Love Songs (Secret Songbook #1) (7 page)

For the remainder of the day, and even the week, Kaley managed to avoid all talk of Eli and her music. She even managed to walk home with Harvey each day without the dance being mentioned.

She was on a roll.

Kaley decided not to wear the red dress again, nor any dress for that matter. While she felt good trying something new, it wasn’t her. She wasn’t the kind of girl who could wear dresses and be all girly. That was Harper’s thing, not hers.

The days flew by, a whole two weeks before Kaley was dragged out of her comfort zone again and to another school event. It was the first home football game of the school year.

Not only would she have to suffer through all the school spirit, but also watch Eli for two hours. And Abigail, ugh, she would be with the cheerleaders on the sidelines reminding everyone how annoying they were. How Harper had convinced her to go was a mystery, she always knew when Kaley was at her weakest and unable to resist agreeing.

As she sat in the bleachers amongst every other student from her school, Kaley tried to act interested. She cheered when everyone else did and booed when the other team scored a point. For all intents and purposes, she had school spirit.

What was really holding her attention was Eli. He was the quarterback on the team and one of their star players. Kaley didn’t know any of the rules on how to play the game, but he had the ball a lot and people cheered when he ran so she guessed he must be a really good player. He looked breathtaking while he did it, if that counted for anything.

Harper found her in the stands and waved from the sidelines. She was in her full band uniform, they actually sounded pretty good tonight. Considering they had spent three weeks practicing with nursery rhymes, she was amazed they could carry a regular tune. Perhaps the teacher’s methods weren’t completely crazy.

Before the game Harper had shown off her uniform, teasing Kaley that she too could be in one if she had joined the band. It wasn’t exactly an incentive to sign up. They wore a uniform made out of thick fabric that barely breathed. It was described as royal blue but it was really the color of a dark blue as if it was caked in dust for ten years. The hats were the same horrible color. Needless to say, their budget was rock bottom.

When Harper turned back around and picked up her violin to play, Kaley searched the field for Eli. She had learned a few new things about him during the game. One was that he was slightly pigeon-toed, which was adorable.

Second, he had a habit of flicking his head to the left to get his fringe out of his eyes, but only when his helmet was off.

Thirdly, his blue eyes shone just as brightly when he was being tackled. It all made her want him even more.

During half-time, Kaley watched the band perform to keep her mind occupied. At least it signaled that the game was half over and she would be able to go home soon.

It was a nice night to be out and watching the game, but she would rather be doing something else. The only good thing was Eli. Her eyes wandered, looking for him on the sidelines. Both the players and the cheerleaders were taking a break while the band performed. Most of them sat on benches, drinking water and energy drinks.

Kaley recognized Eli’s profile in the dimness of the light. She would recognize him anywhere now. He was having a discussion with someone just outside of her view. It looked pretty intense, almost like he was arguing with the person.

Kaley leaned closer to the girl next to her, pretending to reach something on the ground. It gave her that extra view she needed of the other person in the conversation.

When she saw who it was, she gasped. Quickly covering her slip, Kaley sat back upright. Eli was having an argument with Abigail. Dressed in her blue cheerleader’s outfit –
real
royal blue, no hint of dusty covering – she was waving her arms around and shaking her fists angrily.

If she was close enough to hear them, Kaley thought for sure they would probably be yelling. She wished she could read lips, she desperately wanted to know what they were saying to one another. They had to be arguing about something, she would have loved to have known about what.

She couldn’t imagine Eli doing anything that would warrant a fight in the middle of the game, maybe it was her that had done something?
That
, Kaley could believe.

The band finished their set and let the cheerleaders have the field for their performance. Kaley watched as Abigail picked up her pompoms and joined them. When she walked, she stomped.

Eli took a seat on the bench and was handed a water bottle. He watched the cheerleaders, but Kaley figured he was probably only doing it out of duty. He probably didn’t have any interest in seeing Abigail dance through the routine.

They cheered through four songs, dancing and jumping in the air to show their support for the team. Honestly, they probably didn’t care at all about the football game, but they enjoyed the attention they received.

Everybody loved the cheerleading squad, everyone that wasn’t invisible anyway. Once, when they just started high school, Harper had wanted to join the squad. She had dragged Kaley to try out and they performed a routine together. They were terrible, truly horrendous.

It was one of the most humiliating things she had ever been talked into doing. However, at least they failed together. It was after that when Kaley decided she wouldn’t let Harper talk her into doing anything ever again. That resolve lasted a whole three days before the chess club was looking for new members and Harper wanted to join.

When Abigail left the field to wait by the sidelines, Eli didn’t look her way. He didn’t even seem to acknowledge her presence.

It made a smile spread across Kaley’s lips. She only felt a little bit guilty about enjoying Abigail’s misery. Perhaps it was some karma coming her way, Kaley was certain she must have been owed some payback. The way Abigail tortured everyone around her was terrible, it couldn’t go on forever without something coming back to bite her.

The whistle blew and the football team lined up on the field. The second half of the game seemed to go by quicker than the first. Eli continued to score points and had his hands on the ball for most of the game.

When the final bell sounded to signal full time, it was a clear win for the home team. The Sandyridge Stingrays had been triumphant in their debut on home turf. The crowds in the stands went wild, screaming and yelling for the team. The cheerleaders did the same while the band started up again.

Having never actually attended a game before, Kaley was unsure what happened afterwards. People around her seemed to be either leaving or yelling. She didn’t really want to do either so she just sat there, hoping the answer would become apparent. Or Harper would find her so they could sneak off together.

In the meantime, she was content just to watch Eli’s every move. He had received high fives, fist bumps, or slaps on the back from every guy on the team and anyone else who managed to get near him. He smiled so brightly that there was no hint of the earlier argument he had with Abigail.

Speaking of which, Kaley scanned through the crowds to try and locate her. She was with the cheerleaders but it didn’t seem like her heart was in it. She never looked at Eli, not even once. Instead pretending something in the opposite direction was far more interesting.

It was intriguing to say the least.

The celebrations quickly died down when the team slipped into their dressing room. The bleachers started to empty, leaving Kaley to sit there alone. She looked around, wondering if she should go and wait for Harper at the school. But then, she might miss her. She stayed put, nobody was likely to notice her anyway.

Five minutes went past, and then ten. And then another two before Harper finally appeared in the stands. She waved her down.

“Great job out there, Harper. Almost made me wish I had joined the band.”

“Really? Thanks. Stupid Stuart kept stepping on my foot and Brady didn’t leave me enough room for my bow, but I think it was otherwise okay. We really didn’t suck?” She was talking super fast and trying to catch her breath, the adrenaline starting to slow down for the night.

“You didn’t suck,” Kaley laughed. She was so happy she didn’t cave and sign up for the band. It was much more fun watching them. They weren’t exactly the best band in the world, very far from it. However that only added to the entertainment value.

They started heading for the parking lot where Harper’s dad would be waiting for them. He always watched the school’s games, even if Harper wasn’t playing in the band.

He had grown up in Sandyridge and attended the same school. He was a quarterback, just like Eli. Kaley guessed he liked to relive the olden days by watching the current team play. It meant a free ride so she didn’t question it.

“There’s a party at Mara’s house,” Harper said excitedly as they walked. “Nobody told me not to come, so I think we should go. My dad can drop us off there.”

“Your father is going to let you go to a party?”

“It’s Friday night and he knows I’m trustworthy. How can he say no?”

Kaley could think of many reasons how he could say no. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was kind of on his side. It had been a long day, she didn’t really feel like going to some stupid party where nobody would talk to her.

She’d been dragged to them before and they always ended the same – sneaking out and calling her mom for a ride home.

“It’s going to be amazing, you’ll see,” Harper reassured her. “You’re going to thank me for getting us invited.”

“We weren’t invited, you weren’t banned. There’s a difference there, Harper. Mara probably doesn’t even know who we are.”

Harper just shook her head, refusing to listen.

They found Mr. Monroe waiting in his car. He was wearing his old letterman jacket from high school, it was a bit sad.

Kaley had no idea how she did it, but Harper managed to convince her father to drop them off at Mara’s party. It happened so fast Kaley didn’t even have time to add in her opinion. They were in the car and driving down the road in no time, a satisfied look on her friend’s face.

Mara’s house was easy to find, it was the only one playing loud music and had teenagers spilling from the door. Her poor neighbors, Kaley thought to herself.

She was suddenly glad Harvey wasn’t popular enough to throw parties or she could have been one of those poor neighbors. She wondered what he was up to tonight, she didn’t see him at the game. He was most probably at home, wondering the same about her.

She was rarely out at night.

Mr. Monroe’s car sped away, leaving them on the curb. Kaley watched it go, wishing she was in it. The thought of turning around and entering the party was frightening.

The only good thing was she probably would go unnoticed. She could find something to drink, holding it in her hand and using it as an excuse not to be dancing. She never really drank anything alcoholic, but if she held it, then nobody would bother her to ‘lighten up’.

“Come on, this is going to be so great.” Harper grabbed her arm and dragged her away to her doom.

Inside was even worse than outside. The loud music vibrated through her body like a sonic boom and hundreds of bodies writhed around her in time to the beat.

Three times, random arms and legs hit Kaley as Harper dragged her through the crowd. Her grip was so tight there was no chance she could slip away – which was probably the point.

They eventually made their way through the crowd and into another room. When Kaley looked up and around, she saw they were in the kitchen. People sat on the benches, a couple were making out on the table, and dozens of bottles of alcohol littered the remaining spaces. Harper poured two drinks from a keg into red Solo cups and handed her one. She took a sip, it was beer.

“I’m gonna go dance, come with me,” Harper yelled through the noise. At least, that’s what it sounded like. She downed her drink and dragged Kaley back out again. Finding a spare table for her drink, Kaley put it down without drinking any more than the initial sip.

The living room, which was now the dance floor, was packed tightly with people. Harper immediately started shaking her booty. Whether it was her time in the band or whether it came naturally, she was actually a pretty good dancer. She didn’t look like she was having a seizure when she waved her hands around or moved her hips.

Kaley, on the other hand, thought for sure she looked like a crazy person. She didn’t like dancing in front of others, she felt too self-conscious. Inside her bedroom was fine, but out in public didn’t feel right. She moved her hips side to side in time to the music but that was about all she could do.

“It’s hot, I’m going to get a drink,” Kaley yelled. Harper nodded and turned around to dance with the person beside her – a guy Kaley knew only as Birdy. He was tall and lanky with a big nose, there were no prizes for guessing how he had earned his nickname.

Kaley returned to the kitchen and found some water in the refrigerator. She poured some into a plastic cup and drank, not realizing how thirsty she had been.

Standing in amongst the chaos, it was like being in another world. There were people everywhere, each lost in their own world. Small groups of people were dotted around, yelling to each other to be heard but still laughing at everything that was said.