Page 93 of Hide and Keep

“Honestly…” Tilting her head, she appears deep in thought. “It’s not exactly a superstition… Although, I’m sure some people consider it one.” Her head wobbles. “Okay.” She puts her hands out, palms down. “When you win at Nationals, it’s tradition for your team to run into the ocean after. But it’s bad luck to even touch the water before.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah. Nobody’s allowed to touch it unless you place first.”

“Isn’t the competition in Florida?”

She grimaces. “Mm-hm.”

“So the shirt, saying ‘I got wet’ is…”

“Another tradition, yeah. Even though it’s a funny way to kinda brag about, you know, ‘getting wet,’ it’s technically a badge of honor because you can only buy the shirt if you go into the water, and you can only go into the water if you win. So it’dbe bad luck to buy the shirt before. See? It can get a little complicated.”

“Just a little bit,” I joke, and we share another laugh.

I like talking to Eighmey. She’s funny. And nice.

Her eyes do keep resting on my scar but she hasn’t mentioned anything about it.

I turn my head the slightest bit to the left, giving her more of my right side, and catch a group of people moving in this direction, a few of them faster than the rest. Those go to their vehicles and turn on their headlights before rejoining the herd.

“What’s going on?”

Half-turning herself, she says, “Get your popcorn ready. The stunting’s about to start.”

Bathed in light, one of the bodies suddenly doubles in height as a man lifts a girl up above his head. She holds one leg up by her head for a second or two before she releases it, then comes right back down the way she went up. Another guy does the same with a different girl, except she never gets stationary, instead just kinda wiggles before falling backward into the hands of two other guys with their arms up. Spotters, maybe.

In the middle of it all, a barefoot Ever’s standing several feet in front of Nathen, her shoulders briefly popping up close to her ears before she does a back handspring, finishing right into Nathen’s open hands. He tosses her up into the air and she’s…airborne. She’s motherfucking airborne.

“Holy shit, she’s flying,” I mutter on an involuntary step forward.

“Yeah, she does that. Top girls always fly the highest, the prettiest, and the most.”

“What does that mean, top girl?” I ask Eighmey without looking away.

After Ever does another flip in the air, Nathen catches her feet, one in each hand, then transfers both to one palm, his wristbent back at a ninety-degree angle. Jesus Christ, that looks like it hurts, not just the angle but him holding all of her weight in one hand.

“It means she’s the best. Freshmen almost never make top girl, but Ever did.” Eighmey’s voice lowers. “It’s not like her dad wouldn’t have bought her the position anyway.”

I understand why Eighmey said it—I’ve had similar thoughts numerous times since working for the Munreauxs—but it still irritates me that she did. Standing here, watching Ever glide through the air like a bird, landing perfectly on Nathen’s hands, then posing without a single quiver in her legs, arms, or posture, there’s no question Ever earned that spot on her own merit. Her nickname’s Zero for a reason. She has zero flaws. At least as far as cheerleading goes.

Damn it.

As far ascheergoes.

“You should’ve seen her at the party… Was it last night? Ever did this insane—”

“Ever didn’t go out last night,” I say, hoping to God that I’m right. She didn’t get past my sensors on the first night, did she?

“Oh, you’re right. She was MIA last night. Okay, then it must’ve been the night before.”

“She does this kind of stuff at parties?”

“As long as there’s someone willing to put her in the air, yeah. She flies anywhere she can.”

Nathen brings Ever down to the ground, then after a couple breaths where they both lift and drop their shoulders, Ever jumps at the same time Nathen uses his right hand to push her lower back upward, shoving her into a midair backflip before she lands both feet on his right palm.

What the fuck? This shit is cheer? It’s way more physically demanding than I thought.

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