Page 147 of Fraternizing with the Enemy
“I needed someone who would look out for the good of the squad as a whole, not just for the good of themselves.” Coach glanced over at the squad, and they quickly looked away, as if trying to hide the fact they’dclearly been eavesdropping. “I needed you to balance her out.”
“I’m sure someone else could step up and balance her out,” I told her. “Jen’s form has been really good?—”
“Jade’s off the squad, Madison.”
Those words shocked me even more than the fact that she hadn’t wanted Jade as captain. Because—what? Jade, who lived and breathed cheerleading, was off the squad? “Why?”
“Her parents pulled her.”
Each blow was worse than the last. I let out a sharp breath. “From the squad?”
“From Brentwood.”
Her parents pulled her from Brentwood. Brentwood didn’t seem to be able to exist in my mind without the presence of Jade Dyer. They went hand in hand, inextricable.Her parents pulled her from Brentwood. “My—my mom didn’t say?—”
“I spoke with her parents this afternoon when they returned her uniform. Apparently, it’s been planned for a while now, but they just weren’t sure when. Her father took a job in New York, and they need him at the start of next week.”
The image of Jade sobbing filled my mind, the day she’d come to my house in the middle of watchingRomeo and Juliet.My dad… He got a job offer in New York. It hadn’t been a lie after all. I took a breath in, but it was like the oxygen couldn’t touch my lungs. They burned, empty. “Oh.” It was all I could say.
“Get me through the end of the football season,” Coach persuaded, and even though it didn’t sound like a question, I knew it was one. “Be my captain until the lastfootball game. And if by then, if you still want to quit, I’ll let you.”
“I don’t know if the girls will follow me,” I said quietly. “After everything?—”
“They will.” Coach raised her voice, looking at the squad. “Because my squad cares about their own more than they care about gossip. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes, Coach!” they harmonized, and then Gina stepped forward. “Seriously, Mads. We’re on your side.”
“Even though you’re kissing the enemy,” Kaitlin muttered, and Jen elbowed her in the side.
“At least she’s getting kissed,” Nina clapped back, propping a hand on her hip. “When’s the last timeyouwere kissed, huh, Katie?”
They began bickering in earnest, and some of the girls stepped in trying to calm them down. I watched them with a touch of affection. But as the girls shifted, I found myself meeting Riley’s gaze. She was frowning at me, but so separate from the other girls, as if free floating within them. Without her leader, she seemed almost… lost.
Coach turned to me, as if saying,see? I need you.
I dragged my thumb over the uniform still in my grip, looking down at the blue and gold captain embroidery. An honor. I could still remember the day Coach had called my name, even though my reaction in my memory was clouded by Jade’s. She’d been shocked, scrambling to hide her offended expression.
Before, I’d wondered if I’d liked cheerleading because I genuinely liked it, or because Jade had liked it. This was my chance to find out—to findme. “’Til the end of the season,” I told Coach, even though those words tasted like an immediate lie.
She slapped me on the shoulder. “Go get changed, or I’ll make you cheer in jeans.”
I actually chuckled. “Yes, Coach.”
The bell to Expresso’s Café dinged as I nudged the door open, and just like the Friday all those weeks ago, it was packed. The line of people waiting to order stretched to the door, and the second I walked in, everyone turned—and glared. I was in my Brentwood cheer uniform, wearing the colors like a badge of honor in enemy territory.
I smiled at the girl in the nearest booth, who wore Jefferson black and red. She didn’t smile back.
The line shuffled forward, and my heart picked up its pace every time I inched along. A tall man stood in front of me, which I was grateful for, because I could hide almost perfectly behind his broad shoulders. It was cowardly, but I needed to build my courage.
Plus, too, hiding gave me the chance to change my mind and bolt without him seeing me.
But all too soon, the tall man, after having placed his order, stepped aside. “I’ll be right—” the barista began, and then stopped as recognition set in. “What are you doing here?”
The question itself wasn’t outright hostile, but it wouldn’t surprise me with our history. Noah blinked at me, his eyebrows ducking underneath the rims of his glasses. My palms all at once felt far too sweaty, and I wiped them on my skirt.
Before I had a chance to reply, he said, “Logan doesn’t work Fridays.”
“I-I know.”
