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“Don’t you love Ryker?”
“Of course, I do. He’s one of Aiden’s best friends.”
“I heard you say you’d never wear his jersey to the game.” Shit. I need to learn she’s always listening.
I open my mouth to explain and then snap it shut, changing my mind. “When I was little…” I point to Syd, “…we grew up in Texas. We loved the Dallas Cowboys and would go to the football games all the time and cheer them on. We are still big fans.” I open my arms as wide as they’ll go. She giggles. “And that is who the Giants are playing tomorrow. I can’t go against my favorite team. Aiden will be wearing a jersey just like you, though,” I add, hoping she’ll be satisfied with that.
“And Damon,” Syd says, walking over to the bar. She reaches for her bottled water and takes a quick drink.
“So, it’ll be us against you guys?” She puts her hands on her little hips and smirks. She learns quickly.
“Yep, and we’re going to take you down.” I tickle her belly, and she squeals.
“Noo. We’re going to take you down,” she says between her giggles. I laugh. Aiden is going to love this.
***
“Tater Tot! Where’s my girl?” Aiden yells. She must not have heard him come in because usually she’s out here the second she hears his voice. They have become quite the pair. I adore the special time they have together. Hearing him talk with her about her dad and the special things they did makes my heart swell and always brings tears to my eyes. He doesn’t want to replace her dad, he wants to share the space with him in her heart.
“Aiden!” she screams, running from her bedroom. She runs into his arms, and he swoops her up. “We match.” She pinches her jersey and holds it up to his.
“Yes, we do.” He holds up his hand and she high-fives it. “There’s a traitor among us,” he says, eyes narrowing. She tilts her head with a look of confusion.
“What does that mean?”
He laughs. “Someone doesn’t love Ryker.” She nods her head in understanding, narrows her eyes like he did, and they both glare at me.
I shake my head at Aiden. “Would you stop saying that? I do love Ryker. I don’t love the team he’s playing on.”
“Our team is going to win,” Lexi says with a cute, competitive voice.
“You think so, huh?” I laugh at the dynamic duo. “We’ll see.”
Aiden has Lexi on his shoulders as we walk into the stadium. This is my happy place. The fans’ excitement is infectious. My nerves tingle as my heart beats a little faster, adrenaline running through my veins. I thought about doing sports medicine just so I could experience this over and over. It was a fleeting thought because I had already decided my path.
“I can’t believe we both ended up with Cowboys’ fans,” Damon jokes as we walk through the tunnel to our seats. Syd hits him on the arm.
“I could say the same for you,” she giggles. “I’m sleeping with the enemy.”
He playfully growls and grabs her waist, leaning down and attacking her neck. She laughs as she pushes him off. “And you love it,” he chuckles.
“Look at what she’s wearing,” Aiden says, eyeing me up and down. “You think I give a…” he stops himself and glances up to Lexi. She’s not even paying attention. She’s looking at everything. He looks back at Damon. “Yeah, I don’t care. That’s one of my favorite outfits ever.” He wags his eyebrows and smirks. He’s especially fond of the boots. Heat spreads low in my belly, thinking about the times he’s demanded I keep the boots on while I ride him. A salacious grin spreads across his face as if he can read my mind. Who am I kidding? He knows.
Syd and I are wearing the uniform we wear whenever Dallas plays. Jean cut-off shorts, cowboy boots, and our Cowboys jerseys. We’re a little out of place here, but it doesn’t matter to us.
When we walk through the tunnel to the open stadium, Lexi’s eyes double in size. “Wow!” she beams. “It’s so big in here. Look, a balloon!” She points up to the sky.
We all look up. “That’s a blimp,” Aiden says. “It’s like a balloon.” She nods and moves on to the next thing. Aiden flips her over his shoulders so she can walk down the stairs. She slips her hand in his, and we walk down to the first row of seats. I’ll admit, I’m feeling special right now. We’ve never sat this close. The team is right in front of us. The reporters line the field, taking pictures of the players practicing.
“These seats are incredible,” squeals Syd. She bounces on her toes and gives me a hug. “Thanks for inviting us.”
We look up the stadium seating at all the people. Other Cowboys fans wave down to us, and we wave back. “It figures Mack would give his seats to Cowboys fans,” a male voice from the seats behind us says. We look at him and politely smile.
“You gotta have some winners on this side,” Syd says in her sweet, southern drawl. He smirks and shakes his head. Aiden and Damon introduce themselves to the guy. I guess he’s some big wig in the tech industry. I stop listening and turn to face the field. We got here a little early because I wanted to make sure Lexi experienced the entire thing, so we watch some of the Giants players practice.
When Ryker comes out on the field, the place erupts with cheers and whistles. Lexi looks at me wondering what’s happening. I point to Ryker. She jumps up out of her seat and yells for him, waving her arms around.
“Well, at least one of you girls has it right,” Jack, the tech guy, jokes. Lexi spins around and gives him a huge smile.
