Page 42 of Everything's Better With You
He noticed some of the kids had phones out and he knew for sure his moves would be plastered on social media before long, but he couldn’t be bothered to care. People were going to find out what he was doing soon enough and then he’d start getting calls and messages. His agent agreed to field as much as he could as long as they had weekly check-ins and that Joe answered his calls within twenty-four hours.
His phone buzzed and he thought maybe his grace period was up.
My players are posting pictures of you doing flips on Instagram.
Joe smiled at Leslie’s text. His small world was now miniscule.
Yeah? How’d they look?
You have to ask? How much longer are you staying?
Why? You gonna come dance with me?
Tempting, but I was actually wondering if you were ready to sneak off campus.
Joe’s breath left his chest as if he’d been hit and he staggered back. Could this be it? Was he finally going to—
“Is that who I thinkit is?”
Joe pulled his phone into his chest.
“Caught you. I’m going to say bye to Terrell and then I think I should leave him to his friends without parental supervision. Mind taking me?”
“No problem. Let’s go.”
She grinned at him and clicked her tongue against her teeth.
“Uh huh, don’t mean to rush you.”
Joe was already heading toward the door. He waved to the three B-boys and made a stop at their table.
“You guys should come to clinics. I’d love to work with you.”
They laughed. “You’re kidding, right? I don’t think I’d look good in a skirt,” the leader said.
Joe flicked his chin up. “What’s your name?”
“Ivan. Ivan Trinh.”
Joe held out his hands and looked down at himself. “You see me in a skirt? Cheerleading is a whole lot more than pom-poms and pigtails. Come to clinics Monday and Tuesday. Tryouts are Wednesday. I think I can change your mind.”
The boys looked at each other, their eyebrows raised. One of the others nodded at Joe.
“We’ll check it out.”
Joe waved and then trotted up the stairs, only then starting to feel the warmth leaving his muscles followed by a tightness that he’d regret later.
He dropped Marti off at home and put up with her teasing before pulling his phone back out.
Where am I going?
Leslie answered with an address, which Joe promptly plugged into the Bronco’s navigation system, making sure to add it to his “favorites.” Thank goodness for navigation; from the map, it appeared that he’d never find Leslie’s place in the dark.
It took him about fifteen minutes to get thereand he was sure some creatures of the night would spring out of the cornfields and attack at any time. He missed two turns and had to backtrack before driving through a tree tunnel. His insides were doing pirouettes as he finally pulled up in front of a massive two-story-plus brick house with pillars in the front. The driveway curved around and Joe saw Les’s truck, an old Bronco, a Jeep, and the Crown Vic.
Les stepped out from behind his truck as Joe put his car in park and he screamed.
“Jesus, you scared me! Haven’t you seenChildren of the Corn? You can’tdothat!”
