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“And I’m an education major at CSU.” Jif’s hair draped between them again. “But I’m hoping to become a trophy wife. Preferably a wide receiver. Do you know how much stamina they have?”
Abby’s cheeks turned pink. She wasnotgoing to think about the stamina of the players on the field. Especially Scott. Nope.
Kelly rolled her eyes and gently pushed Jif’s shoulder back. “Yeah, you and half this section.”
“Can I help it if I’m beautiful, an adoring fan, and fully prepared to commit to the manner of living that being a football wife entails?”
“Colton will be crushed when you don’t use the shiny new education degree he’s paying for.”
Jif giggled. “Half the girls he brings to his games don’t want to use their shiny degrees. They just want something shiny. It’s why so few of them last.” She cast a long glance down the row, where a few heads jerked forward, caught eavesdropping again.
Abby mulled that over. “Does Scott...?”
“Oh, no, but it doesn’t mean the others don’t. Some guys, there’s a different girl in the seat every week. The Raptor WAGS aren’t as bad as some, but they still notice. And Scott’s the quarterback. In most organizations his wife would be the center of the social circle, but he’s so private, you can’t blame them for being curious.”
Once again rendered mute, Abby nodded and turned her attention back to the game.
“Abby, can I go get a snack?” Dylan, wiggling in his seat, provided a welcome distraction.
“We ate lunch before we came, kiddo, and the game’s barely begun.”
“Something small? We didn’t have time before.”
Resigned, Abby reached into her bag at her feet, rummaging for her wallet. “Okay, let’s go.”
Dylan, jumping to his feet, took off down the row, then bolted up the stairs, skipping two at a time.
“Dylan, wait...” Abby called after him, rising to her feet, but Kelly’s voice boomed out over her own.
“You got your Stadium Card?”
Dylan threw a thumbs up over his shoulder. “He’ll be fine. He knows he isn’t supposed to go farther than the next section, and most of the vendors will recognize him. Scott’s good about keeping his card full.”
“His card?”
“Stadium Card. Kind of like a gift certificate. Saves having to bring cash.”
Though Abby might know football, she didn’t know anything at all about everything else that went on during games. Out of her element, her frustration mounted as she flailed, failed. In front of an audience. She gritted her teeth, finding herself angry at Scott for not doing a better job preparing her, but she let it go as quickly.
Lips pursed, she forced herself to take a deep breath, then turned back to Kelly. “Sorry, I’m new to this.”
“You’re doing fine, hon. The boys, they throw us to the sharks here and have no idea how hard it is. That’s why I told Scott I’d shepherd you to your first game.”
“But you and Finn, Scott said you guys have been together since college.”
Kelly’s cheeks and the tips of her ears darkened, and she ducked her head, but pride filled her voice. “Since freshman year. They didn’t have a gymnastics squad and cheerleading was the next best thing, so we ended up spending a lot of time together during the fall.”
“That’s really sweet.”
Scott, under center and shouting last-minute instructions to the line, took the ball, then dropped back and threw. It connected with the tight end, a rookie from Texas the Raptors had drafted in the third round. His jersey said “Highcastle,” but Abby couldn’t remember his first name.
“Looks like Jordan’s finally gotten himself up to date on the playbook.”
“Have you met him?”
Abby wondered how well the players knew each other off the field, as well as how much contact the families had with each other.
“Yeah, we put on a little welcome party earlier in the year for the new guys, although we don’t always catch all the last-minute trades or free agents. Plus, the Raptors are good about having a team spirit, not pitting the receivers against each other, so Finn’s spent a bit of time with him. Hard worker, but, apparently, a bit of a partier.”