Chapter 4
Sure enough I see it happen. The chick I punched is at the cheerleading tryouts. She is holding a clipboard and ordering everyone around. She keeps glaring at Brittney, like it is her fault. She is trying to find something wrong with her moves, but she isn’t finding shit so she is getting irritated.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.
Brittney is flawless in all her moves and has no reason to be rejected. I just don’t know if I want her on the team with a person like that. The coach looks on with her own clipboard. She looks pleased. Not that the other girls are bad, but Brittney blows them out of the water.
When the girls take a break, Brittney comes over to me. “How do you think I am doing?”
“You’re perfect. They would be an idiot to not put you on the team.” I beam at her.
She bites her bottom lip and scrunches up her face a little. “Really are you sure? I think I was a little wobbly on my back handspring. Can you show me it again?”
I sigh. “Brittney, it was perfect.”
“Please.” She gives me those puppy dog eyes.
“Fine.” I moan. I pull my wallet out of my pocket and throw it by my bag. Standing I walk to the level area of the grass. Brittney follows me. I look around to make sure I have enough space. “Alright, now watch because I am only going to do this once.”
I do the move that she asked and when I land back on my feet I turn to look at her. “Got it.”
She scrunches up her face. “Well, what about a round off? Show me that one.”
I don’t know what her game is but I do it. She keeps calling out flips or spins and making me do them. After about ten minutes. I turned back to her. “I am done. I know you know all these. What are you doing?”
She smirks and folds her arms over her chest. “Oh, nothing.” I swear she would make the best actress on the planet.
Only now do I realize that we are not alone. I mean I knew that there were other people on the field but I thought they were all too busy to be watching us. The cheer coach comes up to me. “Please tell me that you want to join the team.”
I put my hands up in surrender. “Oh, no not me. Her, not me.” I point at Brittney.
She waves it off. “Oh, she made the team. You, I am asking you. Please.” Well that doesn’t work with anyone but Brittney.
“Yeah, no can do. I am not the cheerleader type.”
The coach looks at me like I am ruining her life. “We could really use you on the team. We have been behind in the regionals for a while now, someone like you and your sister could really pull us out of the heap.”
I moved away from her. “Sorry, I am not a cheerleader.”
Brittney huffs at me when I walk past her. She better not have tried to do that on purpose. What am I saying? Of course she tried to do that on purpose. That’s why she asked me for those moves. She knows them all as well as I do. She was trying to get me on the team with her. Just like she did with dance and gymnastics. Damn her. I love her but she is a punk sometimes. She knows Bret and Calab won’t join and she wants one of us with her. I know it is her anxiety but this is where I draw the line.
She follows after me. “Please Cassy. You are really good.”
“I don’t care. I am not a cheerleader.” I grab my wallet and throw it back in my back pocket. I plop my ass right back on the grass. “I am here to support you and nothing else.”
The coach is right behind her. “If you change your mind please let me know. We could really use you.”
I shake my head. “Not happening.”
She sighs and calls the girls back to formation.
I watch the rest of the tryouts with irritation. How dare she do that? She is going to get a stern talking to when we get home.
When the coach calls for everyone to head to the lockers and showers I see that the football coach did the same. Good, we can all be done at once. Kelly stops next to me. “Good thing you aren’t trying to join my team. I don’t need scared little girls on my field.”
I want to punch her again. I really do. But then the thought occurs to me. She may have gotten in trouble but not much, she is still here after all. I’ll just bite my tongue. “Sounds like someone is worried I would take their place.” I smirk at her.
She glares daggers at me. “In your dreams.”
“No mine.” I look over and see that it was Trey that answered. He comes closer to me. “Damn that was good. You are holding back.” He even sits next to me and nudges my arms. “Come on, join the team. It could be fun.”
“I don’t do fun.”
“It will make my dreams come true.” He nudges me again.
“If Brittney couldn’t get me to join, you sure the hell aren’t.”
Kelly looks down at us. “Baby, come on, you can not be serious.”
He looks away from me and up at her. “Are you still here? I seriously didn’t realize. What are you doing here?”
She whines. “Baby, don’t talk like that. I’ll let you drive me home.” She smiles down at him.
He shakes his head. “We don’t even live in the same direction, why would I do that? Get a ride home with daddy.”
Apparently daddy works here. Which explains why she didn’t get into too much trouble. I am not one to fight unless I have to, so I am just going to steer clear of this girl.
Trey turns his attention back to me. “Do you need a ride home?” He gives me a pleasant smile. Ok, so he is attractive, I’ll give him that. He has his country charm. But I don’t need this crap.
“I have a car thanks.” I try to be polite but I pull away from him and stand taking my bag. “I’ll leave you guys to it.” I smile, even though I know Kelly could care less if I existed. Trey looks like I just kicked his dog.
He stands before I can leave. He takes my arm. “Hey, we can talk for a few while you wait for your fam.” He pulls me a little closer.
I pull my arm out of his grasp. “I don’t really like to be touched, and if I did, I don’t know you well enough for you to be touching me.” He is still in my bubble though. How did this happen?
He leans in a little further. “Maybe I want to get to know you.”
I pull back. “I think you are barking up the wrong tree. I told you that I have too much on my plate for this.”
He shrugs but takes a step closer to me. “You have to enjoy yourself sometime.” He takes my hand and flips it so that my wrist is facing him. “Always, what’s that for?”
His fingers are tracing over the word. “It is a reminder to always remember what’s important.”
Trey looks away from my wrist and looks in my eyes. “And what is that?”
I pull my hand back. “My family.”
Brittney comes bounding out and wraps her arms around me. “Cassy, you need to join the team with me. It will be so much fun. If you don’t then who will watch out for me at the meets?”
I guess I didn’t realize that Kelly was still there. “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that. It’s not like you’ll be used very much anyway.”
I looked at her like the bitch she is. “What the hell does that mean?”
She rolled her eyes at me. “It means I am the team captain, I pick the routines. I pick the girls in the routines.”
“So you are going to bench my sister to get back at me?”
She smirks with her arms crossed. “Wouldn’t want to use her raw talent. I only want people who are skilled.”
“Bull shit.” I am about to regret this, but fuck it. “Hey, coach.” I holler down to the field at the woman there. She turns and looks at me.
“Yes, dear.”
“I’ll join your team on one condition.”
“Anything.” She looks at me pleading.
“I get to compete for the captain spot.” I glare right at Kelly when I say it.
Coach claps her hands. “Absolutely, let’s do it tomorrow. Meet me at lunch and we will go over a couple of routines.”
I look over at her and nod. “You got it, coach.”
Brittney jumps up and down excited. Just when I think I have seen all the excitement that I can handle, I am grabbed up in a pair of muscular arms and spun around. Then a kiss is planted on my cheek. Oh, hell no. I am set down and I punch him in the arm and he grunts. “I told you I don’t like to be touched.”
Trey just looks at me holding his arm, and smiling. “It was worth it.”
I walk down to the field and make arrangements with the coach on where to meet and then I collect my brothers. I am really pissed now. I have to be a cheerleader. I have to run a damn ranch. I have some guy touching me and planting kisses on my cheek. This is only the first day. I think this is hell.