The Naughty List (The Naughty List #1)(64)

“Score it, dunk it, BEAT THOSE DUCKS!”

“Let’s show them, WE DON’T GIVE A FUCK!”

The crowd finished the sentence with me and then went wild with crazy screams and uproarious laughter. Well, that pumped them up. I dropped my pom-poms to my side and turned. The girls stared at me, mouths agape. The opposing team looked at me, almost frightened by the frenzy I’d created. And then the Wildcats looked at me, mostly impressed. Except Aiden. He stared at me with a look of surprise I’d never seen. He’d been so obnoxiously calm. It was nice to see that I could still ruffle his fur.

My sneakers let off an admittedly adorable perky sound as I marched back over to the sidelines. The crowd was chanting, “Sex Kittens!” They should have probably been saying, “Wildcats!” or even, “Smitten Kittens!” But what the hay, at least they were making noise.

I dropped crossed-legged on the floor and folded my hands delicately on my lap. My squad walked over, watching me like they were afraid I might pull out a switchblade and murder them at any second. I was not unaware that they all sat at least three feet from me.

The players took the court, some laughing. Aiden shot a glance over to me, still wide-eyed. I almost smiled at him, but he looked away before I could. The plump ref stood in between Dwayne and a Duck. I was mildly amused that the opposing player actually resembled his mascot. Ducks were so lame.

The room hushed. The ref tossed the ball into the air and both boys jumped. Dwayne was the first to touch it, knocking it toward Aiden. Aiden snatched it out of the air and pulled it down. He began dribbling it toward the basket, then stopped, standing at the outside of the key. Coach Taylor screamed out a play. Aiden continued to dribble and nodded at him. He passed the ball to the center, who in turn attempted a layup. It bounced off the rim into the hand of a Duck, and the teams raced down to the other end of the court.

Aiden was slow. Watching him now, I realized how right Kira was. He looked like a pile of sugar cubes. His shirt wasn’t even tucked in.

The next twenty-four minutes were a slaughter. The Wildcats only scored twelve points. The Ducks had scored forty-eight. When the halftime buzzer finally sounded, the entire gymnasium let out a sigh of relief. There was only so much pain a group of overeager spectators could take.

“Tessa?” Kira approached me slowly. Her blue eyes watched me cautiously.

“Yes?”

“Um. Did you have a specific cheer in mind for halftime?” She looked frightened. I realized she’d never heard me cuss before. It must have made me look pretty hard core.

“K …” I paused and looked at the rest of the squad. They’d lost faith in me. I’d been a total downer for weeks and, as a result, the Smitten Kittens had lost their purr. SOS was dead. There was only one thing to do. Step aside. “You lead them,” I told Kira, lifting my chin to her.

She gasped. Then the rest of the squad gasped. Well, except Leona. She said something closer to, “You have got to be kidding me.”

Kira began to tear up and I smiled. She deserved this moment. She’d been loyal all this time. She’d been cheated on, lost out on Christian, and yet—she’d never let it affect her cheering. She should lead the big game.

“Really?” she choked.

“Yeah. Really?” Leona asked, unnerved.

“Kira is your lead today,” I announced, sounding brave. “Make me proud, girls. I’m sitting this one out.”

They looked me over sympathetically. I was one sad Kitty. They could see I needed a rest. With a quick embrace, Kira thanked me and jogged out enthusiastically into center court as the players filtered into the locker room.

The squad began a spirit-inspiring cheer about making a comeback, and I took my spot on the gym floor sideline. I picked at the shiny gray material of the pom-pom. Maybe I’d just go home. I glanced up into the crowd and saw my parents waving at me. They were so sweet.

Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aiden’s mom. We looked at each other, and I totally expected her to gloat in some way. Instead, she raised her hand in greeting, giving me a small smile—almost like she was happy to see me. Stunned, I smiled back politely and then turned to look down into my lap. That was very strange. Quite odd.

Truth was, there was no reason for me to be here anymore. In fact, I was surely the reason Aiden was messing up. He was probably wishing I were gone. He’d never forgive me, let alone speak to me.

I was just about to stand up when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I twirled on my butt and came face to crotch with Christian. My lip curled.

“Sorry,” he said and took a step back. “I know you don’t want to see me.”

“You’re right. I don’t.”

“I just want to talk to you.”

I pursed my lips. Yuck. I couldn’t believe I fell for his lies. I couldn’t believe I knew what he tasted like.

“I’m sorry I kissed you,” he said, standing and looking down at me.

That was surprising. I hadn’t expected him to say that. “You are?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “You were upset. I sort of took advantage of that. It wasn’t right. I just really liked you, Tessa. I just wanted a chance.”

He meant it. His face was obvious in its admiration. And suddenly, I kind of forgave him. Oprah once said that forgiveness was the first step in healing. And even though Christian’s actions were heinous and completely out of line, the boy took a chance. There was a time when I would have fought that hard for Aiden. I should have fought harder.