Coach's Daughter

20.

Chapter 20.

I tapped my fingers nervously against the side of the bench I was sitting on. Cassie was in the process of doing my hair and makeup, and I couldn't sit still. Tonight was the big game against Clinton.

"Are you nervous about the game or something?" Cassie asked, taking my hair and brushing it backwards.

I snapped out of my thoughts, nodding my head ever so slightly. "Umm, yeah, kind of," I said, biting my lip.

It wasn't the game that I was worried about. It was more about Luke and Dylan playing against each other. I liked both of them, and I honestly wasn't sure who to root for. Not to mention, since Luke had dumped her, Madison had been making my life absolutely miserable. I half-expected her to publicly embarrass me somehow.

Cassie was silent a second as she secured the high ponytail with a hair tie. "There's more to it than being nervous about cheering. Isn't there?" One of the main reasons I liked Cassie was that she could practically read my mind.

"Is it that obvious?" I asked, pulling my sleeves over my wrists. The last thing I wanted was to let people know I was nervous. Especially Coach. Or Madison.

"Kind of," Cassie admitted, turning towards the cheer bag she'd given me. It was an old one that she didn't use anymore, so she'd told me I could have it. Pulling out the big bow that we were required to wear, she turned back towards me. "What's bothering you if it isn't cheer?"

Drama. I was sure telling her that I was caught between Madison and two attractive football rivals would it seem like I wasn't focused on cheer. And I was. I was just worried that either way, one of my closest guy friends was going to lose.

Cassie grabbed my ponytail and pulled the bow onto my hair, pulling the hair tie on the bow around a couple times, securing it well. "Trust me, the last thing you want is for your bow to fall off."

I smiled in thanks and waited next to Kelsey, anxious for the game to start. This was going to be interesting.

By half time, our school was up 28-21. Luke and Zach were dominating the field. It seemed to me that Luke was playing on a more personal level than the rest of the team. It was like nothing was phasing him.

I wasn't really able to watch much of the game since I was cheering, but Dylan seemed to be playing well too. It was going to be a close game.

Both teams had been in the locker rooms for the last 10 minutes or so, and Coach Hill was letting us walk around as we wanted.

Kelsey and I decided to head over to the concessions to buy waters and a quick snack. I was so nervous earlier that I hadn't been able to eat, and I was definitely paying for it now.

"This game has been intense," Kelsey said. "I'm kind of surprised that our defense has been so effective against Clinton."

I shrugged my shoulders. I still didn't know exactly what was going on between Dylan and Luke, but I knew they both wanted to win this game. "Yeah, it has," I agreed.

Kelsey sighed. "What's got you so preoccupied?"

I looked over at her, snapping out of my thoughts. "What do you mean?"

"You seem distant."

I heard the sound of cleats coming back towards the field. The boys were done in the locker rooms. Our team was headed back to the field. They all looked so serious, like they were all focused on winning.

Dad followed behind them holding a clipboard and talking with Luke and Zach about something. I just stood next to Kelsey by the gate to the field and watched as they all walked past.