Page 29 of First Down Promise

Me: Told you I’d catch you around.

And full send.

Chapter Eleven

Abby

It’s been a few days since I’ve seen Josh, while the team has been focused on practices and getting ready for today’s home game. He hasn’t even dropped by, nor have I seen him in passing during my practices. He texted me out of the blue after he got home that morning and reminded me of how dorky he truly is. And not going to lie—when I saw a random text from him come through, I thought it was going to be about my midnight stunt. But it’s remained unacknowledged, so I’ve sat with the assumption that he was too drunk to remember what I said. But I can’t help wondering if any part of that night stuck with him. I press my lips together, hating the little sting that comes with the thought. Maybe it’s for the best.

With an afternoon game today, I’m due at the facility several hours before kickoff. I had to get up early to do my hair, which is fine, but it makes for a long day. The girls are already chattery as I walk into the locker room, and I think I hear Josh’s name mentioned. The room instantly turns quiet as the other girls notice me, and I drop my bag on the bench in front of my locker with a huff. Sadie is already by her locker, and my squared shoulders relax.

“They’re never going to like me,” I groan.

“You’ll grow on them,” she replies.

I laugh faintly under my breath. “Doubt it. The season will be over by then.”

We settle in our little corner in front of the mirrors with our makeup bags in front of us. Fortunately, I danced throughout school, so caking it on for a performance was nothing new. Still, after being away from performing for a while, it took time to get used to wearing so much makeup again. The Tennessee heat and humidity made it harder than the cooler temperatures I grew up in.

“Ugh, I hate lashes,” Sadie complains, fiddling with the lash strip.

“I’ll show you a trick,” I say. I use the brush end of my lash glue to paint a line along my lash line. “If you put the glue on like eyeliner and keep your eyes closed until the glue is tacky, it’s so much easier,” I explain as I repeat with the other side and close my eyes while I fan my eyelids with my hand. “Then, you just stick the strip to the glue.”

“That’s a good tip. I’ll try it on the other side.” The wetness dissipates, and I reopen my eyes to press each lash strip to my eyelid with no hassle. “I’ve thought about lash extensions just for during the season, but they’re so expensive and time-consuming. It’s like getting my nails done. Too much time and cost.” I glance down at my nails and shift my eyes to the side. “Oh, Abby, I’m not throwing shade,” Sadie adds.

“It’s okay.” I bend my fingers to look at my freshly done nails. “It’s something Pete told me to do once, and I just kept going,” I mumble.

“Why would he want you to get your nails done?”

“It was for my birthday, but I kept doing it.” I perk up. “We should go get our nails done together sometime.”

“Maybe. For now, I’ll stick to my press-ons.”

“Fair enough.” I shift back to my makeup bag and pull out three lipstick options. “Should I do nude, pink, or red?”

“I’ll always tell you to do red,” Sadie replies. “You pull it off the best, and you should take every opportunity to do so.”

I grin at her and turn back to the mirror to apply it. “Thanks, Sade.”

This liquid lipstick is made of pure magic—long-lasting, glossy, and vibrant. I paint it on, and my eyes pop at the contrast. The last thing to do is put a little shimmer on my chest. I thought my days of using roll-on glitter were over after age eleven, but who knew professional cheerleading required it? Sadie borrows my glitter too, and the gold sparkles stand out more against her tanned skin. She hands the glitter back, and I stash it in my makeup bag and retrieve the beaded bracelet I made with gold, black, and white beads.

“You should make me one of those,” Sadie says.

“I totally will! And I’ll make one for your daughter, too,” I add.

“Aw, she’d love that!”

Carina speaks over everyone’s voices to get our attention. We all gather in our halter tops and mini-shorts for her announcements, notes, and tunnel assignments. It’s the usual pre-game routine I’ve come to expect, and nothing has changed much since our last practice. Unsurprisingly, she’s making me stand closest to the tunnel while she and her favorites are more on the field and in the public eye, but she puts Sadie next to me.

As kickoff approaches, we all gather onto the field, lining up in two rows to face each other. The first home game I cheered at surprised me because the crowd noise was almost a faint background buzz from the field compared to the games I attended before joining the squad. The sun pours in through the open stadium roof and makes our gold pompoms glint brightly. The stands are full of black and gold for the Stallions, with just a few hints of blue to represent today’s visiting team. A song starts over the stadium speakers with a deep bass.

“Welcome your Iron Stallions!” an announcer says.

We start shaking our pompoms to hype the guys as they run out, and as expected, Pete is one of the first to come out of the tunnel with Coop right behind him. I watch them run out and glance back at the tunnel just as Josh and Dane run out in their black and gold uniforms. I only catch a glimpse of Dane’s seventy-one as Josh and I make eye contact. The shoulder padding on his already broad shoulders makes him look like a wall, and he grins widely at me. I return the grin, but it fades to a frown when he has to look forward again. I remember to smile and continue shaking my pompoms before anyone notices but glance over at Carina, who’s across from me. She grimaces and looks away.

“What was that?” Sadie asks when all the players are out.

“What?” I mouth to her.