Stole My Heart

32. Happier Than I Have Been in a Long Time

"Wanna go shopping with me tonight?" Taylen asked as we walked to math class together, on the last Friday of October.

"Uh, sure. Where?" was my response.

"Mountain Home."

"Okay. What time?"

"Do you have after school practice?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. I'll ask Dad during lunch."

"Okay. I have cheer after so I'll have to go after that. If you do have after school practice, do you want to ride with me or do you want to meet me in Mountain Home?"

"I'll go with you."

We decided to finish talking details after class as we had made it to the door. I pulled her chair out for her, just to see her reaction. She rolled her eyes and laughed. She sat down and thanked me.

We sat through a boring math lesson and finally the clock hit 12:30. Taylen and I headed to the gym.

"Hey dad," I started as I opened the door.

Auston and Savannah were in the same position that Taylen and I were in on Monday but slightly less clothed.

"Oh sorry," I backed out and shut the door.

We stood there a second before regaining our composure. Mason walked in from the side door.

"Are they still not done?" he asked with a laugh.

My eyes widened.

"What?"

"They've been in there for 15 minutes. Either one of them sucks or they are shooting for more than one."

"I think they've only made it to third," I whisper.

"Gross," Taylen whispered back.

Finally we found my dad. He was talking with the girls basketball coach. He told me that we didn't have after school practice so Taylen and I agreed that I'd stay and watch the cheerleaders.

My afternoon classes seemed to creep slowly along. I figured it was due to the excitement of going somewhere with my girlfriend again. The last time we went anywhere together was a week ago and it ended badly. I managed to get myself whipped twice and then some, made literally everyone in my life mad at me, and I cried a lot. I don't like crying. Anyways, when the bell finally did ring for us to dismiss from a long hour of practice. We ran so many plays and I was exhausted . This is why we weren't having after school practice. Dad had planned on having a hard practice.

I took a quick shower in the locker room and walked over to the elementary school where the tornado safe room is. It was quite a short walk since the school is so small. The girls were just arriving for their practice. I took a seat in a chair by the wall. I hadn't seen Taylen yet so I just waited. After about five minutes, Jae and Tay strolled in.

Tay walked over to me and planted a kiss on my lips.

"Practice will last an hour if you want to go and come back or I can meet you there if you would prefer," she told me, giving me an out.

"I'm good, girlie. I'll wait here until you're done."

"Ok, there's snacks and drinks in my bag if you want anything."

I nodded and she left to go change. There were two girls who were already dressed and stretching. I figured that they were in trouble for something. People don't show up to practice early for no reason. Sure enough as soon as Taylen came out of the restroom dressed in a teal sports bra and tiny black shorts, she gave them a dirty look.