Page 39 of Game On
She snorts, the hint of a smirk tugging at her lips despite herself. “I’ve kind of reached my quota on male friendships already. Besides, the two of us, we’ve got nothing in common. What would we even talk about?”
“This class, for one. Cheer, for two.”
“Cheer?” She laughs, genuinely amused. “Right, well, let me answer all your questions now. Yes, we do look very nice in our skirts. Yes, I do sleep with my pom-poms on a shelf by my bed. And no, I don’t wear the uniform while I—”
“I used to cheer, too,” I cut in. “Competitively.”
Her brow furrows. “You?”
“Me.” I guide her to a quieter corner of the anthro building, gesturing to a bench. We sit. “I’ve always loved football.Grew up playing with my dad and his buddies. When my younger brother was old enough, he joined in, too. I was damn good at it. A legacy of sorts.
“But when my dad left us, I stopped playing for a while. I needed a new outlet. My mom got us an old trampoline from the neighbors, and I’d be on that thing until way past dark every night. I learned all sorts of flips and jumps, but it still wasn’t enough.”
She cracks a smile. “It never is, is it?”
“Exactly,” I say. “My mom took me to this gymnastics place nearby, an all-star gym. One of the cheer coaches found me there, and that’s how I got sucked in. Learned to be a tumbler and a base. We didn’t have much money, but I was good, and they wanted me on the team, anyway. I trained for six more years after that.”
She gives me a quizzical look. “Wow, that’s … almost hard to believe.”
“What? You don’t think I look like the type?”
“You might, but you sure don’t act like it.” She pauses for a beat before continuing. “What made you quit?”
“Junior year of high school, they needed more players on our football team. No one knew I cheered, and I was over my deadbeat dad already. I thought, ‘Why the hell not?’ And what do you know, I was still damn good. By senior year, I was the starting quarterback on our varsity team. I knew it was the best way for me to get a full ride to a place like Whitland, so I went all in. Never looked back.”
“You haven’t cheered since?”
“Not for a second.”
She contemplates this for a long moment, the gears clearly turning in her head. It’s a slow softening of her irritation, like she’s letting her guard down piece by piece. “And you’re serious about us trying out this whole friend thing?”
“I am.”
“If I’m being honest, your rejection the other night hurt me. On the back of a brutal breakup, it felt like another punch to the gut. But in the spirit of letting things go and moving forward, I guess we can try being friends.” She tilts her chin. “On one condition.”
I gulp, grateful for the second chance. “You name it.”
“You come to Skyline and show me what you’ve got.”
A corner of my mouth twitches. “You testing me, Davies?”
She grins. “Making sure you earn your keep, that’s all.”
“Alright then. You’ve got yourself a deal,” I say, and then we shake on it. The deal is officially sealed.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Ella
Luke is below me to the right while I stand on Ash’s shoulders. I carefully bend at the waist, leaning over his head as he braces both my hands in his. With as much speed and accuracy as possible, I push off his shoulders into a handstand position.
I’m upside down, my core is tight, my shoulders are open wide, and we’ve nailed a hand-in-hand stunt. I maintain the position for all of five seconds before twisting to the left to dismount. Luke claps Ash on the back before offering me a fist bump of my own.
That was my first time executing a handstand from that position, and it feels damn good.
“Nice work, Ella,” Ash says. “I don’t want to overinflate your sense of self-worth, but you’re a really quick learner.”
I laugh. “And?”
