Just One Look (Castleton Hearts)

“So, do I get to see more cheer videos this time?” I asked and Theo made a grumpy sound, but she pulled out her phone.

“Yes, gimme,” I said, reaching as she searched through her saved pictures and videos.

At last, she passed me her phone and I saw a video of a whole routine from beginning to end. It was easy to find Theo, and my eyes followed her all through the routine and especially when she was dancing with the group at the end.

“Look at you, being all sassy,” I said, handing the phone back.

Theo gave me a look and then smiled so hard that I thought her face was going to crack.

“You’ve still got it,” I said, laughing. “Do you have any other facials?”

“I’m teaching Mia all the classics like fish kiss face,” she said, making a kissy face with fish lips. “And then surprised face.” She raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth wide in shock. “And then there’s a wink.” Theo gave me an exaggerated wink, and I was starting to get turned on by these bizarre faces. Maybe just because it was Theo making them.

I clapped for her and her ears went red.

“You should definitely pull those out of your back pocket when you’re trying to sell furniture,” I said.

“Fuck off,” she said, her face getting redder, but she was laughing.

“Come on, I’m not making fun of you. I think it’s badass. You can do all that athletic stuff with a smile on your face? I could never do something like that.”

In high school I’d been too focused on academics and clubs that I hadn’t really done sports. Besides, the teams were so competitive, if you hadn’t started playing basketball out of the womb, you had no chance of making the team. All the cheerleaders had been hardcore gymnasts like Theo who lived in the gym and didn’t have time for anything else.

“You could have been a flyer. You’re tiny enough,” she said.

“Is that a short joke?” I asked.

“You’re fun-sized,” she said, and I felt the air change in the room.

I had so many responses to that, but I’d freaked her out with jumping on her earlier, so I didn’t want to push the envelope. I let the comment go by.

“Yeah, well, I am definitely not coordinated enough for that kind of thing. I did dance for a little while, but my teacher got frustrated with me when I could never remember the counts.”

My parents had been fine when I came to them and said I didn’t want to do dance anymore and wanted to try riding horses instead.

“Do you remember any of your cheers?” I asked.

“It wasn’t that long ago,” she said.

“So that means yes,” I said. “Will you do one for me?”

Theo shook her head. “No, absolutely not.”

“Please? Just once. I promise I won’t film you or tell anyone. I’ve kept my mouth shut.”

Theo gave me an exasperated look, but she stood up.

“If you laugh, you’re banned from my house,” she said, moving back so she had some room.

“I wouldn’t dare laugh,” I said. I couldn’t wait to see this.

Theo took a breath and set her shoulders, then smiled the way she had in the routine. “B-E, A-R-S, let’s go Bears! B-E, A-R-S, let’s go Bears!” She moved her arms with the words, and her movements were sharp and crisp, her voice clear.

“Let’s go Bears!” she said, ending the cheer. Her smile dropped. “There you go. Happy now?”

I nodded. “I’ve literally never been happier in my entire life.”

Theo sat back down and snorted. “Your bar is too low, princess.”

I bit my lower lip at the nickname. I should have hated that nickname, but I absolutely loved it.

Going back to dinner was a little bit of a letdown, even though it was delicious. I couldn’t stop replaying Theo doing her cheer in my head.

Why was every single thing she did so sexy? I’d never had a cheerleader fetish, but I might be developing one. Or maybe it was just a Theo fetish.

“What else did you do in high school?” Theo asked me.

“I did a lot of eating lunch in the library,” I admitted. “I wasn’t very cool.”

“The cool kids are assholes,” she said.

“What were you doing in high school? Standing in a corner glaring at everyone?” I teased.

“No. I was wishing I was anywhere else. High school was bullshit. Being a big old queer wasn’t easy.”

She hadn’t told me when she’d come out, but I did know from Paige that it was in high school.

“Yeah, I can imagine. I didn’t come out until I was in college. I did the very cliché thing of having a crush on my roommate,” I said, cringing at the memories. “It was fine, and I never told her, but I had a complete existential breakdown and called my mom sobbing in the middle of the day and it was all very dramatic. The roommate moved off-campus and said she’d stay in touch, but then she transferred, and I never heard from her again. She was extremely straight, so it didn’t matter anyway.”