Page 11 of Totally Opposed

“Look, those kids are wild. No one can control them. I told Duckie to watch them. It’s his fault,” he says, and further up, I spot Duckie’s arm in the air flipping him the bird.

“Was not!” Duckie yells back.

“Was too,” Harrison continues. “Blame him. Gotta go. See you out there,” he says before turning and jogging up the hallway to catch up with the others.

They’ll wait in the dugout until we jump down, then join us on the field for the rest of the number.

“Ready?” Alan asks, turning to me.

“As I’ll ever be,” I reply, and we jog out. Will and Frankie are waiting with devices to record, and they follow us into position into the stands.

Frankie is with me, and his face is flushed, and his hands shake as he holds the device up in front of me. The crowd around us cheers and hollers.

“You okay?” I ask him.

“I’m good. I just don’t want to mess it up.”

“Hey, I’ve had one run-through in a hallway. I think if anyone’s going to mess up, it’ll be me.”

“But what do I do if you mess up?”

“Make sure you get it on camera.”

He smiles, and his hands steady, and it’s just in time. The intro music kicks in, and like magic, the crowd falls silent. Spotlights land on Alan and me.

Performing in front of thousands of strangers is the biggest rush, and right now, my heart is like a jackhammer in my chest, but I don’t let it throw me off. I strut my stuff down those stairs, belting out the lyrics at the top of my lungs. Then halfway down, my gaze locks with Alan’s, and it’s like the whole stadium sips away, and it’s just us. He’s smiling wide, big brown eyes glistening, and those freaking adorable deep dimples right on show.

It’s like we’re singing to each other and only to each other, and somehow, I manage to make the turn without realizing, and then his hand is holding mine, and we’re stepping down the backs of the seats towards the railing. There’s a pause in the lyrics.

“Are you ready?”

“For anything,” I reply, my heart in my throat, and then he steps down from the last chair and pulls me into his arms. I want to bury my face in his neck again, to feel the warmth of his skin on my lips, but I keep myself together and sing while his long legs climb over the rail, and then at the perfect moment, he jumps. Time slows down. It’s like I’m floating through space, wrapped in a cocoon of vanilla, and it’s perfect. Until with an oomph, we land on the red dirt, and he stumbles just a little. I hold onto him tight, his arms flexing around me, and when he manages to find his footing, the players in the dugout run onto the field to surround us.

“Sorry,” he whispers into my ear, lowering me down.

“Fine, I’m. I mean, I’m fine,” I mumble, and we continue through the number, my heart pounding in my ears the entire time.

***

“You’re perfect together.” Dennis cheers when he spots me coming out of the locker room the next day, and he flips his device around to show me the video of Alan and me. “Meet me after training in the conference room. I’ve got big plans for you two.”

“Umm, okay,” I reply, trying to sound unfazed when really, the idea of getting to do more one-on-one numbers with Alan has my stomach in a spin. He might be the enemy on the field, but maybe off the field, we could be something else, something more. What happens after game day is nobody’s business. Right?

Chapter six

Alan

“Okay, my star-crossed lovers,let’s take advantage of this momentum and get some more stuff out there,” Dennis says when he enters the conference room.

“Star crossed what now?” I ask, and he smiles a cheeky grin.

“Your little performance at the last game is trending on socials. Everyone is talking about it.”

“I don’t think it’s everyone.” Ryan blushes.

“Anyone who’s obsessed with Banana Ball is and as far as we’re concerned, that’s everyone.”

“But we aren’t—” I start but can’t even bring myself to say the words out loud.

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