9781250209153

The stands go haywire. People are literally jumping in their seats. Irene
looks ready to pass out.
“I’ve been falling for you since the second you hit my car,” I tell her, my
voice shaking. “You are the most brilliant, passionate, infuriating person
I’ve ever met. You make me feel seen.”
I address the next part to the crowd. “And I’ve learned from doing
this”—I gesture to the cheerleaders behind me—“that Irene is every bit as
athletic as I suspected. So I don’t care whether or not you vote for her for
Student Athlete of the Year. I just want you to know she’s worthy of it.”
The applause is deafening. I swallow and look directly at Irene. She’s
wearing an expression I’m not sure I’ll ever see again: completely dazed,
like she’s been caught off guard for the first time ever. But when I extend
my hand toward her, something in her shakes awake. She springs up from
the bleachers and dashes toward me with the whole school cheering behind
her.
And suddenly she’s in front of me, and her eyes are sparkling in that
blazing, commanding way she has, and before I can catch my breath, she
grabs my face and kisses me.
I’m vaguely aware of the crowd losing their minds, of Gunther
whooping somewhere behind me, of Kevin looping the track so this
moment can last forever, but the only thing truly registering is the feel of
Irene’s mouth on mine. She kisses me hard, and when she lets go, I literally
have to blink to set my head straight.
“Let me show you how it’s actually done!” she shouts, and before I can
say anything, she’s picking up the routine like she’s been doing it all along.
Of-fucking-course she knows the steps to the Dirty Dancing song. I can
only stand there, laughing in shock, as Irene and her squad finish out the
routine to the delight of the thunderous crowd. And when the song finally
ends, Irene leans into my lapel mic and says, “Now can we give y’all some
real Fighting Reindeer routines?”
Irene and her squad seamlessly transition into their normal halftime
show, riding the wave of the crowd’s energy. Their routines are killing it.
The crowd is loving it. I scan hundreds of faces and see joy and belonging
and community.