The Perfect Touchdown

I paused and waited as Aiden got out of his truck and stood next to it. I didn’t need to be able to see his face to know he was scowling. I heaved a heavy sigh and dragged my feet over to him.

“Why did it take you so long to get back home? It’s almost midnight.”

I rolled my eyes and groaned. “And I’m 19 and in University, and it’s a Saturday! I’ll ask again because you still haven’t given me an answer, but what in the fuck is going on with you?” I cried. “You’ve been acting like a super over-protective older brother and it’s really pissing me off.”

“I’m just trying to make sure you don’t make some hasty mistake because you feel like you have so much to make up for. You’re the one who has been acting like a completely different person ever since you started here.”

I gaped at him. “What are you talking about? I went on one date, Aiden! Just admit that the only problem you have with me dating Jake is because he beats your ass on the field every time!”

The silence between us becomes unbearably heavy and I know I just said something I could never take back. I had no idea what else to say but I was too angry to apologize, so I stomped past him and into the dorm, breaking out into a run as soon as the door had shut.

Once I reached the dorm I breathed a sigh of relief and tiptoed inside to not wake Isabelle and she snored softly in bed. I stripped off my clothes and tossed them on the ground before I crawled under the covers and wished the morning would never come.

~*~

During practice the next morning, I could barely keep my eyes open as everyone chatted happily amongst themselves like everyone in the world got the best sleep of their lives besides myself. I couldn’t help but notice how Kendra and Kinsley were huddled together and kept looking over toward the field.

“What are you guys doing?” I asked.

“We’ve been waiting for Leah so we can start practice, but she has been all over Aiden Reed over there,” Kendra said and pointed toward them.

I looked over and saw as Leah fawned herself all over Aiden, and he seemed to eat it up like a dog. I almost gagged but my heart betrayed me when it beat painfully in my chest as I watched them act smitten together.

“Well, whatever that is it can wait, we need to practice our routine before the next game. The choreography is a mess after the three-man pyramid, it’s way too hard to jump down and get into that formation so quickly,” Kinsley said.

“Leah’s leadership is a mess. Half the time I wondered why she even became a cheerleader,” I said.

“Probably to hit on players,” they both said.

“It’s all she has done since we got here,” Kendra said.

It was exhausting talking to them, it felt like I was watching a mirror talk to itself.

“Should one of us go and say something?” I asked.

They looked at each other, then back at me.

“Well, you were voted co-captain,” they said.

I groaned. Of course, it fell on me to break that up. I trudged across the field and up to the loving couple before I cleared my throat to interrupt them.

“Sorry to interrupt, but Leah, everyone is waiting to start practice now.”

I looked at Aiden, but he avoided my gaze and acted as if I wasn’t there, his eyes glued to Leah. I tried to make sure that my face didn’t show how much that hurt, I did ask for it with what I had last said to him.

“Okay, I’ll be right there,” Leah said. She stood on her tippy toes and gave Aiden a long kiss before she bounced away. I stayed back and glared at Aiden.

“Do you really have to go after someone on my cheer team?”

He snorted. “At least she cheers for our team.”

I screamed in frustration and stomped away, there wasn’t anything I could say to that. Leah gave me a weird look when I got back, most likely having watched the exchange between the two of us.

“Do you two know each other?”

“He’s my brother’s best friend and frat brother, but we’re not on the best of terms,” I muttered.

“Oh, wow, what a funny coincidence!” Leah laughed.

I found it anything but funny, or a coincidence, but I didn’t have the heart to tell her.

~*~

Like every other weekend, there was another party at the Alpha Sigma Phi house. But this time, I had been invited to a party at Jake’s fraternity and that wasn’t a hard choice to make with the recent tension between Aiden and I.

The only problem was getting my brother to allow me to go.

“It’s just for the night Avery, and I promise to be responsible. When have I not been?”

“No, Ryles, I don’t trust any of those guys enough to let you go alone. Can’t you take Isabelle with you?”

I groaned. “I’m not a child, Avery.”

“Call Mom or Dad right now and ask them, I guarantee they won’t let you go. It’s one thing to party here with me and the guys, it’s completely different to be in a random house with a ton of drunk strangers on your own.”

“I’ll be with Jake, obviously.”

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that makes me feel better.”

“Then, why don’t you drop me off and pick me up? I can come home whenever you want me to, and you can have anyone you want to pick me up. Except for Aiden, anyone but him.”

“What, why not? He would be the best person to send if anything went wrong.”

I waved that off. “Don’t worry about it, just please don’t send that lunatic. Does that work for you? That way you’ll know exactly where I am, I’ll keep my location on and share it with you, and if you feel anxious about me being there then you can come and get me. I’ll message you the second I feel uncomfortable and check in every hour –”

“Okay, okay. I’m not that controlling, damn. Alright, I’ll drop you off and have Ryan pick you up, sound good?”

I clapped in excitement and threw myself at him for a hug.

“Thank you, thank you! I’ll text you when I’m ready to leave.” I kissed his cheek and rushed out the door to meet Isabelle out front. We planned to go shopping in the afternoon to get a new outfit for the party for me.

This was going to be the first night I don’t think about Aiden or my moronic feelings.

~*~

Aiden

I cracked another beer can and took a large swig before I dropped it back on the table and picked up the PlayStation remote, but at this point, even zombies and beer weren’t enough to get me out of my rut and distract me from the party that was going on downstairs.

I couldn’t remember the last time I didn’t attend an Alpha Sigma Phi party, especially as the Vice President. It was our goal to have an epic weekend at least once a month, and that had quickly turned to once a week when Carter had joined the house, bringing along with him a permanent drinking buddy in Noah.

But this time was different. I never wanted to avoid someone as much as I wanted to avoid Rylee. I felt pathetic just thinking about the way I had treated her, and for what? I have no idea. I have to get over the fact that she wasn’t the same little girl I knew growing up, she was just as grown up as I was.

I could never remember that she was only a year younger than Avery and me. It was hard with the way my mother always made me treat her like she was a fragile doll and was too innocent for her own good, which was partially true.

Every time she talked about going out and experiencing life in Uni, I couldn’t help but picture the sleazy girls I’ve screwed around with. I didn’t want her to ever turn out like that and from my past experiences, it didn’t take long for some girls to get to that point. One asshole was sometimes all it took to screw a girl up so bad she needed validation in the worst ways.

None of us had a clue who Jake Porter was, but we were well aware of who the people he hung around with were. Most of them had sexual assault charges under their belt already and half of them were barely 21.

“Screw this,” I muttered. All I was doing was wallowing in my own pity, mind as well get another stack of beers to accompany me down the hole.

I walked down the stairs and tried to keep my head down, but I couldn’t help to scan the room really quickly when I reached the kitchen, there were too many people to really see if Rylee was there. I did spot Isabelle over by Ryan and the DJ station, which told me Rylee wasn’t far.

I reached into the fridge, grabbed a couple more beers and went to walk back upstairs, but something in the back of my head stopped me. I didn’t want to go back upstairs without at least seeing her once. I wandered back to the living room and found Avery on the systems in the living room with Carter and Noah.

“Hey guys, where’s Rylee?” I asked them.

Avery told me to hang on a moment, but I slapped the controller out of his hand.

“What, man?”

“Your sister, where is she? I don’t see her here.”

“She didn’t come tonight; she went to a party with Jake Porter. Ryan is picking her up later,” he said and quickly went back to his games as everything around me came to a dull roar.

She was at a party alone with Jake Porter and his friends? What the hell was her brother thinking?

I ripped the controller out of his hands and picked him up from the couch.

“Dude, are you serious? Why the fuck did you let her go alone?” I screamed. This caught the attention of a few people nearby and the music seemed to quiet down.

Avery pushed me off him. “She isn’t a child anymore, man. I’m not her father, I can’t keep her from living her life, and I have her location on. This is Rylee we’re talking about; my parents raised her better than the girls you hang around with.”

I didn’t even care about the insult he slung at me.

“She isn’t who I’m concerned about right now, it’s the group of guys you’re letting her hang around with alone!”

“Yeah, man, I kind of agree with Aiden on this one. Those guys are assholes when they’re sober, imagine what they’re like when drunk,” Noah chimed in.

“Do you have a younger sister?” Aiden barked back. “Do any of you have a sister? No, I didn’t think so. What the hell else was I supposed to do? I don’t want my sister to hate me because I’m always all over her like a damn father, she has to make her own mistakes.”

“You’re a fucking idiot!” I roared at him and pushed him to the side to get to my truck keys. I tore out of the driveway and broke every speed limit there was on the way to Jacksonville State Uni.