Page 40 of The Other Side of Together

The cheerleaders do back handsprings across the field and my eyes move from one to another. Has Marcus ever talked to any of them? Like the blond one with the long, toned legs standing on the male cheerleader’s shoulders? Or the girl with the spiky blue hair? Do any of the girls clumped alongthe fence like him? They’re all fresh, trendy, glossy. He said he’s never had a girlfriend, but that doesn’t stop them from wishing they were.

The cheerleaders bounce around the field until the buzzer blares, and when the team runs onto the field, the crowd roars. My heart thumps when I spot #8 running from the far end of the field, his hair shooting from a whale spout on top of his head. A smile spreads across my face, but I casually put my hand over my mouth and lean my elbow on my knee. In a text last night, I told him he should wear his hair like that for good luck and he did it, even though he knew I wouldn’t be here.

My whole body blushes as Lin grabs my arm and leans in, squealing, “Oh my gosh—those legs.”

I follow his every move as he weaves and sprints, making the first goal of the game. The stadium erupts and everyone is on their feet including me and Lin. The other team kicks the ball out of bounds and my eyes are glued to Marcus as he throws it toward one of his teammates, all sweaty and serious. I want to stand and shout his name like the other girls in the stadium. He wore his hair like that for me, not them. I’m the one who was at his house until 3 AM, not them. I’m the one he texted all day.

He kicks the ball and runs toward the goal, and my legs tense. I grab Lin’s arm as one side of the stadium chants “Magic”and the other replies “Miller”.

Lin nudges me with her shoulder and leans in, her eyebrows upside down Vs. “Magic Miller?! Only one of us here knows just how magic…”

Pride and giddiness swell in my chest, forceful and stretching, until doubt drops on it with a thud that sends a metallic dust cloud up my throat. Why do the girls chanting a nickname I’ve never heard bother me? They’re clearly not here because they love soccer.

He said he likes me. Right? That happened? I take a deep breath, my attention still on the girls until the crowd erupts, and I snap my focus back to the game where Marcus just scored another goal. His teammates run past, slapping his butt and high fiving, his grin beaming across the stadium, catching all of us in it.

He bends over, catching his breath while a teammate throws in the ball, but my attention swings back to the girls, stopping on glossy brown hair. The girl’s turned to her friend, her smile wide, eyes bright before turning back to the game as she yells Marcus’s nickname.

I’m not flawless and I’ll never be tall. I’m not beautiful like she is—confident and bright. That’s the kind of girl that matches Marcus.

Swallowing the heavy sludge of comparison, I focus on the game again when a tall man in a suit and long jacket strides up the stairs to my right. I glance at him, then suck in air too fast and cough.

Lin’s head snaps toward me. “You okay?”

I slouch in my seat and lean toward her. “Marcus’s dad is right there.”

Lin glances toward him and I put my elbow on the armrest again, hand shielding my face this time while I try my best to curl into the corner of my seat.

“Yikes!” Lin yips, turning toward me. “Okay, yes, he’s a detective and everything but he doesn’t even know you were in his apartment. Total stealth.”

Detective Miller takes the stairs two at a time, then slips into a spot right across from us and I flatten against my seat, watching from my peripheral vision.

He and Marcus have the same straight nose, deep-set eyes, thick brown eyebrows. I wonder what Marcus’s mom looks like. Did he get his sky-blue eyes from her? His dark blond hair? He has his dad’s smile.

I take a deep breath, let it out slowly, and search for Marcus on the field. One of his teammates passes the ball to him and he sprints down the field, passing it to another guy who passes it back to him as Marcus runs toward the goal. The ball sails through the air and the goalie leaps for it, but the crowd’s on their feet and so am I because everybody knows before it happens that Marcus will get exactly what he’s after.

When the ball flies into the goal, the crowd chants his name louder and he smiles as one of the guys leans in to say something. Marcus looks up into the bleachers as girlish cheers flutter around him from the group by the fence. He runs toward the sidelines, grabs a Gatorade, and drains it in two gulps, face flushed, hair damp with sweat. Tossing the bottle aside, he smiles when he sees his dad standing and waving both arms. He waves back and runs when his coach sends him back into the game but his eyes snag on Lin and me and widen, his mouth dropping open as he slows to a stop.

I consider ducking, not sure what his reaction will be, but a smile spreads across his face. The roar in the stadium fades to static as I smile back, his eyes holding mine.

“Whoa. Hi.”

“Hey.”I press my lips together to keep my smile from lifting me off my feet.

“Had no idea you were coming.”

I shrug and smile.“Love a good soccer game.”

“This just became the best game of the season.”A player slams into him from behind and his teammate yells, but Marcus’s feet are planted, and he stares directly at me as Lin’s head swivels between me and him, eyes wide.

“Oh my gosh, he’s staring at you.”

Her voice is too far away to bother taking my eyes off Marcus as his eyes say,“I’ll find you after the game.”

I nod and Marcus grins, sending pulses of heat down my spine before he takes off running.

“Um…what was that?” Lin asks, turning to face me.

I snap my attention from Marcus to her. “What?”

---