hair off. It’s so slight it’s no wonder we couldn’t spot it when we reviewed our practice tapes.
I explain what needs tweaking and switch places with my flyer. They nail it on their first try, and I can’t hold in my excited whoop when they do. These kids want their Worlds title back, and nothing is going to stand in their way.
I’m as much of a sweaty mess as the team, and I wish I had enough time to shower before having to catch the red-eye to California. The commotion happening at the gym’s entrance confirms it is time to leave when I look over and see E, Bette, and B have arrived. Sadly the Crabs were knocked out in the second round of the playoffs this past weekend, but the plus side is now my family is free to attend the national championship with me.
“I still can’t believe Eric Dennings is your brother,” Livi says with awe.
“Holy shit!” Olly curses, and I’m sure if Grace were nearby, she’d chastise him for his language. “Is that Ben Turner with him?”
I didn’t think it was possible, but the two of them might be more adorable in their fanning out than their older brother.
“You wanna meet ’em?” I offer, only to get twin—pun intended—slack jaws in response. I roll my eyes, take both of their hands in mine, and pull them with me to my family.
Pops steps out of Coach Kris’s office, and I leave the twins to bask in the moment and head his way. “You sure you’re okay going in my place?” he asks after hugging me tight.
JT isn’t the only Taylor sibling to be highly sought after for college teams. T may only be a junior, but already the top all-girl college cheerleading teams have been showing interest, including the U of J’s White Squad, the University of Indiana, the University of Louisville, and the team playing our Hawks in the national championship, the University of Alabama.
Since we were already planning on attending the game, we made arrangements for Tessa to meet with the head coach for the Tide while we’re there. The firehouse is currently short-staffed, meaning Pops has to work a shift, so I offered to serve as T’s guardian for the meeting.
“Hell yeah,” I assure him. I may not have accepted any of the offers I received, but I did go through the whole dog and pony show of the recruitment process with JT and know what to expect. Plus, I do have a little bit of an ulterior motive.
“Yo, Squirt,” E bellows, causing Pops and me to look his way. “You ready to get this show on the road?”
“Yeah…” B tries to hide a laugh behind his hand as he drapes an arm over E’s shoulder, leaning into him. “The sooner we leave, the sooner you get to see your lover boy.”
I swear he and E must have bought a thesaurus so they could come up with every variation of Mase’s Casanova moniker. Lover boy is one of the tamer ones, which is a good thing seeing as we are around so many people at the moment.
“You do realize it doesn’t matter when we leave here because the plane isn’t going to depart any earlier than its scheduled time, right?” T sasses, and Pops coughs in an effort to cover up his snort.
I want to give her props for her sarcasm, but after being separated from Mase for a week, I’m missing him more than I’d like to admit.
A weight I’ve grown familiar with settles in my chest thinking of all the time I’ll be spending away from him next year.
I shake it off, something I’ve gotten good at doing, especially before I video-chat with Mase. When he sees me sad, he starts back up with his craziness about putting off entering the draft.
I’ll learn to get used to the distance. I don’t need him feeling, I don’t know…guilty? Not sure if that’s the right word or not, but I’m doing everything in my power to not give in to old insecurities. I also refuse to let him give in to them.
#Chapter42
UofJ411: So many rumors floating around about if our #Kaysonova is really a #KaysonovaQueen but look at all this proof we found that @CasaNova87 and @QB1McQueen7 have shared in the past
*slideshow of pictures—hugging, kissing, cheek kissing, heart hands—of Mason with Chrissy/Tina and Trav with Chrissy/Tina*
@Acolon1729: I KNEW @QB1McQueen always seemed a little TOO FRIENDLY with her #ISeeYou
#Chapter43
Another bowl game.
Another week away thanks to travel