The Naughty List (The Naughty List #1)(55)
Author: Suzanne Young

“What’s up, Coach?” Aiden asked. He was still staring at me, looking nostalgic.

“What’s up?” Coach Taylor looked ready to pounce. “Oh, I don’t know, son. How about the fact that you walked out on my speech, attacked another student, and are making a spectacle in center court during halftime? Is that enough up?”

Aiden chuckled. “Am I suspended, then?” I darted a nervous glance between them.

“No,” Coach Taylor said, looking into the bleachers. “Luckily for you the Ducks are winning. They’re so high off their own fumes, they didn’t hear a thing from the locker room. The principal was calling for your removal, but I talked him into suspending you from school starting tomorrow,” he said gruffly, pulling up on and adjusting the waistband on his khakis. “You think I’m gonna let my star player get kicked out of the finals?”

Glad his priorities were in order. The playoffs came first.

“Tessa?” Coach Taylor asked, and looked at me. “Do you mind if Aiden fulfills his commitment to his team?” He was being sarcastic.

“No, sir.”

Aiden reached over to touch my fingers. “Go cheer for me, baby,” he said, leaning quickly to kiss my cheek. Then he walked over to slap his coach on the back. “Well, then, let’s go!” he said wide-eyed, like Coach Taylor was the one slowing them up.

Coach Taylor exhaled as if he’d been worried that Aiden was a lost cause. He followed my ex-boyfriend as they jogged toward the lockers. Aiden turned back once to wave at me, and I giggled. He was so dang cute.

Kira stared at me as I approached the sidelines. Her face was unreadable. I paused in front of her, reaching down to pick up my pom-poms. The rest of the girls were cheering from the line, but Kira watched me. I looked behind us at the crowd, happy to see that Christian was gone. My father winked at me from behind his glasses. He was purely peachy.

“So,” Kira said, slapping my hip with her pom-pom. “What was up with the make-out session? You two still broken up and shit?”

“Kira. Language.”

She beamed. “Welcome back, Tess. The Smitten Kittens have missed the snot out of you.” Clever girl. She’d been testing me.

I wrapped my pom-pomed hands around her and gave her a hug. She was a great friend and—for the rest of the season—captain. Even though the season ended tonight.

“All right,” I announced as I pulled back. “Let’s win this game with our school spirit.”

She jumped up and down. The rest of the girls keyed into our enthusiasm, and the squad was in full effect. Even Leona was smiling.

Twenty minutes and fifteen cheers later, the Wildcats lost by three points. It was disappointing, but I was pretty sure that Aiden and I were both still in good moods. As his coach shook his head on the sideline, Aiden kept looking over at me and waving. He was whipped cream, even if he didn’t belong to me anymore.

I’d take some time, reevaluate my goals. Maybe think up some new cheers. And then, who knew what would happen.

There would always be time for Aiden. After all, Kittens had nine lives.

SOS UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT

Dear Clients,

I’m happy to announce the reforming of SOS. Due to a change in leadership, services were temporarily put on hold. But now we’re back and totally badass.

If your boyfriend is acting suspicious, text a cheater request form to our new number at 555-1863 but be specific. For us to catch him in the act, we’ll need to know exactly who he’s doing.

Again, we’re psyched to help out the girls of Washington High in their quest for a decent boyfriend. We’re currently updating our Naughty List roster, so text with any important information.

There is now a fee schedule for our services, but for the grand reopening, we’ll offer a 50 percent discount to the first ten clients.

We’re back. And we’re going to kick cheating ass.