Chapter 9
I tuck my helmet under my arm before running my fingers through my hair, scratching at my scalp. My hairband snapped taking it off, and because I’m the only player with hair that rivals the opposite gender, I’m out of luck.
Well, not entirely. We are just breaking for the third quarter, and I’m trudging my way down the sidelines toward our cheer squad.
“You’ve got to bring extras, my man,” my friend Tyler, who happens to be our starting quarterback, says while patting my back roughly enough I feel it through my gear. “Or have the girls braid it. Amber has been dying to get her hands on you.”
I roll my eyes as we pass by the water station.
I’m not going to entertain the comment. Tyler has called me weird for not finding anyone attractive, or being interested in anyone.
Male or female. I just don’t feel the urge to want something or need attention from them.
Or, give it. I’m blaming it on my drive to be in the NFL, that anything and everything can be a distraction.
Speaking of a distraction.
“Ahhh!” Amber, head varsity cheerleader, belts out. “Keoni, no way you’re blessing us during your break.” She’s funny. Not in the stand-up type of way, but the Regina George kind of way.
Mean Girls is my mom’s favorite movie.
Her brunette hair sways back and forth as she rushes toward Tyler and I. “You’re doing so freaking good out there, but that’s no surprise.”
“Hi to you too, Amber.” Tyler doesn’t sound annoyed; he can’t stand her either but plays nice.
“Tylerrr,” she drags out, and offers him a smile before looking back at me. “You never come over during the game. How are…”
Her voice trails off when a laugh catches in my ears. I’ve heard it a few times, but even still, it shouldn’t capture me the way it does.
It has me shifting my attention over her head, right to the junior varsity cheerleaders.
That stupid, swelling sensation in my sternum hits again when I catch sight of him—the boy from a few weeks ago. I’ve seen him around school from time to time, and each time, I try to get a better look without staring like a crazy person.
His name is Ayden and he’s a freshman on the JV cheer squad.
That’s all I know, and only because his twin sister, Alysa, is in my gym class.
She’s exuberant, and from the looks of him, he’s equally so.
He’s animated, alive, laughing and moving in the conversation he’s having with four of the girls who form a tight circle.
“Keoniii, why’re you ignoring me?”
I shake my head and take a deep breath. “I need to borrow a hair tie. Preferably a strong one that doesn’t need returning.”
She grins and darts away from me, heading straight toward the duffle bags pushed against the wall to the stands. This is the first time I look out at them, parents and students alike chatting in the fifty-plus level bleachers.
“What are you doing?” My gaze trails back toward where Ayden and the group is sitting. It’s their coach, hands on her hips bent over scolding them. “You are meant to be paying attention! These are pre-season games, and—”
“We deserve a break too, coach!” one of the girls says while getting up to her feet. “Everyone else is relaxing, why’re you on us?”
I eye Ayden, and he slowly rises, grinning as though in agreeance with the girl. Troublemaker, or rule-follower? He seems to be the former.
“Here ya go!” Amber thrusts her hand in front of my face. Looking at the tie, I inwardly groan. It’s not going to hold.
The girl that is slowly getting to her feet with the assistance of Ayden has pretty thick hair.
Hmm.
Without saying a word to Amber, I weave through the throng of varsity cheerleaders and head straight for the JV group. Behind me, I hear the brunette calling my name, and Tyler bursting with laughter.
I reach them without a single distraction, and both the group and the coach spin around in shock.
“Oh, Keoni.” She offers me a bright smile, that laden irritation for the five cheerleaders all but gone. “You’re doing great out there tonight.”
I nod. “Thanks, Coach Rapp.” Turning my attention to the girl beside Ayden, I ask, “Do you happen to have an extra hair tie?”
Her eyes widen, and below her dark brown cheeks, I can see a hint of a blush. “Yes. Yes, of course. Do you need one?”
“Of course he does…” the girl opposite of Ayden says in a hushed voice.
“Mind if I have it?”
She nods sharply before turning toward the bags. That’s when I catch Ayden’s eyes—such a striking hazel that, honestly, I like looking at. They suit him perfectly, set against his light skin and flawless features.
“Hey.”
His Adam’s apple bobs. “Hi.”
“Ayden, right?”
After a brief hesitation, it’s as if he’s snapped back from somewhere and returned fully to the present.
“Yeah. How… do you know who I am?” I’m quite literally opening my mouth to respond but he just keeps going, “I mean, that isn’t meant to be an insult like ‘how could you know’ just, I’m a freshman and a little caught off guard.
Never mind, I didn’t mean to interrupt, what were—”
“Here you go.” Damn it, that was fast.
The thick black band in her palm is stretched out to me, and without contacting her skin, I grab it and gather my hair up.
Ayden stares at my mouth for some reason, maybe wanting me to say something?
“Thanks,” I offer to the girl before continuing with him. “I met your sister.” The last thing I need is for him to think something weird like I’m stalking him. “Third period PE.”
“Ah. Right.” He sounds disappointed.
I don’t know why, but I like that.
We’ve only got a few minutes before I need to get back on the field. It’s strange, but I have this urge to stay and chat—a feeling that’s completely out of the ordinary, especially at a game, even if it’s just pre-season and mostly practice.
“After the game, do you want to—”
“Kaipo!” Of course she would take advantage of this.
I glance toward the bleachers where my mom leans over the railing, her long, wavy black hair spilling forward as she waves.
It’s our first game, but she’s just as excited as she was last year—for the first, the second, and every single one after that. She’s my biggest fan, and really the only one that matters. As much as I want to keep talking with Ayden, she comes first.
When I glance back at him, his gaze is already fixed on her.
“See you later?” That pulls his eyes back to me, and when he smiles, it’s perfect. The kind that makes something shift in my chest before I can stop it.
“Yeah, see you… later.” His hesitation is cute.
I catch myself grinning at it, which is peculiar. Stranger still is the sudden want to see him again, and again. I don’t usually feel that, but with him, I do.
Rushing over to my mom, I lift just slightly up to press a kiss on her cheek she brings down to me.
“You’re doing so good out there, Keo sweetheart. I’m surprised the coach put you in for the first game.”
I shrug my shoulders. “Tyler and I will likely take the second game off, but it’s important to show dominance.” My tone is playful. Mom doesn’t need reminding of how good we are, but it’s always fun to tease her.
She swats my shoulder pad. “Silly… but, really quick, remember I told you about Grant?”
I nod just as my coach calls the sixty-second countdown to regroup.
“I brought him, hope that was okay.”
Honestly, I can’t help but grin. “Of course, Mom. Where is he?” I haven’t met him yet. She wanted to put the feelers out first. They’ve been dating for about a year, so bringing him here means it’s getting serious.
“See him in the red shirt?” She points off over toward the center of the bleachers. A man, pretty tall even while sitting, is staring off toward our direction. He isn’t looking at us, but he’s smiling. “He’s amazing, Keo.”
“Good catch.”
“I know—”
“No, no, he got a good catch.”
She swats once again at me. “Auē, kāohi i kēlā!”
I don’t know much of my mother’s native language because I grew up here on the mainland and not in Hawai?i, but that needs no translation.
Dropping down back to the field, I wave at her.
“Invite him to dinner,” I say while walking backward.
“He’s already invited us!” She smiles widely. “Is that a yes we can go?”
I wink at her. “Anything for you, Mom.”