Chapter 93

After finding my release grinding on Asher’s lap, I’d decided that I could never face him again for as long as I lived. It would be a difficult existence, never leaving these four safe walls of my dorm room, but I had no other choice.

To see him again… the embarrassment alone would kill me. As would the rampant desire that still coursed through me, thinking of him and his hands and his mouth. He’d barely touched me and I felt ruined for other guys.

What would if feel like to have him against me, skin on skin?

I was by no means a virgin, but being with Asher made me feel like I was experiencing everything for the first time, so much better than before.

Asher’s texts hadn’t helped. After my initial reaction of apologizing profusely, I stopped contact altogether. Asher sensed my lingering embarrassment, however, and continued to occasionally send what he surely thought were supportive messages.

It’s no big deal.

These things happen. It’s natural.

Nothing to be ashamed of.

Instead of making me feel better, these messages only fueled my embarrassment. Couldn’t we just pretend it never happened, like we had all the moments in the past where one of us had stepped too far out of the friend zone?

I didn’t ask him to forget it, though. I couldn’t bring myself to. A secret part of me deep inside thrilled over his pleasant reaction.

Better than fine.

I dragged my blankets over my head. I was never leaving this bed again.

But then my alarm went off, and I had to go to cheerleading practice. Today we were meeting our new coach. I couldn’t just miss it.

Fine. Resolving myself to come back and hide again straight after practice, I pulled myself out of bed to get ready.

Everyone attended cheerleading practice today, even Elena who didn’t seem the least bit sorry for what she’d done. We all stood in a half-circle around the man that was to be our new coach.

He was a burly man with a barrel chest, taller than us but not quite six foot. A bit of gray dusted the hair on his head but none in his meticulously groomed goatee. He wore his shirt with the sleeves rolled up to show off his muscled biceps – which weren’t as finely-toned as Asher’s.

Before he said a word, he dragged his gaze over each and every one of us. His eyes didn’t just stay on our faces, but trailed down the length of our bodies, one by one.

“You girls are cute,” he said. “Good. That will help us in the long run.” He pointed at one of the girls. “What are you, B-cup?”

The girl blanched.

“Come on, honey. It wasn’t a tough question. Bra size?”

The girl looked around, but no one came to her rescue. I for one was shocked speechless. What an inappropriate thing to ask!

The girl shrunk into herself like she wanted to disappear. “B-cup,” she mumbled.

The new coach immediately looked away from her. “Any C-cups or bigger in here?”

He glanced around, looking openly at the girls’ breasts. His eyes snagged on Nicole.

“What about you, sweet thing? Those melons look ripe.”

Nicole crossed her arms over her chest.

“Don’t be shy now,” the new coach said, approaching her.

Nicole half-turned away from him as he encroached into her space, way too close.

Something inside of me snapped, and I shook off my initial shock. “Stop,” I snapped. “You are making everyone uncomfortable.”

Instantly, the new coach shifted all of his attention to me. “Oh? Hell, yes. I like them feisty.”

That… was not the response I had been expecting, but at least he was leaving Nicole alone. I lifted my chin defiantly as he sauntered toward me.

He flexed his muscles when he walked, like he wanted to show off. No one in the room seemed particularly impressed, but that didn’t stop him.

“What’s your name, feisty one?”

I glared at him, trying to make my eyes as icy as Asher sometimes did. I doubted I succeeded, Asher was the king of the cold look, but thinking of him brought me courage.

“Cynthia.”

“Cute name. Nice little figure. Maybe a bit meaty.” He stared down the length of my body. “We’ll have to see what you look like underneath these clothes, huh?”

“I have a boyfriend,” I said. Asher would one hundred percent be okay with me utilizing our fake relationship here. I had zero doubt of that.

The new coach laughed. “Who the hell said anything about dating?”

I shifted on my feet, unnerved by him and his closeness. Fortunately, he turned from me.

“Enough fun. Let’s get to work. Need to keep you cute things in shape.”

The rest of practice proceeded normally enough. The new coach relied heavily on the routines we’d already learned under our previous one. Overall his coaching was pretty lax. He wasn’t strict on technique.

This gave me some relief, as I could continue to hide in the back row, performing the simpler moves that Coach had taught me.

The new coach barely paid us any attention at all while we practiced, other than to occasionally bark orders to go again. Often he looked at his phone. At one point he even flipped through a fitness magazine.

When practice finished, he leered at our sweaty bodies. “Shower up, girls. Try not to think about me in there.” He laughed.

In the safety of the girls’ locker room, the girls all began speaking at once.

“What an absolute creep!”

“Bra sizes? Who asks about that?!”

“How did this guy get this job?”

“Did you see the way he looked at me? I’m going to need ten showers to scrub off how gross I feel.”

I approached Nicole, who hid behind her locker door. “Are you okay?”

She still had her arms protectively wrapped over her chest. “I miss Coach.”

“We all do,” someone else said, having overheard. I watched, surprised, as she turned her angry face toward Elena. “This is your fault. This jerk is only here because you exposed Coach.”

“Don’t put this on me,” Elena huffed. Her eyes narrowed, dagger gaze slicing to me. “It’s Cynthia’s fault for being so suspicious. If she’d been straightforward with us from the beginning, I wouldn’t have suspected anything.”

Irritation splintered within me, forcing me to speak. “If you had cared about the facts before you slung around accusations –”

“Facts? You want facts, Cynthia? Just because you weren’t sleeping with Coach doesn’t mean you aren’t a slut. You are juggling Asher and Joseph and whoever else –”

“I’m dating Asher. Not that it’s any of your business.”

Elena’s face reddened in anger or embarrassment or both. I couldn’t be sure.

Venom coated her voice. “Why don’t you do everyone here a favor? Since you are such a slut –”

“Stop calling her that!” Nicole slammed closed her locker.

Elena continued, ignoring her. “Obviously this new coach wants to get his dick wet. To get him away from the rest of us, why don’t you take one for the team?”

My stomach twisted in disgust. She couldn’t possibly be suggesting –

“Sleep with him, Cynthia, so he’ll leave the rest of us alone.”