Bryna shrugged noncommittally. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Start by sitting down.”

She laughed but followed his directions. “You’re bossy.”

“I didn’t want to sit next to Beth anyway. She drives me crazy.”

“And I don’t?”

“Most of the time, you do, but it’s different.” He plugged in his headphones and relaxed back.

At this point, Bryna knew she could probably get up and leave to go sit with Stacia. She could even feel Stacia’s eyes on her, wondering what was going on, but Bryna didn’t mind Eric’s company. She would be with Stacia all weekend.

Five long hours later, their flight landed in Miami, and the teams were quickly separated onto buses that would carry them to their hotel before the game.

Stacia scurried up to Bryna. “What the hell was that?”

“What?” Bryna asked.

She had known this was coming. It wasn’t as if she and Eric were dating or anything. They were friends who had hung out a couple of times over Christmas break. It was nothing she needed to hide. She just knew the rumors would surely follow.

“You’re friends with Eric now? You two totally hate each other. You’re like oil and water. You don’t mix.”

“Yeah, I got that, Stacia.”

“So, spill. What the hell happened?”

“We hung out over break. No big deal.” Bryna stared straight ahead.

This really was no big deal. Stacia needed to keep her voice down before the entire squad drilled Bryna for answers.

“Okay, team!” the coach said, getting all the girls together. “Let’s get over to the hotel. We have practice and dinner, and then you’re free for the evening. However, that does not include alcohol of any kind. If you leave the premises, please take someone with you, and report back in by midnight at the latest! I will be checking to make sure you all are in your rooms, and nothing nefarious has happened.”

“Pleasant,” Bryna said.

“We will talk about this later,” Stacia said.

After three hours of grueling practice and a quick dinner, the girls were finally released.

Neal had flown in from Tucson for the game and to meet Trihn. They were staying at the same hotel as the team. Stacia and Bryna met them in the lobby, and then they walked out to the beach together. The sun had set over the ocean, and the skyline was bathed in oranges and pinks.

“So, talk!” Stacia cried to Bryna.

Trihn looked at them in confusion. “What did I miss?”

“Bryna is friends with Eric Wilkins. Like friends,” she said dramatically.

“Wait, what?”

“We are not anything more than friends.”

“I thought you hated each other,” Trihn said. “How did friends even happen?”

“We ran into each other at Posse and went to get ice cream.”

Stacia gave her a knowing look. “You hung out with a guy and only got ice cream? Give me a break.”

“I’m serious. Nothing happened. We just hung out a couple of times, but he’s not interested in me at all. It’s not a big deal.” Bryna glared at her friends. She hated explaining herself.

“Wait, a couple of times?” Trihn asked.

Shit. “Yeah. We got lunch later that week and then went ice-skating at The Cosmopolitan,” she confessed.

“You’re dating Eric Wilkins,” Trihn said.

“Oh my God!” Stacia screamed. “You’re dating Eric! Mortal enemies now dating. How romantic. How does he kiss?”

Bryna stopped in her tracks. “We are not dating at all. No kissing. Nothing.” She wished she could explain better, but they had no reason to believe her anyway. “I’m still seeing my hot stranger. He was out of town on break.”

“Sure…” Stacia said.

She and Trihn shared a look that said they didn’t believe a word Bryna had said.

“It’s nice to have a guy friend, okay? I’m not worried about him making a move, so we just have fun. That’s all.”

“Fine,” Stacia and Trihn said in unison.

The conversation changed to other topics as they wandered down the beach. Bryna was looking forward to a little bit of surf and tanning tomorrow afternoon, but her mind was still set on the upcoming rumors about her and Eric. She knew they would run rampant. They had with Andrew.

When they circled back to the hotel, Trihn and Neal walked off on their own. Bryna suspected they were going to have sex on the beach. Stacia apparently had plans for a late-night date with a nameless football player, which Bryna figured meant the same thing as what Trihn and Neal would be up to. That would leave Bryna all alone.

On her way back up to her room, she stopped one of the guys in the elevator. “Hey, do you know where Eric is?”

“Uh… in his room?”

She knew she wasn’t helping matters at the moment, but they needed to talk. “Which room?”

“Coaches are on the eleventh floor. Ask someone up there.”

“Thanks.”

She made it up to the eleventh floor without incident, and thankfully, another guy directed her down the hallway even though he suspiciously looked at her. Cheerleaders were staying in different halls than football players and weren’t supposed to be in their rooms. It was like high school all over again. But the players needed to keep their heads in the game. After tonight, there would be no more downtime for them.

She knocked on the door and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Coming!” Eric called from the other side. He answered the door in nothing but a pair of loose-fitting basketball shorts, and he looked like a fucking god.

Fuck. She glared at him harder.

“Hey,” he said. “What’s up?”

She ignored him and pushed him out of the way to get into the room.

“What? So, we’re friends now?” He laughed

“We need to talk.”

“Oh, this sounds serious.” He shut the door behind her and leaned back against it. “You’re pissed about the plane still?”

“No, I’m pissed that my friends think we’re dating. We’re clearly not dating.”

“This is true,” he agreed. “You’re making a good case for it by cloistering yourself in my room.”

“I don’t date.”

“Okay.” He shrugged, unperturbed.

“And I’m fucking other people.”

“Why are you trying to convince me?” he asked. He still looked completely relaxed against the door. He thought this was a joke.

“I’m not. I’m telling you that people are going to spread rumors.”

“Don’t they always?”

She sighed heavily. “Forget it.”

“All right, chill. Ignore them like you usually do.”

“Fine,” she said. “I guess I’m going to go back to my room and shower. I feel like I have sand all over me.”

“Curfew isn’t for another hour,” he pointed out.

“And?”

“Stay, and hang out. What else do you have to do?”

Nothing. She had nothing else to do.

Really, when it came down to it, she didn’t care what people thought about her. And if Eric doesn’t care, then why should I? It would probably help him out in the long run anyway.

In either case, it was nice having someone to hang out with where there was no competition or chance of getting hit on. This must be what other people considered a real friend.

IGNORING THE RUMORS WAS EASY to do with the national championship game on everyone’s mind. LV State was sitting on top, undefeated, with everything to lose.

Bryna stood on the sidelines of the amazing new dome in Arizona. The ceiling had been retracted to let in natural light, and the grass was squishy under her feet. She had never been in a facility this impressive.

But her eyes were locked on the crowed in the packed stadium with the game going on behind her. She went through her sideline cheers with the girls as they all screamed their hearts out in hopes of rallying the already energized crowd.