Chapter 3.
The upperclassmen who are on the A Team from last year all live in a house right on campus that's walking distance from the gym and on the lake. Most of our bonding events this summer will happen there, or so Jasper tells us as we get our stuff after practice.
The sun is setting as we exit the gym, herd-like, clogging the sidewalk as we head toward the house.
"I want all rookies to split into teams of four," Jasper says loudly, leading the pack. "Two flyers, two bases, preferably, for our initiation scavenger hunt activity."
Emmett elbows me, not so subtly gesturing at the two girls walking in front of us. Bella, of course, and a redhead I haven't met yet. Before I can stop him, he taps Bella on the shoulder.
"Swan!" He high fives her as she turns around. "Want to pair up with us?" He points at me with his thumb as her eyes land on mine. She smiles then quickly looks over at her friend, the redhead, who is also staring at me. Then they both nod, almost in unison, much to Emmett's amusement.
"I'm Vicky." The redhead extends her hand to me. I remember her from practice. One of the best girl flyers on the team, second to Bella, of course. "Glad to finally meet the notorious Colorado Boys."
"Nice to meet you, Vicky." I shake her hand and smile politely, before she moves on to Emmett.
I walk in silence next to Bella then, while she and Vicky go back and forth with Emmett. They're roommates too, across the hallway from us, and they are both from Florida.
Jasper goes over the rules of the initiation activity. Twenty-five stations with trivia questions and physical challenges to get clues for the next one. The team who finishes first gets T-shirts. It's not about the prize though, as everyone is required to finish and no one can leave until we all do.
Pretty quickly, our team is in the lead, all thanks to Bella. It seems she studied Summit's history and knows the answer to every trivia question. The physical challenges start pretty easy too, with standard tucks and basic stunts we all hit clean. As we advance, they get more and more difficult, with more elite stunts. We manage though, and Bella pretty much carries us to the finish line. I begin to wonder if there's anything she can't do exceptionally well.
The last activity for the win is holding a cupie, a one hand stunt, for sixty seconds, which never goes quickly when you're balancing a whole person—even as petite as Bella—in the palm of your hand. We do it side by side, Emmett and Vicky, Bella and I. My arm is shaking when Jasper signals the end of the sixty seconds, but when I look at Emmett, he's smiling smugly at me.
"After you, babe," he says cockily, raising an eyebrow.
Yeah, not going to happen.
I huff, adjusting Bella a little to get a better grip, while locking my elbow and hoping for the best. I stay quiet and focus on my breathing and on Bella, who steadily holds her form, keeping herself tight and making it easy for me. Emmett runs his big mouth, like he always does. He tries to show off, but when Vicky loses her balance and starts swaying, he can't keep her up.
"Nice!" Jasper sounds impressed, but I don't gloat. I know nine out of ten times I would have lost that. This was a fluke, and it was mostly thanks to Bella. I bring her down immediately, and she clasps her hands with mine, doing a little jumpy dance while she squeals, seemingly more excited about this small triumph than the overall competition we just won.
I guess she's very competitive, too.
Fuck, her smile is so beautiful. So real. So honest.
We get our T-shirts and head inside the house while the other teams finish.
The lake house is pretty cool, double high ceilings in the living area, large fireplace, and an open kitchen that does look like a mess. While fancy in its bones, it screams frat house everywhere you look. Ping pong table on the back, red Solo cups scattered over it, and two dart boards on the wall.
I'm apparently the only one in our team who is completely exhausted, as I sink on the couch while Emmett practices more stunts with Bella and Vicky…just for fun.
More people filter in as they finish the activities; we're supposed to wait for Jasper to make a few announcements before we can all finally leave. I'm nodding off on the couch when Bella sits next to me.
"Hey…" She takes the spot right beside me, even though the entirety of the couch is unoccupied. "You okay?"
"Yeah…" I take a deep breath and sit up straight, trying to shake off the sleepiness. "Just tired."
"Long day, huh?" She brings her legs under her, picking at the hem of her tight shorts and pulling them down a bit on her toned thighs.
"We drove from Fort Collins this morning…" I clear my throat, trying to look at her eyes instead, but everything about her is far too distracting.
"Are these the Rockies?" Her fingers boldly reach out and trace over the ink on my forearm, moving up my elbow.
"Mount Elbert. Yeah." I take in a breath, steadying myself.
"That's so cool." Her fingers continue their path up my bicep. Her fingernails are painted in all different bright colors. Her touch burns. "I've always wanted a tattoo, but my mom won't let me get one until I'm eighteen."
Jesus Fucking Christ.
"How old are you?" My voice shakes a little.
"Seventeen." She shrugs. "For three more months."
"You don't look seventeen." I feel like a fucking pervert.
Her laugh is explosive. "Are you saying I look old?"
"No. Sorry. No." I scrub a hand down my face, desperate to take my foot out of my mouth. "I just mean 'cause of how good you are at everything you do."
"Nice save," she says, punching me softly on my arm. "How old are you?"
"I'm nineteen." I avoid her face, her whole self, my eyes flickering through the people crowding the living room. Our other teammates.
"Gap year?" Her tone is soft, but it pulls me back to her.
"Something like that."
Her gaze is scrutinizing, like she's trying to figure me out. I get lost in her eyes. In her lips. In the freckles that scatter over her nose. Her entire presence is intoxicating. I need to get over it—over her—and fast.
As if on cue, Jasper comes in with the last team and starts his speech about team bonding and becoming a family. While not a formal rule, the "hands off your teammates" message is loud and clear.
Jasper's words are sensible. Relationships between teammates mean distractions, complications, loss of focus, and safety concerns. I eye Bella through the corner of my eye, as she still sits beside me, letting Jasper's words drill into my brain—like this speech is aimed at us, at me.
Bella is off limits, that much is clear. Between that and her age, I should have plenty of reasons to keep my distance from her. To keep things casual, professional—friendly.
Which all sound good on paper, but in reality, her eyes, her freckles, and that pretty smile of hers cloud my mind as we walk back to the dorms.
~.~.~
The next couple weeks are brutal. Easily the hardest I've ever worked in my whole life.
Getting used to my new schedule. Balancing work and the team. Early mornings. Late nights. Finding the time and the will to eat everything I'm supposed to so I can gain weight and muscle. Training. Practice. Bella.
Bella doesn't really take any of my extra time, but avoiding her—for my own sake and hers— takes a lot out of me…mentally. Not thinking about Bella is outright impossible, implausible, but in order to continue to work with her, I need to get over the effect she has on me. And that, unfortunately, has not happened yet.
To my despair, Coach continues to pair us together in stunt practice. Her best flyer girl with her worst base guy. It makes no sense to me, but she insists she sees huge potential in us as stunt partners.
Bella's been friendly, too. Asked to hang out a couple times. My approach so far has been to keep things professional, respectful; to work my ass off and leave as soon as we're done.
When Friday night arrives, I am looking forward to the weekend, the weight of the past few days feeling heavy on my shoulders. With nothing team-related going on, other than strength training with Jasper on Sunday morning, my plan is to keep to myself, get a few hours at work, and rest as much as possible.
Once in my room, I shower and check how many calories I still need, opting for a protein smoothie to meet my quote for the day. By the time Emmett arrives, I've changed into sweats and dropped on the bed, not even bothering to pull back the covers and not caring that it's still light outside. My eyelids flutter closed as soon as my head hits the pillow.
"Are you not coming to the partner stunt get-together?" I hear Emmett ask from the door.
"Coach said it was optional." I groan my response.
"You know that doesn't mean anything. We still gotta go."
"At what time is it?" I turn my head, opening one eye to look at him. He's taken one of my bananas and has already eaten half of it.
"Nine," he says before swallowing.
"Why we gotta do shit late at night?" I mutter under my breath.
"Babe, nine is not late." Emmett laughs, shaking his head at me.
I eye the clock with a sigh; it's eight already. Sitting up with a groan, I rub my neck, trying to decide whether squeezing in a less-than-an-hour nap would even be worth it.
I don't need a nap. I need a full night's sleep...or a week off.
"You're stretched too thin, bro."
"I know." I sigh as he sits on his bed across from me. He looks genuinely concerned.
"How long are you going to be able to keep this up?" He finishes the banana and drops the peel on his table. I cringe when I see the slimy side is touching the wood.
"I don't know."
"What are you going to do when classes start?"
"This isn't helping, Em." Elbows on my knees, I stare at my feet, rubbing my neck.
"Maybe you can cut your hours at Subway. Or don't make them be so damn early in the morning."
"I already don't get enough hours." Squeezing in a shift before noon is the only way I can still meet all of the squad's commitments. Six hours a day, twenty a week, is what I signed up to. I wish I could do more. The fact that I make minimum wage doesn't help.
"Is a few hundred bucks a week even worth it? Your mom even said you didn't need to get a job."
Of course she would say that. She's still breaking her back for me though. Working double shifts and extra hours. Saving every penny. She's sacrificed her whole life for me.
School's expensive. Even with financial aid. Living here costs a lot of money.
I sigh, now feeling guilty for complaining.
"I'll go to the thing. It's fine," I say so Emmett drops it. Satisfied with my answer, he puts his headphones on and starts a robot-like dance in front of the mirror.
Deciding sleeping so little won't be worth it, I grab my phone from my nightstand. My eyes bulge when I see the push notification of an unknown number with a text and her name on the first line.
Fuck my life.
I swipe down to see the whole message without opening it so it doesn't show as read.
Hey, it's Bella.
I got your number from Emmett.
I hope you don't mind.
Just wondering if you're coming to the partner stunt thing.
Maybe we can practice some double ups? :)
"You gave Swan my number?" I ask Emmett with my phone still in my hands, while I reread her text.
"Huh?" He uncovers one of his ears, turning to look at me.
"Did you give Bella my number?"
"Um…yeah?" He smiles widely at me. "She wants your di—"
"Emmett. She's seventeen years old."
"Oh…"
"Right, so…"
"So what? Who cares?" He turns his back to me, looking at himself in the mirror again. "Age ain't nothing but a number."
"Um, I care. Jasper and Coach would care. The law, too."
"The law?" Emmett's eyes are on me, amusement clear in his features. "I'm pretty sure she's past whatever the age of consent is here. She'll be eighteen soon, right? you're nineteen. What difference does it make?"
"She'll be able to vote. I won't go to jail." I list with my fingers. "Just to name a few."
"Babe, you won't go to jail." Emmett laughs loudly, as if I'm joking. I am not.
Okay so jail is an exaggeration. Bella is over the age of consent, and yes, technically, I'm just a little over a year older than her, but still. She's a minor. A child in the strict sense of the word. She's my teammate, my stunt partner. I can't think of her like that. I won't. It's just wrong.
"Besides," Emmett continues. "If history is any indication, she'd be twenty-five before you make a move, so it's all good." He replaces his headphone over his ear, seemingly done with our conversation. "She'll be able to vote." He chuckles as he repeats my words, resuming his dance.
I drop on my bed with the phone still in my hand, a mix of fear and excitement bubbling in my chest. Avoiding Bella just got more difficult.
I swipe her text away and dial a different number instead. It goes straight to voicemail so I wait for the beep before speaking.
"Hey, Ma. How are you? I thought maybe I'd catch you between shifts. I'm doing good. Practice's been fun." I look through the window at the sun starting to set and stifle a yawn into my elbow. "I managed to land a triple. Em's got it on video. I'll send it to you later so check your WhatsApp, okay? Did I tell you I beat him holding up a cupie? He's still not over it." I laugh to myself as Emmett keeps dancing. "Anyway…" I take a deep breath, scratching my neck. "All's good. I'll call you tomorrow. Love you. Miss you. Bye."
I sigh and drop my phone on my nightstand, reaching for the weighted cheer shoes under my bed. They're size five and stuffed with plastic bags, then duct taped together with two pairs of five pound plates on top. It's not exactly a flyer's weight, but it's pretty accurate in shape so it helps me train my grip around the shoes, my hand turns and spins.
A double up is tricky, so I practice my hand motions over and over again until it's time to get ready to go, telling myself that the uneasiness in my stomach has to do with the particular stunt I haven't mastered yet, and not with seeing Bella tonight.