tangled web. My loyalty is questionable, and it’s all his fault. Well, two faults. The boy who broke my heart by lying to me about his feelings while he slept with the town slut. Then there’s the other boy, the one who makes me upset and thrills me all at the same time. But he’s got a girlfriend, and he doesn’t feel anything for me.
“Sky, you’re going to miss it,” Kayla squeaks.
Her father gives us the play by play, since he’s announcing the game. “The ball has been snapped. And here comes the kick. Oh folks, it looks like it’s going to be…” I open my eyes and watch the football smack against the right goal post and deflect itself right back toward the one-yard line. “It’s no good! Delmont has just won their first state championship in ten years!”
Arms lace around me and a shrill excitement takes over my left ear canal. “Ouch!” I pull away with a smile and hug Kayla back. She grabs hold of me though and pulls me out of the chair and down the stairs leading to the press box. I’m full of protest but the girl is a hell of a lot stronger than she looks, and jerks me along.
Next thing I know, we’re in the crowd heading to the middle of the field for a celebration. I need to leave. I need to leave now! The teams are shaking hands, and cheerleaders, the band, and a mob full of fans are swarming in all directions. I’m drowning in a sea of brown and yellow supporters and I can’t find a way out.
Someone clamps down on my arm and spins me around. Kevin and Mia glare at me while the rest of my old school’s football team stares at me. “Are you kidding me?” Kevin snaps.
“This isn’t…this isn’t what it looks like. Look, see?” I pick up the fabric of my coat and show him my outfit. A weak laugh escapes me. “I’m not with them. I was trying to leave and got pushed down here. It’s like a freaking stampede.”
“Cut the shit! Your boyfriend told me all about you two. You make me sick!”
I make him sick?
“Oh, yeah? Well, fine then, get a load of this!” I march over to a screaming bunch of football players and find number seven. I grab him from behind, turn him toward me, and draw his sweaty face down to mine. His soft lips brush against mine, and the butterflies in my stomach ignite. Fluttery tips brush along my insides, and my heart pounds with all kinds of craziness. I want so much more of him. My tongue darts out to deepen our kiss, but hands dig into my shoulders, and then I’m shoved away from him.
Caleb pants and glares at me. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and snarls, “Don’t you ever,
ever
put your filthy Bulldog mouth on mine again!”
“I’m…I’m…” Seriously messed up! The mortification of being rejected yet again burns on my cheeks. It’s my own damn fault too! I let my anger put me in a situation that I knew would turn out bad. Any connection I’d had with Caleb diminishes. It’s clear in his eyes he hates me. Good Lord, he hates me so much. My eyes begin to water, and instead of apologizing, I run.
I run so fast and hard, the entire Olympic track team would have a hard time catching me. Within two minutes, maybe less, I’ve hopped a fence and run across a busy street with cars zipping by in not two but six lanes. No one ever said I was a genius when it came to escaping.
Beep! Beep!
Lots of horns are blaring at me. One guy gives me the finger and screams, “This isn’t a jogging path, dumbass!” To give the dude credit, I’d be yelling these same things to me if I were the driver and he were the one trying to zip his way across traffic.
Safely in my car, I text Kayla.
Me: Going home.
Kayla: U ok?
Me: IDK. I’m so messed up.
Kayla: Pack a bag and come 2 my house.
Me: K.
***
In Kayla’s room, I sit on her bed and sob like a silly child. “I don’t know what I was thinking. And now, oh God, I can’t go home. Not if he’s there.”
“You can stay here until you leave for New York. I can tell my mom we have this project we have to do in English and it’s due before break. And you can totally stay here for the whole weekend. If you go home now, you can gather up more clothes and be out the door before Caleb gets back.”
It sounds like a great idea but the knots twisting in my stomach are telling me it’s better if I don’t return tonight. Images of him enter my mind quickly, and the cramps worsen. He’ll probably be posted up on my bed, waiting like a cat waits for its prey. Or my entire room will be one big trap, filled with water balloons, snakes, and God knows what else, ready to drop, attack, and explode all over me.
“I’ll camp out here for a couple days, but I’ll just buy some more clothes tomorrow. There’s no way I’m going to attempt it and possibly face him.”
She shrugs. “Isn’t he still going to New York with you?”
I nod. “So far.” I look away and sigh. “What was I thinking? He’s dating Danielle. But oh, Kay, it felt so amazing.” And man did it feel amazing up until he pushed me away and wiped his lips.
Kayla leans back on her elbows and smiles. “I wish I had half your guts. When you went up and just snatched Caleb up like that then kissed him. Yeah.” She nods. “I wish I could go right up to Lance and do everything I do to him in my dreams.”
This makes me smile. “You know, you need to quit being chicken and just come over and hang out like I told you.” I’ve been trying for weeks now to get Kayla to come over while I was tutoring Lance. But she always bails.
She shakes her head. “I’d act really bad around him. Like a case of the giggles, or sound like I belonged in second grade.”
“Kay, you’ve gotta go for it. You won’t sound or do anything stupid. Not if I’m around and you can use me as the conversation shield.”
“What do you mean?”
I sit up a little. “Say Lance, me, and you are in a room. You want to ask him something but you’re afraid it might sound stupid, so you ask me instead of him.”
“Oh. I get it. That could work.”
I laugh. “It does work. Sam and I did it all the time when Sam was into someone.” My stomach knots again thinking about Sam. Do her and Mikia know about my kiss with Caleb? I’m sure by now they do.
Kayla must sense my mood morphing. “Did they just stop talking to you once you moved?”
I nod. “Pretty much.”
“I’m sorry.” She scoots off the bed and gives me a hug then heads to her dresser. “I don’t know about you, but I’m drained.”
I agree and start to gather up my own nightclothes. Once we get ready for bed, Kayla yanks the pull-out bed. As I lay against the semi-firm mattress, she asks me if I’m comfortable before turning the lights out. I answer that I am even though my stomach continues to knot and twist while my thoughts circle around Caleb Morgan.
***
“What do you want to do today?” Kayla asks.
“I really need to stop by the center. I promised Heidi, the director there, I would come in.”
“Oh cool, can I come?”
I nod. Most of my other friends never liked hanging out at the center. They didn’t understand my need for helping out the homeless, either. And okay, I admit that if it wasn’t for my mom volunteering me to go down there my seventh-grade year, I probably would have never helped. But I found a real joy in helping someone in need. I kind of became addicted to it and found other ways to volunteer.