Fridays were different. It was game day. Instead of meeting up after practice, Sarah would go straight home with Valerie and get ready for the game.This week was an away game, so the stands would be less crowded, and Angel would have a perfect view of Sarah.He was having a good game. They were up by fourteen at the half, but when they came back out after halftime, the cheerleaders had changed their tops into jerseys—real jerseys from the players on the team. They tied them in a knot in the front just under their chests to make them fit more snugly. To Angel's dismay, Dana wore his. He'd forgotten about the jersey she borrowed last year. He glanced up at the stands and saw Sarah sitting with Valerie and a few other girls. If Sarah got upset about this, he was going be so pissed at Dana.They'd agreed to meet at the after party back by their school. Sarah left the game with Valerie and had arrived there before him, so when he got there, he wasn't sure what to expect. He walked into
SarahSarah cradled the phone on her shoulder as she made her bed. This time she'd been the one who woke Sydney early in the morning.After the night she'd had, she'd hardly been able to sleep. So many things invaded her mind, some more glaring than others. She had to talk to someone about it. It was times like these she missed her mom more than ever. She would've been able to tell her even this. That's how close she was to her. Thank goodness she had Syd.Angel and his mom were driving out to Los Angeles that night to have dinner with his oldest brother, Sal. He wanted Sarah to come, but she couldn't. She was booked both nights this weekend babysitting. They weren't leaving until late in the afternoon, and of course Angel still wanted to see her today, so he was picking her up in an hour.Sarah hadn't mentioned anything about Dana wearing his jersey last night. She'd been so busy watching Angel play she might not have even noticed if Valerie hadn't pointed it out. But she refused
The knot that had formed in Sarah's stomach during her conversation with Sydney was still there, and it was getting bigger.She swung around sideways on the bed and brought her feet up, so that she could lean on her knees. She exhaled loudly. "I know.""Thank you," Valerie said. "Finally, you're listening." She put a spoonful of eggs and food in her mouth and took a swig of milk, holding up a finger for Sarah to give her a second. Apparently she wasn't done.Sarah looked at Valerie's plate. There was enough food for two people. It'd always amazed her how much Valerie could eat, being that she was so tiny. She smiled, thinking Valerie could probably give Angel a run for his money in an eating contest."Look, Sarah, I get it. Okay? Sydney's been your best friend since you two were kids, and his family is the only family you had growing up. He's like a brother to you, and you're very close, blah, blah, blah. But this whole needing to talk to each other every single day is a bit much,
SarahValerie squealed in delight when Sarah told her about meeting Alex. But Sarah had left a few things out. On the way to the restaurant, Sarah thought it was only fair she fill Valerie in on everything she'd told Alex. To her surprise, Valerie wasn't fazed."God, Sarah," she laughed. "As if he doesn't have a big enough head already."Sarah thought of the outrageous way he'd flirted with her. Yeah, he was a ham, but not necessarily conceited. "I didn't get the impression he had a big head."Valerie rolled her eyes. "Sarah, I told you they're all sweethearts. I'm sure he's a real nice guy, but trust me he knows he's hot."Sarah smiled. She had to admit there was no way he couldn't know. "But you'd go out with him if he asked you, right?""Are you kidding?" Valerie said. "He's the ideal guy for me. He's so hot, older, and more experienced than most of the lame guys from school. The last thing I'd have to worry about with him would be any pressure to commit."Sarah's jaw dropped
Sarah and Angel headed to the beach. Not the cliffs where they usually went. Sarah wanted to walk on the beach. It wasn't too crowded for a Saturday. They walked for quite a while and were already on their way back to the car, when Angel brought up his Spanish class woes."You don't know Spanish?" She was completely surprised."Well, I thought I was okay at it," he said. "But according to the scores I've been getting on my quizzes, I suck."Sarah couldn't help laughing despite the agitation she was feeling about the impending conversation. "I can help you."Angel turned to her curiously. "You know Spanish?""Claro que si."Angel smiled at her impressed. "Good, because I have a quiz Tuesday, and progress reports go out on Wednesday. If I don't get higher than a D on my quiz, I'm sitting out the game on Friday."Sarah smiled. "I'll be your private tutor."They got to the car and Angel leaned on it, pulling her against him. "Mmm, sounds good."Sarah knew she needed to ask him now
The next day was far less emotional, though thoughts of yesterday's exchange made things a little tense when Angel first picked her up. As the hours passed, Sarah seemed a lot better and gave in to her feelings again. They even spent a lustful hour parked in their spot until she had to leave for work.The night before, Sarah was asleep when Valerie got home, and this morning between talking to Sydney, and Angel picking her up so early, Sarah hadn't had a chance to talk to her cousin.Valerie was just out of the shower, and Sarah was finally going to hear about her date with Alex.She was about to walk out to look for her when Valerie walked in, smiling from ear to ear. Sarah smiled just as big."So?"Valerie did a little dance and closed Sarah's door. She motioned Sarah toward the bed and sat down next to her."I gotta ask you something, Sarah," she whispered. "Is Angel big? 'Cause Alex is huge. I mean huge."Sarah's jaw dropped. "You slept with him?"Valerie expression went bl
AngelBy Monday, everything was back to normal with Sarah and Angel. They'd never spent their morning or lunch breaks together. So when Angel saw Dana by her locker just before lunch, he figured it was as good a time as any to take care of this once and for all.Two friends were with her. Her eyes brightened when she saw him approach. She quickly dismissed her friends. "I'll talk to you guys later.""Hey." She smiled big at Angel, tossing her hair back. "What's up?""Do you have a minute?""For you? Of course.""I know what you were doing Friday, Dana. It's gotta stop."Her smile dissolved, and she glanced into her locker. "I don't know what you mean.""Sure you do." He spoke calmly.She stared straight ahead. "You gave me that jersey, don't you remember?""No, I lent it to you, and you never gave it back."She shifted her weight and finally met his eyes. Angel saw right through her attempt to appear injured. "You want it back? Is that what this is about?""Yeah, I do. And
AngelSarah pulled her arm off his shoulder, but he grabbed a hold of her hand. She'd told him that morning she didn't need to hear the details about his talk with Dana so long as he took care of it."I'm only bringing it up 'cause you're probably gonna hear about it. "She stared at him. "I'd already talked to her earlier in the day and thought that would be it," he said. "But I should've known better when she hadn't said too much. "He could see Sarah searching his eyes. "She made a scene after practice.""A scene?""Yeah, a scene." He hugged her and pushed her back gently on the sofa. "Sarah, it's nothing. I wouldn't have even brought it up, but I didn't want you to hear about it from someone else."What did she say?"Angel tried kissing her, but she pulled away. "Sarah, let's not do this again, babe. Seriously, the only thing that matters is that I straightened things out, and she won't be acting stupid anymore.""Are you sure?""No question about it." He kissed her and hoped