by J. L. Drake
She turned and flipped her hair out of her face. Jesus. Her perfect eyebrows rose as she took me in. She was sexy and really pretty as she studied me, but her annoyed expression wasn’t lost on any of us.
“Sure.” She looked out toward the field. “Why not?” She picked up her saddlebag style purse that had a long fringe dangling off the bottom and carefully made her way down in her high-heeled ankle boots. I went to offer my hand, but Clark, being Clark, beat me to it. She stopped on the last bleacher, looked at both of us, then took his offer and let him help her down. Once on the ground, I secretly took a good look at her.
Her legs appeared toned under her skin tight jeans, her black top stopped about an inch above her belt, and her skin looked as though she spent some time in the sun. Her leather jacket covered her slim shoulders, and she wore a necklace with a letter A on it.
“Hi,” she said in a clipped tone, and then glanced at Elliot, who shot her a look. She closed her eyes, then turned to us. “So, burgers?”
“Christ.” Elliot shook his head, clearly annoyed by her coldness. “Clark, Keith, this is my twin sister, Alexi.”
“Lexi,” she corrected him, then started to walk toward the parking lot.
We followed, and Clark hit me in the arm. “Fucking hot.”
I rolled my eyes. He had a point, but she clearly had some issues to work out.
Clark tossed his bag in the back of my pickup and jumped up on the tailgate with ease, heading to his usual spot on the wheel well. “Lots of room, Lexi.”
“I’ll sit in the back.” Elliot hopped up to join Clark as Lexi glanced at me.
I opened the passenger door for her and waved her in.
“Thanks.” She then noticed how high my truck actually was. The floorboard was almost at her chest. I reached in front of her and pulled down the step, and her hair brushed by my face. It was so soft and smelled really nice. I lingered a little too long before I pulled away.
She took an unsteady step and hoisted herself up inside. I couldn’t help but watch her body in fascination. She was incredibly proportioned.
Clark banged on the roof to let me know they were good to go. I started the beast and headed onto the street.
I opened the window and let the breeze cool me down. I needed a shower and hoped my deodorant would work a double shift. Of all the days not to shower…
I tuned into the radio and reached to turn it up, but her hand beat me to it.
“Oh.” Her hand shot back a little but still hovered over mine. “I just love this song.” I grinned. She bit down on her lip, and the soft pink looked pretty around her white, straight teeth. “What?”
“I’m just surprised you’re a Pearl Jam fan.”
She rolled her eyes. “Really?”
I only shrugged to see if it would make her keep talking. She studied me, clearly bothered.
“So, what do I look like I listen to?”
Unfortunately, I was an expert in female music, so I took a moment to enjoy her curiosity. I ran my hand along the wheel before I draped it out the window.
“Boyz II Men.” I smirked when I saw her murderous expression.
“Seriously?”
I started to mouth the words playfully.
“I don’t think I want to hear how you know the words to that song.”
I chuckled, eyeing her from the side, then made a face at her. I liked her. She had an interesting edge to her personality. She turned to stare out the window and seemed deep in thought. She was guarded, and there was an almost angry vibe that hung around her. I wondered if it might be the fact that she didn’t want to move here. I sure wouldn’t want to move schools in my senior year.
I didn’t attempt any conversation for the rest of the ride. Pulling forward, I checked the mirrors and backed into my regular spot and climbed out of the truck. Lexi struggled to open the door, and just as I rounded the tailgate, she hopped down, not thinking, and landed hard and off balance. I managed to reach her and catch her around the waist. Her surprisingly light frame fell into mine, and she held on to steady herself with her face buried in my shoulder.
“Wow.” Her huff sent a few strands of her hair forward. “Your truck is really high.” She laughed at her own words. “I’m going to try to stand now.” Her hands moved to my shoulders, and she pushed herself upright.
“You all right?” I liked her delicate hands on me. Her right hand wore a purple stone that paired nicely with her mocha colored eyes, when she brushed her hair off her face.
She nodded, set her expression, and took a small step to the side, away from me.
“You good, Lexi?” Elliot’s eyebrows pinched together as he checked his watch.
“Yes, just that Keith tried to kill me with his Tacoma.”
I could see she was fine.
Dinner went okay. We were all so hungry no one said much. I did notice Lexi watching us eat with fascination. I got it; we did eat a lot.
Elliot had to head off to his new job, and Clark lived down the road, so he didn’t need a ride back. Lexi and I started walking back toward the truck.
The night air was cool after sitting in the stuffy restaurant. Her leather jacket creaked as she crossed her arms. She struggled in her high-heeled boots on the gravel.
“Here.” I held onto her arm to hold her steady.
“I’m normally not this needy.” She chuckled. Huh. She seemed funny. Once at the truck, she sighed and twirled around with an annoyed expression.
Oh no, now what?
“At the risk of being—” she raised her hands to make air quotes, “—that girl, can I ask for a little help?” She pointed to the truck.
“Of course.” I grinned. She was funny. She reached for my hand, but I grasped her hips and lifted her into the seat. I hated that step anyway.
“Jesus!” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “I was not expecting that.”
“Legs in.” I urged her body around and handed her the seatbelt. With the door closed, I moved around the front of the truck and eased behind the wheel. “School? Or home?”
Something seemed to dawn on her, but she quickly hid her face. “School.”
She didn’t say much on the way back, but I noticed her finger tapped her knee over and over.
“So, Elliot likes hockey. What’s your thing?”
She kept her gaze out the window. “I don’t really have a thing.”
“Oh, that’s too bad.” I matched her tone.
She glanced over, seeming almost startled by my comment. “Why?”
“It’s just something I wanted to know about you.” I stared at her for a long moment before I shifted my attention back to the road.
It took her a beat before she turned back to the window. I pulled into the school parking lot, and after she pointed out her car, I parked the truck next to it.
“Where do you live?”
“Brick Street.”
“Oh, my buddy lives on that street.” I got out and met her at her door. I lifted my arms toward her and waited for her expression to show she was okay with it, and then took her in my hands and eased her down.
“Thanks.” She stepped back and turned to leave, but she looked back.
“Keith?”
“Yeah.”
Her tongue ran along her lip before she drew it back. “Never mind.” She gave a wave and opened her door.
“Ah, see ya.”
She left, and I followed her out. I stopped at the light next to her and noticed she was going the wrong way. Hmmm. I leaned over the bench and rolled down the window.
“Lexi!” She rolled her window down halfway. “What’s your address again?”
“Fifty-two-twenty Brick Street.”
“You’re going the wrong way. Come in my lane, and I’ll lead.”
She hesitated but put her window up and pulled in behind me.
There were three stoplights from the school to her place, and at every one of them I found myself watching her in the mirror.
She had in
teresting mannerisms. She played with her left earring, turned around a lot as if checking her back seat like someone was back there, and she closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead a few times. I wondered why she seemed so stressed and what was going through her head.
I parked and got out. She gave me a smile as I approached.
“So, here I am.” She shifted her weight and looked over her shoulder at the house as if to spot her parents.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, why?”
“No reason. Well, I guess my job here is done. Goodnight, Lexi.”
“Goodnight, Keith.”
CHAPTER TWO
Lexi
“Lexi Klein,” someone called. I pushed my textbook into my bag and turned to find three girls dressed in black and white cheerleader uniforms. The blonde with tight curls who I guessed was the head cheerleader stepped forward. “I’m Mimi, and these are my girls, Trish and Nicole.” I gave a closed lip smile, not sure what was about to happen. “We heard you were in gymnastics back home. We’d be interested in seeing what you can do. We’re always short girls on our cheer team, and we could really use you. Have you ever tried it?”
Oh, this is a joke, right? I’m sure Elliot is here somewhere, enjoying the show.
“Umm, I never really thought of myself as a peppy person.”
“It’s not about the pep, Lexi, it’s about the fact that we can dance our asses off and make the team look good.” She grinned back at the other girls. “Look.” She took a step closer. “I get it, you’re the new girl senior year, and this school is cliquey. Let us be your friends.”
I hesitated, but the thought did cross my mind that this type of thing would make my mother happy. She’d been so worried about me lately, and I knew she had her hopes pinned on things being better since I started school.
Mimi’s eyes sparkled when I didn’t shoot her down right away. “Field, after school, tryouts?”
“Yeah, okay.”
Class flew by, as I didn’t really have to think about it too hard. We had done this project last year at my old school, so I pretty much knew it all. I found myself feeling uneasy about the tryout. It wasn’t really something I wanted to do.
I dropped my bag on the bench, happy I had worn my sneakers today. Just as I finished my stretches, I heard the girls calling my name.
“Hey, girl!” Mimi walked ahead of the two others and blew me two air kisses rather dramatically. “Let’s see your moves.” She plugged in a stereo, and “Wanna Be” by the Spice Girls pumped from speakers all around me.
I jogged down to the field, then faced the girls as they watched with excitement. I sprang forward and ran as fast as I could. With my hands out straight, I twisted into a cartwheel, two front round-offs, two full flips, and at the end, I did a twist. I landed on two feet in front of them. I wasn’t even breathing hard. I looked like I had just walked up to them.
“Damn, girl!” Mimi clapped, and the girls followed. She snapped her fingers, and Trish opened a bag and handed Mimi a uniform. “You are now officially a member of the West Boston Capitals!” They stood there, waiting.
I looked around, wondering if this was the right move for me. I was never one for pep rallies or yelling in unison, but there was something appealing about the idea of graduating with a few friends around me. I did notice Nicole didn’t seem overly pleased. I might join just to see what her problem was.
Fine.
I held out my hand, and Mimi handed me the outfit as they all squealed enthusiastically.
“Let’s get you caught up. Changing rooms are over there.”
Okay…
I was starving by the time I got home. I opened the front door to find my parents reading in the living room.
“Oh my!” My mother popped out of her chair, beaming. “Oh, Rick, look at our girl!” She spun me around in my new uniform for him to see.
“It’s a little short.” He eyed the micro-mini skirt. “Can’t you wear shorts or something?”
“Shorts are underneath, Dad.” I leaned over and kissed his bald head.
“Oh, no way!” Elliot emerged out of nowhere, in his normal creepy manner. He took pride in his stealthy skills. “Kinda missing some of the shirt, there, Lex.” He pointed to the plunging neckline.
“Always around, aren’t you?”
I rolled my eyes and looked back at my smiling parents. If anything, this was well worth the look on their faces. They seemed happy instead of worried.
Okay, I can do this.
***
Before the sun was even up, my personal phone line rang. A loud bang had me cursing at Elliot, who always tossed his shoe at my wall when my line rang. Just like back home.
“Hello?” My voice was barely there.
“Morning, sunshine. You need to wear your uniform today. We have a game this afternoon.”
This woke me up.
“Mimi, I just joined two days ago. I don’t know if I’m ready.”
“You are. I think you know it better than Trish and Nicole already. You’ll be fine. Hair up in a ponytail, and red lipstick.”
“I’ll do everything but the lipstick.”
“Fine, just be at the game.” The line went dead.
What the hell did I get myself into?
School flew by, most likely because I was nervous about the game. I met Mimi at her car with Trish and Nicole. I was told to take the front seat, and it wasn’t lost on me that Nicole wasn’t pleased. I made a mental note to befriend her when we were alone. I didn’t need any bad blood with anyone.
We parked a few streets away from the school, and I carried my pompoms and my new cheer bag into the freezing rink. Immediately, I felt at home with the smell of the cool air.
After we dropped our things off at a side room, we changed into our sweater tops, which were the exact same but with sleeves.
“Ready, girls?” The whole team put their hands in the middle and did some weird chant that made me want to cringe.
My stomach sank when I saw the platform that was just for us. It must have been five feet off the ground, and we were protected by the glass and extra mats. I didn’t have a problem with crowds, but this was a little different because we were the display.
We walked by the hooting fans waiting excitedly for the game to start. We climbed the stairs and got into formation. At least three hundred people were there, with horns, lights, and sirens.
Just as the guys started to feed out onto the ice, we launched into our first chant while dancing in unison. I got into position and waited for my backer to hold my waist as I held on to the catcher’s shoulders. Within seconds I was carefully raised into a small pyramid. With my hands on my hips, I was dropped down to my feet with three sets of hands making sure my landing was perfect.
The crowd went wild as we went into our next cheer. I couldn’t lie; these girls were pretty damn good. Mimi gave me a look when she caught me lip syncing the words. I winced with a smile and tried my best to yell.
A player skated by us slowly, then hurried to another. He said something, then the two of them looked over my way. Elliot skated by, giving me a foolish fist pump. I made a face, and we both started to laugh. I loved my jackass twin.
“Lookin’ good, Lexi!” I turned to find Keith by the boards. His cage was flipped up, and his blue mouth guard was hanging off to one side.
“Same to you.” I grinned and thought how true that statement was. Nothing like a man in a hockey uniform. “You gonna score me a goal?” I joked and hoped my voice didn’t match the excitement fluttering inside.
He gave me a wink before he hit his cage down and took his place as the buzzer went off.
“Alexi.” Mimi stole my attention from Keith. “We don’t talk to the players when they are on the ice. They need to focus.”
I laughed. Whatever.
After second period, we were tied three-three. The music turned loud, and we started dancing with our pompoms. It actually became kind of fun as we moved about shaking our hips
and jumping into splits. The music switched to techno, and songs merged into one another, every beat bringing a different dance. There were a few dance moves that were a little sexual for my liking, but the fans didn’t seem to mind. So I rolled with it.
Just as we finished, the guys came back on the ice and got into position. We stood in line and shook our pompoms and waited for the whistle to be blown.
Number nineteen, Keith’s number, was all I could focus on. He was massive compared to some of the other guys. I would be terrified to go up against someone like him. We all held our breath as the game went on.
Ten seconds left, and Keith had the puck. He bolted down the ice and tossed the puck with ease over the goalie’s shoulder. He did a modest fist bump to Clark, then turned and skated by us. He pointed directly at me as if to say that goal was for me.
I couldn’t help but grin, but it was short lived when I saw the other girls’ expressions. Yikes.
The rest of the game, I kept my attention on the girls, not number nineteen.
For whatever reason, we didn’t change out of our uniforms before we hurried into Mimi’s car and off to a victory party at Clark’s house.
“This is his house?” I asked as big gates swung open and we drove into a wraparound driveway.
“Yeah, crazy, hey? His father owns some plastic company over in Japan,” Trish informed me. “His parents are never home, so most of our parties are here.”
“Wow.” I opened the door and admired the huge brick house that towered over me.
Once inside, I was surrounded by a sea of pulsing bodies. Music blared, and the smell of liquor permeated the air.
“Well, if isn’t our cheer squad!” Clark yelled from the opposite side of the kitchen. Mimi took my arm and rushed me over to him.
“Have you met Lexi? She’s from Canada.”
“We go way back, don’t we, Lexi?” He smiled as he drank beer from an old German goblet.
“We’ve met.” I gave a small smile back, feeling uncomfortable, and wondered where the rest of the girls had disappeared to.
“Be a gentleman and get us a drink, Clark,” Mimi ordered, which made me feel uncomfortable. I didn’t like the way she spoke to him.
