Chase catches my eye and bows, and I’m gonna melt into the floor, if the girls in front of me don’t kill me first. But I remain cool and blow a kiss back.

“Aren’t you glad you listened to me about the face paint?” Shannon coos, pushing an unruly blond curl behind my ear. “Look how much he loves having his own personal cheerleader.”

The description makes me bristle, but I can’t argue with how it was her idea to sport the paint, and he does seem to like it. “Pretty sure it’s my legs in this outfit he loves,” I say anyway, and Shannon sticks out her tongue.

We continue to tease each other and cheer and wave at Gia during her routines and send annoying updates to Kiki, who couldn’t care less about the game and is home glued to some true crime documentary. Mostly, I observe Chase—the agility with which he weaves between players, the way the sweat glows on his forearms, the strength in his legs. I’ve spent years watching every line of his body move on this field, but tonight is different. Tonight, I don’t have to pretend I’m eyeing all the guys equally. I don’t have to pretend I could just as happily be anywhere else. I can stare at him and howl his name and whistle in his direction and do all the things I’ve always done in my head, loud and proud and with his number right on my face.

So I do. I’m Chase’s number one cheerleader. Next to me, Shannon is the same for Lucas, though he’s only joined Chase at our table once this week and they don’t have any plans this weekend. It’s enough to make me wonder how significant her interest is in him, and whether that means that anything going on between her and Jasmine is all in my head.

Not that it matters.

I’m here with Chase. Who’s a complete and total rock star and who I’m pretty sure just smiled at me again.

I stay completely glued to the field for the final quarter, and even Shannon gives up trying to make Lucas happen and joins me and everyone else in cheering on Chase, who’s dangerously close to breaking the school’s record for passing yards in single game. There’s no question which team is going to win, but I’m biting my nails as I watch his stats edge up. Every time he completes another pass, there’s another roar and another announcement of his yardage total.