Cupcake

“Who knew there was so much nudity in football?”

My eyes went wide as I looked from the field of fully clothed football players to my best friend.

“Toni,” I said, “what the heck? Where’d that come from?”

She shrugged, gesturing down a few rows to the student section of the bleachers. “Just look at them. They’ve got to be freezing their butts off.”

I followed her gaze. Sure enough, there were several shirtless guys and girls with flesh-colored tank tops huddled together. Each had a dark green letter outlined in white painted on their chest, and together the message spelled Let’s Go Trojans! I had to admit, Toni had a point. A lot of the students were wearing shorts. The wind tonight wasn’t playing around. And it really did look like most of them were naked from the waist up.

But that was the point.

“Ah,” I said, burrowing deeper into my sweater. “Yeah, apparently they’re called the naked boys—and girls. Kind of a cross between a super fan and cheerleader. It’s about school spirit.”

Toni scoffed, giving me side-eye. “How do you know that?”

I squirmed in my seat. “I may have done some research before the game.”

The shrewd look on her face made me blush.

“What exactly did this research entail?”

“Googling what to expect at a football game and binge-watching the first two seasons of Friday Night Lights,” I mumbled. Toni’s jaw dropped, but before she could say anything, I added, “Don’t look at me like that—it was addictive. And don’t even get me started on the movie. That was even better.”

Toni shook her head. “I’m going to have to check for myself, but if the guys look anything like your boy Rhys, I may have to do some bingeing of my own.”

I frowned. “He’s not my anything.”

“Whatever,” Toni said. “Tell me again how your super-hot prince begged you to come see him play.”

“Ugh, it wasn’t like that. He just asked me so he could make up for the dancing.”

She lifted a brow. “It couldn’t have been that bad.”

“Oh yeah?” I retorted. “I iced my feet through FNL season one. By the end, they were still throbbing.”

Toni winced, but my eyes narrowed on the smirk that followed a second later.

“What?” I asked.

“I bet you were nice about it,” she said.

“Of course I was.” I shrugged. “I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. It’s not Rhys’s fault he has two left feet.”

“Okaaay,” she said, “true or false: he asked you to come tonight.”

I tilted my head in thought. “It was more like a trade. But yeah, I guess.”

“And you’re going to his house tomorrow? To practice?”

The way she said “practice” made me roll my eyes.

“Yeah, but that was my idea,” I said.

“I bet it was, you saucy thing,” she tittered.

“We’re only going to his place because I’ve never had a guy come over.” I shook my head. “You know my mom. I love her to death, but there’s no telling how she’d react.”

“I bet she’d be pleased as punch.”

“She would,” I confirmed. “She’d also probably read a lot into it—kind of like someone else I know.”

My BFF just raised a brow.

“It’s only to work on the dance,” I said. “Seriously. Rhys runs as hot and cold as my shower.”

“Sure, sure.”

Toni pointed, bringing my attention back to the game.

“Let’s not argue,” she said. “Offense is taking the field. Your boy is up.”

I sighed but didn’t correct her again. Toni had decided Rhys and I were a thing (or that we soon would be). She read into every one of our interactions, dissecting them, turning every word into something romantic. To be honest, I couldn’t really blame her; my mind did that sometimes, too. I blamed movies, books, and TV for setting my expectations way higher than they should’ve been.

But this wasn’t a teen rom-com, and Rhys Castle was so out of my league we weren’t even in the same galaxy.

As the team got set for the play, I couldn’t take my eyes off Rhys. It was hard to believe this was the same guy who’d struggled through our dance choreography, unsure and awkward. He certainly had all the right moves tonight. Rhys’s voice was strong as he called out the plays. When the ball was snapped, he was in full control, his movements fluid, finding his man and throwing the ball straight to his target.

Down after down, they got closer to the other team’s goal.

On the next play, Rhys was almost sacked—a term I now knew from watching all those hours of Friday Night Lights—but he spun away. No one was open, so he took his chance and ran. The cheers from the crowd grew louder as he passed the twenty…the fifteen…the ten…and…

“Touchdown!” the announcer said over the speakers.

The crowd went wild. Toni and I cheered right along with them as the marching band started up a song. The energy was infectious.

Okay, maybe I could get into this organized sports thing after all.

“Rhys Castle, starting quarterback for the Trojans, has just run the ball in for a twenty-five-yard touchdown. He’s a senior with a very bright future, ladies and gentlemen. Let’s give it up for Rhys!”

As he jogged back to the sidelines, getting pats on the back and high fives, I had to shake my head.

Was this even the same guy?

I mean, his footwork out there was crazy, his arm like a cannon. Confidence was in every movement he made.

Rhys removed his helmet to get water, and that confirmed it. Yep. Same dark hair you’d love to run your hands through, same large hands that had actually been on my waist not too long ago.

A shiver raced up my spine.

And yup, same strong jaw that got tighter when he frowned. There was the Rhys I knew.

“Ariel,” Toni said, breaking me out of my daze. “I know you say the guy can’t dance, but…”

“Yeah?”

“Honest to God, Rhys Castle doesn’t look like he’d be bad at anything.”

I couldn’t help but agree.

The game ended with Honeycomb winning 42-13. It wasn’t a surprise. The momentum seemed to be on our team’s side the whole time, and with Rhys’s stellar performance and the defense holding the line, it was no contest. As the stands started to clear out, Toni and I made our way down the stairs.

“Do you have a dress for Homecoming yet?” Toni asked.

“Nope,” I grimaced. “I was thinking of doing some online shopping this weekend.”

“Well, don’t wait too long.”

“Yeah, yeah, thanks, Mom.” I nudged her with my elbow. “What about you? Any plans for Homecoming?”

Toni sighed. “To die single while you dance the night away with your quarterback.”

She was so dramatic I had to laugh. “Toni, be real.”

“I am,” she said. “No one’s asked me, and there’s only like two more weeks left.”

“That’s plenty of time. Besides, what about Ben Schultz?”

“What about him?”

“I noticed him gazing at you in homeroom. I think he’s got it bad.”

She fluffed her bob. “Ben was probably just checking out your awesome rack again.”

My lips curved up in a smile. “No, his eyes were definitely on you.”

“As if I’d be interested,” she said and crossed her arms. “Did you see him tonight? I think he was one of those naked boys.”

“No,” I said, “but I find it interesting that you picked him out.”

She rolled her eyes. “Please, A. I mean, yes okay, he has a bit of a nerdy-cute thing going on. And okay, yes, I’ve seen him staring. But who goes out in these temperatures half naked? Only polar bears and people trying to catch the flu, my friend.”

“Hey, Toni.” It was none other than Ben himself, sounding out of breath, almost tripping on his way over to us. It was impossible to miss the big O on his chest. “I thought that was you.”

“Hey,” Toni said back.

After a moment, Ben turned to me. “Ariel. How’s it going?”

“Going all right,” I said, smiling as his eyes immediately moved back to my friend.

“Good, that’s good. Did you two enjoy the game?”

“Yeah, it was okay. Football’s not really our thing.” Toni gestured to his chest. “But…aren’t you cold?”

Ben’s face reddened, and he looked down as if only now realizing he was still sans shirt.

“Uh, yeah,” he said, quickly pulling his T-shirt out of his pocket and over his head. “That’ll teach me not to listen to my mom when she says sign up for spirit club. It’ll be fun. Haha.”

His laugh was awkward, but I saw Toni bite back a smile.

“For the record, I wasn’t complaining about the no-shirt thing,” she said. “I mean, you look good, Ben. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Great. I mean, thank y-you,” Ben sputtered and then took a deep breath, giving her a genuine smile. “Hey Toni, can we talk for a sec?”

I widened my eyes as my best friend looked to me.

“Yeah sure,” she said. “As long as Ariel says it’s okay…”

I nodded. “It’s more than okay. It’s wonderful,” I said, waving them both away. “Have an awesome talk, you guys. I’ll just go wait by the car. Take all the time you need.”

Toni and Ben looked at me like I had a few screws loose, but I didn’t even care. I had a feeling I knew what he was going to say, and despite her protests, I knew Toni wasn’t completely immune to Ben. And he was obviously smitten with my best friend, which showed good judgment. I gave a mental sigh as I watched them go.

I was just about to leave when…Rhys called out to me.

“Hey, Cupcake!”

My eyes cut to the right, and holy wow. This had to be a hallucination, because there was no way Rhys Castle was jogging toward me, still in his football uniform, his helmet held in one hand by his side.

He stopped about a foot away, only the fence separating us.

“Thanks for waiting,” he said, looking like something out of a dream.

I swallowed. “No problem.”

“Glad I caught you before you left. I wanted to tell you I can’t meet up tomorrow.”

“Oh.”

Why the heck did I sound so disappointed?

Rhys ran a hand over the back of his neck. “Yeah, I forgot I have the SATs in the morning. Then there’s this paper I still have to write for Mr. Simmons’s class. Pretty sure I’m going to be dead after that.”

“I thought you might have another mystery appointment,” I said.

His jaw tightened. “No, not this time.”

“Okay. Did you want to pick a different day?” I asked.

“I was thinking I’d try working by myself,” he said. “See what I can do. Take some of the pressure off.”

“Sounds like a good idea.” My brow furrowed as I thought over his words. “But what do you mean by pressure?”

“I mean, you,” Rhys said, causing a surprised laugh to burst from my lips.

“Me?”

“Yeah, I thought it might be easier without you watching.”

“Please, you just performed in front of a stadium full of people,” I pointed out. “One of whom was me, I might add.”

He shook his head. “That’s different.”

“How?”

“Not sure if you know this, Cupcake, but you’re…kind of intimidating.”

This was news to me.

“And no guy likes to fumble in front of a pretty girl,” he finished with an endearing shrug.

My heart leaped at the word, but I squashed it down hard. Rhys was obviously joking around. Just because he used the word pretty didn’t mean I had to start doodling his name in my notebook and planning the freaking wedding.

And his reaction when I’d mentioned his mystery appointment was the same as the other day: 100 percent cagey. Who knew? Maybe he had a secret girlfriend—or boyfriend—he didn’t want anyone finding out about. Oh my gosh, that could totally be it. What if Rhys thought I was hitting on him, and every time I mentioned his “appointment,” it made him uncomfortable? Ugh. Time to make sure he understood I’d be good with just friendship.

“Talk about intimidating,” I said. “You were impressive as heck out there, completed all your passes, no sacks, and that touchdown? Wow.”

“Thanks.” The corner of Rhys’s lips rose. “One game, and you already sound like an expert.”

I shrugged. “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.”

“Ah, I see,” he said. His eyes were laughing, but thankfully he didn’t make fun of me. “You know, back in middle school I went through a phase when all I wanted to do was watch reruns of Friday Night Lights.”

“No way.”

“Oh yeah, I even asked my parents if we could move to Texas.”

My smile grew as I pictured it.

He lifted his chin as he noticed the bag in my hands. “What do you have there?”

“It’s nothing,” I said quickly, hiding it behind my back.

Rhys frowned. “Huh? Doesn’t sound like nothing.”

Rolling my eyes at myself, I brought the bag back out and handed it over to him.

“These are for you,” I said, trying to ignore the nervous hitch in my voice.

“For me?” he said, unable to mask his surprise.

“It’s no big deal. My grandma always taught me to never go to an event empty-handed.”

Rhys reached into the bag as I kept rambling.

“They’re cake pops,” I said as he studied the little football-shaped cake on a stick. “I didn’t know what you like, so there are vanilla and chocolate ones. Fewer of the chocolate, since Toni and I ate a couple. But yeah, there’s dark chocolate covering, and the laces are white almond bark.”

During my rambling, Rhys had removed the clear wrapper. He bit into his pop, his eyes getting wider as he chewed.

“They’re good,” he said. “Really good.”

My cheeks warmed as he took another bite. “Thanks.”

“No, thank you, Cupcake. I’m always hungry after a game.” Rhys gave me a nod. “And this is a million times better than a protein bar.”

“Hey Castle,” someone on the team called. “Coach is looking for you.”

“Be right there,” Rhys said, then turned back to me and held up the bag. “This was thoughtful. Thanks again.”

I shrugged. “Good luck on your SATs—and the dancing.”

“Thanks,” he said with a small smile, and I felt my breath catch. “I’ll need it.”

Rhys jogged away, and the minute he was gone, Toni took his place. She told me how Ben had asked her to Homecoming (as I knew he would), how she’d said yes and couldn’t wait to go. My bestie was so excited, and I loved hearing all the details. She’d already found the perfect dress and put it on hold months ago. Ben was a total sweetheart (Toni’s words not mine). And she was so glad we both had dates now.

But…that wasn’t entirely accurate.

Toni was so happy. I didn’t want to interrupt and bring her down, so I kept my thoughts to myself, but the difference was clear. Rhys hadn’t asked me. He wasn’t officially my date and was only meant to escort me for a few minutes during the Court ceremony. I mean, the guy probably hadn’t even known I was alive before fate, Toni, and the Honeycomb chalices threw us together. For all I knew, we’d make our Court appearance, dance our two dances, and he’d go off with his real date.

There had to be a ton of girls who’d love to go with him.

And if my theory was correct about the secret girlfriend or boyfriend, he’d already be spoken for, anyway.

I still couldn’t stop thinking of what Rhys said. How he wanted to work on his own, how there’d be less pressure—but was that the real reason? Maybe he thought I was the problem? Maybe without me, behind closed doors, Rhys was a regular Fred Astaire? Though he definitely seemed to like the cake pops, my mind added. Or maybe I was overthinking this like I did everything else…

Ugh.

Being a girl was hard enough.

Why couldn’t guys come with step-by-step instructions like the recipes I loved so much?