Chapter Twelve Summer
Chapter Twelve
Summer
“Congrats!” Charlotte says as soon as the video call connects.
“Thank you.” I smile back at her. I’m on the bus back to Frost Lake from our first game. We won, easily beating Stoutland. I didn’t start, but I did end up subbing in quite a bit, and I think I played pretty well.
“It’s still so weird to see you in blue.” Her gaze drifts down to the team warm-up jacket.
I do the same. “I know. For me too.”
“How’s everything else? School? Boys?” She says the last word very pointedly.
“I was going to tell you.”
“So it’s true?” Her jaw drops.
“Sort of.” I glance around the bus. I’m sitting alone but there are people in front and behind me. Most have headphones but I still don’t want to risk it. “I’ll explain later.”
“Explain now.”
“It’s true, but it isn’t real.”
She studies me carefully. I can almost see the gears working as she tries to figure it out. “I don’t understand.”
I look around again. “We’re faking.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Later,” I promise.
“By later you better mean as soon as you get home. And I’m conferencing in Jill.”
“Fine.” I let out a small laugh. “How are you? How’s school? And soccer? And…everything?”
“Okay. The same.” She shrugs.
“I miss you.”
“We miss you too.”
I scooch down farther in my seat and settle in for the long bus ride back. “You play Springfield Monday?”
“Yeah. And Coach is freaking out because we’re still not playing that well in practice.”
“What’s the problem?”
Charlotte laughs. “You really want to talk about soccer team drama right now?”
“Uhh…yeah?”
She must not because she launches into her own questions. “Tell me more about Frost Lake. Is everything way nicer? Are there lots of cute boys?”
“Yes and yes,” I admit. The last one pains me to admit, almost like I’m shit talking my old classmates.
“Maybe I need to come with you to an FLH party.”
“You should probably wait until they stop calling me Oakley.”
She snorts. “I’m okay with them calling me Oakley if they’re cute enough.”
“I’ll let you know the next time I’m invited to one.”
“Good. Maybe your new boyfriend can introduce me.”
He absolutely could and would. “He does know everyone.”
Her stare narrows again, and I know she’s trying to figure out why in the world we’re together. “As far as fake boyfriends go, you could do worse. He’s hot.”
My cheeks heat. Yes, yes he is.
* * *
“You look hot,” MJ says as I stare at my reflection in the mirror.
Half the team is piled into Sophie’s bedroom, and there are clothes strewn around everywhere. It’s exactly like so many other nights with Charlotte and Jill with one big difference—I’m wearing Rowan Blakenship’s number on my chest.
When Rowan told me he couldn’t wait to see me in his jersey, I thought he was kidding.
Little did I know that the player’s girlfriends make shirts for each game and some even paint the guys’ numbers on their faces.
I’m certain girls at Oakley did these things too; it just never occurred to me that I’d be one of them.
Or that it’d ever be Rowan’s name and number I’d be rocking.
The blue T-shirt is three times too big and hangs off one shoulder.
On the back, I (unfortunately) wrote BLAKENSHIP with a white fabric marker and drew a large number ten.
From the front, I could almost pass as a regular person who isn’t dating my brother’s rival.
Except I also have a blue ten on my right cheek with a soccer ball shaped like a heart.
If Silas could see me now, he would die.
“Are you sure this isn’t too much?” I ask her. “We’ve only been dating for a week.”
“Are you kidding? He’s going to love it,” she assures me. “What guy wouldn’t want you sitting in the bleachers cheering for him? You’re seriously hot, and you and Rowan are cute together.”
The girls around us murmur their agreement. My stomach dips as I turn and look at the back of my shirt again. I hold in the groan, but I feel it deep in my bones.
“She’s right,” Amanda pipes in. The room goes quiet like everyone just realized she was here too. My entire body clenches. Is this the moment she finally punches me for dating her ex? She’s continued being nicer to me, but I still maintain she has feelings for Rowan.
Instead of coming at me, she smiles. “Since his parents never come, he loves having people in the crowd there for him.”
My brows pinch together as I decipher her words.
Before I can ask any follow-up questions, Sophie says, “Okay, we need to go or we’re going to be late.”
She’s wearing one of the twins’ names and numbers. They aren’t officially together but they’ve been talking. MJ is supporting Hunter, who she claims is just a friend, and four other girls are either talking to or dating a guy on the team. There wasn’t this much intra-sport dating at Oakley.
Then again, the guys at Oakley weren’t as hot. Or maybe that’s just because I haven’t known the Frost Lake guys my entire life.
We pile back into the cars we rode over in. I’m with MJ and Rina. The two of them talk back and forth in the front, while I sit in the back feeling anxious and a little excited.
It feels like since the game yesterday, the team has accepted me a little more. MJ is still the only one who I’d consider a friend—or a potential friend at least—but the others are talking to me more and more.
Between trying to find my place with them and pretending to be dating Rowan, my emotions are bouncing all over the place.
I knew it was going to be hard switching schools, but it’s even trickier than I imagined.
In part because I’m finding I want to make friends.
I don’t just want to exist here. Charlotte and Jill will always be my besties, but they have their own things going on. I want friends here too.
When we pull up to the school, my stomach has worked itself into knots. The outdoor bleachers are packed with parents and students. I follow MJ and Rina, and we meet up with the rest of the girls, taking up two rows in the bleachers directly behind the Frost Lake bench.
The guys are just coming in from warm-ups.
When I find Rowan, he’s staring this way like he’s looking for someone.
When his gaze lands on me and he smiles, I realize that someone is me.
My pulse quickens. Oh god. I look ridiculous, and I’m certain he’s going to have a good laugh at me all decked out like I’m really his girlfriend.
“Stand up.” MJ does and motions me up. The other girlfriends are doing the same and then turning around to show off the back of their shirts as the announcer welcomes everyone and introduces the other team.
Slowly, I get to my feet and turn so Rowan and everyone else can see that I’m wearing his name and number.
Every second feels like an eternity. But when the announcer switches to the starters for Frost Lake, I get lost in the screams and excitement around me.
MJ grabs my hand and lifts it into the air.
We shake our arms and yell. And when Rowan is called, I turn in time to catch his expression.
I wait for the mocking smirk, but instead his smile is almost tender. Small and subdued—especially for him.
* * *
Ralley is terrible. I don’t think they were this bad last year. I remember the game at Oakley, watching Silas play. But they lost a lot of seniors in May and their young team is making a lot of sloppy mistakes that Frost Lake is punishing them for.
Rina leans over MJ ten minutes into the game, which is coincidentally when most people have lost interest. The score is already two to zero and it would be worse if Coach Collins hadn’t subbed in for half the starters.
“What’s Rowan like as a boyfriend?” she asks.
“Excuse me?”
“He hasn’t really dated anyone, unless you count Amanda, which…
” Her eyes widen and I really wish she’d fill in the blanks for me.
Instead, she says, “Whatever. The point is, we’re all dying to know what he’s like.
Does he do sweet things? Does he text? Is he a dry texter?
I can picture him sending funny videos and I’ll bet your parents love him.
The teachers do, so I expect all adults like him.
” She finally stops talking and looks to me with rapt interest.
I open my mouth and then shut it. I quickly file through everything that’s happened in the past five days we’ve been a fake couple for an appropriate answer. “We don’t text a lot, but that’s probably because we’re together all day. My parents haven’t met him yet. And yeah, he’s funny and sweet.”
I think back to the fortune catcher and to him staying after practice to help me with soccer and the way he held my hand and introduced me around the party.
He’s been a great fake boyfriend. And suddenly, I’m not so sure I’ve been a great fake girlfriend in return.
Sure, I’m here and cheering him on, but that’s only because of peer pressure.
Would I have if the girls hadn’t dragged me? Not likely.
I need to step up my game.
Rina is still watching me like she’s hopeful for any other tidbits, but a whistle on the field pulls all our attention. There’s a flag on Ralley, and Frost Lake sets up for a corner kick.
Coach Collins is yelling out instructions from the sideline. He is almost as impressive to watch now as he was as a player. I spent one summer watching his rookie season videos on repeat. The man is a legend.
Vaughn has a similar style and skill. He’s improved a lot since last season. Silas will be pissed to hear that. He always hated playing against Vaughn but would reluctantly admit he was good.
He never admitted as much about Rowan, but I think that’s just because he hates him so much. My stomach tightens at the reminder. He would really freak out if he saw me right now.
As the game continues, everyone else loses focus but I can’t stop watching. There’s so much talent on Frost Lake. Vaughn and Austin and the twins. The more I watch, the more I’m drawn to Rowan though.