Page 68 of The Kid Sister

Dad cleared his throat, maybe speechless for the first time in his life, but Mom suffered no such affliction, “That’s fantastic, Cullen,” she gushed. “Oh that’s marvelous! Isn’t that wonderful, Abe? Sierra is just adorable.”

“Yeah,” I muttered, trying to suppress a smile while my mouth was full of food, “I think so, too.”

Chapter 20

Sierra

School spirit was highthe next day, the historic victory mentioned in every class, just in case anyone had missed hearing about it. I didn’t have much hope that I’d run into Cullen because the football team would be having their five minutes of fame with interviews and photo shoots and talking to recruiters.

Cullen hadn’t committed to a college yet, but of course there were offers. I guessed that would be the next pressure he’d have to face, making a decision on where to study. Sawyer had no such stress, he intended to go to the same college as my brothers, a mere three hour drive away. And while Reilly would graduate in spring, Grayson had another year to finish his computer science degree.

“So, is it true?” Emma and I hadn’t even sat down at the lunch table when Tess and Kenzie fired the questions. “Did you really kiss Cullen?”

“More like Cullen kissed her,” Emma said, taking over as if she was my Personal Assistant and answering for me. “It was amazing.” Emma lowered her voice to a hush. “Cullen blatantly kissed her in front of everyone. Siri looked livid.”

The girls sniggered, Emma embellishing the story for a little drama. Meanwhile, my fumbling fingers opened my juice box and accidentally sprayed my blouse.

“Ooh, is someone nervous?” Tess teased, handing me a napkin to soak it up.

I mumbled something about the box being faulty and dabbed at my blouse, but it only made the stain bigger.

“Have you seen Cullen today?” Emma asked, nudging my elbow to cause my juice to spill again, though thankfully it was over the table. I mopped that up, too.

“No,” I said, “the team’s been doing interviews and photos, so I don’t think—”

“Ooh, here they come,” Kenzie said, alerting us to the team making their entrance.

A chant of“Char-gers, Char-gers”started up and Danny came through with the trophy held high. With a couple of the other boys, he moved around the room displaying it for kids to take photos.

“Hashtag state champions,” the boys called. Everyone cheered as they weaved through the tables.

Cullen and Tennessee were at the fruit bar filling their trays. My heart palpitated as Cullen casually headed in our direction, his eyes zoning in on me. Emma had already seen it and reorganized the whole table, making Tess and Kenzie shift seats to allow Cullen to sit next to me.

“Hey,” he said, nodding to the girls who giggled and blushed as he sat down. He mentioned to Emma how great the band had played and asked Tess and Kenzie if they’d been at the game. They nodded like they were in awe that the football captain had spoken directly to them. I know I was—in awe, I mean. That he’d joined the lunch table with a bunch of juniors.

Cullen picked up the wholewheat turkey and salad sandwich from his tray. The protein shake, fresh fruit salad and yogurt indicated he was still on his regimented diet and that last night’s ice cream had been a treat.

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