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Natalie did not have good seats. We were so high in the stadium that I was nervous. One misstep and I was a goner. Not knowing what to expect, I’d been beyond surprised by the amount of people pushing their way into the arena to watch a bunch of guys throw a ball around. Everyone was decked out in university gear and the amount of bare-chested guys with letters painted on their chests was staggering.
I squinted at the field and shifted away from the guy sitting next to me. “Is this what you thought it would be?”
Natalie groaned. “This isn’t how you fall in love with football. You can barely see the team from here!”
I thought I could see them just fine. What would I need a better view for? There was a huge section of seating reserved for the band below us and when they started playing, the crowd erupted in cheers. I flinched and looked at Natalie with wide eyes. “What’s happening?”
She pulled me to my feet. “Come on. The team is coming onto the field and I can’t deal with these seats. I’m going to kick my cousin’s ass for making me buy these from him. Next time, we’ll get tickets for the student section.”
I sidestepped an older man carrying a giant foam finger and an even bigger bucket of popcorn. I flashed him a smile and he waved his finger at me.
“Go Crocs!” His loud shout created a chain reaction of other shouts and cheers.
Between the band and the fans, I felt disoriented as Natalie pulled me after her. All the way back down to the ground level where we’d entered, she was impatient and tugged me along faster. She jumped up and down suddenly and waved her arm like crazy.
“Chris! Hey, Chris!” She had an impressive set of lungs on her and her voice carried to whoever she wanted it to. “Yes! Come on. I know this guy who takes action shots of the team from the sidelines and he’d better let us on the field after what I did for him last year.”
“On the field?!” I tried to dig my feet in to stop her but she was determined. “Natalie! I don’t want to go on the field!”
“It’s the best way to experience your first game, Ella. Trust me.” She pushed her way through a crowd of people waiting in line at a concession stand and I had no option but to tuck my elbows and stumble along with her.
There was a lanky guy waiting on the other side of the fence from us. “What’s up, Nat?”
I watched as she transformed into someone softer and curled her hair around her finger. She leaned closer to the fence and grinned. “Hey, Chris. Do you need two eager assistants on the field today?”
He rolled his eyes at her. “Quit with the sweet act, Nat. I know you better than that.”
She stomped her foot. “I let you touch my tits last year, Chris. This is a fair trade.”
He glanced back at the field and when he looked back at her, there was something mischievous playing across his face. “Two dates.”
“Are you kidding?”
“Two dates and you can come in.”
She looked back at me and I could see the indecision playing across her features. With a sigh, she nodded. “Fine. Two dates. You can round a couple of bases, but don’t get any big ideas. This doesn’t mean anything.”
Chris flashed a smile. “It means something. Come on. Hurry up. I need to work.”
I stared back and forth between the two of them and was so distracted by the energy flowing between them that I followed Natalie through a gate tucked away next to the stands. I’d forgotten that I didn’t want to go on the field. At least I had until I stepped forward and got a view of the stands in my peripheral vision. It felt like they stretched on and on above us.
“Find a spot and park it. If you get me in trouble, it’s going to be four dates.” Chris winked at Natalie and nodded to where a bunch of men with giant cameras were positioned. “If you wedge your way in there, you’ll get a hell of a view. Run when they run or you’ll get plowed over.”
“Not a chance in hell on those extra dates, buddy. But thanks for the heads up. Bye!” Natalie resumed her game of tugging me somewhere I didn’t want to go but then we were on the sidelines, positioned way too close to the team. “Okay, they’re doing the coin toss now. We didn’t miss anything.”
I furrowed my brows as I studied two equally giant guys in the center of the field. If the energy in the stands had been a lot, standing on the sidelines was going to kill me. A ref held up his hand and pointed to the left side of the field, causing the cheers to grow louder on our side of the stadium.
“We’re kicking off first. Okay, so that guy running back this way? That’s Fisher Hayes. He’s the quarterback. He’s got an arm like Peyton Manning with the accuracy of a seasoned sniper. Also, he’s hot as hell.” She squeezed my arm as she rushed out facts about what was happening. “This is our special team. They’re going to…”
I tuned her out as I watched Fisher stand next to one of the couches. His hair looked like it was already soaked with sweat and I could see black paint smeared across his cheeks like war paint. In his uniform, he looked even bigger. The way the pants clung to his strong thighs wasn’t terrible, either.
Natalie jumped up and down and screamed. “Yes! The offense is going in on our thirty-yard line! This is going to be a piece of cake for Fisher and Vaughn!”
I cringed. I didn’t want to run into Vaughn or even see him, but judging by the way Natalie was losing her mind, I didn’t have a choice about seeing him. At least in the helmets, I couldn’t tell most of the guys apart. I watched the two teams line up and squat facing each other and had to cover my mouth to cover up a giggle. It just looked silly to me.
“Watch Fisher. Number twelve. Vaughn Adler is number sixty-three.” She held her breath as she watched the field. “We’re going to the championship this year. I can feel it.”
A random man walking past heard Natalie and high-fived her. “Hell, yeah! Go Crocs!”
