Page 32 of Infatuated as They Come
“Oh,” Holly said before shaking her head. “No, it’s okay. I get it. You wantto show them that you’re serious about this. It’d look bad on your part if you told them no. Even though you don’t even have to work…”
She didn’t get it, but I absolutely had to. “Right. I’m sorry, Holly. We were gonna do all that stuff tomorrow…”
“No, I understand,” she said before she leaned forward to kiss me. “I hope it all goes well. They’ll be lucky to have you.”
“You’re not mad? You’re allowed to be mad at me.”
“No, I’m not mad. I’m just frustrated because you’re doing stuff you don’t have to do. Wouldn’t you rather paint?”
“I will. In my spare time, you know, when I get a chance. But until then,” I said, pulling her closer to me, “I’m gonna be real busy with you.”
“You say that like you have to babysit me or something. I guess we’ll postpone tomorrow for now. I can tell everyone at The Met how successful you’ll be another time…”
“You’re gonna get us kicked out if you do that,” I said, kissing the top of her head.
“How about we at least go to Central Park today?” she asked. “We can have lunch there and celebrate your new completely unnecessary and unneeded job.”
“Potential job, but yeah, let’s do that. Sounds good.”
My arm tightened around her shoulders, squeezing her that little bit more against my chest. There we sat, on our couch, in our living room,in our home. Such a simple thing. God, we had sat on the couch at my place with Holly nestled against me a thousand times before, but it felt like heaven was washing over me knowing that we were in a room that was ours.
It was like feeling and seeing our future all at once. I wanted more days like this, where it was just us, where I loved her and she loved me and that was all that mattered. A future where she was mine forever and I was hers for just as long. I’d fight for her and I’d build the life we’d share together from hand if I had to. It didn’t matter how long my days were or how hard it all was: it was all worth it for her.
Chapter 8
Holly
The butterflies wouldn’t leave my stomach as I looked through my closet. It wasn’t just first day of school jitters, it waseverything. New campus. New classes. New cheer team too—one that I’d be meeting soon at my first cheer meeting for the semester, and I absolutely didn’t want to be late for that, so I quickly got ready.
I finally settled on a pink polo sweater Mom got me for my birthday and some blue jeans before stepping into the living room. It was quiet since Sawyer had already left for the day, but the good news was that he had passed his trial and got the job. Part of me was deeming it bad news, because all I wanted him to do was focus on his art, but when had Sawyer Westbrook ever listened to me?
I was just about to grab some juice from the fridge when I saw a piece of paper on its front door, a heart shaped magnet placed in the corner. It was a drawing of me in my old cheer uniform, a big smile on my face and pom poms in my hands with some writing across the bottom.
Good luck today, Pom Poms. I know you’ll do great.
I couldn’t stop the grin from stretching across my face. Sawyer had wished me luck about a hundred times before he left, but there was something extra special about the little handwritten message. I held it to my chest before moving into the bedroom, pulling out a pink cardboard box I had beenholding near and dear to my heart since becoming his. Inside it contained all the moments I never wanted to forget: the ticket from the county fair me and Sawyer went to, the cute notes Sawyer had slipped to me in class, stacks of photos from our many trips to the photobooth at the cinema, and now, the drawing of me with that cute message.
Putting it away, I grabbed my already packed bag and jumped in a cab to Columbia. It wasn’t my first time visiting, but it was still daunting entering the building on my own. My parents had been with me during orientation week, but now it was all me.
I made a beeline for the gymnasium with a little hop in my step. I had missed cheering far too much and had been counting down the days until I got to get stuck back into it, so excitement grew inside me as I entered the gym building and saw Claudia—my new head cheerleader—standing inside.
“Oh my God, hi!” she cried out, her blonde curls bouncing as she leaped my way. “You’re early! It’s so nice to see you again! Aren’t you excited to start cheering again? We’re gonna have so much fun this year!”
“I can’t wait,” I said. She had just as much energy as the last time I saw her. “The other girls aren’t here yet?”
“Nope, but I’m sure they’ll be here soon! Oh, wait, there’s Natalie! Natalie, over here!”
Turning around, I spotted a tall brunette skipping my way, her smile just as radiant as Claudia’s. Her long hair was in loose curls as she sent us both a wave.
“Natalie, this is Holly. Holly, this is Natalie.” Claudia moved her hands between us. “Natalie’s been on the team since freshman year too—just like me. She’s a dance major as well.”
“You’re both dance majors?” I looked between them, hands clasping together. “I’m so excited to be cheering with you guys. But now also kind of nervous…”
“Don’t be silly,” Natalie said, hooking an arm with mine. “Me and Claudia watched your audition video a hundred times. You’re gonna be a great addition to the team.”
“I hope so. And hopefully I can learn a thing or two from you guys.”
“We all learn from each other.” Claudia smiled at me before her eyes lowered. “Ooh, where’s your sweater from?”
