Catch Me If You Can (Wing Haven #1)

One

Stacy

“If you drop me, I’ll kick your ass,” I threaten with my left shin pulled nearly to my forehead.

I’m not exactly in the best position to be making threats and demands, but I digress.

“And that’s too many times!”

I can hear Jamie’s smirk as he speaks. “Maybe it’s because you fight with me when you should be focusing on tightening your core.”

Smart ass.

Even though he can’t see me, I roll my eyes anyway. Jamie’s always matched my sarcastic attitude and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Sir, yes sir,” I deadpan, pulling my leg a little tighter.

Even with our banter, I never feel more alive than when I’m stunting. Being with Jamie in Wing Haven’s practice gym is the closest I get to a high, all of my energy and focus channeled into whatever stunt we’re pulling. It makes me feel beautiful, it makes me feel feminine.

It makes me feel powerful.

And god knows I can use as much help as I can get in that department.

“Dunn! Torres! Dismount.” I hear a new voice enter the gym, bouncing off the rubber practice mats and the steel beams running across the ceilings.

I grin and tighten my core as Jamie pops me up, catching me at the waist and lowering me to the ground.

Turning, I smile up at him and he smirks right back, his thick lips pulling to the left as his honey brown eyes blaze.

He loves proving me wrong about a stunt but in this case, I’ll let him be right.

“Flawless as per usual, Stacy,” he says, flinging a tan arm over my shoulder.

“You’re lucky I love you, asshole,” I mutter before turning to our coach. “What are you doing here?”

Coach Propst walks up to us with her hands on her slender hips before throwing her arms around the both of us.

Her hugs are brisk, no-nonsense like her, and are always shrouded with the faint powdery scent of Chanel No.

5. “I could ask you two the same question. Conditioning doesn’t start for another week. ”

I shrug as she pulls back. “You know me. Never too early to get a jump on the season.”

Alright, maybe it is a bit early. Jamie and I started training independently for our cheer season two weeks ago, something Coach Propst knows nothing about.

If she did, I have a feeling we’d be reprimanded.

She’s constantly reminding us throughout the season to take time for ourselves, to rest and rejuvenate so that we don’t burn out.

Unfortunately, I’ve never felt like I’ve had the choice.

With an attorney for a mother, a cardiovascular surgeon for a father, and a wildly successful older sister finishing up her OB/GYN residency, excelling has always been my only option.

Cheerleading just happens to be the only thing I truly excel at.

Propst seems to be reading my thoughts like a book as she narrows her eyes at me. “You know, tryouts just ended a couple of months ago. A few weeks off isn’t going to kill you, Stace.”

“I know,” I lie.

Truthfully, if I don’t pour everything into cheer, I think it just might kill me.

“I need you performing at your best this season. It’s your last year and you’re the one the rest of the squad looks up to. Don’t overdo it.”

I nod, a knot tightening in my throat as I meander over to take a swig from my water bottle while Jamie and Propst fall into meaningless chatter.

Since tryouts ended in April, I’ve had a ball of dread sitting uncomfortably in my stomach.

My last year at the University of Ohio Wing Haven, and with the Sharks’ cheer squad, is coming faster than I ever thought it would.

It feels like I moved into my dorm, blinked twice, and woke up four years later with most of my college career behind me.

All my friends, my squad, my classmates are all gearing up for adult life.

They’re all excited to take the next step into the real world and I can’t stop the sinking feeling that they’re all leaving me in the dust.

I have no idea where I’ll be in a year. I just know that I won’t be in this gym with Jamie practicing partner stunts and that knowledge scares the absolute hell out of me.

I’d never let anyone see that, though. Not Coach Propst, not Jamie, not my best friend Mae, not my parents, and certainly not my older sister, Charlotte.

Fear is weakness and that’s one thing I’ll be damned before I’m perceived as.

Stacy Dunn is a lot of things; stubborn, hard-headed, a perfectionist, a bitch as my ex-lovers and old friends have said. But she’s not weak.

She also doesn’t typically refer to herself in the third person, but sometimes you have to roll with the punches.

“Stacy, while I’ve got you here, can I chat with you for a sec?” Coach asks from across the mat, jerking her head towards the hall.

The dread that’s made a permanent residence in my stomach grows but I nod and shuffle towards her, the rubber smell of the mats suffocating me. I wipe my sweaty palms on my spandex shorts and wave goodbye to my stunt partner.

“Same time tomorrow?” Jamie asks as he gathers his towel and gym bag.

“ No ,” Coach interjects. “You two need rest. I’ll whip your asses into shape when conditioning starts, I promise.”

“No practicing tomorrow, I swear,” I tell Propst. She shoots us a knowing look before turning and heading towards the hallway. I glance back at Jamie. “See you in the morning?” I whisper.

He just winks, hoisting his bag onto his shoulder and heading out the back exit.

I have to jog a little bit to catch up with Coach Propst and by the time I do, she’s turned to face me with her arms crossed over her chest. I try to work down a swallow, but it seems to get caught in my throat.

Shannon Propst is one of the most badass women I’ve ever met.

She’s shorter than me, which is saying something considering I’m standing at a resounding five feet two inches.

Regardless, her stout stature has no impact on her intimidation tactics and her crazy amount of cheerleading experience.

She started as a Shark just like the rest of us before moving on to be an NFL cheerleader.

Being a Bengals cheerleader has a shelf-life, however, so she made her way back to Wing Haven after five seasons on the squad.

She’s been the head of the cheerleading program here since before I could drive and I both love and fear every four feet eleven inches of this fierce woman.

“Everything okay?” I ask warily, matching her stance and folding my arms over my pink sports bra.

Coach Propst gives me a sympathetic smile before shoving a hand through her chestnut bod. “Depends.”

My stomach sinks as my mouth goes dry. “On what?”

“Well, you know, if you’re me.”

I hug myself a little tighter. “Go on.”

“Or you,” she supplies, leaning back against the wall.

I see the banners of our cheer squad lined up behind her, taking up space next to the banners of the basketball team, the football players, the hockey guys, dancers, and all the other collegiate athletes.

And for the life of me, I can’t stop it all from burning to the ground in my mind as I wait for Coach Propst to continue.

I just know whatever she’s going to say next is going to completely fuck up my senior season.

“Don’t hate me,” she starts.

I grit my teeth and squeeze my chest harder. “Not a promising preamble.”

Propst lets her mouth hang open for what feels like an eternity.

Every hair on my body is standing at attention and the silence nearly beats me to a pulp before she finally speaks.

“I’m telling you before I tell the rest of the squad because you’re my captain but…

I have to rearrange the team this year and Torres isn’t going to be your stunt partner anymore. ”

Just as I’d suspected. Shannon Propst just took some lighter fluid and a pack of matches and doused this whole gym in flames. It’s all imploding in front of my eyes.

I don’t care if that’s dramatic. Jamie and I have been partners since we were eighteen, since tryouts going into our first year of college.

I haven’t stunted with anyone else my entire collegiate career.

There’s a reason Propst named me captain this year, there’s a reason I’ve succeeded so wildly on this squad and most of it is thanks to Jamie Torres.

We’re fire together, we’re both dedicated and we know each other inside and out.

I know what makes him tick, he knows what pisses me off, but most of all, he’s become one of my best friends and I trust him more than anyone else.

When somebody’s throwing your body around willy nilly, trust is a pretty important aspect to have in that relationship.

“I need you to hear me,” Propst goes on while I feel the blood drain from my face. “Kennedy is leaving this year.”

“And?” I snap.

I know one of our sophomore flyers is transferring to Ohio State this year but what the hell does that have to do with me and Jamie?

“ And Wilkinson and I needed to fill her spot. There’s a girl transferring to Wing Haven from Florida State. Mackenzie.”

“Okay?” My ears are ringing and Shannon’s over here telling me some lore about a Florida girl named Mackenzie?

Propst heaves a sigh. “We thought about which pair to separate a lot, Stace. But we had to take emotions out of the equation and look at physical compatibility and experience level. Mackenzie and Jamie are going to work the best. And we have so much confidence in you to be an amazing stunter no matter who your base is.”

“Why wasn’t I involved in this decision?” I bite, gripping at my elbows so my hands don’t visibly shake.

A look of annoyance flashes across Shannon’s face. “You’re my captain, Stacy. Not my assistant coach. Coach Wilkinson and I did what we thought was best for the team. I’m sorry, but it’s done.”

I grind my teeth together as I stare at her heart-shaped face. Tears are threatening to overflow but I blink them back because, you know. Weakness and all that.

“Who’s my new partner?” I ask, my voice hushed so it doesn’t break.

I love my squad, don’t get me wrong. Every person is a valuable asset and every member of our team is a badass athlete in their own regard.

There are people I’m close with and people who I hardly speak to but at the end of the day, we’re a huge family who spends more time together than most actual families.

There’s only one man on the Wing Haven cheer squad that I can’t stand. He makes my toes curl in my cheer shoes every time he speaks and, while I’m a firm believer that violence is never the answer, I might just swing on him if the opportunity ever presents itself.

And the commiserating look on Shannon’s face tells me that I know exactly who my new stunt partner is.