17. Chapter 17
Ames
The Strike's stadium is huge. Hordes of people move towards the different doors, in a sea of blue for the Strike and red for the opposing team.
Instead of following them, I show my phone to a guard and I'm allowed past a corded-off section.
As if she knew I'd be intimidated, Evie offered to meet me at the staff's entrance.
She prepared everything, and now I'm on my way to a special entry.
She sees me as soon as I go into the building, and flashes her badge to the guards to let me in.
"Benefits of the job." She gives me a quick hug. "Come. I have a surprise waiting for you."
Evie guides me through the massive building like she owns the place. We pass people with badges and reporters waiting for their chance, until we reach an elevator that takes us up several floors.
She smiles. "When was the last time you came to a game?"
The elevator is covered in mirrors. She wears a pencil skirt and a jersey with Logan's last name on the back. I wear jeans with mine. I French tucked my shirt, but my eyes are stuck on the word printed across my shoulders. SANTIAGO .
I bite the inside of my lip. "I'm pretty sure the last time I was at a game was in college when my brother still played."
"Your brother used to play football?"
I nod. "That's how we met Saint."
The doors open and I follow Evie through a long, wide hallway.
On the outside wall, large windows let the light in and provide a lovely view of fans pouring into the building, and the city around us.
On the side facing the field, shiny white walls are decorated with SEATTLE STRIKE painted in the team's blue, in big blocky letters.
Numbered doors mimic the look, blending into the wall.
"But do you like the sport?" Evie asks. "Not that I can judge too hard if you don't. I never cared for football, until I got an internship with the Strike."
"No, I can't say I like it. Too stressful. I hate that there's always a loser, you know?"
"Yeah, I hate seeing them feeling bad when they lose." She sighs. "Okay, we're here."
She opens the door to the suite. It's smaller than I imagined, with a couple of rows of seats by the windows, where up to fifteen people could hang out and watch the field below.
A small buffet table waits tucked into the corner, brimming with drinks and food.
A high table with chairs stands near the other wall, in sight of the large TV broadcasting the game.
"Have you met the rest of the gang yet?" Evie takes me all the way to the chairs at the front, where two people wait for us.
Nerves pop in my gut like my stomach is a bubbling pot.
I've never considered myself to have a gang.
Jo and I are friends who work together. Coworkers who are friends.
We don't really spend much time together outside of that.
I have my brother and Saint, of course but, looking back, I think I made the mistake of focusing too much on Aidan in recent years. The handful of exes before him.
It's weird to realize that I was so narrowly focused on making romance work, to prove I'm different from my parents, that I forgot about me as a person. I lost myself. The idea of friends faded into a distant background .
Texting with Evie over the past few weeks has expanded my mind.
My heart. If I'm right, Evie and I are slowly becoming friends.
Friendship with her is a set of timid sprouts, branching out to create a full, dense crown on the tree of my life.
Connecting with the group at large could only add depth and warmth to my dream of a happily ever after, and make my life richer.
It's another gift that comes from the unexpected breakup, and the life Saint has invited me into. The friendships I'm making are showing me who I am in wholly new ways.
It's yet another reason to hope he doesn't get traded. My friendship with him has deepened, too.
A pang seizes my heart at the idea he might have to leave. Crush aside, a piece of me would break with him gone.
I shake my head. I can't afford to think about that. Better to leave it for when I can't sleep in the middle of the night.
I clear my throat and smile. "I've met Nat and Pen before, at the post-season party last year."
Nat and Pen return my grin, and the gesture reaches their eyes. Nat with her gorgeous lavender hair is the first one to hug me. Pen follows right after. The light of the window glints on her nose ring.
"Yeah, I remember you." Nat sits again.
"Me, too," Pen adds. "Happy to see you here! And wearing a jersey, I see?"
I sit next to Pen, and Evie next to me.
"It was part of the deal," I say.
"Look what I brought." Evie gets a thermos, a mate gourd, and a container full of yerba from a small cubby under the window. "I bought a few bombillas and mates, just in case you don't want to share."
I keep my smile in place. "I'm good with doing it the right way."
"Excellent!" Evie adds some yerba to the mate. "I've been imagining this moment since I learned your family is from Uruguay."
"Look, the guys are coming out," Nat says .
I lean forward and watch the show. Playing at home means the Strike get the diva treatment.
A smoke screen reveals one athlete after the other, encouraged onto the turf by five cheerleaders on each side.
Each of the players has a personality as they enter the field.
Logan runs and waves in a sober manner, while Bear charges forward in an imposing way. Dom and Saint dance, of course.
As much as I'd like to pretend I can admire both equally, I'll admit the truth in the quiet of my mind. I only have eyes for my roommate.
After the coin toss, it's clear The Strike will start on defense.
In football, offense and defense are different parts of the team.
They take turns depending on how the game progresses.
All our favorite players, the ones we're here for, play on offense.
They'll stay on the sidelines for the first drive.
We sit back and focus on each other for a while.
I sip from the mate. "Do any of you love the sport?"
Pen's lips turn down at the corners. "I think we're all here mostly to support the guys."
"I think it's fun." Nat shrugs. "I like it. And I love getting together here, chatting, watching them win."
"Which reminds me…" Evie grabs her phone. "Did you hear about the latest bet?"
Pen chuckles. "What are they up to this time?"
"It's Bear, Saint, and Logan. It's an edit. They let me record them while working out, and I mixed it with their outfits coming into the game today. The one to get the most likes wins. Want to see?"
We huddle together and stare at her phone screen.
Logan's video is first, with a series of overlapping images that first show his arrival to the stadium earlier today, wearing a tailored, casual blue suit, and his usual frown.
It's mixed with images of him wearing only shorts, and doing the classic crossfit battle rope workout…
in slow mo. His arms and shoulders pop, while still showing off his abs and well-defined torso.
"In my eyes, he's got to win," Evie says .
"Who would have guessed you would feel that way, huh?" Nat laughs.
"I cannot be blamed," she responds.
Next up is Bear. His arrival shows him in fashionable black pants and t-shirt, covered by a tan, dressy overshirt.
He also works out in only shorts, letting us admire the intricate tattoos covering the generous expanses of muscles and plush padding…
and how he does hip thrusts with impressively heavy barbells.
"He should win, clearly," Pen says. "I know he's my best friend but… wow."
"We're going to be biased, right?" Evie asks. "We all have our own favorite."
"But can you imagine?" Pen insists. "We're all big girls and the way he handles heavy weight…"
Nat, Evie, and I gaze at her with curiosity.
"Never mind," she says. "Show us Saint."
The two previous videos were set to the same song, and Saint's is no different. They're all edited with the same effects and, at the bottom in the description, they make it clear it's a friendly bet. They tag one another in each video.
Despite the similarities, the sexiness level is exponentially higher in Saint's post. His arrival outfit is a stunning black moto jacket printed full of blooming pink and red flowers.
The shirt he wears underneath is dusty pink, and the neckline is low enough to show his chain.
He winks to the camera like he's flirting with every single fan at once.
"I love how he dresses," I confess.
"It's definitely fashion forward," Nat adds.
The workout video manages to impress regardless. Like Logan and Bear, Saint wears only shorts and nothing else except his chain, a backwards baseball hat, and a cheeky smile. Unlike Logan and Bear, Saint jumps the rope.
I have never paid such close attention to a jumping rope video before. Saint does tricks with it, his muscles engaged and tight as he moves. His smile never falters, and those sweet dimples look fiendish this time.
It's all about stamina and fine motor skills. Cardio endurance. Finely tuned body .
I die a little inside. Thirst is to blame.
"Brave wearing only shorts for this," Nat says. "See how his chain moves with each jump?"
Yeah, I noticed. And those thighs— they should be criminalized for how they're making me feel.
I gulp.
Pen chuckles. "Or maybe it was on purpose."
"Logan was there while I recorded," Evie says. "He scowled and told Saint he should invest in compression shorts stock. You know, because he's proving they can hold everything in place."
We laugh. I hold back from fanning myself with a hand.
"I was trying hard not to look," Nat adds. "It seemed intrusive. He's had dinner at home with Damián and me. I don't want to stare at his crotch!"