Saving Face (a young adult romance) by T.J. Dell Page B

off behind their parents
    Brent walked over to them quickly. 
“Hey, great job ladies!”  He said as he swung an arm around Alyssa and the three
of them headed over to the stadium together.
    Most of the evening was a blur. 
Brent didn’t take a stance at the railing behind the cheerleaders as he had the
week before, but she saw him waving and clapping when they performed at half
time.  The squad got a break during the third quarter of the game.  Brent was
waiting for her with a cup of hot chocolate when she came off the field.
    “Bring one for me?”  Jennifer
squeezed past Alyssa when she saw him.
    “Sorry Jenny—I’m a
one-hot-cocoa-man.”  Brent’s long arm had no trouble reaching around her to
pull Alyssa out of the crowd.  “Your parents are here.  They brought your Pop
too.”  Brent leaned over to whisper in her ear.
    “They never come to this stuff!” 
Alyssa panicked.  Things would get real weird real quick if her mom and dad saw
Brent’s boyfriend routine.
    “I know.  I think Pop called
them—he wanted to come.”
    “What are we going to do?  Maybe we
could hide?  We only have to avoid them for fifteen minutes.”  She looked over
at Brent when he didn’t answer.  He was staring straight ahead and mumbling
something so low she could only see his lips moving.  “What are you saying?”
    “I was counting to ten.”  Brent
sighed his now familiar sigh.  “You really want to avoid Pop?  For fifteen football minutes?”
    “I don’t want to, but do you
want to explain all the handholding?”  She held up their intertwined fingers
for emphasis.
    “Let’s get some food.  We can’t
hold hands while we eat.”  Brent still wasn’t looking at her, but at least he’d
stopped sighing.  And the food thing was brilliant.  For a guy who wasn’t
overly fond of subterfuge he sure thought fast on his feet.
    Carrying a tray laden with nachos
and popcorn, they joined her family in the bleachers.  “Good game tonight.” 
Pop said after he’d hugged her hello.  “That Edser kid’s pretty good.”  Brent
choked on a popcorn kernel.  A few minutes fluttered by.  They talked about the
game, and Alyssa’s mom complimented the squad’s half time show.
    “Got room for one more?”  Beth
asked from the aisle, and Alyssa made her family scoot down along the bench
seat.  “Nice to meet you.”  Beth said after introductions had been made.  They
all sat together snacking and enjoying the game until it was time for Beth and
Alyssa to rejoin the squad.  As far as Alyssa could tell no one suspected
anything.  Her parents and Pop were still in the dark about her fake
relationship, and Beth didn’t seem to think anything was off either.  By the
end of the night Alyssa was exhausted.
     
    “You look amazing.”  Beth was
fastening Alyssa’s necklace for her.  It was the finishing touch.  Beth had
been at Alyssa’s house since the early afternoon.  Now, they were almost ready
for the limo and the boys to pick them up.  Looking in her full length mirror
Alyssa silently agreed with her friend.  The warm coffee color of her dress
made her skin look creamier, and her hair look glossier.  Her favorite part was
the beaded bodice that brought subtle attention to her push-up-bra-enhanced
cleavage.  Beth looked good too.  She’d opted for a high collared, but backless
gown in sapphire blue.  Her own blue eyes popped more than usual because of the
color.  And her hair was swept back off her face in a neat French knot, leaving
her neck seductively bare.
    “You look pretty amazing yourself. 
Tommy’s going to swallow his tongue.”  The girls shared a giggle.
    “That’s kind of the idea.  He’s so
amazing.  Sometimes when I see him walking down the hall at school I can
actually feel the butterflies in my stomach!  I’ve never felt like this about
anyone.  And he’s so sweet too—not at all pushy you know?”
    “Actually most of the guys I’ve
dated have been the