Pushing the hurt down, Maya forced a bright smile and waved as she approached. "Stan! You actually came."
Stan chuckled. "He practically threatened me with a hundred messages if I didn't."
"Only a hundred?"
"He was still warming up." Maya laughed despite herself.
Meanwhile, Sophie squeezed his hand one last time at the entrance of the gym, then rose onto her toes and pressed a quick, lingering kiss against the corner of his mouth before reluctantly letting go.
"I'm watching you out there," she whispered. "Every minute."
"Is that a promise or a threat?"
"Both."
She gave him one final playful wink before turning toward the cheerleading section at the far end of the gym, her ponytail swaying with the bright, energetic steps of a woman who was, for the first time in days, in the same room as the person she had been missing.
