Coach's Daughter

10.

Chapter 10.

I had never in my wildest dreams imagined I would be standing in a cheerleading uniform yelling with happiness at my own team's loss. Especially when the game had been incredibly close--we lost in overtime after the opposing team won the coin toss and got the ball first in OT. I had been biting my nails the whole game, not sure which would be worse: if we won, and I had to buy a superfan t-shirt, or if we lost, and Luke brought me as a date to Brent's party. All things considered, I was happy to be going to the party with Luke. Maybe Kelsey was right; maybe this was exactly what Luke needed to see me as a romantic interest instead of just a dumb kid. I found myself grinning at the thought.

"Don't look so happy there," Kelsey laughed, nudging my side playfully. "Are you aware that the team lost?"

I turned my head away from the football players exiting the field and grinned at her. "Yeah, but I won."

Kelsey smirked. "Told ya you would."

A smile remained on my face as I helped pack up all of the pom poms and the other cheer supplies we had brought to the field. It wasn't much.

My smile faded as I saw my father headed my direction. And he didn't look happy. I gulped. Dad was almost never in a good mood after a team loss. He hates losing. It didn't even matter that I won and Luke had to take me as a date to the party. There was no way he would let me go now. I wished I could shrink into the ground and hide.

"I was surprised to see you here Lilly," Dad said pointedly. "Especially since you weren't on the bus." He looked upset and slightly frustrated.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I wanted to tell you, I just didn't know how. And I didn't know for sure if I would even be allowed to stay on the varsity team. I didn't think it would be that big a deal."

"It wouldn't have been," he snapped, "if you had just been honest with me. Instead, you had to sneak around and hide it from me. You keep telling me I should trust you, and then you go and pull crap like this. If you had just told me, I would have been happy for you. You were great tonight, and I would have been thrilled to share game nights with you. But instead, you just proved to me again why I can't trust you to tell me the truth."

I fiddled with my bracelet, trying to find the words to explain myself. But looking at the disappointment written across his features, there was nothing I could say. I had messed up, and I knew it.

Kelsey gawked at my Dad and me, looking confused. "So...are you still coming to the party tonight?" she asked.

"No, she's not," Dad answered for me. "Not after the stunt she just pulled."

"All of the cheerleaders are going to be there," Kelsey pressed. "It would be a good chance for her to get to know the team."

His eyebrow twitched as he processed Kelsey's argument. For a second I thought he was actually going to cave and let me, but then he said, "Absolutely not."

Saw that one coming.

"All of my football players are going to be there," Dad explained. "I don't want you mingling with boys--especially the ones on the football team. Especially since you just proved to me that I can't trust you." He raised his voice slightly as he talked. It was apparent that he didn't like the idea of me having any guy friends, dating or not.

I held back the urge to roll my eyes. I loved my Dad, but he was seriously overprotective. I mean, sure, I should have told him about the whole cheerleading thing. But that one little thing didn't mean I was incapable of making a good decision about anything. It wasn't even that bad.

"Dad," I said firmly, but not disrespectfully. "I'm finally in public school and have friends, but you won't let me hang out with them. I didn't tell you that I joined cheer because you're overprotective and always say no. Why can't I just go?"