Chapter 28.

I knew Dad was still upset about our conversation earlier when cheer practice let out at 5:00 and the football players were still running sprints.

"Damn, they don't seem to be enjoying practice today," Cassie observed. Every player was breathing heavily and dripping in sweat.

Kelsey looked over at them and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, holy crap. What is up with Coach Simon today?"

I bit my lip. "Crap. That might be my fault," I admitted. "I told him about the wedding during his prep period. I wanted to have witnesses so he didn't freak out completely."

Cassie let out a long, low whistle. "He must be pretty upset. It doesn't look like practice is even close to being over." She looked at me, eyebrows raised. "Are you going to need a ride home?"

"I don't know yet," I said with a small laugh. "I'll go ask my dad quickly. Maybe he'll lighten up on them if I ask him to give me a ride home."

Kelsey shook her head slightly. "Wow, you're daring."

I laughed, rolling my eyes at her. "Oh shush." I grabbed my cheer bag off the ground and began walking over to the football field. Dad was standing off to the side holding a clipboard and yelling at his players.

Dad noticed me approaching and turned to face me. "You're done with practice already?"

"Already?" I laughed. "Dad, it's 5:00."

Dad scratched his head and looked down at his watch. "Oh, I guess it is." He turned back towards the field and shouted out to the players, "Alright boys, two more laps!"

I raised my eyebrows at him. "Two more laps? Isn't that a little harsh?"

"They have to stay in shape for the playoffs." Dad avoided my gaze, studying the clipboard in his hand. He might have wanted me to believe that he was just focused on his work, but I could tell he was still thinking about our conversation earlier.

I needed to distract him. "So I was thinking, it's been a while since we just hung out. Wanna order pizza and watch a movie tonight?"

Dad nodded absently. "Sounds great, honey."

I sighed. That wasn't quite the response I had been hoping for. I wished I could make the whole wedding thing easier on him.

"Is this about earlier?" I asked.

Dad looked at me, shaking his head. "We'll talk about that later. Right now, it's time for me to get back to practice, and you to get home." He sighed and looked to the football players running around the field. Luke and Zach were notably absent. "Did you need a ride?"

"Oh, well if you weren't going to give me a ride, then--"

"I can give her a ride if ya' want, Coach," Luke said cheerfully, coming up next to me and wrapping his arm lazily around my shoulder. "I promise, we won't even stop for ice cream."

Dad nodded slowly, looking from Luke to me, then back to Luke. "Very well, you can take her home. But remember what I said, Mr. Carters. You'd better respect my daughter if you don't want to end up benched."

"Yes sir," Luke replied confidently. "I promise I won't disobey you."

"Okay then," Dad said slowly. "You can go." He shot me a meaningful look, as if to remind me about what he'd said earlier about moving too fast and getting too serious.

Luke smirked at me, and I felt that irrational chemistry between us that I couldn't for the life of me understand. Luke turned and gestured for me to begin walking. As we walked up the hill, I was hyper aware of Luke's arm wrapped around me.

"Did you and my dad talk about something?" I asked cautiously, raising an eyebrow at the boy who was giving me a devilish smirk.

Luke shook his head, looking down at me. "Can't say. I promised Coach I wouldn't."

I looked up at him, narrowing my eyes. "Are you serious? Just tell me."

"No can do. I can't be benched." He smiled cheerfully. "You don't want me benched, now, do you? Who would you cheer for if I was sitting on the bench?"

"Dylan," I muttered grumpily. At least I knew where I stood with Dylan. With Luke, I was starting to suspect that I would never really know.
—
As we pulled into the driveway, I saw Dylan standing in front of the garage, waiting for me.

"What's he doing here?" Luke grumbled, his voice tense. I smiled to myself. Was the arrogant, cocky Luke actually...jealous?

I laughed. "Just ignore him," I said. "I'm going to go see what he wants."

"Wait..." Luke said, grabbing my arm as I turned to leave. I turned to face him, searching his face to see what he wanted.

Luke moved his hands up to my face, moving his body closer to mine. The armrest between the seas prevented him from pressing up against me completely. Without another warning, he leaned in the rest of the way, a smile on his face as his lips touched mine.

It finally dawned on me why he was doing this. Luke, as secure as he pretended to be, was actually worried that there was something romantic between me and Dylan. This was him trying to stake a claim and show Dylan that I wasn't available.

I smiled into the kiss, reaching my hand up to Luke's face and pulling myself slightly closer to him. The kiss was sweeter and better than the last, and I felt like I was going to melt inside. I didn't want to be the one to pull away, but all good things must come to an end at some point, right?

"Wow," I managed, pulling away from Luke's perfect face. "That's some goodbye."

Luke smirked at me. "After that, do you really want me to just leave?"

I shrugged and unbuckled. "Meh. It was alright."

"You know you loved every second of that kiss," Luke teased with a playful wink. "Don't worry, I'm here for you if you ever need someone to get away from Dylan. Just call me up."

Although I knew he was just joking, I couldn't help but notice the marked tension between him and Dylan, and I wondered again what was going on. They were obviously more than just football rivals.

"Alright Mr. Carters, I'll remember that." I opened the car door and got out. "Goodbye, Lucas," I said, smirking.

Luke smiled at me, his perfectly white teeth melting my heart. "Goodbye Lillian."

As Luke backed out of the driveway and drove up the road, Dylan approached. "So...you and Luke, huh?"

I blushed and nodded. "Sort of. I mean, we're not official or anything. My dad won't let me really date him. But yeah, we've been hanging out and getting closer."

Dylan chuckled. "Obviously. You seemed pretty happy kissing him."

I shoved him playfully. "That's none of your business," I laughed. "Tell me more about this newfound flirtation you've got going on with Nixi."

"She told you?"

I shrugged. "I guessed. She couldn't stop blushing when your name came up earlier."

"Awww, I'm so flattered that you guys can't stop talking about me."

"Don't flatter yourself. It doesn't happen very often. It's just that my mother is getting remarried, and she wanted me to bring a date. She not-so-helpfully suggested you, since she met you when she was visiting here and thought you were cute."

"Really?" Dylan wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "So, where are we going? Or are you bringing lover-boy instead?"

"Luke?" I shrugged. "I mean, it definitely crossed my mind. But the wedding is in California. It just seems like a bad idea. I'll probably just have Kelsey or someone come with me."

"Disney tonight?" Dylan asked. "Sounds like you've had a rough day and could use it."

I shook my head sadly. "It'll have to wait till another time. I had to break the news to Dad today that Mom's getting remarried, and he didn't take it well. I'm planning on ordering pizza and suffering through 'Remember the Titans.' It's one of his favorite movies, and I normally don't watch it with him because it's football. But this is a special occasion."

Dylan nodded thoughtfully. "Well, I guess I'll see you around then. Text me and let me know if you need to talk about anything. I can't imagine my parents getting remarried. I can't even imagine how hard that must be."

I shrugged. "It's fine, I guess. I mean, Mom's been dating Tony since she moved out. It shouldn't really be a surprise that this was coming."

As I said goodbye to Dylan, I wondered why the entire situation was so hard. I loved both of my parents, and I didn't really harbor any secret hopes that they would get back together. They both seemed happier being divorced--especially Mom, but Dad and I were happy as our own little family too.

What I'd told Dylan was true. It wasn't a surprise that Mom was getting remarried. The surprise was, I actually cared. It kind of felt like I was being replaced--like she had found a new family, and was officially abandoning ours. I knew she wouldn't want me to feel that way. She loved me, and always would. But getting married made the whole thing final. She wasn't coming back. She would never be part of my day to day life again. The upcoming wedding made things feel so much more...official.

Tonight, I would kick back, relax, and have a great time with my dad. And no matter what happened with the wedding, I knew that we would get through it together.

___

I hope you guys enjoyed this highly anticpated chapter! So sorry that it took me so long to update! I promise I'll try and update quicker, it's just I get so busy that I can't find time to write on my computer.

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