“He’s here,” Stubby whispered, grinning and nudging his chin toward one of the rugby shirts.
I smiled back, and relished the rapid uptick of my heart while I took in the dark curls and broad shoulders I’d recognize anywhere. Aiden was as beautiful as I remembered. Maybe more so because since the previous spring, when I’d last seen him, he’d grown taller and his shoulders were now even broader.
From freshmen year on he’d been the football team’s manager, keeping stats for the coaches and rooting hard for Jupiter. I usually only got to see him two or three times a year, when our two football teams played against each other and then during the spring when he played soccer for Jupiter. Our soccer teams always played against each other twice—once during the regular season and once during the playoffs—so I’d see him at those matchups, but it was harder to get near him then because he was always on the field.
As I stared at the back of Aiden’s head, that knot that I’d been carrying in my chest since Tevon had been abducted began to loosen. I wanted nothing more than to feel the texture of Aiden’s soft curls.
And then, as if sensing that someone was watching him, I saw that head begin to turn. I shifted my gaze away quickly, pretending to focus on the game. But then I snuck another glance and was shocked to see Aiden staring back at me.
For a moment I couldn’t breathe or look away. And then he smiled, and my heart stopped. I think it skipped at least three beats before it started pounding again.
Stubby nudged me with his elbow. “He’s looking at you!” he whispered.
I felt the corners of my mouth quirk, and my brain felt fuzzy. Could this really be happening? Could this boy who I’d secretly adored for the past two years actually, really be smiling at me? And then I realized he was. And then, even more miraculously, I was able to smile back at him. In that instant everything else went silent, and it felt like the whole world had paused to allow us a moment of perfection. It was the best I’d ever felt in my whole life.
Hi, he mouthed.
My breath came quick and I went light-headed while my hands began to tingle. His smile widened, and somehow I managed to nod and smile back at him, silently thanking God for this small bit of perfect happiness.
In the next second the spell was broken when the crowd erupted in a roar. I jumped as all around me people leaped to their feet and began to cheer and clap. I lost sight of Aiden, and by the time the crowd settled down again, I saw that he was back to scribbling on his clipboard and focusing on the game.
But I’d had that moment—that one, sweet, amazing, perfect moment. I shut my eyes to replay it again in my mind. “Mads!” Stubby whispered excitedly.
Reluctantly, I opened my eyes. Stubby was pointing to the cheerleading squad now moving down the sidelines. “See her?” he said, nudging me while pointing to an exotically pretty girl with silky black hair, a perky nose, and full lips. Pretty much every high school boy’s wet dream.
She was also way out of Stubby’s league, but as his best friend, I wasn’t about to tell him that. “Her name’s Payton,” Stubs said, and I swear he added a sigh. “Payton Wyly. She’s a junior, and she moved here from Colorado three months ago.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. He was so smitten. “How do you know her name and her history already?”
Stubby blushed. “At the cheer challenge today I pretended I was on Poplar’s school newspaper and asked the Jupiter assistant coach about her.”
“I’m impressed,” I said. Leave it to Stubby to think up something clever to find out about the new girl on the team.
“God, she’s soooo pretty.” He sighed. Next to us one of the Jupiter kids looked at Stubby like he was weird, and Stubby blushed. Clearing his throat, he added, “I mean, go Jupiter!”
I laughed into my hand, and Stubs squared his shoulders, trying to regain his composure, but I saw him continue to sneak glances Payton’s way.
Still giggling, I was about to tease him a little when a couple of parents wedged their way to the bleacher just below us and sat down. The man took his seat right in front of me, obscuring the perfect view I’d had of Jupiter’s team bench.
“Great,” I muttered, leaning to the right and left, trying to see around him, but he was too big.
I started to look for another place to sit, and motioned to Stubby that we had to move. He frowned because he still had a good view of Payton, but then he pointed to a small area in the very front that was dead center to the cheerleaders and even closer to Aiden.
I nodded, and we got up and snaked our way over. While we were moving, I hoped that Aiden wouldn’t look up and see me making my way closer to him—I didn’t want to be that girl.
Still, I felt brave with Stubby next to me. At last we were settled again and we both smiled to each other. Mission accomplished. I felt a warmth bubble up in my middle, and I couldn’t seem to stop smiling. “We gotta be cool,” Stubby said, clearly fighting a grin of his own.
Nearby the cheerleaders were all chatting and gossiping happily to one another, and much of the attention was centered on Payton. There was a timeout from the Poplar Hollow side, and the teams gathered around their coaches, allowing us to hear some of what the cheer squad was saying.
“You’re so lucky,” said one girl to Payton. “I can’t believe you’re getting a freaking car for your birthday!”
“It’s only because the ’rents are feeling guilty about moving me out here right before my junior year,” Payton replied, like getting a car for her birthday wasn’t a huge deal. “I mean, I love it here and all, but they don’t have to know that, right?” All the girls laughed.