“Yes. I’m sure back handsprings and toe touches are right in her artsy repertoire.”
“Well, we’ll work on her for next year.” Stacia locked elbows with her and dragged her over to her own stuff.
Stacia directed one of the male cheerleaders to grab their bags for them, and then she pushed their way through the line of people waiting to board the charter plane for the play-offs. Stacia yammered on the entire wait about her Christmas vacation.
The girls finally got on the plane and walked down the aisle.
“So, maybe I can convince someone to switch seats with you, so we can sit together,” Stacia said.
“Hey, Hollywood.”
Bryna stopped in her tracks and found herself staring into Eric’s hazel eyes. He had a smirk on his face.
“Who is Hollywood?” Stacia asked.
“Saved you a seat.” Eric nodded his head at the aisle seat next to him.
Stacia stared at her, wide-eyed in anticipation. Last anyone had checked, Bryna and Eric hated each other. They bickered like children.
“I’ll pass,” Bryna said dismissively.
He grabbed her arm before she could walk away. “I said you couldn’t hide,” he whispered.
Even Stacia probably hadn’t heard him.
“I’m holding up the line. Go on ahead, S. I’ll catch up,” Bryna said.
Stacia looked uncertain but decided to keep walking back to her seat. Bryna moved out of the aisle, and the line moved again.
“What is all this?” she asked.
“You like the aisle seat.”
“Are we friends?”
Eric gave her a look that said, Stop acting dumb. “You can’t erase the past two weeks. I had a good time. You had a good time. You’re going to have to come to terms with the fact that we’re friends now.”
Bryna shrugged noncommittally. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Start by sitting down.”
She laughed but followed his directions. “You’re bossy.”
“I didn’t want to sit next to Beth anyway. She drives me crazy.”
“And I don’t?”
“Most of the time, you do, but it’s different.” He plugged in his headphones and relaxed back.
At this point, Bryna knew she could probably get up and leave to go sit with Stacia. She could even feel Stacia’s eyes on her, wondering what was going on, but Bryna didn’t mind Eric’s company. She would be with Stacia all weekend.
Five long hours later, their flight landed in Miami, and the teams were quickly separated onto buses that would carry them to their hotel before the game.
Stacia scurried up to Bryna. “What the hell was that?”
“What?” Bryna asked.
She had known this was coming. It wasn’t as if she and Eric were dating or anything. They were friends who had hung out a couple of times over Christmas break. It was nothing she needed to hide. She just knew the rumors would surely follow.
“You’re friends with Eric now? You two totally hate each other. You’re like oil and water. You don’t mix.”
“Yeah, I got that, Stacia.”
“So, spill. What the hell happened?”
“We hung out over break. No big deal.” Bryna stared straight ahead.
This really was no big deal. Stacia needed to keep her voice down before the entire squad drilled Bryna for answers.
“Okay, team!” the coach said, getting all the girls together. “Let’s get over to the hotel. We have practice and dinner, and then you’re free for the evening. However, that does not include alcohol of any kind. If you leave the premises, please take someone with you, and report back in by midnight at the latest! I will be checking to make sure you all are in your rooms, and nothing nefarious has happened.”
“Pleasant,” Bryna said.
“We will talk about this later,” Stacia said.
After three hours of grueling practice and a quick dinner, the girls were finally released.
Neal had flown in from Tucson for the game and to meet Trihn. They were staying at the same hotel as the team. Stacia and Bryna met them in the lobby, and then they walked out to the beach together. The sun had set over the ocean, and the skyline was bathed in oranges and pinks.
“So, talk!” Stacia cried to Bryna.
Trihn looked at them in confusion. “What did I miss?”
“Bryna is friends with Eric Wilkins. Like friends,” she said dramatically.
“Wait, what?”
“We are not anything more than friends.”
“I thought you hated each other,” Trihn said. “How did friends even happen?”
“We ran into each other at Posse and went to get ice cream.”
Stacia gave her a knowing look. “You hung out with a guy and only got ice cream? Give me a break.”
“I’m serious. Nothing happened. We just hung out a couple of times, but he’s not interested in me at all. It’s not a big deal.” Bryna glared at her friends. She hated explaining herself.
“Wait, a couple of times?” Trihn asked.
Shit. “Yeah. We got lunch later that week and then went ice-skating at The Cosmopolitan,” she confessed.
“You’re dating Eric Wilkins,” Trihn said.
“Oh my God!” Stacia screamed. “You’re dating Eric! Mortal enemies now dating. How romantic. How does he kiss?”
Bryna stopped in her tracks. “We are not dating at all. No kissing. Nothing.” She wished she could explain better, but they had no reason to believe her anyway. “I’m still seeing my hot stranger. He was out of town on break.”
“Sure…” Stacia said.
She and Trihn shared a look that said they didn’t believe a word Bryna had said.
“It’s nice to have a guy friend, okay? I’m not worried about him making a move, so we just have fun. That’s all.”
“Fine,” Stacia and Trihn said in unison.
The conversation changed to other topics as they wandered down the beach. Bryna was looking forward to a little bit of surf and tanning tomorrow afternoon, but her mind was still set on the upcoming rumors about her and Eric. She knew they would run rampant. They had with Andrew.
When they circled back to the hotel, Trihn and Neal walked off on their own. Bryna suspected they were going to have sex on the beach. Stacia apparently had plans for a late-night date with a nameless football player, which Bryna figured meant the same thing as what Trihn and Neal would be up to. That would leave Bryna all alone.
On her way back up to her room, she stopped one of the guys in the elevator. “Hey, do you know where Eric is?”
“Uh… in his room?”
She knew she wasn’t helping matters at the moment, but they needed to talk. “Which room?”
“Coaches are on the eleventh floor. Ask someone up there.”
“Thanks.”
She made it up to the eleventh floor without incident, and thankfully, another guy directed her down the hallway even though he suspiciously looked at her. Cheerleaders were staying in different halls than football players and weren’t supposed to be in their rooms. It was like high school all over again. But the players needed to keep their heads in the game. After tonight, there would be no more downtime for them.
She knocked on the door and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Coming!” Eric called from the other side. He answered the door in nothing but a pair of loose-fitting basketball shorts, and he looked like a fucking god.
Fuck. She glared at him harder.
“Hey,” he said. “What’s up?”
She ignored him and pushed him out of the way to get into the room.
“What? So, we’re friends now?” He laughed
“We need to talk.”
“Oh, this sounds serious.” He shut the door behind her and leaned back against it. “You’re pissed about the plane still?”
“No, I’m pissed that my friends think we’re dating. We’re clearly not dating.”
“This is true,” he agreed. “You’re making a good case for it by cloistering yourself in my room.”
“I don’t date.”