Previously on Falling…
Hello, there. Yes, it's me. Yes, I'm alive. Long story short: Life is busy, didn't want to leave you hanging, but here we are.
The actual long story: I had the next 6 chapters written when I posted 35, but then life happened. I started the job of my dreams, and it turned out to be a lot more stressful and busy than I originally thought. Then everyone gets sick. Kid has surgery. I had a heart-attack scare, which happened to be just a panic attack. Turns out I have anxiety. Who would have guessed? Anywho, I figured I wouldn't have any time whatsoever to finish writing, and in the next few chapters, the story gets–um, complicated? so didn't want to leave you in the middle of that, without knowing whether I would be able to finish writing it. BUT the good news it, I have now finished writing (all 50 chapters, yay!) and I'm in the process of betaing, so we should be smooth sailing from now on. Hope you're all still with me.
When we left these two, they had had an infamous dinner with Renee and Phil, where Edward learned the busy plans they all had for Bella's summer (a cheer tour of colleges after Daytona). Edward isn't thrilled but would come along if it's what Bella wanted because he doesn't want to hold her back. Then ExB have a heart-to-heart on their bench, where Bella confesses the summer tour isn't really what she wants to do, and they make cheesy alternative plans. Also, Edward can't see the bunny on the moon. Who else is team no-bunny?
All right, I'll shut up now.
Somehow Mel, Pali, and Kristen keep putting up with me. All mistakes are mine.
Chapter 36.
We're on our way to Daytona.
The team bus is taking us from Ogden to Salt Lake City, where we'll fly to Orlando. Once there, another bus will be waiting to drive us the hour left to our hotel. It will take us the whole day to get there, but at least the competition doesn't start until tomorrow so we'll get a little time to explore and rest tonight.
The excitement is palpable as we all get onto the bus, laughing, singing, and cheering all around us. Bella's been a little quiet, which is very unusual for her. Maybe she's nervous. I'm nervous as fuck, too.
"I got you something," Bella says, scooting to the window seat as I drop next to her. She pulls her backpack to her lap and starts unzipping it.
"I didn't know we were getting each other stuff." Fuck. Should I have gotten her something?
"We're not," she corrects. "I am."
From her backpack, she pulls out some type of fabric, wrapped in plastic, and hands it to me. It's a small, purple towel, but it doesn't have our team logo. Instead, embroidered in a playful font is "Colorado boy, Daytona 2022."
"Fuck, Swan, that's cool." I chuckle, turning to her as she stares at me with wide, excited eyes. "I love it, thank you!"
"You're welcome." She sets her backpack down and snuggles into my arm. I look out the window as the bus departs, and Bella promptly passes out for the forty-five minute ride.
Once at the airport, and after checking in, we get to work. Somehow, Bella convinced me to shoot a quick video for her new sponsor: Heelys. What shoes with wheels have to do with cheerleading, I don't know.
At first, I said no. Seemed unsafe to stunt with wheels in your shoes. But when she mentioned the amount of money they were getting, and the fact that I could get a cut, I got over myself. Maybe this is the kind of stuff I need to do to be able to take her to Paris one summer…or to the beach, at a minimum.
We still haven't discussed in detail our plans for the summer. She said she talked to her parents about getting out of the Cheer tour, and that she was working on it. She told me not to worry about it, that we should focus on Daytona.
With training and practices, classes and privates, we've had our hands full this past month. So, I had no other choice but to postpone worrying about the summer until after Daytona.
We set up in front of the gate for our quick, yet lucrative, airport stunt. Vicky handles the camera, and Emmett spots us, just in case. The plan is for Bella to roll to me into a front handspring, full up, then immediate lib before pop off. Not too technically difficult, and a front handspring full up is something we have practiced—a lot—as it is part of our partner stunt routine.
It takes a few tries to get the timing right, from the added complication of the Heelys, for me to catch her hips and lift her up during her handspring, and for my hands to be able to grip the bottom of these awkward shoes, but we get it right—or at least to Bella's satisfaction—before our flight starts getting called to board.
Bella quickly edits the video as we take off and then sleeps most of our four-hour flight. She's asleep when they bring out lunch, but I get it for her anyway, relieved when she eats it as soon as she wakes up. I've been keeping an eye on her, trying not to obsess over it or mention it to her at all, but she has been eating so I've relaxed about it.
"Summit State, Summit State, great, great, great!" Emmett chants behind me as we line up for the bus, hands on both my shoulders, shaking me while he obnoxiously sings.
"Jesus, settle down, Em!" I groan. I'm carrying Bella's and my bags since she had excused herself to the bathroom, and without her around and the current weather that's already making sweat trickle down my back, my patience and mood take a significant hit.
"Our first Daytona, babe!" He wraps an arm over my shoulder, stepping beside me. "Can you believe it?"
"I know, it's crazy." I take a deep breath, turning back to check if Bella is coming yet, puffing my cheeks as I exhale when I don't see her.
"Hey, it's gonna be all good." Emmett squeezes my shoulder as Coach Hale starts calling us in. She stands by the door of the bus, in full Summitt attire. Her hair's up in a ponytail, and she could easily pass as one of the athletes. "Dope outfit, Coach!" Emmett says as he moves in front of her and takes the first step up the bus. She rolls her eyes and smacks him on the shoulder with her clipboard while he laughs.
I stay behind until Bella finally comes, complaining about the restrooms being crowded, and then we're the last ones to board the bus before we start our final stretch to Daytona.
~.~.~
"Holy shit!" I lean on the balcony railing, the breeze hitting my face. It would be nice if it didn't feel like actual heat blowing on my face. "You can see the bandshell from here!"
At the foot of our hotel, and with the ocean as a backdrop, is the outdoor rock amphitheater that will house all of our performances. In front of it, there is the stage, covered in a blue and red mat with the NCA logo. Chills run down my spine at the thought that in less than 24 hours, it will be us standing right there, doing our thing, what we have been working for the whole school year.
"It's amazing, isn't it?" Bella comes behind me, tucking herself under my arm and peeking down from the railing as well.
"How did you score an oceanview room?"
"We all did." She looks up at me with a sweet smile. I wonder if she—or rather Phil—had anything to do with this. Emmett and I are supposed to be rooming together, just as are Vicky and Bella, but we've decided to switch…at least unofficially.
"Do you want to go in the water?" I whisper into her head, hugging her to me. We have some time. Dinner with the team isn't for another hour. And we were told we could explore for a bit until then.
Bella shakes her head, staring up at me with a hint of a smile on her face. "We can't. It's bad luck!"
"C'mon…" I groan, kissing the side of her head while my hand roams her lower back.
"We can go in after we win." She pulls away from me with a wink.
"Seriously?"
"Yup." She pats my chest, sneaking out from under my arm. "We can go walk around." She leans against the sliding windows that open into the room and yawns onto her shoulder. "We can check out the bandshell up close."
"You okay?" I inch closer to her, and when I cup her face with my hand, she leans into it, closing her eyes.
"Just tired," she says with a sigh.
"We can stay in and rest before dinner if you want." I eye the room behind her, the one we have all to ourselves. I'm very much okay with staying in.
"I'm okay…" She reaches up on her tiptoes to kiss me before turning around and walks back into the room. "Let's go explore. We'll rest tonight."
~.~.~
Dinner is chaotic. Emmett and Jake break a chair while trying to flip off it in the dining hall. Coach yells at everyone and sends us to our rooms. I think we're all just overflowing with energy. The jitters are hitting us hard before our competition tomorrow.
I'm lying flat on one of the double beds while Bella is in the bathroom, getting ready for sleep. The weighted shoes I packed for the trip are in my hands as I toss and turn them, practicing my grips again and again.
Bella comes out of the bathroom in her tiny shorts and my T-shirt. Her hair is down, flowing past her shoulders. A fresh smile is on her face. She sneaks into bed with me, getting under the covers, and rests her head next to mine.
"Keep going," she says excitedly. "I want to see what you see from down here."
I chuckle and flip the shoes, first a full around and then a double.
"Do you focus on my soles all the time?" she asks, still looking up as I turn the shoes again.
"Once you're up, yes. Most of the time."
"What else do you look at?" She turns to me, teasingly.
"Nothing else." I peek back at her, dropping the shoes to my chest. "Or you end up on the floor."
She giggles and presses her lips to mine, snuggling up to me as I drop the shoes on the floor.
"What do you look at?" I ask her, curious.
"I can't see anything when I spin. A double or triple is all a blur." Her fingers reach for my hair, tracing patterns behind my ear. I haven't managed a triple yet. Not a clean one. Haven't held it up enough to count. It's hard to stop that momentum after she's spun three times and keep her up straight. I've seen her do them, though, with Jake. One day, I'll do a triple with her. "I do look at you on the hands-in-hands."
"I know." I groan into her lips. "It's incredibly distracting."
She giggles and pulls back a little, her eyes finding mine and shining. "I can't believe we're here and about to compete tomorrow—together." She smiles at me sweetly, her hand still in my hair. "I love you."
"I'm so in love with you, Swan," I say from my heart, feeling my chest tighten. "These past months … a year almost … It's been incredible. Easily the best time of my life yet."
"It's been the best time of my life, too." Her fingers run patterns in my hair. "All because of you."
"Nah. It's because of you." I touch my nose to hers. "You make me feel like I can be anything I want. Like I can do anything."
"That's because you can," she says, resting her head on my arm. "It's funny you say that." She smiles again. "That's what I told Rosalie when she first confronted me about you, after my birthday last year. Remember that party?"
"When we escaped through the windows?"
"Yes." She chuckles.
"And Coach made us run until everyone threw up the next day?"
"Yes." She laughs a little harder now.
"Of course, I remember." I run my fingers in her hair, getting lost in her eyes.
She takes a deep breath before she whispers, "You also make me feel like I can be anything I want. Like I can be anyone."
"You can, too," I say. "And after we win everything this weekend, we'll have time to do anything we want. Together."
"I can't wait," she says, smiling broadly while her eyes shine despite the hint of something else I can't really place…sadness? Worry?
"Swan…" I think she can sense my concern because her fingers resume their patterns in my hair, with evident purpose.
"I'm okay," she says, the sadness in her eyes gone. "Just a little nervous for tomorrow."
"You sure?"
"Yeah…" Her tone is dismissive as her fingers run over my jaw and then down my neck.
"What about the summer?" I ask in a whisper, her hand roaming over my chest and down my sides. "The tour?
"We'll figure it out after." Her fingers trail a pattern down my torso, almost to the waistband of my shorts, before moving back to my neck.
Effectively distracted, I press my lips to hers, while my hand does some exploring on its own, reaching under the covers for her waist. I pull Bella to me, trying desperately not to moan as the bulge inside my shorts presses against her.
"We should probably sleep," she whispers softly. "Be ready for tomorrow."
She pulls away from me, and her fingers run over my jawline. I sigh and reach for her face. My thumb rubs her cheek, and she smiles sweetly at me.
She's probably right. And we do have to rest. The biggest competition of our cheer careers is imminent, and we should focus on that. But fuck, it's been a while since we've been intimate. With practice and rehearsals and roommates and interruptions.
Bella breathes out next to me, seemingly content, and closes her eyes. I turn on my back and huff a little, a bit frustrated—hard as fuck—but determined to let her rest as it seems to be what she needs.
I run my hands down my face and plan to breathe it out, preparing to let myself rest as well. But as soon as I do, there's a loud, persistent knock on the door. I rush to open it while Bella startles and scurries out of bed behind me.
"Coach wants us all in the lobby," Vicky urges at our door. Emmett is behind her, putting his shirt on and walking out of the room across from us with only one sock on. The hallway quickly fills with the rest of our teammates, everyone heading downstairs.
I don't have to relay the message to Bella. She's already getting ready, throwing my hoodie on.
~.~.~
Coach and Jasper are waiting outside on the terrace adjacent to the lobby, which looks out to the beach. There are a few lounge chairs spread out in front of them, where our teammates scatter. Bella and I take a chair too. She sits between my legs, resting her back on my chest. She shudders with the breeze, as it has significantly cooled down, so I wrap an arm around her.
"All right, listen up." Coach climbs onto the cement step under the railings that lead to the beach, and everyone turns to look at her. "This is it, you guys. This is the moment we've been working for throughout the year. A year of pain, of tears, of laughs. We've fallen. We've gotten back up. We've adjusted. All for this weekend. All for this moment right here."
The wind blows Coach's hair onto her face, and she tucks it over her shoulder as we all look up at her.
"We have the best routine in the competition," Coach Hale continues. "Now we just need to hit it. Be smart out there. Clean grips. Clean stunts. Make the best out of every single step. Hitting zero deductions is what we're going for. It doesn't matter what anyone else does. We're competing against ourselves. To be the best version we can be. We've practiced again and again. We've put in our time, now we get to show off."
She clasps a hand on Jasper's shoulder, whose arms are crossed as he looks at us.
"No matter what happens, we come off that stage with our heads held high because we've done the best we can do, and then we do it again for finals on Sunday. Are we clear?"
"Crystal," some of us say.
"Jas?" Coach pats Jasper on the shoulder as he helps her down from the step.
Jasper gestures for us to gather, and we huddle, linking arms.
"Teamwork?" Jasper clasps a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it tightly.
"Dream work!" we all reply in unison.
"Hard work?"
"Pays off!" We chant a few times until everyone is pumped and ready. Coach dismisses us to go to sleep, promising physical punishment, looking straight at Emmett, if anyone else breaks anything else.
The excitement among us persists, but a different feeling takes over. Responsibility. I feel it from my teammates, too. We won't let anyone down. We will do our absolute best. And our hard work will pay off.