Home > Coming Up for Air (Hundred Oaks)(25)

Coming Up for Air (Hundred Oaks)(25)
Author: Miranda Kenneally

“What crawled up your ass, Lucassen?” Noah snaps.

Lucky for me Hundred Oaks is cheering next, distracting the guys from their pissing contest. When Georgia runs out onto the gym floor, Levi and Hunter jump to their feet, pumping their arms in the air.

“Woooo! Georgia! Woooo!” Hunter yells.

“Georgia!” I scream, clapping.

Levi wolf-whistles.

Our cheerleaders wave at our section and hop up and down. Dance music blasts from the speakers.

The football and basketball players go nuts, holding up posters they made. Several football players—seven to be exact—rip off their shirts to reveal they’ve painted their chests. Together they spell 100 OAKS.

“Ready, okay!” the cheerleaders yell in unison, clapping once.

The routine starts with Georgia nailing a roundoff followed by three back handsprings and a back tuck. I spot David Cantor sitting a few rows away, cheering for Georgia. I nudge Levi and Hunter, pointing him out. Levi smiles a little because David is here; Hunter is wide-eyed.

The cheerleaders fan out across the stage, doing splits and jumps and all sorts of other tricks that do not seem physically possible.

When Georgia does a split, Noah turns around again. “The North Korean lady did the splits with James Bond in bed.”

Levi flicks him in the forehead.

It’s really fun, dancing along with the cheerleaders and the loud, rhythmic music. Levi puts an arm around my waist, pulling me closer, sliding his hand up and down my hip. My mind flashes to last night, when he took off every scrap of my clothing and rocked against me in his boxers. Is Levi thinking of it too? Oh my God, are we naughty dancing?

Hunter happens to look over and see this, and I quickly step away from Levi. Hunter’s mouth falls open.

The routine ends and we scream for Georgia.

When we sit back down, Levi’s thigh touches mine as he leans over and says quietly in my ear, “You were making me hot.”

“Like sweaty hot?” I joke.

“No, like I want to take you under the bleachers hot.”

My whole body is overcome by heat. I completely understand how he gets girls into closets so quickly. It’s that voice. Or is it because he’s like a Dutch sex god? Anyway, it’s difficult not to take him up on the offer.

Hunter dips his head to speak with me. “I think I know why Levi’s not interested in Shelby’s cousin anymore. It’s because he wants to take you under the bleachers.”

“It’s not polite to eavesdrop.” I lightly punch him in the thigh and expect him to make a joke, but he just sits there gripping his knees.

While waiting to see who won the competition, we collect Georgia and go hang out in the lobby. When we arrived at Vanderbilt, sun streaked through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Now it’s starting to rain outside; water drips down the glass.

I tell Georgia she did great, and she beams. Their performance made everybody from our school hyper—the football and basketball guys surround the cheerleaders, hugging them and hollering.

Noah Thompson sees Levi giving Georgia a big hug and calls over at us, “Levi Lucassen rocks my world!” and Levi flips him off.

I bend down to hug her too. Hunter stands there, not smiling. Georgia nudges his side. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Does Georgia know something’s going on between you guys?” Hunter asks me and Levi.

Georgia’s eyes grow huge as she glances between us. She jumps and claps as if doing one of her routines. “I knew you guys would get together one day!”

She did? Levi and I just look at each other. At one time I think we would’ve cracked up, but not now.

“We’re not together,” Levi says.

Hunter crosses his arms. “But you’re fooling around?”

“Who said anything about that?” I ask.

“I’m not blind. I can tell something’s going on with you guys. And somebody’s going to get hurt.”

“Nahhh,” Levi says, avoiding eye contact with Hunter.

“I like Shelby a lot more than she likes me. I can tell you it hurts.” His head droops, and Georgia places a hand on his arm. I knew what was happening with Shelby bothered him, but not this much.

“I’ve been telling you,” Georgia starts, “You didn’t set limits on your relationship with Shelby. You should’ve said you wanted a relationship before you slept with her. By hooking up without the commitment, you set your own value short. She gets to be casual without having to be your girlfriend.”

Hunter gives Georgia a hard stare. That was harsh, but friends should be straight with each other, and she’s not wrong. Giving without agreement sets you up for heartbreak.

Right then, David appears beside our group, pushing his glasses up on his nose. “You did great,” he tells Georgia, wrapping an arm around her for a side hug.

Levi gives David one of his guy handshakes and Hunter nods at him, but keeps a close watch on Georgia and David as they talk and smile at each other.

“Why are you acting like a dad all of a sudden?” I ask Hunter.

“If he hurts her,” Hunter mutters to me, “I’m going to rip out his spine.”

“Down, boy,” I tease. I can understand why Hunter’s so protective. When that douchebag linebacker Kevin cheated on Georgia, Hunter spent a lot of time comforting her. Their friendship is a lot like mine and Levi’s. Or at least, the way ours used to be.

After watching the cheerleading squad win the second place trophy, Levi and I go to our second practice of the day, but it’s hard to get Hunter out of my head. He was still acting pretty reserved when we left. Hooking up with Levi is risky, but I had no idea it might upset one of our friends. Plus, seeing Levi smile at the Ravens cheerleader felt crappy. All these thoughts and feelings distract me, making me sluggish in the pool.

Coach chides me from the deck. “Let’s pick it up, Maggie! Pick it up!”

I swim faster, but my heart isn’t all the way there. Between laps when I’m out of breath, clinging to the side of the pool, Levi glides up next to me and nudges my side. “You okay?”

My nod back is a lie.

It’s still raining after practice. As we’re leaving the Sportsplex, Levi opens an umbrella and holds it above our heads as we hurry to his truck. I let out a sigh of relief once we’re inside, dry and warm. Rain pelts the windshield, punctuating the silence between me and my best friend.

On the way home in the pouring rain, Levi peers over at me from the driver’s seat.

“I’m not hurting you, am I?” he asks.

“What?”

“You heard what Hunter said. He’s worried we’re going to get hurt.”

I was pretty jealous when he talked to that other girl earlier, but if I tell him that, it could make things awkward between us, and that’s the last thing I need. I want us to stay normal.

The windshield wipers are on high, going as fast as they go. Still, it’s tough to see through the storm.

“Everything’s good,” I say. “Hunter’s overreacting because of Shelby.”

“Yeah. You’re right.” Levi taps his fingers on the steering wheel. “I shouldn’t have said that about going under the bleachers.”

“How could you know Hunter has superhuman hearing? I mean, I barely heard you.”

We listen to a couple of songs on the radio, and I stare out the window at rainy, gray skies until he speaks again. “Maybe we should cool it from now on.”

I twist to look at him. He’s chewing on his lower lip. I didn’t like him talking to that girl today, but it’s not like I’m in love with him. I enjoy being with my friend, hanging out, talking, and kissing. I really like the kissing. But is that because I like kissing? Or because I like him? Do they go hand in hand? I try to imagine myself kissing Hunter like we did a couple years ago in truth or dare. It does not entice me at all.

I lean my head against the window.

“Magpie?” he says.

The last thing I want is to scare off my best friend. I told him this wouldn’t get weird.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” I say a little louder than I would have liked. “Thanks for the lessons. They were illuminating.”

   
Most Popular
» Nothing But Trouble (Malibu University #1)
» Kill Switch (Devil's Night #3)
» Hold Me Today (Put A Ring On It #1)
» Spinning Silver
» Birthday Girl
» A Nordic King (Royal Romance #3)
» The Wild Heir (Royal Romance #2)
» The Swedish Prince (Royal Romance #1)
» Nothing Personal (Karina Halle)
» My Life in Shambles
» The Warrior Queen (The Hundredth Queen #4)
» The Rogue Queen (The Hundredth Queen #3)
romance.readsbookonline.com Copyright 2016 - 2024