Page 26 of The Cheerleader

He makes a zipping his lips gesture, and I laugh.

Finishing the last sip of my soda, I unfold myself and stand. “I want more practice on that mini tramp. Maybe I’ll try for a double somersault. Who wants to spot me?”

Judy laughs, not taking me seriously.

Liz jumps to her feet, ready to help me. “Let’s go.” She walks with me back to the mini tramp, but she’s preoccupied, watching the football team as they practice.

I nudge her. “You watching Bryan?”

She smiles. “Of course. I can never get enough of him. I really want to see him. Maybe I’ll go over to his apartment again, but not as late this time.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

She looks at me with surprise that I’m questioning her. “Why not? We’re friends. I have his key, remember?”

“It’s just that last time…”

“I was drunk. He doesn’t like it when I drink.” She shrugs and looks down. I’m really surprised to hear her say this.

“Everyone in college drinks.” I don’t know why I feel compelled to come to her defense, but I do, even though there’s something about Liz drinking that bothers me too—because of her father’s drinking problem, I guess.

“Everyone but Bryan,” she says. “I won’t drink next time I see him. I’ll make sure of it.” She crosses her heart like she’s making a promise.

I’m unreasonably pleased about her determination not to drink, and I grin at her.

“Okay, girl scout, let’s hit this mini tramp and see if I can stick a landing without falling on my rear.”

Chapter Seven

Bryan

I grunt on impact. “Fuck.” Holding the football to my chest, I barely make it to the sidelines with Mack Delaney diving after me. As he hits me, I crash into a couple of cheerleaders, then roll to a stop as they scatter. Fuck. I manage to keep that one under my breath as the girls’ shouts and screeches hit my ears.

“Sorry. You okay?” Mack asks. He’s already on his feet because I cushioned the bastard’s fall. But he’s not talking to me.

Hefting myself off the ground, I frown. Coach Torino blows the whistle and sends some freshmen in for a rep in our places.

A couple of girls giggle as they reassure Mack that they're fine. They're all smiles. Eldridge comes off the field and heads for us instead of going to the bench. As I'm about to head back, he stops me.

“You ladies okay?“ he asks. Here we go. “Sorry about the throw. I didn’t mean to aim it so close to where you’re…” He waves his hand like he’s not sure what they’re doing.

One of the girls, the new girl who was with Liz last night, says, “Practicing.” I swear she looks familiar, like I know her from somewhere else, from before, but she wasn’t on the squad last year. I would know. You can’t spend any time with Liz McNeil and not know everything about the UConn cheerleaders whether you want to or not.

“What’s that contraption for?” Eldy points to the mini tramp.

Mack laughs and takes off, heading for the bench. I should follow him, but I feel obligated to stick with Eldy, so I stand rooted to the spot even though I’m dying of thirst.

“It’s a mini tramp,” I say. My parched voice sounds gruff, not that it matters. I turn to the new girl. “You should move it down toward the defensive end zone to stay out of the way.”

She gives me a surprised look.

“What my charming friend means,“ Eldy says, ”is that he’s concerned for your safety.” He grins at her while a few other cheerleaders stand and watch. I glance over to see Liz with a couple of the guys, all business, working on a stunt.

“I’m Dane Eldridge, quarterback. This grump is Bryan.” He tilts his head in my direction, and I frown to confirm his grump comment. “And you are?”

“Susie Bennett. Nice to meet you, Dane.” She’s aiming her pretty face at Eldy and looking at him like he’s an interesting artifact. Susie Bennett… I swear I know her from somewhere besides UConn. She glances at me. “It’s nice to meet both of you.” I’m glad she doesn’t mention our meeting last night. I’d just as soon keep that late-night visit quiet, especially from Eldy.

I grunt and push Eldy in the direction of the bench where we belong. He winks at Susie and says under his breath, “See you tonight at Husky’s,” as if she’s a lip reader.