I wave a hand dismissively, nervous laughter bubbling out of me. I’m at least more than average in an outsider’s eye. However, last time when I thought I was on top of the world and the best at this game, I learned it was better to celebrate your wins silently. “I’m just average, you’re making my head grow bigger.”
Tyler turns his full body to me. “You’re not average, Serena. You’re far more than average. You’re out of this world.”
I can’t tell if he’s complimenting my cheer skills or me as a person. Whatever the case it is, my heart’s racing and I can feel my cheeks betraying me once again. I hide my face away from him by covering with both hands. “Stop doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“That,” I say, keeping one hand on my face and using the other to gesture at him.
Tyler chuckles, which makes me uncover my face, only to scowl at him. “What am I doing?”
He’s lying and he knows it. “You know what you’re doing.”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
I cross my legs over on another, scowl still present on my face. “You’re confu–”
“Tyler, can we talk?” A voice cuts me off mid-sentence.
Our heads turn to the unexpected visitor to our conversation. I can feel Tyler’s body tense up as he sits upright in his seat. “Cassie.”
“Please?”
All eyes are on Tyler. He rubs a hand down his face and quietly groans. Annoyance replaces the energetic tone he had. He rises from his seat and offers me an apologetic smile. “I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”
I nod, feeling a tad bit dejected. I don’t know what I was expecting or hoping for. I don’t own Tyler. He’s not my boyfriend. I need to remind myself that he’s in some kind of thing with Cassie. As they walk, I notice her inching closer to him, but he doesn’t respond in the same way. Rather, he steps further and glances back at me a couple times with a look I can’t decipher.
I feel something strange. My throat tightens a little and my teeth grit. Am I… jealous?
I mean, I’d been trying hard to push everything away during our tutoring sessions, and our car rides together, and our meetings at the boba shop. But it’s just getting harder and harder. I can’t fake it anymore. I know I like this guy, and for a fleeting moment, I entertained the thought that maybe he could havefeelings for me, too. But who am I kidding to be thinking that? He just walked away with her.
But who am I to complain? He’s not mine. He never was to begin with, even if for a moment, I allowed myself to believe otherwise.
Chapter 19
Serena
The Skyline Vikings triumphantly win with a score of 20–16. The thrill, the adrenaline being on the sidelines cheering for my school is exhilarating. It’s like a new high that I’ve never felt before and I’m in disbelief that I never tried to go to a football game before.
Jared and I make it home before midnight. We opted out of the after-football activities like the parties or the late night bites at Liberty’s. We saunter over the threshold like zombies taking over the Collins-Inthavong household.
“Hey kids.” Ralph greets us from the living room.
“Hey.” Jared and I respond back in unison. We cross into the living room, a flood of instant peace relieving me of the pending muscle aches I’m going to feel this weekend.
“Great game tonight, Jared. Serena, I saw people post your tumbling on that clock app. You did amazing.” Ralph chimes in from the couch while looking at his phone over his glasses.
Aunt Lina rests her chin on the back of the couch to face us. “I’m sorry we couldn’t go, it’s been a little hard to go places without having to pee every five minutes.”
Jared waves a hand. “No big deal, you need the rest.”
We both sit on the opposite couch. We watch the action movie that’s on for a bit to catch up on much needed family quality time. Even though Jared and I are extremely tired, times like this are rare to have with the both of us getting older. So, we try to spend a few minutes catching up or spending time in pure silence.
I’m the first to call it a night. I start my night routine by playing one of my curated playlists calledget unready w me.
Ariana Grande’s pov quietly plays from my phone, not too loud, not too soft, just enough for me to hear as I decompress for the night. I wipe off my makeup, clean my lashes and hop into the shower. I walk back into my room, pulling on an oversized t-shirt and boxer shorts from my closet. I sink into my chair at my desk, my mind still haunted by my conversation with Tyler.
If Cassie hadn’t interrupted us, I might’ve accidentally confessed my feelings without considering the consequences. And that could be embarrassing. After all, he did go with her, he could like her still for all I know.
