Page 16 of The Wrong Game

I shrugged. “I think you can do better. Here,” I said, handing him his ticket. “Should we get inside? I don’t want to miss kick-off.”

“You’re the boss.”

His eyes flashed to my chest again when he swiped the ticket from my hands, and I laughed, shaking my head and leading the way through the crowd toward the entrance. I was thankful for the warm weather for the first regular season game, especially since I knew I’d be bundled up soon enough.

Zach didn’t seem to mind the outfit, either.

My hands shook a little as we went through security and had our tickets scanned, and once we were flowing with the crowd toward our seats, I noticed how silent we’d been the entire walk in. I glanced at Zach, but as soon as his eyes found mine, I pulled my gaze away, scanning the food stands as we passed, instead.

I didn’t realize I was wringing my hands together until Zach’s palm covered them where they were wrapped together in front of me.

“Hey,” he said, his eyes finding mine. “It’s just a game. Remember?”

I swallowed.

“You love football. So do I. Let’s drink a few beers and have some fun, yeah?”

At that, a slow, long breath escaped my lips, and I smiled. “Yeah.”

He grinned back at me. “Cool. I’ll grab two beers then. You hungry yet?”

“Not yet.”

“Okay. Go get settled in, watch the pre-game festivities. I’ll meet you at our seats.”

“No, no,” I said, forcing a steadier breath. “I’ll wait.”

His hand brushed the small of my back, that same smirk on his lips as he turned toward one of the stands. “Okay, then. Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

I watched him go, chest still a little tight, eyes fixed on the way the muscles in his back flexed under his Bears t-shirt.

Relax, Gemma. This will be fun.

I repeated that mantra the entire time he ordered our beers, and it got louder and louder in my head as we made our way to the seats. I couldn’t help but cast glances at Zach’s face as we got lower and lower, the field only seven short rows away from our row.

“Gemma, these seats are incredible,” he said when we wiggled past the others in our row and took our seats. He set his beer in the holder, eyes scanning the field. “I’ve never sat this close before.”

“I wanted to be by the end zone,” I said, nodding to where our guys were warming up. “I know we’re not close enough for it, but I’ve always loved when the guys score and get so hyped that they jump into the crowd.”

“Well, like I said, if they see you?” Zach shook his head. “They might break records with how high they jump.”

I blushed, biting back a smile.

“So, can I ask… why did you buy two tickets? I mean, from what your friend was saying at the bar, she’s not a huge sports fan. And I know yournewplan but… it wasn’t the original one, right?”

My throat constricted, and I reached for my beer to swallow down the cotton ball lodged in my esophagus before it could grow.

“I bought them for someone else… originally,” I explained. “But, I don’t really want to talk about it. If that’s okay.”

Zach watched me, his eyes so intense that I had to tear mine away. I watched the field instead, hoping he wouldn’t push.

“Alright,” he said after a moment. “Hey, look at me.”

I didn’t.

“Gemma,” he said with a chuckle. “I’m not going to see all your secrets if you look at me for a second.”

I smiled a little at that, but when my eyes met his again, I wasn’t so sure.