Chapter 10

I walk into the gym where the girls are practicing and check my watch. They should be finishing practice in about ten minutes. Perfect timing. My eyes find Emilia’s immediately and her cheeks redden when she spots me. I bite back a grin as I pull my sweaty t-shirt over my head and let it fall to the floor as I walk to the stands to take a seat. Emilia’s eyes are on me the entire way, and I chuckle when she does some sort of twist and stumbles because she’s too focused on me. She blushes and forces her eyes back to her captain, but she doesn’t last long before she’s looking my way again. I put my arms behind my head, flexing my muscles.

Ever since we were suspended and Emilia watched me jack off, things have been different between us. She doesn’t know that I know she saw, and she definitely doesn’t know that I did it on purpose, but the way she acts around me is different now. She blushes when I’m too close to her and her eyes linger on my body in a way they never used to before. I found that I enjoy seeing her flustered far more than I enjoy seeing her pissed off. Since Mom would kill me if I dared pull a prank so soon after the whole fake weed debacle, I’ve been messing with Emilia in a different way instead.

I’ve been keeping my curtains open and I’ve been walking out of the shower with nothing but my towel on almost every day. And every single day, Emilia stands by her window, where she thinks I can’t see her. The way she looks at me when she does that makes me wonder if she might feel the same way I do. If nothing else, she must find me at least attractive enough to drop whatever she’s doing and watch me instead. I doubt I’m grossing her out — she’d just have closed her curtains if so.

I haven’t treated her to another show yet, but I’m planning on it. I love watching her flushed cheeks and her glowing eyes. I love imagining that she’s just a little bit turned on because of me. Emilia and Kate’s practice wraps up, and they both run up to me. Emilia looks really fucking hot in her cheering outfit. I’ve never had a thing for cheerleaders, but I can see the appeal now that Emilia is one. I can’t wait to have her with me at the next game. I can’t wait to make her proud on the field, knowing she’s right there watching me and cheering for me.

The girls walk up to me and I wrap my arms around both of them. Kate pulls away immediately, her face scrunching up in disgust, but Emilia lingers in my arms. I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her closer to me. She leans into me and drops her head to my shoulder. I can’t resist and lean in to brush my lips over her ear, giving her the softest kiss, if you can call it that at all. She sighs happily and blushes slightly, but it’s enough for me to realize she’s affected by me.

“Ugh,” Kate says. “You’re so gross, Carter. Why didn’t you shower after practice? Disgusting.” She brushes her arms with her hands as though she can clean off my sweat that way. Emilia pulls away from me too, but she does so reluctantly.

“You’re one to talk,” I tell Kate. “You never shower after cheering practice, and you always reek too. Pot and kettle and all that shit.”

Emilia rolls her eyes and walks towards the locker room. Unlike Kate and I, Emilia always showers. Pretty sure it’s because she’s just a clean freak and hates messiness and dirt. She doesn’t even smell, but I guess it makes her feel better, and it’s not like she takes very long anyway. Kate jumps up to follow Emilia into the locker room and I sit back down. Mom used to pick Kate up while I’d drive myself and Emilia home, but now that Emilia has joined the cheering squad, I suddenly find myself much more interested in staying late to get some extra practice in.

I grab my phone and start scrolling through my social media feed as I wait for the girls. Emilia is usually quick, but Kate loves hanging back and chatting with the vipers she’s calling her new friends. I don’t like a single girl on the cheering squad, other than Emilia and Kate. I’m pretty sure Emilia doesn’t like them either. She’s just doing this for Kate.

I’m worried about Kate. She has never really had friends other than Emilia. Until recently she was quite introverted and she’d only really come alive around Emilia and me. I’m happy to see her becoming so outgoing all of a sudden, but I’m also worried about what brought it on and about the girls she’s surrounding herself with. I know I can’t say anything to her, though. If I so much as mention to her they might have wrong intentions in approaching her, she’ll just snap and say I’m making things about me. And maybe I am. Maybe I’m wrong. God, I hope I am.

Some of the girls walk out of the locker room and make a beeline for me. I’m not sure what they did in there, because they’re still in their cheering outfits. I recognize them as the two girls Kate has been hanging out with most: Gabby and Layla, I believe.

“Hey Carter,” Gabby says. She walks right up to me and gets into my space. She puts her hand on my arm and I grit my teeth.

“Hi,” Layla murmurs. She’s far more demure and seems like she might actually be a half decent person. I’m not sure why she lets Gabby drag her around.

“It’s so nice of you to wait for your sister every day. My brother would never do that for me. You’re so nice to Kate,” Gabby says. “You really are a good brother. I’m kinda jealous.”

She giggles, but I fail to see what’s so funny. “Actually, do you think Layla and I could come with? We were thinking of hanging out with Kate anyway. It’s not healthy for her to spend all her time with Emilia. She needs some new friends, don’t you think?”

I’m holding onto my patience by a thread. Who the hell does this girl think she is? Is her brain malfunctioning or something?

“If you agreed to hang out with Kate, then I’m sure you can arrange your own ride,” I say, not playing along. Her expression falls, and it’s obvious that she’s not used to people not giving into her right away.

“Oh, uh… well, we’re going to your house anyway. Surely it doesn’t really matter if we tag along?”

She’s not wrong, and usually I wouldn’t have cared, but something about this girl just irritates me. I shrug. “I don’t have enough space in my car,” I lie. The five of us would fit just fine.

“Oh, well I guess we’ll just see you at your house later then,” Gabby says, her voice high pitched. Her good girl persona cracks just a little and she grits her teeth, revealing her annoyance at not getting her way. I smile to myself and shake my head.

“No, you won’t. I have plans. I won’t be home later.” I’m lying, but she doesn’t need to know that. I don’t want to hang out with her at all. I don’t even want her in my house. I have a feeling she’s one of those weirdos that would sneak into my room. The only girl that I’ll ever allow that type of batshit behavior from is Emilia. No one else.

“Oh, well… I guess we can come over tomorrow instead,” she says, startled. I frown at her and look at her through narrowed eyes.

“What does it matter if I’m there or not? You’re hanging out with my sister, right? Not with me. It doesn’t matter if you come over tomorrow or the day after. You won’t be spending any time with me.”

I try to be as clear as I can be. This is exactly what I was worried about. I vaguely recall Gabby trying to hit on me before she became friends with Kate, and I have this sinking feeling she’s befriended Kate to up her chances. She seems to have it in her mind that she and I should be together. The quarterback and the cheerleader. I’m not sure which teenage movie is playing in her head, but I’m not interested in playing along. Girls have been approaching Kate for years just to get to me when they don’t even know me, and I’m sick and tired of it. I’m tired of Kate getting hurt because of yet another fake friend. I know how this ends.

Gabby’s expression falls. “What?” she says. “You don’t want to hang out with us? Why?”

I cross my arms and stare at her. “Why the hell would I? You’re my sister’s friend. Not mine.”

She blinks at me, as though I’ve just said something absurd. “But you hang out with Emilia all the time. I’ve seen you two hang out together, even when Kate isn’t there. When Kate is sick, you still drive Emilia to school. She’s your sister’s friend too.”

I laugh. I can’t help it. “Make no mistake,” I tell her, my voice low. “Emilia is indeed Kate’s friend, but she’s also very much mine.”

Gabby swallows hard and looks away, frustrated and angry. She shoots me a look that tells me she isn’t going to give up easily, and I pull a hand through my hair. I can’t believe I have to put up with this shit.