By the next morning, I had slept very little. My thoughts had been entirely consumed by Coach’s ultimatum: either Asher grovel in apology for disrupting the swimsuit contest, or I was off the cheerleading squad. I knew I needed to talk to Asher about it, but I worried about what he would say. If he
The image made me ache. Eagerly, I slipped my hand down past the band of my borrowed sweatpants, into my panties. Thinking of Asher, naked and grunting, I rubbed wildly at my clit. Half on fire already, it didn’t take long for me to fully ignite. If I hadn’t stopped him last night, he would have
Asher wanted me to drop from the cheerleading squad? “Asher,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “If I leave the squad, I’ll have to leave the Academy, too.” He paused, then said, “I know.” “You can’t ask me to do that.” “I don’t want to,” Asher said, reluctant. “But…” He looked down. “I’m wo
He stormed toward his office and slammed the door shut behind him. The girls and I looked around at each other, unsure what to do. Was he going to call us later? Should we go get dressed for practice? Was this practice? His office door opened again, and we all turned to look. “Cynthia! Get your a
I hated agreeing to Coach’s demands. A private photoshoot at his house felt like a recipe for disaster. But I knew Asher would never agree to grovel, his pride wouldn’t let him. And I’d never demand it of him. To keep my spot on the cheerleading squad and protect Asher, I had no choice but to accep
Asher looked down at me, blizzard waging in his eyes. I knew he wanted to push through me, fight Coach for me, and protect me. But my hand on his chest kept him in place. “Please,” I said. “You want to talk?” he said. “Then talk.” “You can’t interfere,” I said. “Cynthia –” “I’m serious, Asher.
“I know you are angry,” I said. “But please understand that this is something I have to do…” He went to the window and peered out. He didn’t say anything for a long while, but I knew he wanted to. So I waited him out. When he started speaking, I’d wished I’d started my own groveling much sooner. “
I’d told Asher that as a sign of trust, I would answer any question he had for me, but I hadn’t expected him to ask me how I was able to convince Brent to apologize to Aimee. Now, I hesitated. To share that secret meant not only would I have to tell the truth about Lilith, but also about my project