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I think I’m falling in love with her all over again.
I stare at her profile as her brows knit, and she angles her shoulders back. Her face is full of color, and sweat gathers along her hairline and drips down her back. When she does her little skip thing that gives her more momentum to go into her run, I squeeze my asshole tight. I don’t know why, but fuck if this sport doesn’t give me crazy anxiety. Cameron does her cartwheel and hits the vault, then hits the floor. It all happens so fast that I don’t even understand why she isn’t landing on her feet. She gets the height, but her feet aren’t making it to the mat before her face does.
“You know this is mental,” her coach tells her as he stands with his arms crossed over his wide chest. “You’re choosing not to land.”
Well, I don’t like that at all. Fucking fucker. I stand to mirror his stance as I watch Cameron listen. “You gotta lift your chest and find your landing. I know this is a tough vault, but you wanted tough for your senior year. Here it is—take it by the horns and stand it, White. Or you’re not vaulting this week.”
I especially don’t like how he says her last name like a curse.
I don’t like this guy.
Cameron presses her lips together as she nods and starts walking toward me. She doesn’t make it far before he yells at her, “I’m not gonna stand here and watch you eat this mat! I don’t know what else to say to help you. This is all on you.”
She swallows hard, and I’m ready to fight the dude. Her eyes meet mine, and she shakes her head. “Don’t you dare.”
“What?” I ask innocently.
“You look like you’re about to beat his ass.”
I shrug. “He’s got one more time before I do.”
“Stop,” she demands as she walks to where her water bottle sits beside me. “It’s already a shitshow with me not landing. I don’t need you making it worse by being all protective and shit.”
I just look at her. “What’s wrong?”
She stares down at me. “I’m not fucking landing.”
“Why?”
Her eyes about bulge out of her head. “How the hell am I supposed to know?” she yells incredulously. “It’s a blind fucking landing, but I can land it. I’ve done it before.”
“You know what I think?”
She exhales harshly, cutting her eyes to mine. “What?”
“That you can do it.”
Her shoulders fall. “I know I can, but I’m not doing something right, and I can’t figure it out.”
“Talk to me,” I tell her, holding her gaze. “Break down what you’re doing.”
She presses her lips together before she sighs deeply. “So, my run is good, I’m getting the momentum I need, I’m doing my Yurchenko with ease. I’ve got that, no issues. I know I’m hitting the boards right, and even when I block off the vault, I’m already…” Her voice trails off, and she looks over her shoulder. “Hey, am I twisting too early?” she yells to her coach.
He looks up and shrugs. “I don’t think so. Do it again.”
She looks back at me, and I grin. “Do you, baby.”
Her lips curve as she goes to the line. I watch the determination on her face, and I’m in awe. She does her hop thingy and hauls ass to the vault. She hits the table and has so much power, she doesn’t hit the middle of the mat with her face, but the edge instead. Progress, I feel. “You’re twisting way too early,” her coach says, “You’re not letting your toes go up all the way before you twist. You’ve got to be patient. Again.”
Cameron nods and then jogs back to the line again. Once more, I watch as she runs, hits the vault, and when she stands it up, I come off the bleachers as if she just stuck her landing at a meet. “Let’s go! Yes, baby! Ten, ten, ten, ten,” I chant like her teammates do, opening and closing my hands. Her coach looks annoyed with me, but Cameron’s grin is unstoppable as she looks over her shoulder at me.
He gives her a high five and then nods. “We’re stopping on a landing, even if you did take eight steps when you could have stuck it.”
So, he wants to fight me, eh?
Cameron doesn’t seem to mind him as she beams once her eyes lock with mine. She jogs toward me, and I meet her halfway, wrapping my arms around her and lifting her off the floor while our lips touch. She squeezes my face as we kiss, and my heart thumps with pride. When I pull back, I beam up at her. “That’s my girl.”
She wiggles happily in my arms. “I love you.”
I feel like my ribs crack from how big my heart swells for this girl. “I love you.”
