Page 12 of The Cheerleader is Off Limits

I usher her hand away from me and give her a smirk, avoiding the second part of her analysis. “Men who look like me, huh? Find me attractive, do you?”

She scoffs and rolls her eyes. “Of course, that’s all you got from it. Yeah, I think you’re hot, and I think you know that I think you’re hot, and worse, I thinkyou knowthat you’re hot, which has probably made you a bit of an asshole.”

“I plead the Fifth.”

“I’ll bet you do,” she deadpans. “So what if you did meet the right woman, but you were an asshole?”

I snort, thinking about all the women I’ve met over my life. “Trust me, I have not met her.”

“Have you tried? I mean, after you got in her pants?” she asks, folding her arms over her chest.

“You think you’re so smart after what, four years in the real world?” I say with a little more bite than I intended, but I wasn’t about to be judged by someone I just met.

“I’ve been around and seen some stuff. Probably more than you have. Sure, you’re older, but are you wiser?”

My prior annoyance floats away. “Are you high?” I ask her, wondering if she’s about to launch into some sort of marijuana induced witticisms.

She makes a noise that sounds part scoff, part chuckle. “Maybe. But I’ve also been homeschooled my entire life, practically because I’ve been traveling and seeing the world outside the United States, learning about its cultures and customs. I’ve seen a lot and experienced just as much. Just saying, I’ve been living in the “real world” a whole lot longer than four years. I don’t know it all, but I know some stuff.”

Remembering her background, I realize that she’s probably a lot more mature than most people her age, and I let out a sigh as I prepare to tell the story I never do unless I’ve had multiple drinks. “I dated someone in college.” I relent. “Through all of it, actually. I was young and… I just assumed we’d get married sometime after we graduated. We met freshman year and dated until graduation. She was going to medical school and she said she didn’t have time for a relationship. Just like that. Four years, wasted,” I say, with the bitterness I still feel when I think about how she walked out of the apartment we shared the night after graduation without a look back. “She then went on to fuck three guys from our friend group after that, so if you’re sensing some hostility, it’s notjustbecause she ended it to focus on a career I would have supported.” I ball my hand into a fist and then open it, trying to let my frustration out through flexing it. “Do you have another one of those? I fucking hate talking about her.”

Sloane immediately goes into her bag and pulls one out handing me another one. “Damn. Do you ever wonder if she cheated on you in college?”

“No, Sloane, that thought never crossed my mind.” I reply with all the sarcasm I could muster. “I asked in several of the heated arguments that followed over the weeks but she always said no and that we just weren’t compatible long-term, whatever the fuck that means.”

“Well, compatibilityisimportant.”She adds.

“Well, could she have told me that before the last day of college so I could have engaged with any of the girls that unashamedly flirted with me over four years? What if one of those girls were the right woman? My brother did meet his wife in college.”I tell her before taking the second gummy.

“Didn’t they get divorced?” She quips while tapping her lips and I wonder if she’s going to have a comeback for anything I say for the rest of this conversation.

“Okay, not the best example, but you know what I mean. People meet their person in college all the time. She knew I wasn’t hers for God knows how long, so it just felt like a waste. So yeah, then I went on to spend my twenties having all the fun I didn’t have in college.”

“And your thirties?” she asks, turning in her chair to face me and propping her head up on her fist.

“I don’t know.” I shrug. “No one really ever had my attention.” I turn my eyes to a spot on the floor, desperately wanting to talk about anything other than my ex-girlfriend from almost twenty years ago, who still feels like a crack in my heart that I’ve never quite been able to fill. “What about you? No boyfriend?”

She lifts her head and shakes it. “I traveled around so much, and I wasn’t really into the idea of intercontinental relationships.”

“That’s a mature approach. You’ll probably meet a nice guy in college. Just don’t break his heart.”

CHAPTER 3

SLOANE

Me:

I met the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen with my own two eyes at the airport. God. fucking. DAMN.

I text my cousin the literal second River gets up to use the bathroom. I’m actually wondering if he’s as comfortable with weed gummies as he said he is, because his eyes were a little hazy already.My eyes dart back and forth between my phone and the direction of the bathroom as a hint of worry comes over me.

Delaney:

Oh shit, give me details!

Me:

First off, he’s on my flight.