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  “Good luck tonight,” I told him once he’d pulled away.

  “Thanks. You, too.”

  When I reached the sidelines, I immediately headed over to Dani.

  “Are you as pumped about this game as I am?” she asked excitedly.

  I shot her a smile but didn’t answer. Instead, I scanned the crowd. Almost everyone dressed in blue and white, and it seemed like the whole student body had arrived to cheer on the Eagles.

  Dani didn’t waste a second pointing out the huge crowd. “I know the crowd is bigger tonight than usual, but we’ve all worked really hard on our stunts and our cheers. You’ll all do fine. If you get nervous, just picture the audience in their underwear.”

  Dani laughed like it was a ridiculous suggestion. Surprisingly, though, the thought actually helped me relax. When I eyed the crowd and spotted Logan near the pep band, I lost my conscious grip on my imagination.

  Stop it! I told myself. I did not need to be imagining those things.

  “Thanks a lot, Dani.” I rolled my eyes to ease my mood. It helped.

  After the Eagle’s victory, I hugged Aaron tight when he found me on the sidelines. “You did great tonight!”

  He shrugged. “I missed that first field goal, but at least we won.”

  Somehow, I didn’t catch the field goal he’d missed. We must have been facing the crowd in a cheer or I didn’t recognize him compared to all his other teammates in blue and white jerseys. But I should have at least recognized his number, I thought.

  “Yeah,” I said. “At least you won.”

  “Any chance you want to hang out tonight?”

  Before I could answer, an involuntary yawn escaped my lungs.

  “Ah, I see,” he joked. “You need your beauty rest before the dance tomorrow night.”

  I smiled shyly. “Something like that.”

  Aaron dropped me off at home, but it was only after I stripped off my cheerleading uniform and sank down into bed that I realized I’d rushed into the house so fast that I forgot to give him a kiss.

  Sighing, I rolled over and reached for my purse on the floor. I pulled it up next to me on the bed and dug through the outside pocket until my fingers grazed the piece of paper I was looking for. Holding the photograph above me, I stared at each pose Aaron and I had taken at the photo booth in the mall. I didn’t know why I felt the need to relive that moment in my mind. I guess I thought that if I could remind myself how much fun we had together, I’d feel that giddiness in my chest again. Only, that’s not what I felt. As I stared at the pictures, the only thing I could think was what it would be like if Logan was in those images instead of Aaron.

  “What’s happening to you, Maddie?” I questioned myself out loud. Quickly realizing how crazy I sounded talking to myself, I turned my discussion inward. Get a grip, girl! Another voice quickly countered, I have a grip. I didn’t think I believed myself.

  CHAPTER 17

  LOGAN

  I awoke Saturday morning on my living room couch. It took me a moment to recall why I wasn’t sleeping in my own bed, and then I remembered that Alaina and I had crashed in the living room after the homecoming game the previous night. The game where I spent more time watching Aaron on the field than holding my boyfriend’s hand in the stands.

  I quickly shook off the memory. I’d held Logan’s hand, hadn’t I? Yeah, I did, I told myself, remembering at least one instance where our hands were entwined when he wasn’t playing his saxophone.

  I managed to pull my eyes open completely, and I glanced over at Alaina on the other couch. It was shorter than the one I was lying on, so she had her knees pulled up to fit.

  Her eyes flittered open. “Good morning.” Her voice came out groggy. She cleared her throat and tried again. This time, it came out clear. “Good morning.”

  “So, are you excited?” I asked with a smile.

  She pushed herself to a seated position. “It’s just a dance.” She couldn’t hide her own grin. “But yeah, I’m excited. Jordan is going to love my dress. Hey, what time is it? We should get Emily and Holly over here so we can get ready together.” She reached for her phone in her purse on the floor. “I’ll text them.”

  “Sounds good.” I stood and headed to the kitchen to grab myself a bowl of cereal, even though it was closer to lunch time than breakfast time.

  It wasn’t long before Emily and Holly arrived with a total of six bags of makeup and hair supplies. Since it was still early, though, we decided to kill some time with a card game. We all took a spot on the floor around the coffee table.

  Alaina poked at her phone while Holly dealt the cards. A smile grew across her face while she stared down at the screen. “Hey, guys. Guess whose painting came in second place at the community art night?”

  I immediately leaned over to view her screen. “You did? Really?”

  The wide grin remained plastered on her face. “I know it’s all just for fun, but it feels like an honor.”

  I scanned the web page she’d pulled up to see the picture of a flower garden had come in first and Alana’s painting was second. I personally would have given her first.

  “Congrats,” I said, settling back into my spot and picking up my cards. Emily and Holly gave her their own congratulations before we began the game.

  Eventually, Emily suggested we start getting ready. “Who wants to be my first torture victim?” she asked while holding up her curling iron.

  “You’re not getting that thing near me.” Alaina backed away. She claimed her stick-straight hair was due to never using damaging products or heat on it. She always said she’d like to keep it that way.

  Emily snapped her curling iron in my direction.

  I sighed. “I will.”

  I spent the next few hours seated in front of my mirror while Emily curled my dark hair into spirals. Holly turned on Pandora and worked on taming her own natural curls, and Alaina sat on my bed petting Parrot while we all chatted. Once Emily locked my hair in place with practically a full bottle of hair spray, she took my place at the mirror to curl her own hair. I proceeded to add my makeup from beside her.

  Eventually, we were all dolled up. Emily must have taken a million selfies of us all before Alaina announced it was almost time to go. I was just slipping on a pair of Kayla’s strappy high heels when the doorbell rang.

  “Were all the guys coming together?” I asked Emily, who had been the one to take the reins on the plans for the night. Somehow, I’d tuned out the discussion at lunch and forgot.

  “Yep,” she answered, bouncing her blond curls in her hand for the last time. “They should all be here. Blake’s borrowing his mom’s van so that we all fit.”

  We all hurried downstairs to meet the guys on my front steps. I opened the door to find Jordan standing behind it. He looked past me toward Alaina, who wore a short green dress with cap sleeves and had a matching green headband in her hair.

  “You ladies ready?” Jordan asked without ever taking his eyes off Alaina.

  “We sure are,” I answered back. “Let me just say goodbye to my parents.”

  Before leaving, I popped into the kitchen, where my mom was putting away dishes from the dish washer. “We’re leaving now,” I told her as I placed a quick kiss on her cheek. “I’ll see you later tonight.”

  “Okay, but did you and your friends want any pictures before you leave?”

  I shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. Emily got enough of us upstairs, and we’ll get plenty at the dance.”

  “Okay, have fun,” she told me.

  Before I reached the front door, I leaned into my dad’s office to tell him I was leaving.

  “Have fun,” he told me without looking up from his computer. “Text us if you’re going to be out past midnight.”

  “I will. Bye, Dad.”

  “Bye.”

  I hurried outside to the van and climbed in behind my friends.

  Logan greeted me with a smile. “You look great, Maddie.”

  “Thanks,” I told him w
ith sincerity as he kissed my check. My heart fluttered in response. See? I told myself. I still love Logan. Aaron’s kiss meant nothing.

  I glanced around the van. Blake was driving, and Holly sat in the passenger seat since they were going to the dance together “as friends.” Alaina and Jordan sat in the seat in front of me, his arm draped around hers. Emily sat in the back by Logan and me. She was attending the dance with a guy she knew from choir, but he was supposed to meet us at the café for dinner before the dance. Then she’d ride with him to the dance later. That part I remembered.

  I slid my hand into Logan’s and held it all the way through dinner. The tension I’d been holding in my shoulders for the past few days eased. By the end of dinner, a sense of comfort settled over me, and I knew that it didn’t matter how many times Aaron tried to win me over. I’d always choose Logan.

  By the time we arrived at the high school gymnasium, there was already a good number of people there. Several people jumped up and down on the dance floor, but for the most part, people remained seated at tables lining the gym walls. Each round table was cloaked in either a blue or white tablecloth for the school colors. They matched the streamers hanging from the ceiling. White Christmas lights twinkled above us, giving the dim room a romantic hue. Our group ventured over to an empty table to claim it.

  “Ugh,” Emily complained. “What’s the point of coming to a dance if you don’t even dance? Look, the homecoming court isn’t even dancing. Come on, Dustin,” she grabbed onto her date’s hand, “let’s show these losers what real dancing looks like.” She glanced back at us with a teasing smile.

  Jordan shot her a challenging glare while he stripped off his jacket and followed after her. “I’ll show her a thing or two about dancing.” Holly and Blake ran off to join him.

  I giggled as my friends hit the dance floor and began a sort of dance battle. Glancing over at Alaina, I noticed she beamed while she stared after Jordan.

  She noticed my gaze and looked at me. “Well, he didn’t take those dance classes for nothing.”

  When she went back to watching Jordan, I turned to Logan beside me, whose hand was still in my own. “Are you going to dance?”

  He gave a shy smile that didn’t come off as genuine. “I prefer to keep my feet grounded when I perform. But I’ll save all the slow songs for you.”

  My heart gave another nervous flutter in my chest. “Deal.”

  I glanced back toward the dance floor to see that my friends, namely Jordan, were taking up the spotlight. Then I noticed Aaron had joined the dance floor as well. He appeared to be alone, but his dance moves weren’t half bad.

  He’s so confident, I thought to myself in admiration. A split second later, I realized where my thoughts were going. I quickly looked back toward Logan to take my mind off Aaron.

  When the first slow song came on, Logan pulled me up from my chair. “Ready for that first dance?” he asked.

  My heart felt as if it were floating in my chest. Our first dance together! “Yes,” I told him, but it came out softer than I intended.

  He led me to the dance floor and slowly spun me around until I stopped in his embrace. “You look so beautiful tonight. Did you know that?”

  I couldn’t control the blush that rose to my cheeks, but all I could think to say was, “Emily did my hair.”

  “It looks nice,” he said before pulling me close.

  I wrapped my arms tighter around his neck and swayed with him to the music. He didn’t say anything again, and neither did I. We simply enjoyed the thrill of being in each other’s arms.

  This, I thought to myself. This is where I’m supposed to be. As if I needed the extra reassurance, I leaned in and pressed my lips to his. I didn’t worry about the other students or if the chaperones would spot us. Right now, it was just about Logan and how I felt about him. Yet when I pulled away, I didn’t feel any different. His kiss didn’t change the fact that when I stared across the room toward Aaron, my heart warmed in a way that it didn’t with Logan. Though when I looked back at him, I melted.

  It made no sense!

  “You okay?” Logan asked. The distress must have been evident on my face.

  I tried to ignore my own internal battle, but it did no good. “Let’s go sit back down.” I purposely didn’t answer his question, but he agreed without pushing it.

  We sat in silence for the next couple of songs. Logan attempted to ease the situation by offering to get us drinks.

  I gave him a forced smile. “Sure.”

  “Ugh, look at them.” Alaina gestured to the dance floor once Logan stood and walked away. “I wish I could dance.”

  “You should,” I encouraged. “You should go dance with them. I’m sure Jordan would love to dance with you.”

  She tucked a strand of brunette hair behind her ear, but it didn’t stay. “We danced during the slow song. He’s just so good. I feel like I’d make a fool out of myself dancing next to him.”

  I followed her gaze and watched Jordan twirl on the dance floor. He definitely had talent.

  “I’ll go if you go,” she promised.

  A surge of adrenaline shot through my veins. Me? Dance? “Alaina, I don’t—”

  “Please?” She raised her eyebrows as if that would help her argument.

  I sighed. It helped a little. “Fine.”

  I stood with her and joined my friends on the dance floor. Mostly, I just jumped up and down near my friends. Most of our eyes were locked on Jordan’s dance moves and Blake’s overly confident attempts at looking hot.

  Holly laughed from beside me. “Can you believe I agreed to be his date?” She gestured toward Blake. “You wouldn’t believe this, but he’s actually okay at slow dancing.”

  I shot her back a smile because I wasn’t sure what to say, and it was hard to hear above the music anyway. It seemed like only a minute since Alaina and I joined the small crowd that the song switched to a slow melody. People began strolling off the dance floor while others pulled their dates into their arms. Only then did I realize I’d abandoned Logan and he sat at our table alone with our drinks.

  On my way back to him, I heard someone call my name. I automatically turned to the voice, and my breath involuntarily caught in my throat. Aaron.

  “May I have this dance?” he asked.

  Sure, was my initial reaction, but I didn’t get the word out before I caught myself. “I—uh. I’m here with someone.”

  A confident smirk crossed Aaron’s face. “So? It’s just a dance. It’s not like I’m asking you for a kiss.” I noticed his eyebrows wiggle subtly at the word “kiss.”

  My mood shifted quickly. I had the urge to point out that he never asked for a kiss the first time, but I forced myself to remain calm. “I really don’t think I should dance with you.”

  “Is everything all right?” a tenor voice asked from beside me.

  I jumped. I hadn’t heard Logan approach. “It’s fine,” I answered, taking Logan’s hand in my own. I shot Aaron a glare while stepping closer to Logan to show him where my true alliance lied.

  Aaron held his hands up in surrender. “Sorry. I just thought one dance wouldn’t hurt. It’s not like I’m asking for another kiss.”

  My eyes widened at Aaron. How could he?

  “Logan, let’s dance.” I tugged at his hand, but he remained grounded.

  “What do you mean by that?” he directed at Aaron like he hadn’t even heard me.

  Aaron’s eyebrows shot up, and a smirk formed across his face.

  “Logan,” I insisted, pulling at him harder now. “Let’s just go.”

  His feet remained planted, and he narrowed his eyes at Aaron. It was like he couldn’t even feel me pulling at him.

  Aaron crossed his arms in amusement. “So, she didn’t tell you?”

  “Aaron,” I snapped. “Just stop it.” My words didn’t seem to matter to him. His challenging gaze remained locked on Logan.

  “Tell me what?” Logan finally glanced at me.

  Water r
ose to my eyes. I couldn’t. I just couldn’t tell him the truth. “Aaron’s just being dumb. Can we please go now?”

  Logan started to follow me, but Aaron spoke again to stop us both. “I kissed her earlier this week.”

  We both stopped in our tracks and glared back at him, though for different reasons. Before either of us could respond, Aaron added what he knew would make Logan snap.

  “And she kissed me back.”

  I didn’t even have time to process the next split second before it was over. Logan lunged, and suddenly, a whish of cold air rushed in to fill the space where his hand had just been connected to mine. I heard the thud as his fist connected with Aaron’s jaw, but I could barely believe my own ears. Though it was a well-deserved swing, all Aaron did was stumble back a step. When he absorbed the situation a moment later, he let his hand drop from his jaw where he’d reflexively placed it. Then he flung himself back toward Logan. In less than a second, they were on the ground.

  “Stop it!” I shouted at them.

  I glanced up nervously to notice that even though the music still pulsed throughout the gym, people were beginning to stop and stare. A few students at tables across the room rose to get a good look. Two male chaperones—a teacher named Mr. Nelson and someone’s parent I didn’t recognize—were already on their way over to break up the fight.

  “Stop!” I shouted again, hoping they’d listen before the chaperones intervened.

  They each threw another punch like they never heard me. Questions raced through mind at lightning speed. What can I say to make them stop? How do I get them to listen to me? Which one should I try to rescue?

  “Stop!” I shouted again because it’s all I could think of to do. Any normal girl would wait another two seconds for the chaperones to reach us and pull them off each other, but I was determined to put an end to this fist fight as soon as possible. Before consciously deciding to, I fell to my knees and wedged my arms between their chests. I used all my strength to push against them and pry their bodies apart, but they both continued throwing punches like I wasn’t there. I attempted to go in deeper and put myself between them so they’d stop. Not a great idea.