20. Montana
twenty
Montana
Dickface: Today is our first game of the season, and I hate that I won’t see you cheering for me with my last name on your back.
Me: Break a leg.
Dickface: That’s not good luck in football, Monti
Me: I know, asshole.
Groaning, I throw my phone on the bed. This asshole has a lot of nerve, I thought he would’ve moved on by now.
Today is Rocky’s first game of the season, and I’m excited and nervous for him. Last week when we celebrated his birthday was basically the last hoorah before the season started. Game day at SBU is a whole experience. There are always people tailgating, cooking, and drinking. The band is playing and vendors around campus are selling everything from university shirts to those seat cushions. There are usually also face painting booths—which is my favorite part—and games to play, like corn hole, and then they have blow-up slides.
I had a shirt made for me with Rocky’s name and number on the back. On the front is a photo montage of some pictures of him from previous games or from promo days. My favorite picture is front and center of him flexing his arms. It’s like one of those TikTok shirts that you get with someone’s face on it.
It's always fun putting my designs on shirts. I have always loved art. Don't give me a paint brush, though. I royally suck at painting. Apart from messing around with shirts for Rocky, I have been having fun building up my profile within the book community. Everyone is so nice, and I love helping authors and being able to make merchandise designs for stickers and shirts. I’m working on my first book cover, and it's been so fun to see the author’s ideas come to life. I cannot wait to finish this school year and get my business up and running. I know I don't technically need a degree, but my parents wanted me to get one, and I know they would be proud of how far I have come.
I pull out my phone to text Rocky.
Me: Good luck today, Savage.
Savage: Thank you, pretty girl. I think I need a good luck kiss.
Me: *sends a kissy face selfie*
Savage: damn those lips.
Me: Win or lose baby, they are yours.
Savage: Yeah, they are. See you soon, Killer.
Me: Kick some ass baby!
Autumn comes over before the game so we can ride together. She walks in and sees the shirt I’m wearing, and she laughs, but tells me that the shirt is amazing and that he’ll love it.
I got some university stickers for our faces—I’m wearing the number eight on my right cheek for my man, and when we get there, I’ll have them paint a scorpion on my other cheek.
I’m excited that Autumn is down with my shenanigans, because it’s more fun to do with someone. I get a good look at her, and she’s banging, but is dressed to hide her body. I know why, but I want her to get to the point where she will be able to see herself the way me and so many others do.
“Girl, what are you wearing? You have a banging body! Why do you hide it?”
“Well, I don't really know how to dress for my body type.” She looks down at her fidgeting feet when she says it.
“Nuh-uh, let's go!” I start to pull her into my room. “Okay, first thing first, what size do you wear?”
“Umm, I don't know, I just grab shirts, and leggings.”
“Okay, that right there is problem number one. We have to figure out your true size and go from there. Take your clothes off,” I say, and she lifts her eyebrow. “Girl, I want you try on some of my clothes. You look to be close to the same size as me, so we just need to figure your style out.”
I pull out a pair of high-waisted, ripped black skinny jeans for her to try on. You can never have enough, okay? Don’t judge me.
She tries on the first pair, and they’re a bit too snug for her comfort, so she tries on another pair that fit amazing. I pull out a few of my SBU crop tops for her, but she shakes her head no like they shirts are going to bite her.
I walk up to her, grab her hands, and make sure I am looking directly in her eyes before I say, “Autumn, you are a beautiful woman. I know you have met some shitty people in your life, but I promise I’m not trying to set you up. I just need to let you know that you’ll be turning heads because you are breathtaking. You can totally say no if you want to put your clothes back on, and we’ll leave, and I won't say a word about it again.”
“Fine, but I want the longer crop top,” she says with a smile.
She goes to get changed and once she’s ready, I look her over and she looks hot. I don't mention that she is wearing one of Talon’s shirts that I cut up. I nod my head in approval and let out a whistle because she is fine. The top she picked is a vintage black Scorpions shirt that I turned into a longer crop top. I cut the middle, so it has a cute little tie, but it's still pretty big. Paired with her black and white slip-on Vans, she looks like a bombshell.
“Girl, you are beautiful! I never want you to think I want to change you, but why in the flying fuck do you hide your curves? Look at me, and answer honestly, am I fat?”
She looks at me with a look of terror, “Oh my god, no! You are beautiful and not at all fat. You have curves in all the right places. Growing up with my dad and brother, everyone expects me to be sporty, but I’m not. I hated working out until I started doing it with you. I hide my body behind my clothes because if I do then I will be invisible, and no one will try to hurt me with their words.”
“Fuck that and fuck them. We’re going shopping so we can accentuate your curves. You are beautiful and you need to show off your body. So, if I’m not fat, then, girl, neither are you. Take that out of your vocabulary when talking about yourself. Alexa, play Truth Hurts by Lizzo.”
I get up and start dancing and singing. “I just took a DNA test, turns out I'm 100% that bitch.”
She gets up to dance and sing with me We’re shouting and singing together. “Fresh photos with the bomb lighting, new man on the Minnesota Vikings!”
We start to laugh, and we hug when the song is done. When we pull away, I say, “Girl, you are beautiful, kind, smart and I want you to start to see yourself as the people who love you do. You are Autumn fucking Savage. Not Christopher Savage’s daughter, and not Rocky Savage’s little sister. You’ll make your own name in this world. That I know , and I will tell you every day if that’s what it takes.”
“Thank you. God, how I wish I had you when I was growing up.”
I shrug. “I may not have been around then, but I am now. I’ll stick up for you, until you’re ready to do it yourself. One day, you’ll get there. It didn’t happen overnight for me either.”
We head out to the game with the biggest smiles on our faces. And I know today will be a good day.
We get to the stadium, and it’s packed. Our seats are in the lower level, but I hate sitting directly behind the team because I can’t see the action. I know Rocky can still see where we’re sitting. The game is about to start, and the crowd starts to go wild when the boys come out of the tunnel.
The coin toss starts. Rocky, Xander, and Talon are the captains, so they join the referees in the center of the field. We win the coin toss, so we’ll be receiving the ball first. When the kicker for Nebraska kicks the ball, Talon catches it and shoots off like a bat out of hell.
Autumn and I are both on our feet, jumping and screaming. One thing about Talon is that boy can run. He stiff-arms one of the defenders but ends up getting tackled at the forty-yard line.
Rocky runs out onto the field and the crowd goes wild. He’s yelling out and the ball is snapped, he looks around and sees Xander to his left. He throws the ball to him and Xander catches it. They get a first down at the ten-yard line. On the next play, he gets the ball again and all I see is someone running at Rocky. I’m so scared that he is about to get tackled then you see some Jason Kelce looking dude protecting him, and I need to figure out who he is and buy him a drink or something. God, I know this game is brutal, but man, my heart is racing. Rocky throws the ball and it's caught by Xander again and he runs it straight into the end zone.
The crowd goes wild. Autumn hugs me and we’re jumping and screaming. Rocky runs back over to the sideline and the kicker heads out onto the field to kick the extra point. We get the extra point, and the crowd goes wild. I look down to see Rocky on the sidelines, looking up at me and winks.
The cameras are spanning the stadium and land on Autumn and I. The rowdy guys behind us are yelling so loud, one of them spills some of their drink on me. I don’t want to make a big deal about it because accidents happen. It’s not until the camera comes around again and the guy behind me wants to start ‘helping’ me clean up by touching my boobs. I ask him to stop, but he doesn’t. I ask him again, but he continues touching me, so I cock my fist back and punch him in the face.
Fuck this guy. Mama didn’t raise a bitch, and daddy taught me how to throw a damn good right hook .
“What the fuck, didn’t your mama ever teach you not to touch someone without their permission? The fuck is wrong with you!?” I’m seething, my fist still clenched at my sides.
“Uh oh.” I hear Autumn say next to me. Autumn taps me, and I turn my head to see her face pale like she's seen a ghost.
I look over to see a pissed off Rocky has jumped up onto the railings that separates the seats from the field.
“ Keep your hands off my girl ,” he yells up, pointing to the guy behind me.
Rocky is up against the bars with his helmet off, and some players and coaches trying to calm him down.
Everyone’s looking at me now, and if I could hide under a rock, I would because I hate having attention on me. I walk down towards him, wrap my arms around his neck, and whisper in his ear, “Thank you, baby, but go back out there and kick some ass. I took care of it.”
I pull away, and he kisses my forehead and says, “Yeah, you did, Killer.” He gives me a smile that makes my heart skip a beat, and then he jumps down and walk back to the sideline.
I love how feral he gets over me. It’s fucking hot.