Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89953 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89953 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
“Oh, no,” I whispered. I’d worried about telling the squad the truth, and now the whole fucking school knew. My gaze fell to the floor as I struggled with what this meant. “Am I kicked off the team?”
Samantha laughed lightly. “No, of course not. Kayla, look at me.” Her eyes were judgement-free. “Remember, it’s football. It’s not life or death.”
I gave her a plain stare.
She shot one straight back. Her posture straightened and she put one hand on a hip. “You know what? Ask me where I got my undergrad degree from.”
I went to form the words and froze. “No.”
“Yes.” She grinned. “You’re looking at me like I’m crazy.”
“I just don’t understand how you—”
“I love my alma mater, and I love coaching here. They aren’t mutually exclusive.”
“They kind of are.”
She shrugged. “Only if you buy in to the rivalry, which I don’t.” She took a final sip of her coffee and tossed it into a nearby garbage can. “You’re one tough cookie, and if anyone can handle taking flack, it’s you. But let’s get on the bus before it gets too hairy out there.”
I followed alongside Samantha, trying to ignore the suspicious looks of the coaching staff. Most of them I knew by first name. Some had been to my house for summer barbeques. They looked at me now like I was a stranger. Or worse.
We exited the building, and I made a beeline for the last bus, which brought me face to face with the couple approaching. Courtney was walking hand-in-hand with Tariq Crawford, and he carried her cheerleading bag. There were rumors Tariq couldn’t keep it in his pants, but Courtney refused to believe it.
His dark eyes flared with recognition as he saw me, and an evil laugh escaped his throat. “Hope you don’t mind when I drive your pretty little white boy into the ground and he don’t get up.”
Instead of giving him the reaction he was looking for, I acted skeptical. “I don’t know, Tariq. You’d have to catch him first,” I shrugged, “and I don’t think you ever have.”
I climbed the steps onto the bus, feeling lighter, like I could actually breathe for the first time in forever. It felt good now that the secret was out. Of course, the feeling died as Lisa stepped into the aisle and slapped a newspaper into my chest. The headline read “Spy or Traitor?” with a picture of me cheering at a game.
Her smile was sickening. “I forgot to mention. In addition to being pre-med, Brent’s a writer for The Lantern.”
“Good for him,” I said, taking the newsprint and tossing it into an empty seat, and then I turned my focus to the rest of the bus. It looked like almost everyone was here, and several pairs of angry eyes peered at me over seat tops.
“So,” an annoyed voice came from the back, “you kind of forgot to tell us your boyfriend plays for Michigan. Is it true?”
I swallowed thickly but kept my chin up. “It is.”
Some of the cheerleaders looked disgusted, but a few didn’t seem to care.
“And where were you last night? Too busy banging him to join us?” Lisa had fire in her eyes.
It wasn’t necessary, but I’d sent a text to her after letting the coaches know. I figured that’d keep Lisa’s imagination from running wild. “I told you I had an emergency.”
One of the guy cheerleaders made a face. “You did? Lisa said you were a no-show.”
“No, you know how much I love you guys, this team. This school. I wouldn’t—”
Lisa held up a hand. “Whatever, we don’t want to hear it.”
I ignored her. “I should have told you all about Jay. I’m sorry. You deserve better.”
“I know I do.” Her snotty statement got under my skin, and she wasn’t finished, either. “No one at this school is going to let you cheer now.”
“You know what, Lisa?” I said, channeling Samantha’s words. “This isn’t life or death. It’s just football.”
The bus collectively gasped. People gazed at me, almost fearful.
“Who are you?” one of the freshman girls whispered.
I set my hand on a chair back to steady myself. “I know it sounds impossible, that I love a guy who goes to Michigan. But I’m the same diehard OSU girl I’ve always been. And your captain, if you’ll still have me.”
I expected steam to pour out of Lisa’s ears at that moment. “Are you bananas? The only choice you’ve left us is for me to be captain.”
She scoured the faces before us for validation but was treated to blank or horrified looks.
“Wait, what?” Courtney’s voice rang out behind me. She’d gotten on the bus at some point, and I was blocking her from her seat. “I didn’t sign on for that. We picked Kayla to be our captain. Not you, Lisa.”
One of the guys stood and gestured to Lisa. “Yeah. No offense, but you’re like getting kicked in the junk, but not as much fun.”