Cherry walked silently beside me as we headed out to the football field. The rest of the squad was in high spirits as we prepared for the game tomorrow. I dismissed my depressing thoughts and focused on our cheer. Despite the stereotyping I received, I loved cheer. It was fun. The girls formed a pyramid and then a circle of four friends stood on the top of the pyramid of girls as they prepared to toss me. “Let’s do it.”
Two seconds later, I was flying up in the air. I tucked my legs and arms in tight as I spun and landed back in my friends’ arms. The pyramid held strong, then slowly we all climbed off of each other. “Very nice,” yelled Coach Brown, her blonde hair blowing around in the wind as she watched us.
The girls set me down, and I beamed triumphantly. At least until the dizziness and weariness set in, and I fainted.
“Sarah!” Nick yelled at me. “Wake up.”
I opened my eyes and asked weakly, “Shouldn’t you be practicing?”
“How can my team practice when half of them are rushing to your aid?” asked Coach Tanner, his hands on his hips, and his whistle dangling as he bent over me.
I knew he was joking since he was part of the pack as well and had probably run over first.
“I keep telling them to listen to you, but they see a pretty girl swoon and forget all about you,” I teased.
Coach Tanner smiled and pushed everyone back. “She’s fine.”
Nick helped me sit up and handed me his bottle of water. I gulped half of it down and smiled sheepishly. “I forgot to drink water today.”
Coach Brown groaned. “You know you can’t let yourself get dehydrated, Sarah.”
“Sorry, Coach,” I said after I took another gulp. Nick watched my face and seemed to think I was lying. I pushed his padded shoulder, ignoring the looks from the rest of the boys in the pack. “Go back to practice. I’m fine.”
He left after staring at me another moment and joined the rest of his team, who were whispering while watching me. I’d probably just earned six extra Guardians for the next few days.
Cherry helped me up and shook her head at me. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again.”
I leaned against her. “Sorry, Apple.” I always used different fruit names for her as a joke. This one earned me a shoulder punch.
I finished Nick’s water bottle and felt better. We went through our routines again and the toss was as perfect as the first and I didn’t faint afterward. After changing and freshening up for my date, I walked out to find Tom surrounded by Nick’s pack. I pushed my way through them and linked arms with Tom. “Ready? I’m starving.”
The pack stared at me and then eased away from him. Tom smiled. “I’m ready.”
I waved to Nick. “Bye, Nick. See you later.”
He watched me go and for the first time, I was actually nervous. His eyes were filled with an anger I had never seen before. Luckily, he wasn’t looking at me. Tom led me out to the parking lot and to his car, a shiny Audi. “If you hadn’t arrived when you did, things might have gotten ugly,” said Tom.
I slid into the seat and waited until he walked around and climbed in. “What happened?”
“I was teasing Nick, and he took it the wrong way. The pack got offended on his behalf, and I think yours as well,” he explained.
“You know what they are?” I asked, mouth agape.
He nodded and chuckled. “Yes.”
“What did you say to him?” I asked curiously.
He smiled. “That he wasn’t that great of a Guardian if he let you pass out from dehydration.”
I sighed. “No wonder they were so angry. You should know better than to poke an angry animal.”
Tom laughed. “You’re right.”
He backed out of the parking lot and drove to my favorite steak restaurant. We got a table as soon as we walked in, and I couldn’t help but inflate as girls from our school stared jealously when I sat at the table with Tom. We ordered, and then he turned his full attention to me.
“So, what are you?” I asked with a smile on my face.
He leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest and emphasizing his biceps. “Interested in you.”
I smirked. “You know what I mean.”
“That is information you will have to wait to find out.”
“At least tell me if you can read minds.”
He laughed. “Unfortunately, not. I wish I could read your mind.”
I blushed. “No, you don’t.”
He leaned forward across the table and said, “I wish I knew what you were thinking when you look at me like that.”
“I’m thinking that you are way too attractive to be talking to me,” I admitted. “And that I like the other girls getting jealous when they see me with you.”
“What do you think about me?” he asked.
I felt a slight headache starting and blinked twice before answering. “That you’re handsome, smart, and athletic. And, I would love to see you shirtless.” I gasped and clamped my hands over my mouth. Why had I just said that?
He smiled and sat back. “Okay, I promise I won’t ever do that again unless it’s an emergency.”
I glared at him but wasn’t really mad. Two kinds of beings could force you to answer truthfully: Dhampirs and vampires. Werewolves were immune to their tricks, and a human, who was taught how, could block them. “You’re a Dhampir, aren’t you?”
He nodded. “I am.”
I exhaled. “That wasn’t nice. I would have told you that, eventually. Well, not that last part.”
He reached across the table and picked my hand up. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
I smiled. “You didn’t. You just startled me. I didn’t realize that Dhampirs could do that to witches. Well, I’m not a true witch since I don’t really have powers, at least that I can control, but still. So, what do you think about me?”
His thumb ran over the back of mine lightly as he spoke. “You’re gorgeous, smart, and athletic, and I’d love to see you shirtless, too.”
I smacked his arm playfully while laughing loudly. “You’re incorrigible.”
He grinned from ear to ear, his smile dazzling. “You like it though.”
I didn’t want to ruin the playful setting, but I needed to know what was up. “Why now, Tom?”
He shrugged. “I think fourteen is too young to date. I wanted to wait until you were fifteen before I asked you out.”
“You’ve never even shown interest in me before,” I challenged.
“How could I with Nick hovering around you all the time?”
“Good point,” I admitted as I looked down at the table. I didn’t like the fact that Nick was upset, but it bothered me more that he wouldn’t talk to me about it. I also knew that he was somewhere nearby, waiting to see if anything happened that he’d need to rescue me from.
“Are you sure you want to be out with me?” he asked softly.
I looked up at him and smiled. “Yes, I’m sorry. I just worry about Nick.”
“Isn’t it his job to worry about you?” he asked teasingly.
I laughed. “Yeah, but I guess it kind of goes both ways. Today has been a rough day for us both.”