Page 26
“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. ”
Abby couldn’t help the small smirk at Kelly’s comment.
She hadn’t been a partier, herself. Work and school had taken up far too much of her time, and she’d never needed to wade into the bar scene to find a date, so there hadn’t been much point.
But fresh out of college and straight into the NFL, she could imagine how that might impact someone’s lifestyle.
“It’s about thirty-seventy,” Kelly continued. “Although, during the season, most of them are too busy or too tired to go out much. Those who do, anyway, don’t last long. It ends up showing on the field, especially by November or December.”
“I would have expected it to be higher.”
The Raptors, now across midfield, ran the ball six yards for another first down.
“Partying, not so much. Now, check out the parking lot on your way out tonight. You’d think the NFL owned stock in luxury cars. Hannah said Pierce wanted to get an Aston Martin with his signing bonus and she had to talk him down to a Maserati.” Kelly rolled her eyes.
“Scott’s Audi is pretty nice. I always feel guilty when Gen sheds all over it.”
“Yeah, and still under a hundred thousand, so don’t you worry your head about it. He’s one of the smart ones.”
“He is?”
Kelly snorted. “Well, life bit him pretty hard. It’s difficult to be that guy when you’re a single parent. Everyone else goes out after the game, but you have to be home for bedtime stories.”
“He’s an amazing dad.”
Kelly glanced around, then, seeing no sign of Dylan yet, muttered, “Dylan deserved at least one good parent. Lisa and John helped out a lot when they were still in San Diego, but Scott’s been on his own since moving home.”
“Lisa and John?”
“Scott’s parents. They stayed in San Diego after Scott came to the Raptors.”
Abby’s brows knitted. “I thought Scott grew up here.”
“He did, but when the Chargers drafted him, they moved to California to be closer. A good thing, too, after Dylan came along.” Kelly’s mouth snapped shut and her eyes flicked over Abby’s shoulder.
Turning, Abby understood why Kelly had stopped talking.
Garlic and fries wafting around him like an olfactory halo, Dylan plopped back into his seat.
“Here, I brought you some, too.” Dylan presented a small cardboard container with a flourish. “Derek’s makes them best. Stadium Fries doesn’t do a bad job, but don’t ever get them from Endzone.”
Abby nibbled one, then grinned at Dylan as he crammed them into his mouth, fries hanging out at odd angles until he could work them in and swallow.
It had been a long drive down the field, but they were within striking distance. Scott took the snap, dropped back, then flicked the ball, connecting with Finn, who ran the last few steps into the end zone.
The entire section leapt to their feet, cheering and shouting, and the stadium full of fans, so disappointed through the first two weeks of the season, screamed their excitement.
As if responding, the Raptors stopped Seattle and, again, took the ball all the way down and scored. By the half, they were up twenty-one to seven.
The third passed with all the drama of a baseball game in its seventh inning; that is, none. Both teams jockeyed up and down the field, but no points were scored, and by the fourth, Abby let herself hope they’d finally be able to bring a win home.
The Seattle quarterback scrambled and broke free, earning more yards in one play than his top running back had all day, then they scored on the drive, but the Raptors responded, and as the clock ran down, Abby breathed a sigh of relief.
They’d won, and it had been a solid win. Not a runaway, but not by the skin of their teeth, either, so maybe the commentators would calm down a bit.
“They’re in Charlotte next week, but the Panthers have an evening game tonight against the Vikings.” Kelly gathered her things into her lap and waited for the crowds to thin.
Abby stood and stretched, slinging the strap of her bag over her shoulder. “They’re one and one at the moment.” Abby wracked her brain to come up with the right statistics. “And they’ve had some injuries already. It could be a few weeks before they’re strong again.”
“Here’s hoping.” Kelly lifted an invisible glass and pretended to clink it. “C’mon, it’s clear enough, now. I’ll show you how to get down to the guys.”
“Dylan could show me, too.” Abby gave Kelly an easy out if she wanted it.
She’d been so nice all afternoon, but Abby worried it was only because Scott had asked her. Starting a new friendship from such an uneven foundation didn’t quite feel impossible, but certainly close.
“Don’t be silly. First of all, I bet Dylan is already down there and getting into some kind of trouble with Nevaeh, so, good luck with that...” Kelly chuckled. “And I’m heading down, anyway.”
“Yeah, but I’m sure you want to be there to congratulate Finn when he comes out. He had a great day.”
“You trying to get rid of me, girl?”
“N... No. I mean, I don’t want to be in the way.”
“You listen up, now, okay? You aren’t in the way, and you’re not, what?
A burden? No way. I know all this is new to you, but Scott adores you, and, before you start thinking I’m only being nice because he asked me to, you should know that’s not the kind of person I am.
I’m nice to people who deserve it, and I don’t have any time for the fake crap some girls try to pull.
If Scott loves you, it’s because you’re worth loving, so the least I can do is get to know the girl he thinks the world of.
Especially since he and Finn are as close as brothers, so we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other before too much longer. ”
Abby, chastened by Kelly’s emphatic speech, had little to say in return, so, nodding, she accepted she had made a new friend. Then, curious, she asked, “Why haven’t I met Finn yet?”
Kelly rolled her eyes. “That boy. He was so worried about scaring you off he about disappeared this summer.”
Abby’s eyes widened and she sucked in a breath. “Finn...?”
“Nah,” Kelly interrupted, catching on to Abby’s train of thought.
“He saw the two of you together at the hospital visit thing, but Scott kept insisting you weren’t ready.
You should have seen his excitement when he told us you’d agreed to come to the game with me.
If he weren’t six-foot-four, two-thirty, and one of the most intense quarterbacks I’ve ever seen on the field, I’d almost call him adorable. ”
She flashed a sideways grin at Abby, who could picture an adorable Scott much more easily than the one Kelly described. She’d seen so much of the relaxed, real version of him over the last several months, and so little of the one who ruled the turf.
Abby chewed over Kelly’s revelations as they descended deeper into the bowels of the stadium and her stomach turned over.
She had been scared, and so anxious; Scott had been right to fear.
But in pursuing her, he’d let his own friends—his own life—slip through the cracks, sacrificing them to be with her.
Even if it had been his choice, Abby couldn’t allow it to continue now that she knew.
She hadn’t even questioned his attention, hadn’t questioned why he hadn’t spent any time with his own friends and teammates all summer.
Abby raised her chin, resolving to change, to do better. Scott shouldn’t have to give up his life because of her anxiety. He shouldn’t have to give up his friends because of her fear. Dylan shouldn’t have to give up seeing the Raptor kids because he spent all his time with her and Gen, either.
“We’re having a barbecue in a couple of weeks. You should come, let Scott introduce you to some people. Bring your dog. I hear she’s well-behaved, and Dylan will love showing her off.” Kelly raised an eyebrow.
Abby nodded. “I’ll be there.”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26 (Reading here)
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46