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  When I looked up and spotted Aaron across the field, my anxiety eased. In that moment, I convinced myself that maybe I actually had what it took, that maybe I’d actually enjoy myself.

  An hour later, I’d learned three cheers, the first half of the school song, and that I could actually do a decent cartwheel. When Coach called for a break, my hands broke into a nervous sweat.

  Apparently Dani noticed. “Don’t worry. You’ll do great. Remember to keep those arms straight.”

  I gave a shy smile. “Thanks.”

  “Let’s see what you can do,” Coach said.

  Dani ran through the cheers with me the first time, but she sat out the second time so I could try them on my own. Luckily, none of the other girls paid attention.

  Arms straight. Yell loud. Clap on the beat. Why am I doing this again? I glanced toward the field to remind myself and suddenly felt a surge of confidence. I can do this.

  “Be aggressive,” I started. I focused on remembering the motions Dani had taught me and to keep my arms straight.

  When I finished all three cheers, Coach gave me that wide smile again. “Great form, Maddie. You have a lot to learn, but welcome to the team.”

  I sat out the rest of practice and watched the girls do stunts that thankfully didn’t look overly complicated. I returned home that night exhausted, my head swimming with new information.

  “Did you make the team?” my mother called from the kitchen.

  I joined her and my father at the table, where they were already eating dinner without me. “I did.”

  “That’s great,” my mom said with a smile.

  “Congratulations,” my dad told me. “I just hope this doesn’t mean you’ll let your grades slip.”

  I sighed. “I won’t, Dad.”

  “Or your art,” he warned with a full mouth.

  “Please, Dad. Nothing could make me slack on my art. I just thought getting involved in something new might get me out of the house.” I shrugged like it was no big deal.

  My father laughed. “Of all the things that could get you out of the house, I never would have thought cheerleading would be one of them.”

  I raised a challenging eyebrow and bit back in an equally playful manner. “Of all the people who would make fun of me for it, I never would have thought the first would be my own father.”

  “Settle down, children,” my mother said, glaring at my dad.

  He gazed back innocently.

  I turned to my mom, serious this time. “I need you to sign some stuff before tomorrow’s practice. Coach said something about me needing a physical, too.”

  My mother swallowed the food in her mouth. “I’ll call Dr. Thalis tomorrow and see if she can work you in to her schedule. We helped her sell her house last month, and I know she’d be happy to do us a favor.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  ***

  I spent the next two days practicing my cheers and learning how to spot the flyers. At least I didn’t have to go up in the air. By Friday night, I was mentally exhausted. Aaron dropped me off at home and said he’d be back in an hour to pick me up for our date after we both had a chance to shower.

  “How was practice?” my father asked from the couch when I walked in the door. He didn’t look up from his laptop he was working on. I could hear my mother moving around the kitchen, probably cleaning up after the supper I’d missed.

  “It was good. I learned some new cheers today. Dani says I’m doing pretty good.”

  “Invite her over sometime, will you? I want to meet this new friend of yours.” He finally turned around to face me.

  “I will. By the way, it’s okay if I go out with Aaron tonight, right?” I knew he didn’t mind. My parents were already in love with him and had been teasing me non-stop about how they always figured we’d end up together. They were also full of it.

  “As long as you’re home by eleven. What are you two going to do?”

  I left a peck on my father’s cheek. “Thanks, Dad. We’re going bowling.”

  “That should be fun,” he called after me as I raced up the stairs.

  I showered and blow dried my hair before dressing in my casual jeans and tee. I applied a layer of eyeshadow, liner, and mascara with a touch of lip gloss. I finished off my ensemble with Aaron’s angel wing pendant.

  While waiting, I checked my phone on my desk. Still no text from Logan. I’d tried to contact him over the last few days to make sure he was all right, but he never wanted to talk. He always said he was busy. Alaina told me he was doing fine, but I didn’t believe either one of them.

  “There’s my angel,” Aaron greeted when I opened the door to him. He took a step into the house to say hello to my parents.

  My father finally stood and rounded the couch to shake Aaron’s hand. “Have her home by eleven, okay?”

  “Yes, Mr. Rose.”

  My mother emerged from the kitchen then and exchanged a few pleasantries with him, asking how his parents were and all of that. After a few minutes that seemed to drag, my parents finally let us go.

  “Sorry about that,” I told Aaron once we reached the car.

  He glanced toward the house. “About what? Your parents? Don’t worry about it. I like them.”

  It wasn’t long before we pulled up in front of the bowling alley. A light drizzle left splats of small raindrops on the windshield.

  “You know I’m not very good at bowling, right?” I admitted.

  Aaron shrugged. “That’s why I invited you. I have to win against someone.” A smirk formed across his face.

  “Hey,” I scolded playfully.

  We entered the bowling alley and started by ordering burgers and fries. The place was busy since it was the Friday before school started and it was one of the only things to do in town. Everyone was trying to get in one last good night before the summer ended.

  I dipped my fry into my mound of ketchup and noticed Aaron was eating his plain. “You don’t like ketchup?” I asked in surprise.

  He crinkled his nose. “Not really.” He reached for the mustard and squeezed some next to his fries.

  “Ew! You don’t like ketchup, but you’ll douse your fries in mustard? What’s wrong with you?”

  He shrugged. “I’m dating you.”

  I had the urge to throw a fry at him but resisted. Instead, I just laughed. I quieted the moment I noticed a group of teens my age walk through the front doors.

  Aaron turned to follow my gaze and spoke quietly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know they’d be here.”

  “It’s okay.”

  I shifted uncomfortably in my seat when Logan noticed me watching him. He quickly averted his gaze. Emily and Holly waved to me when they saw me, but they could see I was on a date and didn’t come over to bother me.

  “I just feel bad about Logan,” I admitted. “I tried telling him I was sorry, but he won’t take my texts.”

  “Hey, Maddie,” Aaron said softly. “It’s not your fault how he feels.”

  “I know.” I shook off a shudder. “I can’t help feeling that it is, though.”

  “If he doesn’t want to be friends with you anymore, it’s his loss.”

  I finally looked Aaron in the eyes, and it didn’t take much for me to agree with him. “You’re right. His loss.”

  Aaron and I pulled on our rental shoes and headed to our lane. Neither of us was surprised when he won by a long shot. It didn’t matter, though, because I had more fun watching him perform his “lucky dance” before every shot he took. I was still laughing by the time we exited the bowling alley.

  “I don’t have to be home for a couple of hours yet,” I told him. “Did you have anything else in mind?”

  He thought about it for a moment. “Let’s go back to my house. We can watch a movie.”

  I greeted his parents when we walked in the house. They both sat in front of the TV, but it was like they could sense our intentions and quickly abandoned the living room. His father escaped to their bedroom to turn on his show
in there, and his mother announced she was going to bake cookies in the kitchen. She was probably trying to give us privacy while still being able to hear what was going on.

  I sat on the couch and looked around nervously. I’d been in the Harding’s house plenty of times over the years, but it seemed different this time. The familiar scent of fresh laundry filled the house, but the photos on the walls seemed brighter and more vibrant. When Aaron situated himself next to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, I realized what was different about it all. I wasn’t just in the Harding’s house anymore. I was in my boyfriend’s house, sitting on my boyfriend’s couch, in his arms.

  Aaron flipped through Netflix until we found a movie we both agreed on. By twenty minutes in, I was already starting to drift off.

  “Is it boring you that much?” The sound of Aaron’s voice jolted me awake. Honestly, I didn’t care that much about the movie. I was simply enjoying being in his arms.

  “I’m sorry. No, it’s just …”

  “It’s okay. It’s really not a good movie. I have another idea.” He stood and headed down the hall, leaving me to wonder what he could possibly have in mind. He came back a few moments later with a pile of sheets in his arms.

  “What are those for?”

  He flipped the TV off. “A fort, of course.”

  A smile spread across my face.

  We spent the next half hour stretching his family’s sheets across the living room. When we were finally done, we stood back to admire our work.

  “Just like when we were kids,” I pointed out.

  He bounced on the balls of his feet. “Ready to see the inside?” He parted the sheets, and I crawled inside.

  The top of our fort grazed against my head. “It definitely feels smaller than when we were kids.”

  “Well, we’ll have to adjust, then.”

  I eyed the top of the fort, wondering how we could raise the ceiling. “Well, we could—”

  I never had a chance to finish because in the next moment, Aaron wrapped his arms around my body and pulled me back until we were lying on the living room floor looking up at the ceiling of our fort. A soft blue hue filled the space as the light filtered in through the sky blue sheets above us.

  “See?” Aaron asked. “We still fit.”

  I melted into him, letting my head rest in a comfortable position on his chest. The arm he’d wrapped around me was comforting and warm, and he pulled me even closer to him. Neither of us said a word as we locked our eyes on one another. I barely noticed the fresh scent of cookies wafting through the air or the hum of the desktop in the corner of the room. All that mattered was him—was us—as we stared into each other’s faces for what could have been minutes or a lifetime. There was no way of gauging the time.

  Eventually, his voice cut through the silence. “Who would have guessed that we’d end up here?”

  I smiled up at him. “I know. Years ago we were building these forts and eating popcorn under them while watching movies with my sisters and your brother. Now it’s just you and me.”

  Before I knew what was happening, Aaron shifted until he hovered over me, his face just inches from my own. He raised his eyebrows and repeated my last words in just a whisper. “Just you and me.”

  I felt his sweet breath on my face when he talked, and my lips quivered in response. I didn’t even have a moment to think about what was coming next before he swiftly closed the distance between us and pressed his lips to mine. My entire body came alive in that moment, sending adrenaline coursing through my veins. The surface of my skin warmed, and my heart hammered against my rib cage. He kissed me again and again, never once pulling away. I locked my hands on the side of his face, begging him to never stop.

  “Aaron,” his mother called.

  My heart leapt in my chest, and he pulled away from me at record speed. When I realized there was no way she witnessed our make out session, I relaxed.

  “Yeah?” he called back.

  “It’s getting late. You should probably take Maddie home.”

  He sighed. “Sorry.”

  My face fell in disappointment. “I wish this night didn’t have to end.”

  “Don’t worry.” He touched a finger to my cheek and stared down into my eyes again. “We’ll have many more nights like this one. I promise.”

  I returned home wanting nothing more than a few more moments alone with him, but his words brought me comfort as I crawled into bed that night and fell asleep dreaming of him.

  CHAPTER 7

  LOGAN

  I woke early on the first day of school, eager to get back into the routine of hanging out with my friends and attending art class. I wasn’t sure what to expect from choir, but at least Logan and Emily would be there. I dressed in my new first day of school outfit my mom bought me a couple of weeks ago: a new pair of dark jeans with a mauve cardigan over a white lace tee. To finish off my first day of school look, I pulled my hair into a decent messy bun. I ate breakfast and tightened Logan’s bracelet around my wrist before leaving for school.

  The school wasn’t far, which was good for me since I didn’t have a car, so I pulled my bike from the garage and pedaled to school. I met up with my friends near our lockers. I had the same locker as last year but had to memorize a new combination. Logan pulled me into a hug. I wanted so badly to press my lips to his, but we both resisted since teachers and other students were milling nearby.

  “What’s up?” I drew away from Logan to look him in the eyes.

  “We’re all comparing our final schedules.”

  I pulled mine from my pocket and unfolded it, turning to the rest of the group. I still hadn’t memorized the changes since I’d added choir as an elective. I ended up having at least one class with all my friends, and Logan and I even shared homeroom together. That meant we’d see each other for first period, lunch, and our last hour choir class. Alaina and I were in math and art together, and the rest of my friends had a class with me here and there.

  The warning bell rang shortly after, and I abandoned my friends to drop my bag in my locker. When I swung it shut and looked up, I spotted Aaron crouched by his locker at the other end of the hall. His eyes caught mine, and I quickly looked away. Most of the other students had already fled the halls to their homerooms, so there weren’t many people left at their lockers. I passed by Aaron on my way to my first class, not bothering to look at him.

  “Maddie,” he called before I made it out of ear shot.

  I paused and held in the sigh I urged to let out. I knew what he was going to say, and I wasn’t interested in hearing how wrong I was to choose Logan. I turned to him. He stood and shut his locker but didn’t advanced toward me.

  “Aaron, I—”

  “How’ve you been?” He shifted his weight between his feet while the last few students trickled into their classrooms.

  “I’ve been fine, but I should get to class. You’re okay, right?”

  He stared down at the floor for a moment before looking at me. An attempt at a smile masked his true emotions. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  I didn’t know how to respond, so I spit out the first thing I could think of. “By the way, did you want your necklace back?”

  “No,” he answered almost too quickly. “Keep it. That way you can think of me.”

  I couldn’t find the words to reply.

  Luckily, Aaron spoke first. “Well, uh, gotta get to class. See you later.”

  “Bye, Aaron.” I hurried off in the opposite direction and slipped into my first hour class just as the final bell rang. An open seat next to Logan in the front welcomed me, and I settled in beside him.

  ***

  At lunch, I found my way to my friends at our table. “Hey,” I greeted Blake, Emily, and Holly. Jordan, Alaina, and Logan showed up shortly after me. Logan settled in on my left while Alaina sat to my right across from Jordan in the same seats we sat in last year. I slid my hand into Logan’s under the table, hoping none of the teachers would notice.

&n
bsp; “Have any ideas for homecoming yet?” Holly asked me from across the table.

  I glanced up from my chicken. “Homecoming? When is that again?”

  “Isn’t it early this year?” Alaina asked. “I thought it was in about four weeks, right? Normally it’s the last game of the season, but most of the games later in the season are away games.”

  Holly nodded. “Right. Emily and I were talking and thought maybe we should be thinking about dress shopping.”

  Dress shopping. Add that to the list of things I had to ask my parents money for. But I wasn’t going to sit at home like I did last year. This year, I actually had a date, and it was my last chance to attend the homecoming dance.

  “I think getting together for dress shopping would be fun,” I told her.

  Emily sighed. “I’m busy the next two weekends, so we’d have to go the week before the dance. That’s not too late to do it, is it?”

  Alaina shrugged. “I don’t think so. We don’t need more than one day to look, do we?”

  None of us were exactly fashionistas, but I did want to look nice for Logan. “I think one day will be fine if we hit up the mall and those other two stores over on that end of town. Or maybe we could head out of town.”

  “Okay,” Alaina agreed. “Let’s meet up in the food court at the mall that Saturday morning, say around ten?”

  We all agreed that sounded great.

  “Hey,” Jordan cut in. “Did any of you meet the new science teacher yet?”

  The conversation quickly shifted to our new classes and teachers. I tuned out the discussion and turned to Logan.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  He swallowed his food before speaking. “Me? I’m fine. Why?”

  “You’ve been quiet all through lunch.”

  He gave my hand a light squeeze. “I’m just running some lyrics through my head and slightly dreading my calculus class I have next period.”

  “Don’t worry about it. You’ll do great.” I tightened my grip on his hand for encouragement. “You know, I’ve heard that people who are good at music are also good at math. Something about how music theory is really all about mathematical equations.”