Playing to Win

What?

“What do you mean ‘hanging all over him’? What does that mean? Like touching him?”

Kelly face contorted. “I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s probably nothing.”

“Probably?” I wanted to throw up. Other girls had their hands on my boyfriend! And he let them? What the hell!

“What’s going on?” Natalie asked as she stuffed a fluffy glob of cotton candy into her mouth.

“What’s going on is my best friend just told me my boyfriend’s a cheater!” I cried then spun on my heel to get away from them.

“I never said that!” Kelly grabbed my arm.

“Then what did you say? What did you mean? You obviously wanted to warn me about something.” I couldn’t believe this. Hot tears pricked my eyes.

“Jordan, I thought you knew. Asher’s hot. He’s in a band. He’s new and mysterious. You don’t think girls at school throw themselves at him?” Kelly folded her arms over her stomach. “I just, you don’t see him at school very much.”

I glanced at Natalie. “You see him, too?”

Natalie grimaced. “Sometimes. But it’s not like he’s flirting.” She gave Kelly a hard look and I wondered if they’d discussed whether or not to mention any of this to me and Kelly had gone rogue by saying something. “He’s nice. And it’s not like it’s his fault he’s good looking and girls like him.”

My head hurt.

My heart hurt.

Asher’s song cut through the hurt just enough for me to realize we needed to go. “I have to go. I promised Asher I’d be up front where he could see me.”

Without waiting to see if my friends would follow, I wove my way through the throngs of people toward the stage. How long ago had it been? Ten minutes since I’d seen him? Fifteen since he kissed me?

It took most of the first song for me to push my way to the front of the crowd. I didn’t even realize I had tears streaming down my cheeks until I looked up at him. He’d been searching for me, I could tell. His eyes lit when he saw me, but then almost immediately he frowned, searching my face. That’s when I lifted my hands to my cheeks and felt the moisture there.

I thought he might jump from the stage before finishing his song, but he didn’t. His eyes never left mine and when the song ended, he spoke to the crowd.

“Thanks for being here. I’m Asher. And we’re Breakout. Jarom, Adam, and Bash back there on drums.” His voice sounded smooth and confident. Next to me, a group of girls pushed me aside, screaming and yelling Asher’s name. He smiled at them briefly before his eyes found me again. “I’d like to give a shoutout to my girl. This one’s for you, babe.”

Asher

I sang my heart out to Jordan and somehow managed not to jump into the crowd to find out why she had tears streaming down her face. She cried through our entire set. And not the groupie I love you kind of cry, the heartbroken kind.

Natalie and Kelly stood beside her, but her eyes never left me as I tried to engage with the crowd. Those were the longest twenty minutes of my life. Near the end of the last song, I begged her with my eyes to wait for me after.

Once we finished, I wanted to leap off the front of the stage to get to Jordan, but the stage manager shuffled us offstage leaving me no choice but to follow him. I craned my neck to keep an eye on Jordan, but Jarom wasn’t having it.

“Dude, that was so sic! Did you see all those girls, man?” he grabbed my shoulders and shook. “They loved you!”

“Guys, I gotta run.” Much as I wanted to celebrate with them, I had to find Jordan. “I have to find Jordan.”

“Yeah, what’s up with her? Was she crying?” Adam asked.

But Jarom shook his head. “Man, are you crazy? Look at all these fans. You can’t leave now.”

I set my jaw. “I’m finding Jordan.”

Jarom held up his hands. The stage manager herded us to a set of stairs leading off the stage to the tents that had served as dressing rooms for the different acts. I pushed to the front to go down the stairs first, but at the bottom, a huge crowd had formed.

And they were all girls.

“Asher!”

“Asher, you’re so hot!”