OFF TRACK

EPILOGUE

TREVOR
THREE YEARS LATER

"Breathe," I hum as my hands slide from Summer's shoulders to her elbows, trying to help her relax. We're standing in a corridor under Crypto arena.

Summer and Ellie have been on the Laker Girl's dance team for two years now.

After we all graduated Ellie and Alex went and traveled all across Europe for a year. While I started working for the Angel City soccer team as an athletic trainer. And Summer started full time at Playhouse studio, working their front desk on top of coaching the junior competition team and helping choreograph for all of their other competition teams, all of which she's done on top of being a Laker Girl. I don't know how she does it, but she's been this way since the day I met her.

And tonight for the first time, the team is performing a routine Summer got to choreograph specifically for the Laker Girls. She's spent any extra free time she's had working on this dance.

I think I've heard Dirty by Christina Aguilera about a million times now, but getting to watch Summer work is always entertaining. I like to mess with her and try to mimic her moves, which most of the time gets me banished to the bedroom.

"So many things could go wrong," she sighs looking up at me, I can see the worry on her face. In the last couple years she's started wearing less makeup and I can see her freckles peaking through. She's so pretty.

"But nothing will," and I know that for a fact. I've seen these girls perform a hundred times, no ones ever missed a step.

I try to make it to every game but there's been a few times where I couldn't because of my own team's games going on but even then one of the other dancer's partners always records the performance and shares it with the ones of us who couldn't make it.

"You don't know that," she narrows her eyes at me.

"But I do," I smile, siding my hands up to her shoulders again.

"Five minutes!" Lana, one of the team's directors shouts from the end of the hall.

"I'm gonna to head to my seat," I give her shoulders a squeeze, "You're going to do amazing," I kiss the top of her head knowing better than to kiss her when she's got lipstick on.

"Love you," I smile starting to walk away.

"Love you," she smiles.

I tap Alex on the shoulder as I pass him and Ellie. Then him and I head to our seats.

"Are you still gonna do it tonight?" Alex asks as we get guided back to our seats.

"Yeah," I nod, "She doesn't know Hannah's in town already so she's back at the apartment setting everything up."

Summer and I got our own apartment in Culver City right between the stadium where I work and the dance studio. And then Ellie and Alex got a place only ten minutes away from us. So some nights it's like we're still in college. We'll all go out together and then stumble back home to one of our apartments and share a very quiet hungover breakfast.

"Why didn't she come to the game?" Alex asks.

Hannah's about to start her last semester at FIT and she's out here for winter break with some friends. So I bet there's really five girls in our apartment decorating and setting things up.

I told her I'd buy them handles of whatever alcohol they wanted for their winter break fun if they did this for me.

"She just flew in about an hour ago," I glance at my watch, "Plus she hates basketball."

Alex laughs shaking his head.

SUMMER

"Oh my god," I say quietly through heavy breaths, the song just ended. The arena is loud with cheers as we all hold our ending pose until all the lights flicker back on.