I curse myself for still not being able to memorize all of Kaylah’s friends’ names. One day I’ll remember them. I mean, I’ve pretty much got Nate, Jesse, and Tora down, but the rest…they’re kind of a blur in my mind. Why is it that I only seem to meet them when I’ve been drinking?
“There you are,” Kaylah squeals as we make our way across the row, squeezing in front of the annoyed spectators who managed to make it on time and not get lost. “Hurry up. It’s just about to start.”
I drag Tully behind me and we find our seats just as the teams are rushing out onto the field amongst a bunch of the hottest cheerleaders I’ve ever seen. I mean, shit. The cheerleaders at Haven Falls are nothing like this. I’m used to plastic, bimbo bitches with bad attitudes, but these ones, they’re just…hot. They’re real. Who knows, they could be plastic and most likely are bitches, but they have an air of realness around them.
Maybe that’s just what happens when you graduate from high school. You suddenly have to grow the fuck up and leave all the bullshit high school drama behind. I can’t freaking wait for that.
I lean across Kaylah and say ‘hey’ to Jesse and one of his friends who I’m pretty sure is Tyson. Jackson’s girlfriend, Elle, is on the other side of Tyson and gives me and Tully a warm smile before I give up on saying ‘hi’ to the rest. Tora, Nate, and some other dude are too far down the line and I’d have to scream over the sound of the crowd to get their attention. Not worth it. I’ll catch them at half time.
As the game goes on, I can’t help but watch Jackson just like I always used to. Only this time it’s different. Instead of studying the way his body moves and how incredible he looks in his uniform, I’m watching just how good he is. He’s only new to the team and I’m sure there are a few others who want to remind him of that, but don’t be fooled, by the end of the season the whole world will know he’s a fucking star, just as Kaylah and I have always known.
Before I know it, we’ve been here for nearly two hours without even the slightest thought of Noah or Rivers. The buzzer sounds and Tully and I stand on our feet, cheering for Jackson’s team as they’ve absolutely dominated the game. They shake hands with the opposing team in a show of good sportsmanship before jumping around the fucking field like idiots.
We start making our way out of the row and I fall into easy conversation with the Broken Hill kids as we wait for Jackson to finish up with his team.
Twenty minutes later, Jackson shows his pretty face and Elle rushes up to him before throwing herself up into his arms. Jesse and Tyson groan about ‘saving it for later’ while the rest of us crowds around him to say congratulations.
“Hey, what the hell are you doing here?” Jackson beams, pulling me into a tight hug against his hard chest before ruffling my hair like a little sister.
“Ugh, get off me,” I say, scrunching up my face before pushing against his chest, not getting the same thrill from being in his arms that I used to. I straighten up my hair and look up at him as I answer his question. I indicate towards Tully. “We needed a distraction so Kaylah thought it’d be a good chance to come check out the campus and get our minds off…things.”
His eyes narrow. “What things? Noah didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“No,” I scoff, practically laughing at the absurdity of Noah hurting me. “The furthest from it. The idiot is trying to convince me to apply for a scholarship here.”
Jackson’s brows practically disappear into his hairline. “You? A scholarship? For what? The last I checked, you wouldn’t even know what an ‘A’ was,” he teases, completely forgetting about the fact that he was digging for information as to why we would need an escape from home. Though, it’s not like I’m about to tell him all about Tully and Rivers’ issues.
I playfully smack his arm but roll my eyes. Getting teased by Jackson Millington isn’t exactly a new thing for me. “Shut up.”
Kaylah butts in on our conversation with a teasing grin of her own. “She’s a science nerd, remember?”
Jackson studies me a moment before it all comes back to him. “That’s right,” he says, proudly. “You’re all into DNA and that shit.”
“Uh huh.”
“Shit,” he chuckles. “How could I have forgotten about that?”
Well, forgetting shit about people that you completely abandon for eight months tends to have that effect on a person, but I wouldn’t dare say that out loud. It’s still a bit of a sore point for us all.