Page 8 of Quarterback Crush
“We’ve got St. Martin’s game on Friday night. So that’ll be a big night.”
“This Saturday?” she repeated, sounding a little overwhelmed. “You’re really serious about this?”
“Of course.”
“Are you sure?”
“Quit asking me if I’m sure. I’m down for this, M A Y A. Totally!”
“You think Savannah will fall for it? Why don’t you ask Blanche or Pippa? Aren’t you friends with them?”
She mentioned two girls in senior year, and yeah, they were both friends, but neither of them were date material. For me, at least. “Nah. Pass,” I said. “And besides Sav already saw us kissing, so that’ll make it more believable.”
There was silence on the phone, and my heart raced in dread that she was going to pull out of the agreement, the one I’d basically forced on her. Maybe she’d had time to think about it and realized I was a jerk for suggesting it. Or...
The thought hit me like a thunderbolt out of the blue. “Hey, you don’t already have a boyfriend, do you?” I’d never seen Maya with any boy at the games, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t seeing someone. Implications of her cheating could ruin her reputation, something I had no desire to do.
“Wh...what?”
“Sorry, I didn’t even ask if you’re dating...are you?”
“No, no I’m not, but...”
“Whew!” I sighed in relief. “I wouldn’t want to make trouble for you. Okay, that’s all good then. How about I pick you up for school tomorrow?”
“Don’t you have an early gym session?”
I was taken aback. “Uh, yeah, that’s right, I do. Okay, how about I meet you at lunch break? I’ll pick you up at your locker.”
“I...I guess,” she said, “but if you change your mind, that’s fine.”
The urge to reassure her was great and I wished I could look her in the eye, show her I was sincere about this and not going to jerk her around. “I’m not changing my mind...I promise,” I said.
And I didn’t intend to break it, but a meeting with Coach Gregor (yes, a harsh reprimand for the Monty episode) meant I was late and by the time I got to the hallways, there was no sign of Maya. I texted her that I’d been stuck with Coach, and preferring not to face Savannah in the cafeteria, I figured this was the only time to grab those study guides. I fished around in my pocket for the piece of paper Mrs. Shelton had given me. Could I find it? No, of course I couldn’t. And could I remember the names of the books? Not a clue. And was Ms. Feng at the desk? Unfortunately not.
Luck was not on my side.
There was no reply from Maya, but I didn’t panic. I’d probably see her at training. The cheer squad usually came out onto the field at some point. Yeah, that would mean Savannah too, but that would be a good thing. The whole squad would get to see me with Maya, and Savannah would have to accept that there was no hope for us.
With the quarterfinal against St. Martin’s Scorpions, our focus had to be intense. Last year the Scorpions had beaten us but we were a stronger unit this year, and if we could make the semifinal it would equal the Owls best result when my oldest brother Ryan had been quarterback. In recent years we hadn’t managed to make it past the first round, so the whole team was buzzed for more.
Working hard on our offensive plays, I neglected to see the cheer team out on the far side of the field until it was time for our cool down. I immediately sought out Maya.
And my, oh my...Maya drew me in as the squad performed a routine to the imaginary crowd in the empty stands. Her long hair was tied up in a ponytail and she wore those legging shorts like most of the girls did when training, and my heart raced in a way that wasn’t quite normal. Especially when doing a static stretch.
I threw my hand up in a wave, sparked with enthusiasm...this fake dating thing might not be as bad as I thought.
Chapter 5
MAYA
Itexted Sammy to meet me in Mom’s car before school. With the whirlwind that had been the past twelve hours, I was dying to tell her all the juicy gossip in person. Being a teacher, Mom arrived at school early, so I always had a lot of time to kill. Usually we’d meet inside, but I wanted privacy with my earth-shattering news.
Because it was earth-shattering. It was the most amazing thing to have happened to me in all my life, even more amazing than making the cheer team or the 200 likes I’d once gotten on a social media post.
But this, this topped them both. But until I shared it with someone, it didn’t seem real. And I’d been bursting to tell Sammy. I hadn’t told Mom yet because she’d probably slam it as being nonsense and lecture me on how relationships weren’t something to be treated frivolously.
Sammy listened in spellbound wonder as I gave a play by play of the library incident and Oliver’s proposition that we fake date. But whereas I thought she’d be thrilled for me, Sammy was dubious about this arrangement.
