I glance down at my contract.
Conduct (Pt. 2): It is strictly prohibited for members of CMC to fraternize with, or date, any NFL pro-player, but most pertinently, any member of the Canyon Mutineers football team, while under contract as a serving member of the CMC. This includes any phone contact or contact through social media platforms. Some professional, polite interaction is permitted where it is necessary for the benefit of the Mutineers team, but this shall be supervised. Players and cheerleaders are therefore forbidden to be sweethearts or enter into any kind of courtship with one another. Violation of any of these rules outlined above will result in immediate dismissal from the squad.
Jewel frowns. ‘You mean I can’t even talk to any guy on the team?’
Shawny’s snickering again. ‘You can’t even breathe the same air. Not unless you wanna get fired and have the pointy end of Kathleen’s Jimmy Choo stuck up your ass.’
Angel raises her eyebrows in Harmony’s direction. ‘Let’s just say Cap has an admirer on the football team and has done since she was a rookie.’
Jewel’s eyes light up. ‘Who?’
Angel raises an eyebrow. ‘I’m not sure y’all are supposed to know.’
Shawny’s lips twist. ‘Oh, come on,’ she whispers. ‘Everybody knows it’s Hudson Briar.’
Jewel’s eyes go wide. My gaze travels between them both. ‘Who is Hudson Briar?’ I ask.
‘Honey,’ Angel says. ‘I thought you was from Canyon?’
‘I am,’ I tell her. ‘But I don’t really have time to follow football.’
Shawny’s frowning at me. ‘What’s keeping you so busy?’
‘I have a job. Plus, I… I have to look after my dad. He’s not well.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ Angel says, with genuine sympathy.
‘Hudson Briar is a Mutineers wide receiver,’ Jewel informs me. ‘And he isall man,’ she adds in a low hum.
‘I’ll have to look him up,’ I say with a smile.
‘His brother Dalton is the captain of the Mutineers,’ Shawny adds.
‘So, what’s the deal with Hudson and Harmony?’ Jewel whispers.
‘He met her at a Mutineers event,’ Shawny says, still keeping her voice low and checking no one is listening. ‘Five years ago. Asked her out and she turned him down, knowing it wasn’t permitted. He’s been asking her out ever since. I heard two years ago she was gonna quit the squad, only Kathleen offered her the captaincy, and Hud Briar lost his mind.’
‘That’s garbage,’ Angel says. ‘The man only wants what he can’t have. He’ll be getting some elsewhere. And I swear, they haven’t even been on a date yet and he spends his time professing his undying devotion.’
‘He’s been waiting for her for five years, hasn’t he?’ Shawny argues.
‘I think that’s sweet,’ I say. ‘Romantic.’
Angel shakes her head. ‘Until reality sets in and it turns out they’re just hot for one another, and it all fizzles out like water on a scorchin’ hot tin roof.’
Shawny looks between us. ‘Y’all see the hot new recruit? The number fourteen?’
‘Which one?’ Jewel shoots back. ‘You mean the running back, Ja—’
The door opens and Kathleen stalks into the room, followed by her assistant whose name I haven’t learned yet. We all fall silent. I’ve only spoken to Kathleen on a handful of occasions, but each time she’s made an impression. As a former cheerleader herself, she has high expectations. I know the one thing I cannot do is let her down. ‘Okay, girls,’ she says, raising her voice the length of the room. ‘Does anybody have any questions before y’all sign your new contract?’
My eyes dart back down, because I haven’t finished reading yet. I can’t stop going back to clause four – the one about not bringing the Mutineers brand into disrepute. Which is exactly what I will do if anybody finds out what I do in the late-night hours.
I skim read the remainder of my contract. Some of the girls further down the table are already signing.
‘You know there are the unwritten rules too, don’t y’all, ladies?’ Angel says to me and Jewel, picking up her pen.
‘What unwritten rules?’ I ask.
