Saving the Halfback by Aly Westman

Author:Aly Westman [Westman, Aly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-08-02T00:00:00+00:00

30

Bailey

Ipulled my hair out of its braid. The pool was full of players and students throwing foam footballs at one another. I dove into a clear spot, under the hundreds of floating plastic balls, and as I swam through to the shallow end, I ran my fingers through my hair. I was relieved when the green goop dissolved easily in the water. I came up for a breath and was sandwiched between three large bodies. Sam, Wes, and Charlie were chanting and jumping around me, not exactly touching me. I laughed at their antics. Maybe some girls would’ve gotten annoyed at all this, but I was still having fun. It was a show of camaraderie; they had accepted me as their own. Even now, as they jumped around me, hooting and hollering, I couldn’t help but feel the gesture of acceptance. Eventually, they moved on, and I was able to swim under and make a quick getaway.

I moved to the stairs and looked up at Lachlan’s smile while he watched me. “Having fun?” I asked.

“Yes.” He held the towel out again, and I got out, stepping into it. “Your clothes are back in the pool house.”

He walked with me as we weaved through everyone. “I want another drink,” I announced. “Another shot?”

Lachlan laughed. “Sure, get dressed, and we will show you a good time.”

“We?” I asked.

“We.” Nolan stepped up beside me, already dressed again and completely void of slime.

No one was in the pool house as I stepped in. There was the same TV and the same couch that had been there years ago. A bar that was empty. I saw my clothes folded on the bar and grabbed them, stepping into the bathroom to get dressed.

Once I was out, I used the towel to squeeze the excess water out of my hair. “Need help?” Lachlan asked. He took over drying my hair, then began braiding it.

“Where’s Ethan?” I asked.

“He said he would be right back.”

“Bailey!!!” Beth ran through the room and wrapped her arms around me. “I can’t believe you did that!”

I chuckled. “It was a lot harder than it looked.”

Lachlan finished with my hair, and as soon as I pulled on my cap, Beth began tugging me toward the house. “Come on, let’s go dance!”

One of the large rooms had been completely emptied of furniture. There was a DJ set up at the edge of the space, with a huge sound system. Multicolored lights were rotating and alternating. It must’ve cost a fortune to do this, but really, it was nothing to Chase. I used to hear about the parties he would throw here. I never thought I would actually go to one, though. Why would I? For years, my life had revolved around Ed.

Beth pulled me directly onto the dance floor, like she thought I would know what to do. Some of the other girls she hung around with danced with us, but I was awkward as anything. Most of my dancing involved swaying until she grabbed my hand and started twirling me and moving me this way and that.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.