Hudson takes off like lightning and gets the ball to Tanner, and I grip onto Ilaria and Arizona, watching intently as the impressive quarterback launches the ball down the field, Logan racing for it with a storm of Broken Hill players right on his ass.
Riley forges forward having Logan’s back, throwing himself at another player and clearing the way for Logan to shoot through. He launches himself up into the air and collects the ball with ease, the crowd roaring for their team.
We watch with wide eyes as one after another, Bradford players take the opposition out of the game, dropping them to their asses and clearing a path for Logan to get through to the center of the end goal and slam the ball down into the grass.
The crowd roars, chanting the Bradford war cry as Logan launches the ball high into the sky, letting it crash down in the middle of the overcrowded grandstand. A wide grin stretches across my face as the buzzer sounds, and I can’t help but notice the way Logan seeks out Chanel, making sure she just witnessed his show-stopping moment. The poor guy. He’s got it bad.
The entire team races toward Logan, throwing themselves around him as the crowd begins spilling out onto the field, more than ready to celebrate with their winning team. I watch in awe. It was never like this at Hope Falls, never filled with this kind of all-round school spirit. Arizona tried to warn me, but I shrugged it off, not believing it for one minute, but now, after witnessing this, I know that from here until the end of the season, I won’t miss a single home game.
“Come on,” Ilaria says, gripping my hand and dragging me along with Arizona sticking to my back. “You get it now? Our game nights are epic, but not as good as the party that will follow.”
I roll my eyes and laugh as we try to navigate the stands and avoid being trampled by the masses. “Don’t even think about it,” I tell her. “I’m not going to the party. Me around Tanner Morgan is not a smart move, and besides, I was hoping to catch my mom before Orlando flies her to Paris for the weekend. We still haven’t spoken since our fight last week, and I’m starting to wonder if she actually remembers I live with her.”
“Ughhhhh,” Ilaria groans. “That’s shit about your mom, but YOU’RE SO FREAKING BORING! You can’t tell me that you’d rather stay home with Jensen over coming to the track with us. Come on, stop being such an old lady. We’ll hitch a ride and then we can all drink and have a good night.”
“Nope,” I say, hitting the stairs. “Absolutely not.”
They don’t push me on it. They see the connection between me and Tanner, it’s obvious to anyone who knows to look for it, and while I haven’t told them what happened up against that tree last Friday night, or the million things that followed, they know something happened. Something has shifted.
They haven’t demanded answers, and I have offered them the same privacy, but sooner or later, their curiosity is going to get the best of them.
Arizona laughs. “Yep, she’s going to be an old lady,” she tells Ilaria. “She’ll have matching knitted sweaters made for us within the week.”
“Don’t knock the knitted sweaters,” I laugh as we finally reach the bottom of the grandstand and make our way onto the field, only to get bulldozed by Chanel.
“Holy shit,” she says, her pom-poms flying around mine and Arizona’s faces. “Did you see that game? They were amazing.”
“Hell yeah, they were,” Ilaria says.
“So, what’s the plan?” Chanel asks, her gaze shifting toward the crowd, searching but not finding whatever or whoever it is she’s looking for. “I didn’t bring any clothes with me, so I was going to head home and get dressed before heading to the track. Did you guys wanna come with me, or should I just find my own way there?”
“We’ll come,” Arizona says, “But Marjorie over here is ditching us for a night in with her new stepbro.”
Chanel gapes at me in horror and I rush to fill in the blanks. “I am not. I’m just not down for the track tonight. I need to keep my distance before I do something I regret.”
Chanel grins at me. “By doing something you’ll regret, what or who do you mean exactly?”
I grin right back at her. “Who knows? But I’m more curious about what or who you’ll end up regretting,” I say. “Who do you keep looking for in this crowd?”
She holds my stare, and in that exact moment, Logan rushes past, her cheeks flaming, unable to deny what’s now so clearly obvious. “One can only hope.”
Well, damn.
She bursts into a booming laugh, and I can’t help but love her. I’ve been here for two weeks now, and these three assholes have somehow found their way into my heart and are clutching onto it with sharp talons, refusing to let go, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. They’ve made being the new girl so easy, and every day I learn something more that makes me love them.