Four
Stacy
I always know my best friend is getting a little wine-drunk when she’s trying to text her shitty on-again, off-again ex and crying about musical theater.
“Elphaba and Glinda really were changed for the good because they knew each other,” Mae whimpers, her nearly empty glass of cabernet clutched to her chest with one hand and her phone in the other.
I empty the remaining red wine from the bottle into my glass. “If you’re texting Landon right now, I swear I’m turning off Wicked .” I gesture to the shitty quality YouTube video Mae pulled up on my living room TV of the Broadway musical, taking a long drag from my wine.
Lord knows I need a drink after the day I had.
Reece Taylor. Reece fucking Taylor. It’s like Propst has suddenly lost all respect for me and wants me to suffer. What crime have I committed? What sins do I need to repent for to reverse the nightmare of Reece Taylor being partially responsible for my cheerleading career?
Mae looks scandalized by my assumption, her mouth hanging ajar while her wild, red curls bounce around her slender face. I’ve always felt like Mae’s untamed mane is a perfect metaphor for her personality. She’s unabashed, beautiful, wild, and the epitome of what it means to be a best friend.
Even if she consistently makes poor decisions when it comes to men.
Particularly, when it comes to her long-term boyfriend Landon who has been caught cheating multiple times.
Some people drink, some people smoke, some people do illicit drugs.
Mae’s vice just happens to be idiot hockey boys who can’t keep their dicks in their pants.
“He texted me first ,” she squeaks.
I roll my eyes, hoisting myself off of my cozy cream couch to retrieve another bottle of wine from the tiny kitchen of my student apartment.
All of the upperclassmen student athletes at Wing Haven live in a UOWH-provided apartment complex.
It’s a stellar deal because the apartments are within walking distance from campus, are updated and spacious for a college place, and are free to those of us at the university on an athletic scholarship.
Not to mention this means living in the same complex, sometimes the same building, as your teammates and best friends.
Mae and I are one building apart, making wine nights incredibly easy as we never have to worry about getting home safely.
I couldn’t ask for anything better than living in the same place as my team and my friends.
I could do without living in the same complex as Reece, though.
We don’t cross paths very often since the complex is fairly large and comprised of quite a few buildings, but the knowledge that he’s here, that we share the same pool, same gym, same walking path around the lake, just pisses me off.
Most things about Reece piss me off and I’ve never really paused to truly consider why.
Mostly because I don’t care to figure it out.
“Second bottle?” Mae asks, her red brows raised over her glassy eyes as I return to the living room with a pinot noir in hand.
Usually during the season, I try not to overindulge too much when it comes to alcohol. I don’t want to feel like shit at practice or a game and more than that, I know I’m at my peak performance as an athlete when I don’t have alcohol in my system. But I’ve had a shit day, okay?
I shrug, uncorking the bottle and refilling our glasses. “Just trying to relax.”
“Just trying to forget about your new stunt buddy?” she challenges before fiddling with my remote to turn on Grease .
I groan against the rim of my glass. “Must we discuss it?”
“What’d Reece do to you, anyway?” she forges on, ignoring my question.
I sigh. “He’s cocky and arrogant.”
“He’s happy .”
“Too happy.”
“I’m happy,” Mae argues as Danny and Sandy run around the beach on-screen.
“You’re happy but you take cheer seriously.
You know that the way you act and how you perform impacts your whole team.
Reece is flighty, he doesn’t think like that.
He lives in a perfect world where everything is wonderful and sparkling.
Why would he need practice if he’s already perfect, right?
The world will just fall right into his stupid lap,” I huff, flopping back against my couch and scowling at the TV.
Mae regards me with amusement. “He told you all of that? ”
I loll my head to the side to shoot her a glare.
“Okay, fine.” She holds up a hand defensively. “You’ve got to work with him, though. You’re a little more than teammates this year and you know deep down that Reece isn’t a bad guy.”
I blow out a noisy breath. “I guess,” I concede.
“Plus, that man is a sight for sore eyes. I mean, I know we’re teammates so we’re not supposed to fraternize or whatever but, damn.” Mae whistles. “If the opportunity presented itself, I would climb that boy like a tree.”
A groan slips out before I can stop it, but I don’t form a rebuttal.
Truthfully, I can’t. Reece might drive me insane, but I’m still a woman with fully functioning eyes and a sex drive.
He’s got the most annoyingly beautiful green eyes, the kind of green that’s always streaked with browns and blues and grays, the kind of green you could get lost in for hours just to find all the hidden hues.
His chestnut hair has been the same since I met him at eighteen years old, loosely cut and wavy on the sides.
The locks always look silky, a softness that begs to be touched.
Or pulled, depending on how annoying he’s being.
With the sharp angles of his face and the chiseled body of an athlete, Reece Taylor really is the whole package. At least, physically.
Too bad his lack of respect for hard work and dedication makes his physical attributes null in my opinion.
“No defense is no defense, Stace,” Mae taunts, poking my thigh with her toe. “And in case no one’s told you, it’s okay to want to sleep with somebody even if they drive you crazy.”
“Hm, learn that thanks to Landon?” I bite back.
Mae juts her chin out in defiance. “Just for your information, I haven’t even texted him back. ”
“Yet.”
Her cerulean eyes roll. “At least I’m consistently getting dick. That’s why I’m so happy, Stace. You should try it sometime,” she taunts.
“I get dick!” I scoff.
I mean, I have .
Don’t get me wrong. My sex life or lack thereof is not because there are not bountiful suitors knocking at my door.
I’m just busy. Cheer is what matters, being the best I can be at my sport is all I care about.
I need to stay sharp, both physically for cheerleading and mentally to get through my godforsaken classes so I can keep being a student athlete.
I don’t have time to download a dating app to find a suitable hookup and the few one-night stands I’ve had post-frat party since I’ve been in college have been incredibly subpar.
I’m better off on my own with my tried and true vibrator at this point.
“Baby, I’m gonna hold your hand while I say this,” Mae says, placing her hand over mine and resting them both on my thigh. “Getting laid and getting laid are very different things.”
I stare blankly at her as she shrugs and leans back. “I have no idea what that means.”
Mae snorts against the rim of her glass. “Trust me. When it happens, you’ll know. You’ll be having pillow talk thinking, ‘Holy shit. My best friend was so right. She’s so wise.’”
“Mhm. So wise. What’s Landon saying, by the way?”
Mae turns her attention back to the movie, mumbling something about me being a know-it-all while I smirk.
My best friend is wise; in every area of life that doesn’t have to do with men or romance .
I’m about to probe Mae for more information regarding her disastrous boy toy when my mother’s name pops up on my phone.
Stifling a groan, I set down my wine and answer the incoming FaceTime.
Instead of just my mother’s slender face and perfectly coiffed blonde hair on the other side, my whole family fills up my screen.
“Oh, Jesus, you’re all here,” I say before I can stop myself, taking in the wide grins of my mom, my dad, my older sister, and my brother-in-law, Atticus .
“Hi, Stace!” Mom sings, her unnaturally white teeth flashing under her filler enhanced lips.
I love my mother. I love my father and, honestly, I love Charlotte. They’re all incredibly successful, talented, intelligent individuals and I have the utmost respect for all of them.
Even if I do find myself green with jealousy when I compare myself to my older sister.
Point is, as much as the trio can irritate me, I always have love and admiration for my family. A lawyer and two doctors is nothing to shake a stick at and I’ll forever be proud of their accomplishments.
However, that doesn’t damper the feelings of inadequacies I always feel concerning my family.
My parents became wildly successful and wealthy on their own terms and pushed my sister and me to do the same.
Charlotte followed suit, attending a prestigious undergrad program before pursuing medical school, but I’ve always felt a little left behind.
I feel like I haven’t quite hit the mark, haven’t impressed my parents quite like I should.
I’ve never been able to keep up with my sister’s constant successes and accomplishments and that’s been something that’s been hard for me to swallow as we’ve both gotten older.
It’s why I’ve become a little distant since college, why I’ve focused solely on cheer, on the one thing I know I can succeed at.
In addition to my sister’s wildly successful career path, she’s also managed to beat me in the love and boy department.
She married Atticus two years ago, her high school boyfriend who has been sickeningly devoted to her since they were seventeen.
He followed her to college for Christ’s sake, but hit the academic jackpot all on his own by perusing a degree in geotechnical engineering.
They’re all success stories. They’re all impressive.