Page 84 of As a Last Resort
“All her friends are dating football players because that’s the cool thing to do if you’re a cheerleader…”
“But she wants real conversation.A man—”
“Boy—”
“Aboy, who can talk about his feelings.Makes her feel seen,” I continued.
“But she also wants a boy who can help her carry the groceries inside without getting winded.”
“So, he’ll join the gym,” I countered.
“Then on the first day of senior year, he’ll walk into school, all jacked up from pumping iron all summer.”
“He’ll have contacts and be wearing athletic shorts.”
“And blond streaks in his hair that only lemon juice, salt water, and too much time in the sun can make.”
I paused.“Something like that.”
“And he’ll walk into first period ready to claim his girl only to find out she’s been dating some other guy all summer and it was all for nothing.”She gave a big sigh.“Nothing lasts forever, everyone knows that.”
“You are such a buzzkill.”I leaned into her shoulder and laughed.
“Or a realist.Those stories never work out.”
“They could though.”I felt her eyes on my face, watching me track the waves splashing against the cement wall that boardered the field.
“How do you have such a positive outlook after all the crap you’ve been through with relationships?”she asked.
“I guess my parents still have the quintessential love story worth fighting for.Proof it could happen against the odds.”
“Against the odds?”she laughed.“He was the star football player and she was the head cheerleader.How does that at all apply to what we’re talking about?”
Yes, my dad was the star quarterback, but my mom was definitely not your typical head cheerleader.She was a total nerd.Head always in a book.Straight-A student who would rather do math than cheer at the games.
“Maybe being a cheerleader was a logical decision for her,” she suggested.“She would technically have a better view of him when he played if she joined the team.”
“Logicalhas no place in love.Perfect example in front of us.”
She watched the two separate and link hands.“Do you think about it sometimes?”she asked.“What could have been?”
“You mean, what could have been if I took over?”She nodded.“No.There’s not a single bone in my body that wants to be on the field, yelling at eighteen-year-olds to push harder than they already are.But it’s still hard with my dad sometimes.”
The two kids started walking to the parking lot across the field, hand in hand, smiles plastered on their faces.When they got halfway across the field, the sprinklers turned on, and they ran.
“Stop it!”She laughed, hitting my arm.
“See, movie magic can happen when you least expect it.”
“Who did you pay to have that happen?”
“Well, if I was paying someone to make that happen they would have clearly missed their mark, wasting it on two lovestruck teenagers instead of us.”
She tilted her head toward me and smiled.My eyes dropped to her mouth.
“It’s not so bad, is it?”I asked, my voice hoarse.
“What?”she asked, barely a whisper.
