Mrs. Fernandez clapped sharply.
“Quiet.” The group settled.
“The company wants a promotional shoot. And Liam will be representing the football team. Our team also gets to select a cheer.”
The girls erupted in excitement again.
Before Mrs. Fernandez could continue, Isoldea confidently raised her hand to pitch herself before anyone else could.
“I’d be honored to represent the squad with Liam. We are pretty much close. And we’ve got the chemistry the sponsors want.”
Isla leaned into Jonna.
“Does Isoldea have a history with Liam?”
“Take a guess,” Jonna whispered.
“Yes.”
“Wrong.” Jonna grinned.
“She has failed a couple of times at getting into his bed. The word is, they attended the same middle and high school. Close family relationship.”
Isla pouted.
“So they are like best friends.”
“More like family friends. And she’s obsessed with him.”
“Typical.” She muttered.
A few other girls already raised their hands to pitch themselves.
Their words tumbled over each other.
Within seconds, nearly half the squad was volunteering.
Liam’s gaze drifted across the group.
He looked past the eager smiles and winks until it landed on Isla.
Unlike everyone else, she looked completely uninterested.
Her fingers were clasped together loosely in front of her while she stared at the grass.
“Girls.” Mrs. Fernandez lifted a hand to calm the surge.
It didn’t work.
“Girls.” Still, nobody stopped to listen to her.
“Girls!” she yelled.
Silence finally returned.
“Thank you.” She inhaled and exhaled deeply.
“We’ve already decided who we want for the shoot.”
The announcement triggered immediate reactions.
Looks darted between the girls.
Some rolled their eyes knowingly while Isoldea’s smile held steady, expectant.
“Who is it?” She asked, her tone light but edged.
“Isla.” Mrs. Fernandez replied, looking directly at her.
The name dropped like a huge weight.
The entire squad froze.
Surprise rippled through the group as heads turned to look at her.
“What?” Isla’s head snapped up, shock flashing raw across her features before it hardened.
Eyes pinned her from every direction.
A few girls shot scornful glances her way, their murmurs low and cutting.
The smile on Isoldea’s face vanished so quickly it was almost startling.
“Oh. My. God.” Jonna looked the happiest.
She grinned widely and nudged her friend aside, wiggling her brows in silent encouragement.
“You’ve got to be kidding.” Isoldea scoffed.
Her fingers curled into fists at her sides.
Isla’s stomach twisted.
She wanted to disappear into the thin air.
Or into the earth.
Right there, preferably forever.
She hated the sudden attention.
“This has to be a mistake.”
“No, it’s not a mistake. The sponsors requested you.” Mrs Fernandez pointed out.
“What? I’m not…interested.”
Chase stepped forward, meeting her gaze directly.
“It’s a good opportunity. It’ll benefit the football team, the cheer squad, and you as a dancer. Exposure like this opens doors. And future sponsors notice dedication.”
Isla looked straight at him.
Her mouth opened again, words forming around the knot of unease.
“I’m unfit for this.”
Chase tilted his head.
“How?”
Is he seriously asking how?
Accepting this would bring more attention into her space.
There would be posters of her and the Quarterback everywhere on campus.
People were already talking about her when all she ever wanted was to survive university, not become a campus attraction.
She desperately wanted to scream out these words.
“I’m camera shy.”
Chase folded his arms.
“It can’t be that bad.”
She tried again.
“I don’t want the attention.”
“You’re already trending.” He countered.
A muscle twitched in Isla’s jaw.
The man was determined.
“That doesn’t mean I enjoy it.”
“Fair.”
Her voice rose just enough to carry her words.
“Then choose someone else.” She gestured toward the squad, avoiding Isoldea’s burning stare.
“There are literally dozens of options.”
Jonna nudged her again, sharper this time, and gritted through a forced smile.
“Are you insane? Why are you turning this down? It’s huge.”
Isla ignored her, her heart hammering against her ribs.
The internal pull especially was exhausting.
Part of her recoiled from the spotlight, another part whispered that refusal might make everything worse.
Mrs. Fernandez shook her head.
“It’s decided. You’re doing that shoot, Isla.”
Grumble rose from the girls, a wave of discontent that Mrs Fernandez silenced with a sharp look.
“We’ll send you the details.” Mr Luke added.
The discussion was apparently over.
Whether she liked it or not.
Whether she wanted it or not.
As the coaches turned away, Isla caught sight of Liam.
Just for a second, she saw the satisfied curve on Liam’s face—a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes before he turned away.
The sight of it annoyed her.
The unease deepened, coiling tighter in her chest.
Why her?
Out of everyone?
Especially with a guy she clearly wanted to stay away from.
Practice wrapped quickly after that.
Mrs Fernandez dismissed them, and the group began to disperse amid lingering chatter.
Jonna squealed, grabbing Isla’s hands, her excitement bubbling over.
“This is massive! You’re doing a sponsorship shoot!”
Isla groaned, pulling back slightly.
Jonna pulled her back.
“Not just with anyone. Liam fucking Douglas! Your archenemy.”
“Unfortunately.”
“You are going to kill it.”
Isla rolled her eyes.
“I doubt that.”
Jonna laughed.
“You should be excited.”
Isla pulled away from Jonna.
“Why on earth should I be excited? It’s bad enough that everywhere I go people stare and talk. I don’t even want the attention. I don’t want my face on posters for whatever they are planning.” She placed her hand on her forehead, feeling exhausted.
“This feels wrong.”
Jonna sighed.
“You need to relax, Isla. Don’t overthink it. Instead, look on the bright side. It’ll help you look good for the scholarship board. It’s a really good opportunity.”
Maybe it’s a good opportunity.
But Isla couldn’t shake the feeling something wasn’t right.
Jonna continued talking.
“It’ll look amazing for your dance portfolio for future sponsorship. And you’ll earn money from it too.”
Money.
Not attention.
Not popularity.
Money.
The words lingered, tugging at Isla’s resolve despite herself.
For a brief moment, genuine interest surfaced, but she buried it.
Isla cleared her throat.
“Fine. Since I don’t have a choice, I’ll do it.”
Jonna grinned.
“Exactly.”
Across the field, Liam stood laughing with Chase and Mr Luke.
Isla looked towards his direction.
She narrowed her eyes.
Why her?
Setting aside her recent popularity on campus, she had nothing else to offer.
So why her?
The more she thought about it, the stranger everything felt.
“I’ll be back.” She said to Jonna.
Without waiting for a response, Isla started walking away, straight toward Liam.
Chase noticed her approaching, so he smiled immediately.
“Well, look who we have here.”
Isla stopped in front of them.
“Hi Coach, I need a minute with Liam.”
Chase looked delighted for some reason.
“Great. I’ll be good for you two to get familiar before shoot day.” He clapped Liam’s shoulder.
He and Mr Luke stepped away, leaving them alone.
The moment they were gone, Isla stepped closer and crossed her arms.
“Was this your doing?”
Liam raised an eyebrow, the picture of genuine innocence.
“What do you mean?”
“This.” She gestured vaguely.
“The shoot.”
Understanding flashed across his face.
Then amusement followed.
“You think I arranged it?”
“Didn’t you?”
“No.” He answered.
“You expect me to believe that?”
His expression remained calm.
“Believe whatever you want.”
Isla frowned.
“First you show up in my class.”
“Coincidence.”
“And now we’re doing a shoot together.”
“Also coincidence.”
Her eyes narrowed further.
“Did you orchestrate it so we’d have to be together?” The second the words left her mouth, she regretted them.
“Be together?” Liam scoffed, stepping closer.
The proximity sharpened everything.
The phrase sounded ridiculous coming from him.
Heat crawled up her neck.
“That’s not what I meant. Or how it sounds.”
“No?” He covered the last inch left between them, his frame towering over hers.
Isla didn’t back away.
But she couldn’t help notice how broad his shoulders were underneath the fitted jersey.
His thin lips.
Sharp jawline.
Worst of all?
How annoyingly attractive his face happened to be.
His voice dropped slightly.
“Relax, Grumpy.”
Her pulse betrayed her.
“I’m perfectly relaxed.”
“You appear not to be.” He mumbled.
Isla’s jaw tightened.
“I am.” She gritted.
“About what you said? I’d have you know that I’m not that desperate for your attention.”
The words should have stung with relief, but instead they left a hollow ache.
Her mind traitorously cataloged more of his details: the intensity in his eyes that wasn’t entirely mocking.
The faint dent on his cheeks as he smirked.
Though she still felt the hatred clung to her like armor.
And Liam was enjoying this, pulling reactions from her and watching her unravel under the weight of his stares.
Her pulse thrummed with frustration.
Before she could think of a response, he walked away, leaving her standing there.
Alone.
Fuming.
Annoyed.
As Isla watched him disappear across the field, irritation curled tighter inside her chest.
Not because he’d walked away.
Not because he had the last words.
But because for one stupid moment she’d reacted exactly the way he probably expected her to.