Page 32 of The Stallion
“Oh, come on, tell us!” Natalie begged with a shit-eating grin.
“Abso-fucking-lutely not.”
“Don’t worry… I’ll get it out of her by the end of the day.” Asher chimed in once she was in the driver’s seat, pressing her tongue against the back of her teeth as she looked me up and down, inspecting me as if his name was tattooed across my forehead in bold fucking letters.
Oh shit, I didn’t get a tattoo last night too, did I?
“You three are relentless… and exhausting…” I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling as if my head were about to explode.
“That’s why you love us!” Asher sang as loudly as possible, my ears now ringing in tandem with my pounding skull.
“Just fucking drive, Ash.”
“Yes, ma’am! No need to waste that decent fuck by getting your panties in a wad. We still have a full afternoon of training to get through.”
Training. Just what I needed to take my mind off the events of last night.
Leaving Dallas behind in Vegas and bringing myself back home to Phoenix.
“Pullthescorpionandhold it for five, Ash!”
Eight hours later, I was at the top of my game with a clear head and energy to match—thanks to one of the energy drinks Asher poured down my throat. I had to admit, I could see why she enjoyed her daily dose of caffeine—it worked almost as well as sex as a mood elevator.
“Alright, run the last segment one more time with no falls in the final formation, and we can call it a day.”
I scrolled back to the last thirty seconds of our mix, a custom-curated mash-up of songs from the mid-two thousands that Asher and I had worked on for weeks before sending our selections to a producer who then spliced them into the perfect track.
We chose a remixed version of “Damaged” by Danity Kane as one of the songs, and it was the segment we were currently focusing on for today's practice.
As if that didn’t just sum up my current state of life too…
Connor’s actions were unforgivable, and I would never take him back. Not even if he came crawling on his hands and knees.Fucking forget it.
Hitting play, the last portion of our dance track resumed playing through the Bluetooth speaker, and I dropped my phone to the grass, running over to take my position in our current formation.
There were twenty-five of us on the team, including me. Six of those were men, making it possible for us to perform one ofmy favorite and more complicated basket toss stunts, where we launched a flyer clear across one side of the mat to the other in an arch behind the center pyramid.
Occasionally, I filled in as a base, depending on the stunt being performed, but since joining the team when I turned eighteen, I’ve primarily been a flyer. I loved the rush and every part of the role.
The sun had just begun to set as we wrapped up our practice session. Everyone, except me, was exhausted and dragged their heels as we parted ways.
I was surprised at how much extra energy I had left despite having been up since almost five.
Asher joined the rest of the squad, leaving the field and following them into the locker rooms to shower and change, while I stayed behind to stretch after being stuck in the SUV for five and a half hours.
The drive back to our apartment wasn’t far, but I already dreaded getting back into it.
“A cheerleader, huh?” The smooth voice behind me was all too familiar, my insides instantly tightening as I winced.
How in the hell…
I peered over my shoulder and found none other than Dallas-god-help-me-Ryan eying my ass as if it were an all-you-can-eat buffet.
“I didn’t peg you for a stalker.”
As irritated as I was, I tried my hardest to stay calm and collected. I straightened from my bent-over position and placed my hands on my hips.
It should have bothered me that he was here, unable to figure out how the fuck he found me so quickly and easily. And yet, I couldn’t understand why my heart accelerated and my stomach twisted into a knot at the sound of his voice.
