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Chapter Sixteen
Saylor
“This is so much fun. I love watching the games with you on television, but the energy of the stadium is amazing.” I hug Mia. “It’s like being a little kid again.” Tears sting my eyes. Happy tears. Sad tears. Anxious tears. Bittersweet tears. All the emotions of the day swirl around me.
I loved going to the games with my parents and hearing my dad tell his “war” stories of the good ol’ football days because I was too little to remember him playing. Now to come to watch Knox play is an entirely new experience. I’m terrified he’s going to get hurt but elated to watch him smash into another player. It’s messed up.
“It’s fantastic, isn’t it?” She squeezes me and stands back.
“Yes, it is.” I turn my attention back to the suite's glass windows. The game still has one minute and twenty seconds remaining, but it’s been over for the last five minutes by the score. The last touchdown Gunner threw to Devin sealed our victory.
A handful of people in the suite give each other over-the-top goodbyes complete with chest bumps and high-fives while the girls jump up and down, hugging and head for the exit.
Ashley and Dani grab their gear, tucking their coats under their arms, and stand. “Are you going down to the dressing room?”
“Yes.” I nod. “Knox wanted me to be there when they come out.”
“Perfect. You can follow us.”
Mia gathers an empty plate and cup. “You girls have fun.”
“You aren’t coming?”
“No.” She winks. “Too much testosterone down there when I don’t have an outlet.”
Dani waggles her eyebrows. “There are plenty of plugs who would willingly sacrifice themselves for your outlet.”
“I’m sure there are, but I’m not interested. No football players for me. Ever again.” When she got hurt, her boyfriend dumped her. I can’t say I blame her for being bitter. But attributing it to an entire profession might be going too far.
The crowd around us counts down the last ten seconds of the game–cheering at the top of their lungs while scurrying to the door.
“Don’t say, ‘never.’” Ashley smiles. “You know what they say about the word never.”
“Please, don’t jinx it.” Mia shudders. “I want a nice 9 to 5 accountant. Not a wayward football player.”
“Not all football players have a wandering eye.” I cross my arms over my chest and defy her to tell the three of us our men will stray.
“I know that.” She shoves her hands into the pockets of her jeans. “And that’s not my biggest concern. I don’t want a man who moves all the time. We had to move too many times because of my dad. I want a man who’s ready to settle down in one place and raise a family. I don’t want the thought of being traded always hanging over my head.”
“I get it.” Dani slings her arm over Mia’s shoulders and squeezes.
“You get it?” Ashley stares at her like she’s crazy. “You’re married to the franchise quarterback. You don’t have to worry about Gunner being traded.”
“Someday, he could be. Just a couple of years ago, a quarterback that was with his team for twenty years was traded and moved over a thousand miles away to keep playing the game.”
“Fine.” Ashley adjusts the strap of her purse on her shoulder. “Girls, let’s go. By the time we get through this crowd, Coach Slater’s speech will be complete, and the guys will be looking for us.”
“I’ll talk to you later.” Mia walks to the trashcan. “Tell my brother he played a great game.”
After we say our goodbyes, I follow the girls into the hallway, down the concourse, and onto the elevator. The ride down is uneventful until we eye something on the floor that looks suspiciously like urine.
The funny thing about the football stadium is that it’s the only place where men must wait for the bathroom, and sadly, it looks like someone couldn’t hold it long enough. I glance up at the corner of the elevator. I bet the security staff gets an eyeful of entertaining material.
The doors slide open, and I gasp. Shit. That’s a lot of people. And cameras. The hallway outside of the dressing room is teeming with journalists and fans with their cameras and phones perched and ready to grab that exclusive shot of their favorite player. I ease into the hallway and sidestep a camera lens.
“Sorry, lady,” the man murmurs and steps back. “It gets crowded in here.”
“Yes. Yes, it does.” I weave through the sea of red and gold t-shirt and coat-covered people until I reach the wall at the edge of the crowd. I inhale and take in the first breath of cool air since I stepped off the elevator. I scan the moving heads searching for Dani and Ashley, but they’ve disappeared.
