The Rodeo Queen's Touchdown

08-Parker

Parker

Oh! My! f*****g! God! Did Aaron Stevens just ask me to the Homecoming Dance? Images of him in a tux danced through my mind. Then images of me ripping said tux off of him ran straight through my core, causing it to clench in excitement, getting lost in my dirty thoughts until he cleared his throat. I blushed hotly realizing Aaron was still standing there waiting for my answer.

I can feel my face getting hotter as he scrutinized my expression.

“Sure, I would love to,” I finally choked out.

“Great! How ‘bout I pick you up from your dorm around 6? We could grab some dinner before going to the party?”

I nodded my head like a bobblehead, my voice leaving me in both shock and eagerness.

“Awesome,” Aaron says as he spins around, heading back to his car. Putting his hands in his letterman jacket, he rotates his head to look at me one last time before getting in his truck and pulling out of the barn. Unashamed, I watched his ass the whole time.

As soon as he is out of sight, I let out the loud squeal that I have been holding in since he first asked. Jack’s ears swiveled around and his head shook back and forth, as if amused by my behavior.

“Oh Jack! I am so excited. I can’t believe that he just asked me to the dance. Oh my god, I need to tell Lee. She is going to totally pee her pants. We need to go shopping! I so need a new dress for this,” I raved, not taking a breath.

I continued gushing to Jack like a teenage girl being asked on her first date. So many thoughts running through my head ranging from what he would wear and where we would go for dinner all the way to what we would do after the dance. Would he kiss me? Are we going as friends? I was overthinking this as I knew that I would. Continuing to make this into a bigger deal that it probably was, I untacked Jack, groomed and fed him, and put him in his stall for the night. I gave him one last check over before leaving for the night. With a skip in my step, I climbed into my Jeep and headed back to the dorm to get ready for my late class.

I got back to my room in record time, really excited to talk to Lee and see if they were going also. Usually, the captains of all the athletic teams were required to go to the Homecoming Dance to show solidarity and harmony between the whole of the athletic department. It boosts school spirit in front of the alums and makes them want to donate more money. Normally, Dusty and Tori go for the rodeo team. They said that it was fun, but some of the other teams did not really socialize with them. The rodeo team is close with the football team because of Trey, unfortunately other teams do not think that rodeo is a sport and that the horse does all the work. I would love to see some volleyball players wrestle a steer to the ground. For the football team, it is mandatory for all the starters and high profile players to go since it revolves around their game. Trey and Lee have been going for the past two years.

I enter the room and notice right away that LeeAnne isn’t in here. Checking my phone, I frown at the time. I spent longer than I was supposed to at the barn, and now only have half an hour to get ready for my English Lit class. That is just enough time for a shower, quick change, and mad rush to get across campus. Guess I will have a late dinner. If I hurry through my shower, I can maybe stop at the coffee kiosk for a latte and muffin. I rush through my shower, not bothering to shampoo my hair, and throw on a grey, long-sleeved thermal shirt, relaxed pair of blue bootcut jeans, and my black sneakers. I decide to just put my hair up into a messy bun so that I do not have to worry about it. Double-checking that I have all my materials and assignments, I grab my backpack and start running.

Halfway across campus, I am suddenly halted in my steps by a pair of clean white sneakers. I was not looking where I was going so didn’t notice anyone in front of me until it was too late. Stumbling over my feet, I land on my ass hard. Shielding my eyes from the setting sun, I recognize who got in my way and let out an annoyed groan. I don’t have time for his drama.

“Jonas, I do not have time for this. I am going to be late for class,” hoping to cut whatever rant he had short.

My ex-boyfriend just stands there, arms crossed, looking down at me as if I was the nuisance. He couldn’t even bother to extend his hand to help me up. I would already be in class if it wasn’t for his abrupt appearance. Sighing, I stood up and wiped the dirt from the ground off my jeans. I c****d an eyebrow, waiting for him to speak.

When Jonas still didn’t speak after a few minutes, I tried to walk around him. He just moved to block my way.

“What do you want?” I asked gritting my teeth at his attitude. I checked my phone again and saw that I had only one minute before I was officially late.

Shaking his head, “Were you ever going to text me to let you know you were back? And why the hell were you eating breakfast with the football team? w*****g yourself out?” He was almost shouting at me now.

My mouth tightens with the stress of not wanting to yell and scream at him. He is always talking to me like this. Jonas White had the looks of an angel, with his 5’9” height, ash blonde hair, and blue eyes, but the personality of a demon. He has all the muscles to keep him fit, but not too large to look gross. As the pitcher for the baseball team, he is very popular, especially with the women. His perfect white smile wins everyone over. When Jonas wanted someone to like him, he was charming and sweet. He can really play the part well, but when his mask falls off, he was a complete bastard. Jonas knows which words to use to bring someone to their knees. I would know, he often did it to me. I have tried to walk away from him, but he just keeps coming and staking his claim.

Upset with his words and myself for allowing him to say them, I go to leave and just get dinner. Class has already started, so the teacher won’t allow me into the lecture hall. Ashley, a close friend in the class, will lend me her notes and tell me about the assignments.

Grabbing my wrist, Jonas spit out, “Well, are you going to answer me?”

Breathing slowly to try to regain my composure, I exhaled, “Why don’t you go bother the cheerleaders. I am sure they will answer all your questions.”

Jonas let go of my wrist in surprise. He probably was not expecting me to come back with a retort. Normally, I just stay silent and let him nag at me. I am one of those people who hates couples that fight in public just to make a scene. Jonas is like that, wants all the attention that he can get, good or bad. With that final announcement, I changed course to the cafeteria eventhough I have lost my appetite. As I walked in, I noticed a full table of cheerleaders. Not wanting anymore drama, I decided to just return to my room and hide. Any excitement that I had earlier has dissipated after the scene with Jonas.

“Park… Parker. Wait up,” someone shouted at me.

Turning to the voice, I see that LeeAnne is jogging to catch up to me.

“Hey, you coming in for dinner?”

“Nah, not hungry,” I lied.

She c***s her head to the side, assessing me, “Wait, aren’t you supposed to be in class right now?”

“Yeah, but I wasn’t really feeling well, so I decided to miss it,” lying is coming way too easy today.

“Oh, no, are you okay? Do you need some medicine?” LeeAnne worries. She will make a great mother one day because of how she mothers all her friends.

“No thanks. I am just going to go lay down,” I assure her.

LeeAnne gages my expression as if she is trying to figure out all my secrets.

“Not yet. I know that your class just started, and you were at the barn until I left the room to come to dinner. That means that you have not had time to eat anything more than a snack. You may not feel well because you haven’t had a proper meal all day. Come on, you need something filling and then can go to sleep. I bet that will make you feel better.”

I tried to argue with her logic, but LeeAnne would not listen. She grabbed my hand and pulled me the rest of the way through the cafeteria to the food, helping me to decide what to eat. After my encounter with Jonas, I wasn’t really hungry, so just grabbed light food, opting for a bowl of chicken noodle soup and half a BLT. The soup was good, just warm enough to not burn my mouth or throat with big chunks of chicken, carrots, and celery and long spiral pasta. The BLT was a little dry because the bacon was overcooked, and I forgot to grab mayonnaise.

All through my meal, LeeAnne kept observing me. Her gaze made me squirm, not in a good way. I was sure that she could tell my mood was off but not the reason why. I have never told her about my problems with Jonas. She would tell Trey, and he would get involved. I’ve heard the rumors about people only being friends with me because of Trey, and while I know that they are not true, I do not want to give them more ammunition.

As I’m finishing my meal, I hear LeeAnne gasp. I look up thinking that something is wrong, but when I see that it is only Jonas, I turn back to eating.

“What is he doing?” LeeAnne asks scandalized.

I look up again and notice why she was annoyed. Jonas is walking around with his arm around Barbie’s waist, and she is leaning right into his side. They make quite the couple. Guess he took my advice.

I guess everything is going to need to come out now, “Let me finish dinner and we can go back to our room. Once we are alone, I will tell you everything.”

As we got up to throw away my trash and walk back to our dorm, I could feel eyes following me. I look around the room and see Jonas’s glare on me. His eyes are watching me intently and looking angry.

LeeAnne cornered me as soon as we were in the room, “Alright, what is going on? Why was Barbie all over Jonas?”

I sigh out tiredly, “We haven’t been together for months. He started cheating on me fairly quick. Has probably slept through most of the cheerleading squad, if not all, by now.” I pause to look over at LeeAnne’s shocked and angry reaction. After the opening statement, the damn broke and I tell her everything, including the verbal abuse, the constant trying to break up with him, and the comments from the other girls. I am a sobbing mess by the time I finish with the story, but also feel lighter by sharing it with someone else.

LeeAnne comes over to my side of the couch to hug me, “Why haven’t you said anything before? You know Aaron and Trey would make him back off.”

“I know they would, but I have also heard what the cheerleaders say. I didn’t want it to seem like I needed Trey to fight my battles,” I sniffle.

“Oh honey, no one that matters would ever think that way. What are you going to do about Jonas?”

“Probably the same thing I have been doing, just ignoring him and continuing with my life. That seems to bother him the most,” I say dismissively.

“And if he escalates?” LeeAnne comes back at me.

“Then I will get Trey involved,” I surrender.

That seems to placate her, and she is able to drop the subject. I feel a lot lighter now that she knows everything that is going on and will help if I need it. Her assurances just took so much stress away.

We decide to just have a girls’ night and watch some movies. LeeAnne picks a rom-com from Hallmark Channel that we have watched several times before. When the male lead asks the shy female lead out on a date, the encounter with Aaron comes back to me.

“Oh yeah. I forgot to tell you. Aaron asked me to the Homecoming Dance this afternoon,” I tell her nonchalantly. I am anticipating her reaction.

LeeAnne looks over at me to see if I am f*****g with her. Whatever she sees must prove that I am telling the truth because the next second, she is jumping out of her seat, squealing in excitement.

“Oh my god. I knew it! I f*****g knew it! When he stopped by earlier, looking for you, I knew it had to be something good,” she stops to take a breath, then gasps again. “We need to go dress shopping this week. Get you this really sexy piece that will blow his mind. And hopefully his nuts,” LeeAnne wiggles her eyebrows suggestively. I couldn’t help but laugh at her excitement. I’m not sure who is more excited at this point, her or me. Then her words catch up to me, especially the part about him ‘blowing his nuts’. Hmmm, I wonder if he has any interest in that. As LeeAnne continues to talk and make plans, I zone out, thinking of all the ways I would love Friday to end.