Turning, I shoot her a small smile. Can’t be too eager.
“Mornin’,” I say. Sloane looks lovely. She’s in comfy-looking jeans and her letterman jacket. I’m so used to seeing her in the cheer uniform it takes me a second to adjust to the sight of her. She’s so fucking fit, and I don’t mean that in the literal health way. In England, we’d say she’s fit as fuck. Crude, but true.
“Morning, Eden.”
“Ready to go?” I say. I just heard Jenna open her bedroom door, and I don’t want any snide remarks thrown my way. Especially because she’d say something about my crush on Sloane and I would have to strangle her.
Saying that, though, I doubt Sloane would be surprised. All the queer girls have a crush on her. Fuck, most of the straight girls, too. Not mentioning the guys. I know Keira, the evil soccer captain, wants to ask her out. The rumour mill is efficient at Holcroft.
I wonder if Sloane will say yes when she finally gets asked. Hell, she and Kiera will have a lot more in common than me and her. They can be all preppy together. Gross.
“It was nice meeting you, Liz. Hopefully I’ll see you soon.”
“We’ll make sure of it. Have a lovely day, girls.”
Swiping the last piece of toast from my plate, I head to the door and grab my backpack. Just in the nick of time, too, because Jenna stomps her way down the stairs just as I shove Eden out the door.
“Eager?” She laughs, stumbling.
“Shit, sorry.”
“Is it really that bad having me in your house?”
Her tone says she’s joking, but her eyes tell me there’s a hint of worry that I might have a problem with her being here.
“I was being gallant. You were seconds away from meeting my demon sister, who doesn’t give a shit if you’re a guest or not. She’d still eat you for breakfast. So, I saved you.”
Sloane mocks me by swooning. “Oh, my hero.”
“Yeah, alright,” I snark playfully. “Are we just doing a normal stroll to school, or are you expecting a bit of race walking?”
Sloane huffs out a laugh. “Just walking today.”
Not wanting the conversation to die an awkward death, I ask her about the football match on Friday. She sawme watching the cheer practice yesterday. I’m not interested in the least about the game, but I have respect for the athletes. I’ve seen how hard they work, and it creates a fun buzz around school when the season kicks off.
I also know Sloane and her team will compete at Nationals in February. That’s a lot of training.
“It will be a fun night. Are you coming?”
I’ve never attended a match. I wasn’t planning on starting now. “Nah, not my scene.”
“How do you know if you’ve never been to a game? You could fall in love with it.” She grins.
“I could also contract herpes from the bleachers.”
“Ew.”
“My sentiment entirely.”
Her shoulder knocks gently into mine as we walk. It will take about thirty minutes to get to school, which means plenty of time for me to get used to her proximity. It’s still daunting having her so close.
“Ah c’mon, Eden. Think of it as another challenge.”
“I’m not sure why you think I want another challenge. I’m barely on board with this one,” I say, waving to our surroundings. “I could be cosy in my car on the way to get coffee, singing at the top of my voice.”
She shrugs. “You can sing if you want.”
“Not the point.”
