Yay. More awkwardness.
Today is Wednesday, the last day of games and I’m glad.
I’m so over the game thing.
“I haven’t really seen you or talked to you at lunch this whole week,” Ben explains, offering me a shy smile. Ughhh, so adorable.
“It’s only been two days,” I remind him.
“Two days too long,” he says in reply, his smile growing.
If Kaya were with us, she’d be digging her elbow in my ribs and practically bouncing with excitement. She’s wanted something to happen between Ben and me since summer.
Looks like she might finally get her wish. And I’ll get my wish too.
“One more day of games, and then it’s over,” I tell Ben before I glance over my shoulder. Most everyone is already gathered in the quad, and I spot Ash standing next to the student council teacher, watching us.
He looks away when I catch him.
“Good.” Ben reaches out and tugs on the end of my braid. It’s tourist day today, and I’m wearing a pair of khaki shorts that are probably too short, a Hawaiian print shirt that Daphne loaned me, and I did my hair in two French braids. Plus I’m rocking the black socks and Birkenstocks look, which turns my outfit from cute to dork. Ash is wearing a T-shirt that says Stay HI in Hawaii, which he borrowed from one of his teammates, and a pair of too-long denim shorts that should be ridiculous on him, yet somehow he still manages to look decent.
It’s so irritating.
“Yo Callahan!” I wince, recognizing Ash’s voice. I don’t bother looking back at him. “Get over here! You’re holding up the game!”
Offering Ben a sympathetic smile, I decide to go for it and reach out, grabbing his hand and giving it a quick squeeze. “I’ll see you later?”
He appears pleasantly shocked by my bold move. “I’ll see you at coronation tonight.”
My heart races. “You’ll be there?”
Ben nods. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
“Callahan!” Ash screams.
“Sorry. Gotta go,” I whisper to Ben before I take off into a run and head for the quad. I come to a stop next to the vice principal, who sends me a pointed look.
“Nice of you to finally show up, Miss Callahan,” Mrs. Adney says before she launches into an explanation of today’s game.
And oh God, I don’t know if I want to do this.
“I’m fast,” Ash tells me once they’ve handed out the sacks. His expression is full-on serious when he asks, “Are you fast?”
I shrug, nerves already eating at me. “I’ve never won a race before, if that’s what you’re asking.”
He glances around as if he’s making sure no one’s listening, before he ducks his head and lowers his voice. “Listen, just hold on to me and let me do all the work.”
“How am I supposed to do that?” We’re competing in a sack race. The couples each have one leg in the sack and have to hobble together across the lawn that slopes toward the student parking lot. Whoever crosses the finishing line first wins.
I can tell Ash really wants to win this one.
“Follow my lead.”
Once the freshman nominees compete—and it ends with one couple in a tangle on the ground and the other two practically tying, it’s our turn. My palms are sweating and I curse my shoe choice as I slip my left leg into the sack after Ash has already inserted his right one.
“Birks?” Ash slowly shakes his head, his lips thinning. “We’re fucked.”
“You’re wearing flip flops,” I accuse, because he is.
“Kicked them off.” He lifts the leg that’s not in the sack to show me his bare foot. “You should take yours off too.”
Somehow I manage to take off both Birks and Daphne appears out of nowhere, grabbing them from me and wishing us good luck. I gasp when Ash wraps his arm around my shoulders. “Put your arm around me,” he commands, and I glare at him. “Do it before they blow the whistle.”
I hate when people boss me around, but I do what he says, slipping my arm around his broad back just below his shoulders. The way we’re positioned is both intimate and awkward, and now it’s not just my palms that are sweating, and when that whistle blows I feel like I’m propelled forward by Ash.
He clutches me to him, his left hand holding one side of the sack, my right hand holding the other. Kaya and her boyfriend are next to us, and I glance over at her just as they both tumble to the ground.
“Focus!” Ash yells, and I stare straight ahead, my gaze zeroing in on that finish line that’s just out of reach. I do my best to keep up with his strides, but I’m short and my boobs are jiggling extra because like a dummy I wore a bralette today instead of a regular bra.
Suddenly Ash’s arm tightens around me and I swear to God, he lifts me off the ground and we really start moving, my fingers still grasping the edge of the sack. He’s huffing and puffing, and I’m huffing and puffing, and everyone watching us is yelling and screaming and jumping up and down. All I can think about is how Ash is lifting me with just one arm.
He is so freaking strong.
We barely make it across the finish line before we collapse into a heap on the ground, me landing right on top of Ash with a loud oof. He rolls so I’m pinned beneath him, and I glare up at him, my chest rising and falling, his chest rising and falling, his hips nestled between mine.
It’s all I can focus on, that spot where we’re pressed up tight against each other. Liquid heat pools there and I part my lips, though I can’t find any words.
“We fucking won. Good job, Callahan,” he mutters before he leans in and brushes the quickest kiss to my cheek, startling me completely. Then he’s kicking off the sack from our legs and someone pulls him into a standing position. I rise to my feet shakily and stand beside him, squealing with pure joy when Adney yanks my arm and Ash’s arm up in a victory pose.
People are laughing and clapping, including my best friend, who appears genuinely happy I won despite the fact that we just beat them. Daphne wraps me up in a big hug, bouncing up and down with me, the both of us laughing. I revel in the moment, cracking up when Mrs. Adney pins a blue ribbon first on Ash’s chest, then on mine. I’m beaming as someone from the yearbook staff takes our photo, and when I spot Ben smiling at me and giving me a thumbs-up, I can’t help but smile back.
And think of Ash and the way he kissed me the entire time.
“Please, just—don’t give them a stupid answer, okay?” I offer Ash a smile, but he just rolls his eyes, continuously running his fingers through his hair. I’m sure he thinks he’s straightening it out, but he’s only making a bigger mess of it.
It’s Wednesday night. Coronation. We’re backstage at the student theater, waiting for them to call us out. The freshmen are currently on stage, the girls pretty and the boys awkward, all of them making a mess of their answers when they’re asked questions like What does school spirt mean to you?
I have no idea how I’d answer either, but I’m sure I’ll do better than anyone on that stage right now.
The seniors are in a different area, not that I’m surprised. They don’t want to deal with lower classmen. The juniors are in their own little world, talking amongst themselves, so it’s just up to us sophomores to make the best of it.
“Nervous?” Kaya asks me.
I nod, swallowing hard. My mouth is so dry. I might end up a sputtering mess. My parents are out there, as well as my brothers and sister. God, I think Uncle Owen and his wife, my Aunt Chelsea are with them too, along with my cousins. Mom wanted to make sure I had solid family representation tonight and I didn’t want her to make a big deal out of it, but I couldn’t stop her. Neither could Dad.
“Me too.” Kaya offers me a kind smile just before she leans in and whispers, “I think you’re going to win.”
“What? No way.” She and Jaden have been together for seven months. They’re the most popular couple in our class. They’ve got this.