“But they’re all our guys. Shouldn’t we cheer for both sides? And you have to cheer for your brother!”
“You know, he’s gonna score a lot of points. I told you, he likes you. And now you owe him six dances. Oh, wait.” She watches him drill an extra point through the uprights and says, “Make that seven.”
I scream. Shake my pompoms. Shake my ass. It’s a really fun scrimmage.
Because of Dawson’s major hangover, he plays poorly. At one point, he walks behind the bench and throws up on the turf. I feel sorta sorry for him. It’d suck to be in love with someone like Whitney.
Tyrese plays well. He’s a running back and has this little stutter step before he cuts in a certain direction that no one can seem to guard. Plus, he’s pretty big and hard to knock down. Katie has been cheering her heart out. She’s a bit hung over herself. She didn’t take my advice on the only have two drinks thing. Dallas plays defense, linebacker for the gold team. He has some great tackles and sacks Dawson like four times. Coach finally takes Dawson out, and Riley comes in as the red team quarterback.
And then there’s Aiden. I don’t know how it happens, but the Gold team, specifically Logan and Aiden, get on a roll. Aiden catches twelve passes and scores on three of them. He kicks five extra points and two field goals.
Meaning I owe him twenty-nine freaking dances.
After the game, I’m standing with a group of dancers when he comes strolling up, helmet off, hair sexily messed. He even looks beautiful when he’s all sweaty and gross.
He grins at me.
“So, you scored quite a few points out there. You don’t have to dance with me twenty-nine times. I know you said your dance card was already full.”
He stops walking and stands really close to me. “No, you said my dance card was full. And now it is. With you. Twenty-nine dances. That pretty much makes you my date.”
“I promised I’d dance with a couple other people.”
“Fine. Dance with them at the start of the dance. I want all twenty-nine in a row. And then I’m going to kiss you again.”
Pledge my undying love to you.
Ask you to marry me.
Have my babies.
Oh, wait. Sorry. There my imagination goes again.
He glances down at my barely-there dance uniform, raises his eyebrows in amusement, and says, “I saw you cheering for me. You were excited I scored, weren’t you? Can’t wait to dance with me all night.”
“I was standing next to your sister. I had to cheer for you,” I tease.
“See you tonight, Boots.”
Glitter whores.
6 pm
Peyton and I are standing in the coffee shop line after the game.
Whitney struts up to us. “Who picked out the uniforms this year? For God’s sake, you look like glitter whores.”
Peyton stands up a little straighter and says, “The guys really seem to like them.”
“I suppose. Guys are dogs. Are you going to introduce me to the new girl?”
“Uh, sure. Whitney, this is Keatyn Monroe.”
“Nice to meet you,” she says. “Peyton, why don’t you go on. Let us girls get to know each other.”
Oh boy. I know what this means. Queen Bees never say anything mean in front of anyone. They’re like politicians. Plausible deniability. If no one heard it, it didn’t happen.
I put on my fake smile and stand and wait. This should be good.
Peyton nods, puts her head down, and says to me, “You did good your first time out there. Have fun tonight.”
What the hell is wrong with Peyton? She’s confident until she gets around Whitney. Why does she put up with her shit?
But I guess I can’t say much. I was the same way with Vanessa.
As soon as Peyton’s out of earshot, Whitney says, “Heard you kissed Dawson.”
“I . . .”
Her voice drips with venom. “Stay away from him. He’s mine.”
I take a deep breath. I know what I’m about to do is going to piss her off. But I don’t care. She has a college boyfriend, supposedly, was making out with Jake, is making Dawson miserable, and she has the nerve to tell me to stay away from him? Uh, no. No one is ever going to tell me again who I can and cannot date.
“You were kissing Jake at the party. Why do you even care?”
“Look, I don’t know who you think you are, but I can make your life miserable here. Stay away from him.”
I’m Abby fucking Johnston’s daughter is what I want to say.
But I don’t need that.
I’m going to make it on my own.
And my own knows how to play the one-up-you game quite well.
“You don’t have to worry. I don’t want what you have. Besides, my boyfriend already graduated from college.” Well, my ex-boyfriend. But those are just details.
Then I turn on my heel and walk away from her, purposely shaking my glitter whore ass for all the boys in the coffee shop.
Knock his socks off.
7pm