Page 62 of Infatuated as They Come (Sinful Trilogy #2)

Claudia made sure we left four minutes later so we could get to the stadium on time.

Sophie was next to me, her arm hooked with mine as she whispered words of encouragement my way before we got settled onto the field.

We dumped our bags on the ground, starting with our stretches and then warmups before we took a small water break.

The stadium was filling up, the voices of the crowd going from soft murmurs to loud cheers and screams.

“You busy, Malibu Barbie?”

That name made me smile in an instant. I threw my water bottle into my bag and turned around, coming face to face with Sawyer. “Hi,” I said. “I have a million butterflies in my stomach right now.”

“Don’t be nervous,” he said. “You’ll do great.”

“Will you laugh if I make a huge, embarrassing mistake like last time?”

“ No . Of course not. You’re allowed to make mistakes, you know?” He squeezed at my waist. “You got this. Just take some deep breaths and do what you always do.”

I nodded at his comforting words. “Right. Breathe. I have to breathe.”

“You know how to do that, right?”

“I think I forgot.”

“There’s nothing to worry about, okay? I know you can do it. Everything will be okay and I’ll be right there watching,” he said, pointing a thumb over his shoulder towards the bleachers.

I nodded. “I got this. I can do it.”

“Yeah, you can,” he murmured, giving my lips a quick kiss. “You’ll do amazing.”

“Oh, guess what? I told all the girls about your exhibition and they said they’re all coming. So prepare yourself for about twenty cheerleaders to be there that night.”

“As long as my favorite one is there,” he said. “I told Brodie about it. He said he’s gonna fly down, so he’ll be there too.”

“Oh, amazing!” My hands clasped together. “It’ll be so nice to see him.”

“Yeah, I really miss him,” he said, brows knitting together. “Did you wanna invite anyone else? Someone… important.”

“Who are you…” I found myself sighing. “My parents?”

“Holly, you can’t avoid your dad forever.”

“That’s your night, Sawyer.”

“Why don’t you just ask them, baby?” he said, giving my hand a squeeze. “See what they say. I bet he misses you. I won’t ask you to do it if you really don’t wanna, but I know you miss him too.”

He was right about that. I missed my dad. I missed what we used to have, and I so badly wanted us to go back to that, but I still wasn’t ready to completely forgive him. Just the idea of him showing up for Sawyer’s special night only to turn it into another disaster felt like a stab to the chest.

“I don’t want him to ruin that night for you,” I said. “What if he does something just as awful as last time?”

“I don’t think he could top that,” he said. “I don’t want you to keep missing him, Holly. And the longer you two don’t talk, the worse it’ll get.”

I stared at him for a long moment before finally nodding. “I’ll talk to Mom about it.”

“Holly, time to—Oh, hello Holly’s boyfriend,” Claudia said, suddenly by my side. “Remember when you said you’d paint the team? Hm? What happened to that?”

“Were you being serious about that?” Sawyer muttered.

“Of course I was! ”

“Why are you yelling?”

“Why haven’t you painted us yet?”

Sawyer nodded towards me. “’Cause I like painting Holly.”

“Okay, well, she’ll be included in the painting, obviously.”

“I’ll let you guys talk this one out,” I said.

“Don’t leave me alone with her,” Sawyer muttered, eyes flickering over to me.

“Our routine is about to start, so we’ll continue this conversation later,” Claudia said, her hand tugging at mine. “Holly, come with me!”

“Bye!” I blew Sawyer a kiss, giggling a tiny bit at the bewildered look on his face.

We all got into position, my nerves somewhat settled after Sawyer’s very much needed pep talk.

Claudia counted us in, her voice all loud and energetic, and then the adrenaline took over and we were off to the races.

I felt three strong pairs of hands as I was hoisted up into the air, letting my body slip into the routine.

Bow and arrow, heel stretch, my smile borderline painful, and then a full down when I felt the bases dip, my body rotating completely to the left until I was caught.

There was no time to waste as we were off into the next section of the routine: the one, three, five, seven count repeating in my head over and over as I completed a round off that flowed into back handsprings.

My body was buzzing. My whole form was tingling with excitement as me and the rest of the team moved in absolute synch—every twist, every flip, every pointed toe. My muscles were burning and they’d burn even more tomorrow, but the pain was worth it for the spark of excitement I felt all over.

The performance came to an end with me and the flyers in the air.

Performing the sharpest arabesque I had ever done in my life, I felt the bases lower me down until I was back on the ground.

There were more cheers, more screams, and then I was wrapped up in a group hug as me and the other girls squeezed each other.

Claudia squealed. “That was amazing, girls! I think I’m gonna cry.”

“You’re gonna ruin your glitter!” Millie pointed out .

“Right, right.” She nodded. “No tears tonight. Just hugs.”

“I’m all gross and sweaty,” I said.

“Don’t care. Come here!”

I was pulled right into Claudia’s arms, her strong hands on mine until she found Millie and then Sophie. Turning to the crowd, it took me just a second or two to find Sawyer who was sitting with Nate, my heart beating fast as he shot me a crooked smile.

The rest of the night went on problem free.

No falls, no mistakes, no mishaps. The Falcons winning just made it all the more better, but the real cherry on top was that for the first time in a long time, the ground felt steady, like me and Sawyer had finally found the days we were supposed to be having.

As the stadium slowly began to empty itself and me and the girls said our goodbyes, I felt hands on my waist that made me spin around quickly.

“You give me a fuckin’ heart attack every time you get up there in the air like that,” Sawyer muttered. “Can you stop doing that please?”

“You worry about me too much,” I said with a smile.

“That’s my job. Seriously, though, you were amazing tonight. Fuckin’ Evel Knievel over here…” he said, giving my waist a squeeze. “Love seeing you cheer so much, baby. Can’t believe I ever missed this. I won’t do it again. Promise.”

I let Sawyer sweep me into a hug, my face pressed into his chest. My glitter was getting all over his T-shirt, but he didn’t seem to mind that at all as his arms looped around me.

Calm and solid familiarity washed over me as I took in his scent, his strong arms, his presence.

Everything. There I stood, safe and loved and steady, that feeling of loneliness that had weighed there in my chest like a rock since moving to New York disappearing into the void.