Chapter five

“Please, Lexi, you have to give us the tea,” Perry pants the minute he lands. The guys have been dying to know what went down between Tucker and Ryder yesterday at lunch, but no way am I spilling. I have no clue if either of them wants their business spread all over campus, but I’m guessing they don’t.

“Not happening,” I say firmly before stretching my limbs, ready to go again. Gio, Aaron, and I are the base, and Perry is our flyer. Coach Phillips is making us go over individual elements at today’s practice.

“Hey, Lexi, is it true you stopped a fight between Tucker Evans and Ryder Jackson?” Jackie calls from where she’s standing next to my sister.

Kait rolls her eyes. “They weren’t going to fight.”

“But it’s Ryder. He looks like he gets into bar fights for breakfast.”

“That makes no fucking sense,” Gio says, staring at her like she’s grown an extra head.

“Okay, yeah, you’re right. That doesn’t make any sense. I guess what I’m trying to say is that he looks like he gets in a lot of fights. So it would be understandable for people to assume he started the fight.”

“Jackie, you know not to judge people just by what they look like. I mean, yes, he wears a lot of black and has tattoos, but that doesn’t mean he gets into fights all the fucking time. Like, I’m pretty sure Ryder hasn’t gotten into a fight since senior year of high school,” Kait says.

I remember that fight. A guy on the wrestling team started throwing slurs at the male cheerleaders like confetti. I popped wood while watching Ryder beat the shit out of the homophobe.

“Why the fuck is everyone talking about this anyway? Barely anything happened,” I say, exasperated.

“I think it was just the shout. It was quite dramatic,” Hudson pipes up.

This is all getting too out of hand.

“Okay, is everyone done gossiping?” Coach Phillips asks, making eye contact with absolutely everybody.

“Yeah,” Jackie mumbles.

“What was that?”

“Yes, Coach Phillips,” we all chant like first graders.

“Good. Now, I want everyone to pack up. See you tomorrow.”

I rush through showering and changing, grab Gio, and leave as quickly as possible.

“Lexi, stop dragging me,” Gio says after a few minutes, pulling his arm free with a frown. “What’s going on?”

“I need a coffee, so we’re heading to the cart.”

“Yeah, you know that’s not what I was asking. Why are you running from our friends and making me an accomplice?”

“I didn’t want the Spanish Inquisition to start back up.” I sigh, running a hand through my damp hair as we slow to a walk.

“You know Perry would have backed off eventually,” he says, laughing. “I don’t suppose you’ll tell me what went down with Tucker and Ryder?”

“Nope,” I say as we join the coffee line. “It’s their business.”

“Thank you,” a deep voice behind me says, making me jump. I turn to see Tucker standing behind me with a slight smile.

“Hey, man, how are you doing?” I ask. He looks okay, but I don’t know him well enough to know if it’s an act. I cheer for the football team, and we hang in similar circles. That of the queer athletes. But I could probably count the number of conversations we’ve had on one hand. “Do you want to join us? There’s an empty bench. Gio, could you go save it for us, and I’ll get your drink?”

“Yeah, no worries.”

I wait till he’s out of earshot. “Do you want to talk about it? Gio won’t say anything, but if you don’t want to talk in front of him, we can meet up.”

“Why are you being so nice to me?” He looks at me suspiciously.

“Because your ex is a piece of shit, and no one should treat someone the way he has you. Plus, I give excellent advice.”

“Really?”

“No, I mainly recycle shit I hear in nineties teen movies.” I shrug. I grab our drinks, and we make our way to Gio, who is messing around on his phone.

“Why nineties teen movies? Why not the eighties or the early 2000s?” Tucker asks before taking a sip of his coffee.

“It was the golden age of teen movies. It also didn’t end until 2004.”

“What?”

“I don’t make the rules.”

“You literally did though,” Gio butts in. He puts his phone away and turns to Tucker. “His whole family is addicted to those movies. I’m seriously surprised their dads didn’t name them after their favorite characters.”

They did.

Only our middle names, but Kait and I made a pact when we were seven that we would tell no one. Not even Ryder knows.

“So what teen movie advice do you have for someone whose boyfriend cheated on him with a hot mechanic and lied to them both?” Tucker asks with forced nonchalance.

Gio’s jaw drops, so I kick him under the table but miss and get Tucker instead.

“Fuck, don’t take up football if you can’t kick the correct shin.” Tucker laughs, rubbing his leg under the table.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” I say quickly. “Erm, I’d go for She’s All That.”

“You want me to give someone a makeover and date them for a bet?”

“Okay, no. What about Drive Me Crazy? Fake date your childhood bestie.”

“My childhood bestie is a Trump fanboy.”

“That is unfortunate. Oh, I know, Clueless!”

“I don’t have a stepbrother, I’m not a virgin, and I can drive.”

“Congratulations. I was thinking Cher and Dionne go on a shopping trip to cheer themselves up. We should go on a shopping trip.”

“I do like that idea.” Gio nods in agreement.

Tucker looks at us skeptically. “Isn’t that a bit cliché? A bunch of gay guys shopping at the mall.”

“I’m pan not gay, and queer people can enjoy capitalism too. Don’t be homophobic,” Gio says with a smirk.

“Dude,” Tucker says, throwing his hands in the air.

“Come shopping with us, Tucker. We’ll have a great time,” I say.

“We’re also good with serious conversations if you want to talk about your ex,” Gio adds.

“Thanks. I-I think I’d like to do that sometime.”

“Let’s swap numbers,” Gio says, putting his hand out palm up toward Tucker, who gives him his phone without question.

After that, we talk a bit about the football season and our upcoming cheer competition.

Tucker is a good guy. I wonder if he’d be the type of guy I’d be into if I wasn’t head-over-heels in love with Ryder. I try my hardest, but I just can’t picture it. I can’t picture anyone other than Ryder. Maybe the guys are right. Maybe I should download an app and put myself out there. I’m hardly going to get over him doing nothing. It’s not as if he’s ever going away, so distance won’t work.

You know when you’re bored in your bedroom, usually late at night, so you test yourself to see if you can secretly move shit with your mind? Nothing happens. Well, right now, I think I should put in more effort because, clearly, I have some superpowers. I’ve just conjured Ryder, and he is standing at the edge of the picnic table, staring down at me with a slight frown.

I wonder what his lip ring would feel like while he sucks me off.

Yeah, I’m never getting over this man. I want to smooth out the frown, smother him in kisses, and then play with his hair while he tells me all about the latest car he’s working on.

“Lexi, what’s wrong with you?” The concern in Ryder’s voice pulls me from my domestic daydreams, and I find him crouched in front of me, eyes full of concern. He reaches up and lays the back of his hand on my forehead.

My poor little heart stutters, and my cock decides to take notice. I swear, if a touch to the forehead makes me hard, I will cry…maybe a lot.

“I’m fine,” I say, and he drops his hand and stands.

Noooooo, keep touching me.

He looks at me disbelievingly. “Seriously, I was just lost in thought,” I reassure him. “So, what’s up, bro?”

Bro? When the fuck do I ever say bro? I hear choking and look to see Tucker shoving napkins into Gio’s face. “His drink went down the wrong pipe.” Yeah, Gio isn’t going to let me live this down.

I turn back to Ryder, his face lit up in amusement. “I need a favor, bro. Are you free right now, bro, or do you have plans, bro?” he asks with a smirk.

I roll my eyes. “I don’t have plans. What do you need?”

“I’ll tell you on the way.”

I say bye to Tucker and Gio, and Ryder nods at them. I follow Ryder to a muscle car parked on the road, and he holds the passenger door open for me.

“So, this favor. What does it involve?”

He looks me up and down intensely with his stormy gray eyes. “Get in the car, and you’ll find out.”