The jokes and celebration continued until we all slowly meandered toward the cafeteria, where we had about an hour to eat, catch a power nap if we wanted, or do whatever else we needed to do before we reported for position meetings. This was the end of camp, the beginning of the season, and as grueling as it all was now, it was even worse once we were expected to do all this and pass our classes, too.

My chest tightened when I filed into the cafeteria flanked by Leo and Zeke and saw Maliyah in the food line with the rest of the cheerleaders.

I watched her as subtly as I could until she took a seat at one of the round tables near the windows facing campus. She’d let her hair down from the ponytail it was in outside, that thick blonde hair tumbling down over her shoulders. That sight tugged at my heart the way memories of California did, the way thoughts of Christmas with both my parents did. She reminded me of home, of my family and hers, of how we all melded together to form something I thought was unbreakable.

It was surreal, seeing her here, in my school, my stadium, with my school’s emblem stretched across her chest.

But it was hers now, too.

Sour disposition settled like an anchor in my gut. It felt like a betrayal, how she could tell me all through us being long distance how much she loved me, how much she couldn’t wait to be here with me, only to finally make it happen and then dump me like a bucket of dirty water.

Idly, I wondered if it was her father’s doing.

Cory Vail was a man I couldn’t help but respect. Not only had he stepped up and stepped in to help me and my mom when my dad left, but he was also one of the top lawyers in the state. He’d built everything on his own, and through that, he’d garnered a taste for the finest things.

He wanted the best — best cars, best wine, best seat at every show or game he attended.

And best prospect for his one and only daughter.

I always thought that was me.

Maybe it was, at one time. Maybe he saw my future and had faith in me going pro, in setting up his daughter with a future he found suitable. Or maybe he was just biding time, letting our young love run its course before he planted seeds in her head that she could do better.

Or maybe he had nothing to do with any of this at all.

Regardless, I knew my anxiety would never let it go. I’d toss and turn every night wondering why she so suddenly broke up with me.

But today, I needed my focus elsewhere.