Chapter 1
Olivia Ruiz picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder.
She knew trying out for the cheerleading squad would be tough but she had practiced her dance moves in the empty basement every night.
She sensed the beat, the pulse, and the sensuous rhythm as Prince sang about a sexy motherfucker.
She had her routine nailed, but in the world of Kimmies, Winnies, and Jennies, a plain old Olivia from the wrong side of the tracks didn’t stand a chance.
Olivia walked with her head down, not wanting to see the stares of the teams on the field or the athletes on the track.
She could feel her skin begin to prick and her heart raced as she sensed someone behind her.
She slowed and turned to look over her shoulder. Fuck. “The ies” were running after her.
“Oliiivaaa. Wait for us. You forgot your poncho.” She could hear their taunts and giggles as they got closer.
“Hey, Olivia. No habla Espanola, can you understand us?”
Which one was that? Kimmie? Olivia couldn’t tell their valley girl voices a part to save her life.
What bitches! It wasn’t a poncho. Sure, she had the last name Ruiz and the coloring to go with the name, but she didn’t speak more than a few words of Spanish…
How racist could these girls get? Olivia sped up and started to scan the field for anyone who could help her.
Who could? She was new to East Mount High and had no friends at all.
Being the new girl sucked. Lost in her thoughts and trying to avoid the hurdle things in her way, she walked straight into something warm and solid; it was a boy.
Olivia looked up and the light caught his eyes.
They were the color of a Caribbean sea and his hair was a shade of blond that could never be fake.
Her throat went dry and her tongue felt like she had licked the carpet.
Strong hands gripped her biceps to steady her as he peered over her shoulder as “the ies” were closing in.
There was no time to think. Olivia wrapped her arms around the boy’s neck, bringing his head close, and whispered against his lips, “Oh my God. Just play along, okay?” She didn’t give the boy time to answer before she pressed her lips against his.
A flash of awareness struck Olivia to the core as his hands became impossibly tight on her arms and he kissed her back—like really kissed her—and Olivia could do nothing but hold on.
“Caleb! What are you doing? Tuesdays are Mexican, not Fridays!”
Olivia could hear the girls laughing again as the boy’s—Caleb’s—arms wrapped around her, bringing her close, and pressed his hand against the back of her head, causing her to duck her head into his chest.
“Fuck off, Kimberly.” The sound of his voice was deep rumble against her cheek. Wow, he had a nice voice and what was he doing? Protecting her? Sticking up for her? Why?
“It’s Kimmie, Caleb, and again, what are you doing? I mean with her? You don’t know Olivia.”
Olivia tensed and waited for what would come next.
“It’s none of your business, Kim.” The power in Caleb’s voice was intense and Olivia could feel the heat radiating off him.
His hold became loose on her body; his hand slid down her back slowly and brought a shiver through her.
Who is this guy? Caleb took a step back and grabbed Olivia’s hand.
“Let’s go, Olivia.” He started to drag her across the track.
Olivia struggled with everything she had to keep up with him and not fall flat on her face. She wanted to turn around and see the look on the girls’ faces, but if she missed a step and fell, her reputation would be ruined. Yeah, she had a reputation already…but not the one she wanted.
They walked until they reached the parking lot and were out of sight of the girls. Caleb dropped her hand and stared at her. Olivia could do nothing but stare back. She should say something to this boy who helped her. Speak, Olivia.
“Um, Caleb?” She gave an awkward smile and he raised his eyebrows in response. “Um…thanks for, you know? Back there. I’m sorry I—”
“Kissed a total stranger? You do that a lot?”
“Um, no. I needed to get away from ‘the ies’ before I lost my temper in front of them and looked worse than I did at my try out.”
Caleb nodded and turned back toward the field. “‘The ies?’”
Olivia shrugged and started to shuffle her feet as she became nervous. “Yeah, you know. KimmIE, JennIE, WinnIE. ‘The ies.’ What is it with their names anyway? Do they all have to end with IE?”
Caleb laughed and the rich tone washed over Olivia; she couldn’t help but laugh back. “Every clique has to have their deal. I guess it’s theirs.”
The nonchalant way Caleb spoke about the girls made Olivia relax.
If this guy didn’t think they were anything important, maybe she shouldn’t either.
The sad fact was…they were important. Olivia wanted on the cheerleading squad.
The squad was the only way she could dance at this school and dancing was in her blood.
She needed to get on the squad no matter what.
“So, were you trying out or something? For the team?”
Olivia looked at Caleb, watching the mild disgust slide across his face before he got it under control.
“Yeah, I was. They didn’t like my routine though. Said my ‘style didn’t fit their image.’ Whatever that means. I used to dance at my old school but East Mount doesn’t have a dance team so cheer squad is the only thing I can do.”
“Why do you have to dance at all?” Goodness. The simple questions and the disdain were beginning to seep out of Caleb. What did he have against dance?
“Dance is what I do. You’re a jock and I dance.”
“I’m not a jock.”
“No? What are you then?” Olivia felt herself becoming defensive and stopped talking before she said something she would regret. This wasn’t the way to make friends at a new school or talk to the overly attractive boy who saved her from “the ies.”
Caleb shrugged. “I’m nothing.” Olivia was about to respond when he said, “Look, it was nice to meet you, Olivia, but I have to go and…” Caleb appeared to be suddenly uncomfortable.
“Listen, I’d love to give you a ride, but I’m meeting a friend of mine just up the street. We usually carpool, and it’s her turn…”
Her? Olivia sure misread a few signals. “Hey! No big deal. I didn’t ask for a ride. I’m fine walking home.”
“Good. Good. Hey, Olivia? Good luck with whatever you’re doing.”
Good luck? How nice of you, Caleb. “Sure, and hey, thanks for helping me with ‘the ies’ again. See you around.”
Caleb walked toward her and paused at her side. “See you around,” he whispered and walked away.
Olivia attempted think of anything and everything else as she walked home so she wouldn’t think about those three words whispered before he walked away. Yeah, good luck, Olivia.
***
Olivia opened the front door and stepped over the threshold into the house. The new carpet smell assaulted her nose before she could smell dinner wafting through the open archway of the kitchen. Being in a new house was still odd but the sound of her aunt’s voice was an immediate comfort.
“Liv? Is that you?”
“Yes, Aunt Celia. It’s me. I’m back.”
Olivia could hear the clanging of pots and pans as her aunt lost herself in cooking.
She loved the homemade food her aunt made even though each week it was from a different part of the world.
Celia loved to try new things and a soundtrack to match the theme.
From the sounds on the old stereo, tonight they would be dining in Africa.
“Good. Go get cleaned up, honey, and come tell me all about tryouts. Your uncle will be home any minute!” Celia yelled above the music.
“Okay!” Olivia yelled back and waked down the hall to her room.
Living with Uncle Felipe and Aunt Celia was new.
Olivia’s mom had, well, not been the best mom and Felipe and Celia had decided that when they moved, Olivia would come too.
She could get out of the not-so-great neighborhood and move to East Mount with them and finish her last year of high school on a positive note.
Olivia missed her mom but not string of booze-smelling boyfriends who came and went.
Her best friend, Nicole, was left behind but with the current technology, they never missed a thing—always talking, texting, or Skyping.
Still, the idea of starting new was frightening and exhilarating at the same time.
No one recognized her here, her past didn’t own her or what she was capable of.
Sure, there was the run in with the mean girls of the cheer squad, but she was determined to make the team no matter what.
Plus there was a boy who was way out of her league, but Olivia didn’t have a problem daydreaming and putting Caleb in place of one of her many book boyfriends as she got lost in a chapters seven and fifteen of her favorite stories.
Olivia changed out of her dance outfit and went into her bathroom to wash her face.
She turned on the water and stared at herself in the mirror, reflecting on the color of her skin.
It was dark, but more the color of her favorite coffee, highlighted by dark eyes, waist-length almost black hair and bangs which hit at her thick eyebrows.
She wasn’t the standard, stereotypical cheerleader, but she needed to get on this team so she could continue to dance.
Olivia cleaned up and made her way to the kitchen. Celia was in there bouncing from counter to counter to stove to sink and back to the counters, chopping, stirring, and shaking her hips to the wild beat of the music. Olivia loved her aunt’s quirks and sunny personality.
“What’s for dinner, Aunt Celia?” Olivia asked as she parked her butt on a bar stool on the opposite side of the counter from the cooking madness.
Celia turned and wiped her hands on her apron. She walked to the bar and peeked at the cookbook she set up. “Tonight we are having Marrekesh Vegetable Curry with rice.”