Chapter twenty-two

“Hey, thanks for the lift,” Kait says, getting into my car after dropping her cheerleading gear into the back seat.

“No worries. I’ll drop you off and then meet you at the event,” I say, pulling out of the space and heading to campus.

“Where’s Lexi?” Kait asks, looking over her shoulder into the back seat as if he’s suddenly going to appear.

“He’s not under your gear.” I laugh. “He stayed at Gio’s. He was nervous.”

“Lexi?”

“Nah. Gio, I think.”

I pull up outside the gym, where the team, parents, and coaches are milling about. Sammy and Liz wave manically to Kait.

They rush over to the car and start frantically knocking on my window. Kait rolls it down.

“Oh my god, Kait. I’m so glad you’re here,” Sammy says, looking nervous as hell.

“You do know she’s about to get out of the car? You don’t have to bang on my window like you’re gonna break it.” Sammy says nothing. She just gives me a middle finger.

Fair one.

“Your dads are here, and they’re stressing Coach Phillips out.”

“Oh shit.” They move back as Kait opens the door and grabs her gear from the back seat. “I’m gonna need you.”

“What do you need me for?”

“Just come on.”

“Fine.” I put the car in Park and follow the three of them as they lead me around the side of the bus. I see AJ and Todd talking enthusiastically to Coach Phillips.

I’m gonna leave them to it.

I look around for Lexi and find him sitting on a picnic bench outside the gym with Gio, Hudson, and Wyatt, so I make my way over to them.

“Hey, if you clam up, it will be fine. We can just incorporate it into our act,” Hudson says to Gio.

“Dude, that’s not fucking helping,” Wyatt says, smacking Hudson on the chest.

“Hey, guys,” I say. Lexi looks at me and smiles. I love those smiles that he has just for me.

I lean down and take his lips, licking into his mouth for a bruising kiss. I want his lips to be puffy while he’s performing.

“Okay, back up there, Romeo,” says Perry, coming up to us. “Your man is not going to be able to perform with a hard-on.”

“Maybe we should test it out?” I wink at Lexi, making him blush. Fuck that is so sexy. I start to lean down for another kiss but get blocked by a curly-haired flyer.

“I will douse you in ice-cold water. You are not testing anything right before a fucking competition.”

“What are you guys planning on testing?” I freeze as Lexi’s parents, AJ and Todd, make their way over with Kait, who has managed to separate them from Coach Phillips.

“They wanted to see if a cheerleader could be a base and have a hard-on,” Hudson says so not helpfully.

“Oh yeah, totally,” Todd says, looking at AJ. “Remember? Cheer camp ‘95.” AJ just elbows him. I think everyone is okay not hearing that story.

“So, Lexi, got any big news to tell your fathers?” AJ says, changing the subject. “Like if you happen to be in a relationship at all with anyone we might know?”

I turn to Lexi. “You haven’t told your dads about us?” Okay, that stings a little.

“Alexis Torrance Hart. You’ve upset your boyfriend,” Todd says, shaking his head.

“I was going to! I didn’t want to tell them over text, so I thought I’d tell him after the competition. I wasn’t expecting to see them beforehand.” He stands and kisses me lightly.

“Okay, that makes sense. I’ll let you off.” He rolls his eyes.

“Kait’s full name is Kaitlyn Buffy Hart,” Lexi says out of nowhere.

“I fucking knew your middle name was Buffy,” I crow at her. She gives me the middle finger. I seem to be collecting them today.

“I didn’t mean to break our pact,” Kait says to Lexi, who just shrugs with a shit-eating grin.

A piercing whistle sounds. “Everyone on the bus,” Assistant Coach Lopez says.

I pull Lexi to me for one last kiss before he leaves. “Knock them dead, baby,” I whisper just for him.

We watch them all get on the bus and wave them off.

“Ryder,” AJ says, looking at me intently. “Just so you know, if you hurt him, I will kick your ass. But if he hurts you, I will do the same to him.”

They pull me into a hug. “So, how’s your Uncle Garrett doing? We haven’t seen him since your birthday meal last year.”

“Yeah, he’s doing okay. He’s got his garage, and we do our Sunday dinners.”

“We were thinking of coming down next month for Thanksgiving and hosting something at Kait and Lexi’s place. I know you’ll be there, but Garrett has to come too.” I love how AJ and Todd have always included Garrett and me in their lives, especially over the holidays. They seem to know exactly when to push him to hang out.

“That’s a great idea. I’ll ask him.” I love AJ and Todd. They’ve always been so loving and accepting of Garrett and me. I remember overhearing Garrett explain what happened with my parents. I learned some new curse words that day.

“How about we all ride together? We’ve obviously got to grill you about your intentions toward Lexi, and it makes sense environmentally to just take one car,” AJ says very seriously.

“Okay, but my intentions are good. I’m going to marry him on the beach after college and live happily ever after.” AJ and Todd look a bit stunned. “Oh, and we will be getting matching tattoos.” I get in the car, and they scramble after me.

The drive to the event takes forty-nine minutes and fifty-nine seconds.

I know that because it’s also the entire length of the 10 Things I Hate About You soundtrack, which we listened to between the interrogation.

Parking is surprisingly easy, and we get to our seats a good hour before the competition starts. Who knows how long it will be until we see the Flora Vista performance, but I can’t wait. The place is like a small football stadium, but they’re only using half for the crowds and performance. The other half is the backstage area for the cheerleaders to get ready, practice, and hang out.

Nine different universities come and go before Flora Vista is up. A few of them hang around in a space in front of the stage so they can watch and cheer the other squads.

FVU comes streaming out, and they look amazing in their forest-green cheerleader pants and their white and green shirt with FVU in sparkly fabric. Most of the girls are wearing white and green pleated skirts, but a few of the girls have chosen to wear cheerleading pants like the guys.

I wonder if I can get hold of one of those cheerleading skirts for Lexi.

As they come running on, cheering and clapping, whooping and hollering, I seek out Lexi. I love seeing his face light up. You can tell some have a plastered-on cheerleading face but not his smile. You can just tell how genuine his love for cheerleading is. His happiness just shines through. It’s amazing. He will be an excellent coach.

He says he wants to live on the beach, but maybe he wouldn’t mind waiting a few years for me to get experience and open my own garage. Or we’ll move Garrett’s down there when he retires.

I will do anything for him. I will move to France if that’s what he wants. I don’t know why I said France. I can’t even speak French. Maybe I should learn? I could download Duolingo. Get a grip, Ryder. He doesn’t want to move to France. He wants to move to the beach, and there’s one of those an hour away.

So we will do that.

I could do that as a commute.

The techno music I’ve heard at their practices comes on, quieting my thoughts.

It’s amazing what they do. People fly through the air with such precision. Complete faith and trust that that base will catch them.

I’m watching Lexi catch Perry when the music suddenly stops.

Shit, it’s only been going for thirty seconds. There’s no way the music should be stopping now. I look over at AJ and Todd, who have matching looks of horror etched on their faces.

Oh fuck.