A Texan to the core, Cheri was thrilled to be cheering for the Dallas Cowboys, and her mother had regaled her since she was a young girl of the glory years when the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders were stars in their own right.

It was during the preseason that Cheri had met her dream man. It had happened without warning, completely unexpected one day during practice. The man was a rookie tight end and the first time that he had walked onto the field their eyes had locked. He had brushed against Cheri, nearly knocking her down. Instead of just rushing past her, he had stopped dead in his tracks and steadied her in his arms. Cheri had looked up into the kindest eyes she had ever seen. The new player was as big as a mountain and so was the kindness in his heart.

“I’m so sorry,” he had said.

The rookie’s smile was as big and bright as Cheri’s and since that first day the two of them had had an affair with their eyes. An occasional “Hi” was spoken, but the two of them had been too busy for anything more. The look in their eyes said more than words could ever convey.

******

At halftime of the season opener, just before the cheerleaders took to the field for their dazzling routine, Raquel, the bosomy brunette on the squad invited Cheri to a party that night after the game.

“Sure, I love parties.”

“You do understand that some of the players will be there, don’t you?”

“Uh, sure.”

Hearing hesitation in her voice, Raquel had been quick to assure the young cheerleader. “They will love you, Cheri,” she promised, placing added emphasis on the “Ch” and pronouncing it as in the word “cherry.”

Cheri smiled, and as they took the field Raquel turned her back to the young woman who she saw as her nemesis.