Page 47

An impish smile flits over his face. “Will you come to my game on Wednesday?”

I let out a soft snort. “You already know I’ll be there,” I point out. “We’re scheduled to be cheering for you guys, remember?”

“But do I get to tell the rest of the team that my girlfriend is watching?” he asks, a little more serious than before.

“Yes.” The word slips out before I even give myself time to think about it.

One of his eyebrows quirks upwards. “I half expected you to say no.”

“Me too,” I admit. “But I don’t think there’s any point in keeping it quiet. Most people we know seem to have an opinion on whether we should be together already.” Which reminds me that I need to message Grace and see if she’s around tomorrow for coffee. I know she’ll want all the details about what’s happened since I left her earlier.

“That’s fair. I think I just expected you to want to be more careful in case this doesn’t work out.”

I nod, understanding where he’s coming from, but certain it’s the right move still. “I don’t see this ending any time soon.” I can’t believe I’m saying this to him, but it doesn’t feel like we’re starting at the beginning of dating, we’ve known each other too long for that.

And he’s seen me shifted. Not many people can claim that. Except for several of my flatmates. Somehow, I’ve shifted in front of more people while at Obscure Academy than in the five years prior.

“I don’t think it will either,” he agrees. “Want that ice cream now?”

“Only if you’ll bring two spoons.”

“I wasn’t going to let you eat it all yourself,” he assures me.

“Good.”

He leans in and kisses me softly on the lips before getting up and heading to the door.

I watch him go, a satisfied feeling settling within me as everything slots into place. Having a boyfriend isn’t going to mean that I can’t focus on cheerleading and my studies, it just means I’ll have someone to support me from the sidelines at competitions, and help me with concepts I’m struggling to grasp for my classes.

This way, I get the best of all of it, and I couldn’t ask for more.

Epilogue

Krissi

The whistle blows,signalling the end of the game and another win for the Obscure Academy rugby team. We explode into action, cheering and shouting for their victory as loud as we can until the ref signals for us to stop so he can deal with the opposing teams.

Grace sighs from beside me, her hands on her hips despite the two large blue pom-poms in her hands.

"You all right?" I ask.

"Mmhmm, just admiring the rugby players," she responds. "Those shorts really don't leave much to the imagination."

"Grace!" I half-scold.

"What? It's true. One look and you can imagine exactly what's going on underneath."

"I don't need to imagine," I mutter.

Her eyes widen and her attention shoots to me. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You heard me."

"Krissi! You've been officially dating for a week."

I shrug. "So? You're the one who kept pointing out we've been dancing around one another for months. That all counts too. Besides, you don't have to be in a relationship to sleep with someone."

"I know I don't, but this is you we're talking about," she responds. "I guess I just expected you to wait."