Choices Pt. 02: The Tryout

Author's Note:

Many thanks to everyone who read Part 1 and to all who commented, favorited, or followed. As noted in that part, this is a romance and a work of fiction. While there is some sex in the story, it's either relatively soft-core or of the fade-to-black, behind-closed-doors type after the initial setup. If you're seeking graphic descriptions of hardcore sex, this probably isn't your story. All characters involved in any sexual activity are at least 18 years of age and are doing so voluntarily.

For those who continue, thanks for reading!

* * *

Choices—Part 2: The Tryout

After the way Erin reacted to their discussion about virginity on Tuesday night, Rob wondered for most of that night and following day about what he'd done wrong and if he'd done the right thing in telling her. He hoped that they'd be able to talk before the optional practice on Wednesday evening, but that didn't happen.

About half the group showed up, and Erin was a few minutes late. Rob stayed busy helping her, Deana, and the other young ladies he'd promised assistance and didn't get to speak to her in private, but he was glad to see that she seemed happy again. However, she grew more concerned as the session continued and was pushing Rob for more help on her stunts.

He finally took here aside for a moment and told her, "Sweetheart, I have to be fair to everyone I'm helping. I'll help you more on Saturday like we planned and even Friday night, if you want to get together for a little while then, okay?"

She nodded, but the disappointment showed. "Okay, Rob. Thank you. I'm just getting really nervous about the tryout."

"Don't worry! You're going to do fine."

When the session was over, Rob asked if he could walk her home but she begged off since she was meeting friends at the grill for a late dinner. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before saying, "Bye. Call me later."

He did, but she was tired and claimed to have a lot on her mind, so their late-night call lasted just a few minutes. With his homework not due until Friday, Rob decided to turn in, too. He had just gotten to sleep when the bedside phone rang.

"Hello? Do you have any idea what time it is?" he asked his unknown caller.

He was met by sniffles and a hesitant, "Rob?"

Hearing the voice, he became more alert and sat up on the side of the bed. "Yeah. Deana? Is that you?"

"Uh-huh." Sniffle sniffle. She continued, her voice unsteady and broken by frequent sniffles. "Rob, sorry to be calling so late, but I need to talk to you."

"What's wrong? You're not worried about tryouts, surely."

"Oh, no, Rob," she replied. "Nothing like that." She'd already told him she would understand if she wasn't good enough and that she'd find something else to do. "I wouldn't have woken you up about that, but this is important. I've been thinking about it...and crying...for hours now, wondering what I should do, so I just need to say it."

Rob thought. Had something happened with her OSU boyfriend? Had the scamp broken up with her after just a week apart? Had something else happened to her or her family? Or, he wondered, if the grinning guy with the roaming hands had found her and done something to her? His blood started to boil at that last thought.

"What is it, little sister? You can tell me, and if there's anything I can do, I'll try to help you get through it."

Through more sniffles, she said, "I didn't get to eat tonight so I was hungry after practice. The main dining halls were closed so I went to the grill, got a salad, and found a back booth where I could study. A group of girls sat down at the table behind me a couple minutes later and started talking. I was trying to finish eating as quickly as I could since they were being loud; I figured I'd go to the library and study for a while, but then I recognized Erin's voice."

"That's right. She mentioned meeting some friends to go get something for dinner."

"Rob, she...she was talking about her boyfriend. I'm sorry, I wondered what she was going to say about you so I eavesdropped—"

"Aw, you naughty girl!" he said with a laugh. "So, what did she say?"

"That...that he was coming to town this weekend to see her."

Rob was silent, barely breathing, so Deana continued, "I gathered my stuff up and left without them seeing me, I think, so I didn't hear anything else. I'm so sorry, Rob."

He remained silent for several seconds more before quietly saying, "Thanks," and hanging up the phone.

* * *

Rob didn't sleep well after that. He thought of calling Erin, but it was too late and he didn't know what to say anyway. The next day seemed to be a blur. He felt listless and lethargic, unable to think of anything but Erin and what her admission might mean. He thought about the way she'd acted over the past couple of days, particularly in their discussion about sex, and he wondered if, just maybe, it made a bit more sense.

In truth, he hoped Deana had just misheard or maybe misunderstood. He even wondered if she could have some reason for trying to drive a wedge between Erin and him, but, with Deana having a boyfriend, he didn't see any advantage to her in doing that unless she was worried about competition with Erin at the tryouts. While he didn't think Deana was that type of person, there was always the chance that he was reading her completely wrong.

He saw Mike in their apartment that afternoon and, needing someone to talk to, he told him what had happened.

"Sounds strange, Rob. I hate to say this, but be careful. She could be using you to go to extra lengths in trying out with her by dangling the chance of a relationship."

"No, she's a nice girl, Mike. She wouldn't do that."

Mike shook his head. "Rob, you don't judge books by their covers or girls by the way they look. You have to really get to know what's inside before you can be sure about something like that. Do you remember Bryan Hobsen? He was a senior on varsity when you were on JV. He told me he thought the same way as you about a girl who was trying out; he put in a lot of extra effort with her as a result. She was nice and sweet and gorgeous. He said she never spoke to him again after she didn't make the JV squad. Just watch out and don't get burned like he did."

While he didn't believe it, that gave Rob something else to worry about. His stomach seemed to be doing flips when he showed up at the clinic that night a few minutes late. Marci was already giving instructions for everyone to get with their tryout partners for a warm-up prior to the practice run through. Mike, in his role as co-captain, caught Rob's eye and tapped his wrist, leading Rob to nod and mouth "Sorry."

"Hey! I was starting to worry about you," said Erin as she gave his arm a gentle squeeze. "Is everything all right?"

Everything was definitely not, but, on seeing all of his tryout partners looking to him for help, he nodded. "Yeah. Talk to you afterwards, okay?"

After a brief warm-up period where they practiced their stunts, Jen gave a brief pep-talk to their group before they started the practice tryout. Erin looked driven, doing her best, but Rob noted that Deana was silent and looking mostly at her feet, completely unlike her usual bubbly personality. He never could catch her eyes or say anything to her in private other than wishing her well before they did their practice tryout.

With three couples going at once and leaving out any gymnastics, it was still almost 9 when they finished for the evening. Rob's partners said thanks and goodbye, with most all of them promising to attend the optional Saturday session.

Deana gave him a quick hug before fleeing, but she'd still said barely a word all evening. Then he turned to see Erin smiling at him.

"Hi, Rob. Do I finally get you alone to myself for a little while?"

He nodded. Not wanting anyone else to overhear, he said, "Let's walk while we talk. I, ah, well, I have a question for you."

"Rob, you know you can ask me anything. Pink. Diamonds and pearls," she said with a grin. "Roses! I love roses. Mint chocolate chip. 32B. But almost a C."

When he didn't respond even to the last part, she continued. "Okay. Out with it. What's going on?"

He sighed again, trying to force out the words he didn't want to say for the answer he didn't look forward to hearing. He finally stopped and turned toward her. "Erin, I hate to ask this...do you have a boyfriend?"

It was her turn to sigh, but unlike him, there was no regret or disappointment evident in her look. "I'm sorry, Rob. I do. Wait! Don't leave. Hear me out, please! I know, I should have told you, in case you wanted to slow down our relationship for a little bit. After I met you, I...I like you so much I decided to do something I'd been considering for a long time: break up with him."

"Seriously? You were planning to break up with him?"

"Yeah. Donnie's coming over from State tomorrow and I'm going to break up with him then. I had to do it in person; we've been together for a long while so I owe him that much. Then, the two of us can be together. It probably wasn't very fair to you but I figured I'd bear the burden of that guilt myself so somebody else didn't snatch you up."

She looked down, embarrassed, before looking up and continuing. "That way, you'd never have to know, but if by some reason you were to find out, we'd have been together for long enough and care enough about each other by that point that you'd forgive me and we'd forget about it."

Though still worried and still having doubts, Rob forced a smile, hoping that things were on track. He said, "A professor in one of my electives last year spent a lot of time talking about communications. It was business oriented, but I think it applies to us, too. Open lines of communication can solve a lot of problems."

"Speaking of which, how'd you know about about Donnie?"

"Well, I didn't really until you confirmed it, but I heard a rumor from a friend who accidentally overheard something."

"Blondie Bubbles," she huffed. "I thought I saw her leaving the grill last night."

"It doesn't matter, now. It's behind us. And almost a C, eh?"

She punched him lightly. "You were listening!"

"Every single word...and filed away, too," he said, finally happy again. "Now, though, let's take care of your issue and the tryout so we can move forward together, okay?"

She nodded with a big smile of her own as she took his arm. "Don't you just love it when a plan comes together?"

"Hey? Do you watch that show, too?"

* * *

"Rob, I'm so sorry! I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but when I heard her say it, all I could think of was getting out of there." Deana's voice on the phone had sounded so relieved when he told her, but now she was feeling bad about her part in adding even more confusion in his love life. "You've been so nice to me, I just want what's best for you and really didn't want to see you get hurt."

"It's okay, Deana. She really should have told me and, truth be told, I should've asked before I just assumed, but I think we've got it worked out and have good times ahead of us. I really appreciate you looking out for me, too, even if it wasn't exactly what you thought. Now, I want you to forget about it and get some sleep. I'll see you on Saturday for our extra practice session, okay?"

"Goodnight, big brother."

He laughed. "Goodnight, lil' sis."

Rob cut the line and slumped back in the seat. He still didn't know why Erin hadn't told him in the first place, but she'd been very forthcoming when he confronted her so he felt she was telling the truth. He looked forward to Sunday night; with the JV tryouts over, Erin hopefully making the squad, and her being free of her high school beau, he hoped he'd have a real chance at happiness with her. He fell asleep in the chair a few minutes later, still thinking of her beautiful face.

* * *

Their practice on Saturday went well, but due to rain, tryouts on Sunday had to be held in the gym instead of the field as originally planned. He was halfway through his group of eight girls and was already getting tired, but he wanted to do his best to give each one her best shot at making the squad, so he poured his energy into each routine. He'd said hello to Erin but she'd been very nervous and hadn't been in the mood to do more than let him hold her for a bit while she practically shook.

"Stay calm and stay focused, Erin. You're gonna' do great."

She nodded, trying to force a smile, before going off by herself to wait. She'd drawn the third to last number and Rob's last assisted tryout effort. He was really disappointed about that, but told her it was good that she'd still be very fresh on the judges' minds as they started their deliberations.

Deana's number was called as being in the hole, so he joined her in the staging area. The music started and another couple started the tryout routine. Rob and Deana both clapped loudly and joined in on the opening chant before she turned to him and said, "Hey, Rob. Thanks so much for helping me. You're the best big brother a girl could have for such a hectic week."

She put her arms around him and squeezed him for a few moments, her head on his chest, as she tried to relax and get ready for her turn. He patted her back softly, hoping for her sake that she'd make. She'd improved a lot as the week went along, but whether it was enough, he really didn't know. Whatever the case, when her name was called, he was going to do his best to see that she had the best chance possible.

Rob almost laughed as Deana let go and started stretching again, a purely nervous reaction, he suspected, as the last pair before her started the routine. Less than three minutes later, her number was called and they charged together out to see and fire up the crowd.

As they came off afterward, he told her, "You did great, girl! That was the best you've done yet. I'm really proud of you."

Once off to the side, she grabbed him and gave him another big hug. "Thanks again, Rob. We'll see how well I did later. For now, go get some rest for your next tryout." She reached up and give him a little kiss on the cheek and wished him luck before turning away.

* * *

Erin seemed to become increasing agitated as the afternoon wore on and more and more of those who'd completed their tryout left. Rob joined her after his last tryout before hers, but he saw that she wasn't in a mood to talk. Pacing back and forth in one of the tunnels to the gym floor, she was doing a stilted, almost mechanical-looking walk. He let her be until the number before hers was called as being in the hole, so he went on over to see her.

"Rob, please! Not now."

"Erin, yes now. Now's the time for you to get hold of yourself and have some faith in your ability. You're good; I see that, and if you go out there and do what you're capable of doing, the judges will see it, too. If you keep up what you're doing here...well, you'll be wasting your time, my time, and the judges' time."

She looked at him, her bottom lip red from where she'd been absentmindedly biting it. "You think so?"

"I know so, sweetheart. I can't tell you you're going to make it—I don't have a crystal ball—but I do know that if you do your best, you'll have a good shot and you can be proud of yourself, no matter what happens."

"Really?"

He nodded with a smile and she gave him a smile back. "No time like the present, I guess," she said before sinking to the floor cross-legged and closing her eyes.

Rob assumed it was yoga or meditation or something like that but when she rose from the position a couple minutes later when it was announced that her number was on deck, she was smiling and seemed to have control of herself once more. "Thank you," she whispered. "I'd give you a kiss but wouldn't want you going out in front of the judges with lipstick on your face."

When Erin's number was called, they came out to see the smallest crowd of the day, but they both showed as much excitement as possible and tried to whip the remaining audience into a frenzy. Rob even noticed a lone guy up in the seats stand up and clap for them, leading him to try even harder for her.

Erin's jump on the toss chair was excellent, though she wobbled just a bit before stabilizing and cradling out. She did her triple toe touch jump and a round-off—back handspring—back tuck for her tumbling pass before hitting the dance. He was smiling as he dipped her and brought her back up to do the cheer. They finished up with a very good front bird (to be popularized by Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey a short time later as the Dirty Dancing lift) before he popped her up and cradled her. As they finished the routine with another round of rousing the crowd during their run-off, Rob was feeling really good about her chances.

"Wow! That was excellent!" he told her with his voice cracking from being so hoarse. "You did great!"

She grinned as if happy with the effort before saying "Thank you" and giving him a quick kiss. Drawing away, she continued smiling and wiped two fingers on his lips. "Oops! Lipstick, sorry. Say, I've got to run. Will I see you at 9 tonight?"

"I wouldn't miss it," he said. "See you then."

It was like he was on Cloud Nine as he watched Erin walk away. He came back down to Earth very quickly just moments later, though, when he saw her start walking up through the stands before being joined by the lone cheerer. His smile was gone as he saw them going out to the concourse, walking hand in hand.

* * *

As he walked that evening across campus toward the student center, that image of Erin and the guy he assumed to be Donnie continued to haunt him. Rob hadn't been able to concentrate and was so tired he didn't feel like studying, so the image of them together and various possibilities of its meaning dominated his thoughts.

The best scenario was that, to avoid the drama and possible tears, she'd waited until after the tryout to break up with him. His ideas went downhill very quickly from that point. Was she like the girl that used Mike's friend Bryan? Had she used him for the tryout, never to be with him again? The thought left him feeling physically ill. How could he have been so stupid?

To make matters worse, he'd been alone, stewing about it, since the tryout. Mike and Marci had taken their judging elsewhere, probably to avoid having him try to get the results out of them before the official posting at 9 PM, as well as, he suspected, to allow them some uninterrupted, adult-style hanky-panky.

A crowd was gathering in the student center lobby, with many of those who'd tried out already there with roommates and other friends. He said hello to several of his squad mates before finally finding Jen.

"Hi! Have you heard anything?"

"Marci called me at 6 and said they just finished but she wouldn't tell me anything. The witch!"

Rob laughed before becoming serious again. "I'm just really nervous, probably even more so than if I was trying out myself."

"I figured as much," agreed Jen. "It's like that when you're trying to help someone you really like. Jerry's in the same boat with his girlfriend. She's a sophomore who didn't make varsity last spring. He told me they'd been practicing together off and on all summer."

"Yeah, and I suspect she has one of the spots as a result, though she didn't have much tumbling. Say, do you see Erin or Deana?"

"No, but there's Mike...and Marci's right over there. It's almost nine."

"Must be close enough," said Rob as he saw both captains nod to each other and post lists on separate bulletin boards. They stepped away as people started surging forward to look at the names. There was a shriek at one and a "Yes!" at the other but Rob saw a couple of people moving away with tears in their eyes. The crowd noise quickly built to a tumult as more and more people crowded around, the throng practically swirling as viewers moved forward and back.