Page 75 of Fraternizing with the Enemy
But I cut him off. “No, no, it’s too late. It’s already marked in my calendar.Whatever Logan wants to do.”
“Next time,” Logan murmured in promise. “Even though it wastechnicallyyour idea to get manicures.”
I looked down at my light blue nails, smirking. “Admit it, you liked it.”
Logan hadn’t chosen colored polish, of course, but Ihadtalked him into getting a clear coat Saturday after stopping by the game store. He watched me throughout it all with a sour look on his face, but I would swear that every time I looked away, I’d catch him smiling from the corner of my eye.
“I admit nothing.” Logan chuckled, a soft sound that skated across my skin. “Want to meet at Expresso’s, then? Say, six?”
“Let’s meet at six-thirty.” That would give me time to freshen up after practice, and I wouldn’t be showing up all sweaty and frizzy. “And actually… do you want to pick me up?”
“Madison?” A knock came at my door. “Are you talking to someone in there?”
My pulse jumped in surprise, but my bedroom door remained closed. She normally never caught me—she usually was already in bed. “Just Jade!”
“Phonesoff.” She knocked on the door again for emphasis. “It’s almost eleven.”
“Let’s say goodnight here,” Logan murmured, cutting me off when I started to object. “I don’t want to get you in trouble. Six-thirty, Wednesday, your place. I’ll see you then?”
I didn’t want to hang up. I wanted to lie back on my pillows, stare up at the ceiling, and talk with him until we fell asleep. I wanted to listen to Logan’s voice to drown out the incessant buzz of my own. “It’s a date,” I said instead.
We hung up, leaving me alone in the silence of my room. Jade owed me this, I decided. If I was going to ask Coach to cut me as a co-captain, I was allowed to go on another date with Logan. I wouldn’t feel guilty about it, and I wouldn’t second-guess it. Not when Logan was the only thing that felt right lately.
And that, alone, was a strange thought. In a Bobcat world, how could a Bulldog feel right?
Wednesday, it rained hard during the school day, and since it turned the football field into a muddy mess, Coach Chelsea moved our practice into the gym after school. I was more than a little jealous of the football players, whose practice got cancelled entirely. The extra two hours to do my homework and then get ready for my mystery date with Logan would’ve been nothing short of heavenly.
But, no, instead I had to be at Jade’s side during practice.
Both at today’s practice and yesterday’s, Coach Chelsea barely looked at me. I couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing—and then I couldn’t tell whichwasa good thing or a bad thing. Did IwantCoach to look at me? Did I not want her to? Did I want her to demote me from co-captain? Did I not?
I knew what Jade wanted, but what didIwant?
Today, we worked on the trophy pose again. Coach wasn’t satisfied, and Jade couldn’t quite hold the ending beat.
I wiped my sweaty palms against my shorts before tightening my grip on Jen’s wrists. Coach counted usoff above the music playing over her CD-player, and my arms burned as we launched Jade into the air. I locked onto her ankles, as if my will alone would hold her steady. For a moment, the only sound in my head was my heartbeat.
And, for a moment, everything was perfect.
Until Jade wobbled. My gaze darted around everyone’s hands in the base, but we were all white-knuckled and holding firm. Jade was the one who didn’t balance.
The music ended, and it was punctuated by Coach’s loud sigh as Jade dropped into our basket. “Jade,” Coach began, walking over. “Haven’t you been working on your core like we talked about?”
“Of course!” she returned, light voice echoing. “My base just doesn’t feel reliable. I can feel it waver.”
The muscles in my shoulders ached. We hadn’t wavered.
And Coach knew it. Her eyes were sharp as she eyed Jade, weighing her next words. “Madison. I want you to lead cool-downs today.”
I froze under her zeroed-in stare until Jade jumped up between us. “Of course, Coach, we can?—”
Coach Chelsea interrupted. “JustMadison.”
Sweat slid down my spine. All the girls seemed to shift awkwardly. Jade fell in line with the rest of the girls, staring at my shoes while I faced the rest of them.
For a long moment, it was like my brain had no idea how to move forward. I felt like a fraud standing before everyone. They had no idea I’d asked to jump ship as the co-captain on Monday. And maybe that was why Coach put me on the spot—to make me squirm.
“Let’s start with some cross body shoulder stretches,” I told the girls, voice quivering only just a little. “Makesure to really pull your arm across—you’ll regret it if you don’t.”
