“I've only been waiting for you to ask me that for months now, Gage,” Stacy said with a triumphant smile. She'd thought he had a thing for mousy little Mia but she must have been reading that wrong.
Gage felt a twinge of guilt for asking Stacy out but he ignored it. Mia made it pretty clear they were just friends so he'd have to just get over it. “Let's get outta here, den,” he said and they walked out of school together.
Mia
The day was over and Mia couldn't get away from school fast enough. She always felt so awkward around Gage. It had started in the summer, when she really started dealing with 'teenage hormones' as her mama called them. She liked him, a lot, but she knew he just saw her as a younger sister. They'd grown up together, after all. His teasing was just that; teasing. He didn't mean anything by it.
Besides, she knew what she looked like. She was short, her red hair was a riot of curls when she didn't braid it, and she wasn't as pretty as Stacy or the rest of the girls who followed Gage around school. As for Gage, he was gorgeous. He was tall, broad shouldered, muscular, and all the girls in school wanted him. He could have his pick of any of them.
By the time she got home she was feeling glum. It was times like now she wished she had a girlfriend to talk to. Most of her real friends were boys and she definitely wasn't telling any ofthemabout her problem.
“Hey, sis. What's wrong?”
Mia groaned. Beau was on the football team with Gage so she'd expected him to be at school still. She should have known he'd come home to get something to eat before he went back for practice before the game. “Nuthin',” she muttered.
“Don't give me dat, Mia. Someting is botherin' you.”
“Just havin' a bad day, is all. I got a C on dat English test I studied for all week.” English was her weakest subject and it frustrated her. Why couldn't she breeze through it like she did math and science? At least she had something she could say to explain her bad mood.
“Don't beat yourself up over it, you'll do better next time,” he encouraged.
Mia snorted. “Yeah, right. And pigs fly. I don't know why it's so hard to keep it straight in my head. Shouldn't you be at practice?” she asked to change the subject.
“Came home to eat first. I was just getting' ready to go back. You gonna be at da game?” He knew the answer before he asked but he always asked anyway. His younger sister always came to cheer them on.
“You already know I will be. It's not fair dey won't let me play just cuz I'm a girl,” she said with a growl. “I might as well cheer you on since I can't be on the field wit' you.”
Beau ruffled her hair, tugging it a bit from the ponytail she had it in. “You wouldn't be on da team even if dey did let girls on it. You'd be squashed,” he teased. Mia had taken after their mama; she was still a tiny thing.
Mia stuck her tongue out at him. “Go on, I'll see you at da game,” she said and went to get a snack to munch on while she worked on homework until she had to leave.
By the time she got back onto school grounds the stands were packed. The Benjamin Franklin High School Falcons were doing really well this year. As a result there were more and more people attending the games every week. Mia managed to find herself a spot fairly close to the field and settled in to watch the game. By the time the first half was almost over the team was ahead by two touchdowns.
Gage was on the sidelines for the moment and Mia started to move closer to the fence to say hello to him when she froze. Her eyes widened and then filled with tears. Before she'd even reached the ground, Stacy stepped over to him and Gage draped his arm over her shoulder. It wasn't something he'd ever done before but what really hurt was the quick kiss he gave her.
She was so stupid. Of course he was going to date a cheerleader. He was on the team, it was expected. Besides, just because she had a crush on him didn't mean he felt the same way about her. She slunk back to her seat and wiped her eyes before anyone noticed the tears. She sat there staring out at the field and barely registered the end of the first half of the game.
The second half passed by in a blur. If she had to answer questions about anything that happened she wouldn't have been able to do it. As the stands began to clear she finally approached the fence where her brother was leaning against it. “Good game.”
“Like dere was any doubt?” Beau grinned. “You should head on home now, Mia. I'll bet mama could use your help getting' da little ones to bed.”
Mia frowned. “You're not comin'?”
“Naw. Dere's a party tonight, figure I should make an appearance.”
“Oh. Do mama and papa know you're goin' to a party?”
“No, and you're not gonna say no'ting either, right?”
Mia sighed. “Just don't go gettin' in any trouble, or gettin' hurt.”
“I won't. Go on now. If mama asks just tell her some of us went to get pizza after da game.”
She knew she probably shouldn't lie for her brother but he always looked out for her so this was the least she could do. “Okay.” She started to ask if Gage was going to the party too but stopped herself before the words could come out. She didn't want to know if he was going to be there with Stacy.
She joined the flow of people leaving the stands. She thought she heard Gage call her name but she ignored him. She knew if she stopped to talk to him she'd start to cry and embarrass herself in front of everyone.
Gage
