Chapter 126

“Maybe it was nothing,” Nancy said, trying to allay my fears after I explained how one of the cheerleaders just walked into my exam room and saw me talking to my baby bump. “Maybe she didn’t notice.”

I shook my head. That seemed unlikely.

“She might have just been embarrassed from walking in on you.”

I appreciated what Nancy was trying to do, but I knew what I had seen and what I had said. The other cheerleader had seen me rubbing my baby. She had to have heard me talking.

It was likely that as soon as I left this exam room, everyone would already know my secret.

“Come on. Your exam is over,” Nancy said. “Go on out there and you’ll see everything will be fine.”

Not knowing what else to do – I couldn’t hide forever – I finished getting dressed and then pulled back the curtain to my make-shift exam room.

The other cheerleaders who weren’t currently being examined were waiting in the center of the gymnasium with the trainers. Reluctantly, I went to join them.

Despite my fears, no one said a word to me when I sat down. No one looked at me strangely or whispered behind my back. Everything seemed perfectly normal.

Even when the girl who had walked in on me joined the group, she didn’t give me more than a passing glance.

Maybe Nancy was right. Maybe she had just been embarrassed from walking in on me without my top on.

For now, my deepest fears ebbed. I would have to be more careful in the future, though. My carelessness very nearly cost me everything.

I was lucky this time. But who knew what would happen next time?

With the physical exam behind me, and the qualifying exams ahead, I focused on practicing. In the evenings, I went to the dance studio to privately train. Tonight, Asher asked to join me.

I started my stretches as he prepared my music selection for me on his phone. As part of the qualifying exam, I would be asked to perform a self-choreographed dance showing a variety of basic and advanced steps.

I’d spent many weeks working on a routine, and I believed I had finally managed to piece together something that showcased all of my best moves.

I was eager to show off to Asher.

“Music’s ready,” he said as I finished my stretches.

“Okay. Just a minute.” I moved toward my mark, where I knew to start my dance. “Go ahead.”

He clicked play and the music began. Closing my eyes, I let the beat envelop my soul. My heart pounded in rhythm. Then I moved my limbs.

Some of the moves were difficult for my pregnant body, but I felt Lilith stretch to protect my baby from the strain. Together, we worked to strive for the perfect dance.

I pushed myself to the limit, but succeeded. By the time I had finished with the dance, Asher was on his feet, approaching me.

I straightened to meet him. “What did you think?”

Immediately, he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a hug. He didn’t care that I was sweaty and gross, he simply held me tight.

“It was beautiful,” he said.

I gripped at the back of his shirt. “You think the judges will like it?”

“If you don’t pass the qualifying exam with that routine, there is something wrong with this school.”

I smiled into his shirt.

He rubbed his hand up and down my back. “How are you feeling? Is the baby okay?”

I nodded. “Lilith is protecting them. I should be able to perform this again without problems.”

Asher kissed the top of my head and my breath caught. He was so gentle, so romantic, I wished I could melt into him.

I tilted my head up to look at him.

I remembered what Aimee had said, that I was the only one who didn’t notice the way Asher looked at me. I focused now, taking in his steady gaze and the obvious warmth in his typically cool eyes. Like this, he did watch me like I was something interesting to look at. Someone to be admired, even.

I still didn’t know what we were to each other. We didn’t talk about it. Maybe we never would.

But even if it didn’t have a name, I knew there was something there.

Even if we hadn’t kissed on the mouth yet.

The thought gave me pause. I remembered back to our every romantic encounter. Asher had kissed my head, my cheek, my neck. Even my breasts. But he had never once kissed me on the mouth.

He had kissed that other girl. He had said that was all they had done. Yet how could I not be jealous, when he had never done that with me?

“Asher,” I said, fighting back a frown. I didn’t want to ruin the moment with my needless worries. After all, Asher wasn’t with that girl. He wasn’t with anyone else but me.

He lifted his hand and gently traced his fingers along the slope of my cheek.

I swallowed down my nerves and leaned into the touch.

“Will you kiss me?” I asked.

He leaned down and kissed my forehead.

I couldn’t help but pout.

He huffed a short laugh when he saw it. He leaned in again, this time kissing my brow. Then again, to press a kiss to my nose. My cheek, my chin. He kissed all around my face, but never once met my mouth.

I lifted my head expectantly, and subtly pressed out my lips.

His eyes hooded, he leaned in like he might finally press his mouth to mine.

But then he stopped. He pulled away.

“It’s getting late,” he said. “You should get some rest.”

Confusion twisted in my chest, swirling around with disappointment. Why wouldn’t he kiss me? Was it because we hadn’t defined our relationship? But he had seemed fine with that before.

Still, my body was tired from the strenuous workout. I couldn’t do much more than frown as he helped me into my jacket and walked me home.

The next morning, I met Nicole for breakfast. She’d texted me three times throughout the night, each more desperate to hang out than the last. The final text had no less than sixteen explanation points.

We sat down at our usual spot in my favorite café. She tapped her foot nervously under the table. She wrapped both hands around her mug.

“I have to talk to you about something,” she reiterated, as she’d already said so in the texts.

“Okay.” I picked at a croissant.

“There’s new rumors floating around about you. I’m not making the same mistakes as last time. I’m not going to believe any rumors. But I thought you should know, because this one is a big deal. Huge.”

My nerves prickled. Last time a rumor had spread about me, it had said that I’d been having an affair with our previous, much nicer coach. It had been untrue, of course, and lead to the revelation that Coach was gay. This got him fired.

So much hardship could have been avoided if Coach’s secret had been kept.

Therefore, I had reason to be nervous about any and all rumors.

“It can’t be worse than what Elena said about me and Coach,” I said, relieved at least by that fact. No rumor could ruin lives like that one had.

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Nicole said. She took a sip from her mug. “This one is damning. And it wasn’t even Elena who started it!”

Nicole gave the name of the girl who did start the rumor, and my stomach sank. That was the cheerleader who had walked in on me during the physical exam.

Suddenly, I was not very hungry. “W-what did she say?”

Nicole laughed like it was ridiculous. “She thinks you’re pregnant!”