“Thanks, Coach. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”
“It’s been my pleasure. Come back and see me next week and let me know if anyone gets aggressive. I’m guessing you’re going to have a lot of persistent coaches trying to sway you.”
“I’ll keep you posted. See you next week.” I made my way out of the locker room and saw Jax and Shaw at the drinking fountain in the gym. They both played basketball for East Texas, and I paused to give them a bro hug.
“Dude, remind me why I thought I should play two sports this year? I’m tired as shit from football season, and Coach Peters is riding my ass already,” Shaw said.
“You gettin’ old, brother?” Jax burst out laughing and slapped him on the back.
“If getting old means I’d rather be hanging with Coco than run up and down the court with your stank ass, then yes. I’m getting old.”
“Stop whining, you pussy-whipped motherfucker,” Jax said.
I shook my head and tried to hide my smile.
“All right, call me later. I’m out of here,” I said.
As soon as I turned, I saw Alec fucking Taulson heading my way with a scowl on his face. “Stay the fuck away from Addy, do you hear me?”
“Of course, I hear you. Everyone within a hundred feet can hear you, dickhead.”
His gaze narrowed and he pointed his finger in my face. “Stay away from her. She’s off-limits.”
Was this guy for fucking real?
“Shut the fuck up and get your fucking finger out of my face, Taulson.”
“You’ve been warned.” He stormed away.
“That fucking kid is such an asshole,” Shaw said, shaking his head. “What’s he talking about? Are you hanging out with Addy?”
“No. She was fighting with him yesterday and she asked for a ride. He’s just a jealous little bitch.” I rolled my eyes, shoving my hands in my pockets.
“She’s so hot, dude.” Jax looked off in space as if he were daydreaming about the girl.
“There’s nothing going on. I’ll see you later,” I said as Coach Peters shouted for them to get a move on.
Things were falling into place for me and it was a lot to digest. I’d always worried something would get in the way of me getting a football scholarship, and I’d be stuck in this shit town forever. But I’d done it. I’d made it four years without any serious injuries, and not only had my first-choice school made me an offer, but I would most likely have options. I’d never had options in my life, and for the first time, I felt a shift. I drove out to the lake because that’s where I always did my best thinking. When I pulled down the dirt path, I stiffened when I saw the white convertible VW Bug parked off to the side.
What the fuck?
No one knew about this place before yesterday.
I parked my bike and walked toward the hammock to find Adelaide sprawled out with her eyes closed and earbuds in her ears. I touched her foot, and she screamed out a high-pitched noise that could shatter glass before flipping out of the hammock and falling to the ground.
Jesus.
“Oh my god, what are you doing?” she asked, pushing to her feet and yanking the earbuds out of her ears. Her jeans were covered in dirt now, and she brushed it away before tucking her hair behind her ear.
“That’s what I was going to ask you.” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Oh, right. This is your spot. Sorry, you just startled me.” She shook her head and chuckled. “Um, well, Jett, here’s the thing. I needed somewhere to get away where no one would find me. Aside from you, of course.”
“Why is that?”
“I quit cheer. My mother is going to be very angry about it. But I’ve never felt better about a decision in my life.”
I narrowed my gaze. “Well, aren’t you the little rebel.”
“Never have been, but it feels good. Why would I want to stand next to Karina and cheer for a boy who cheated on me? I don’t even like cheer. I don’t know why I’ve done it for so long,” she huffed, sitting back down on the hammock.
“Well, good for you then.” I dropped to sit beside her, and my weight caused her to slide closer to me. Oranges and cinnamon engulfed my senses, and I didn’t mind it at all.
“Yep. Good for me is right. And I did something else. Something crazy,” she said just above a whisper, placing her hand between us to keep from tipping into me. Her fingers grazed my thigh, and desire coursed my veins.
What the fuck was that about?
“What did you do? Leave class five minutes early? Break curfew?” I teased, because I knew the girl had never done anything bad in her life and I doubted this would be any different.
“I started the application process for my dream school last night.”
“Why is that a bad thing?” I asked.
“Because Mama expects me to go to State. Hell, everyone expects me to go to State. I’m supposed to be a teacher, not a journalist. I’m also supposed to be a cheerleader for the next couple months, so, I’m on a real roll. Trust me, Savannah Edington is not going to be happy about this at all. So, I’m going to keep this one to myself for now until she digests the fact that I just quit cheer.”
“That’s crazy. It’s almost like you have no say in what you do.” I couldn’t relate to that shit. I’d been planning my future for as long as I could remember. My mom was just always proud of me for it. She never forced anything on me. I couldn’t imagine living my life that way.
“Well, when I say it out loud, it does sound a little crazy. And then I got stuck on the essay question, so I came out here to think about it.”
“What’s the question?”
“They want to know about an experience that was negative and how I worked through it. And I realized that I don’t even know what negative experiences I’ve had because I’ve always done what I’m told to do. Obviously I could tell them that my boyfriend cheated on me. That he went behind my back and made me look like a fool. But in the end, I realized I wasn’t even happy with him. I probably sound crazy.”
“You don’t sound crazy. It’s all you know, so all you can do is try to take control of your life moving forward. And it sounds like that’s what you’re doing.” I glanced over as she tucked the hair behind her ear and smiled.
“Yep. I could make something better up, you know? I doubt a college application wants to hear about a teenage breakup. But they don’t know how twisted the whole thing is. How involved our parents are. I could just make something up, tell them what they want to hear, but I’m just so tired of playing by the rules. And it seems disingenuous to write an essay about something that isn’t true.”