Chapter 7
SERA
Rowan and I had quickly fallen into a routine over the past week.
With him at the stadium for ten to twelve hours a day, handling close protection detail for him felt more like a vacation than work.
His mom seemed to be on a mission to fatten me up because she’d started cooking dinner for us, too.
Sleeping with him each night wasn’t a hardship, either.
Attending his game on Sunday was a whole different story, though. I wasn't into football that much. Usually when I watched a game, it was because one of the guys had it on. The downside to most of my friends being male was an overabundance of testosterone and nonstop sports on the television.
Watching Rowan play was different. As corny as it sounded, he truly was poetry in motion on the field. I finally understood why Whit insisted he was the best quarterback in the history of the game. Five minutes into the first quarter, I was already starting to have a new appreciation for football.
“Who are you here for?” I looked over my shoulder and spotted the woman who’d asked the question. She was seated in the row behind me, two seats to my left. I clocked how insincere her smile was in less than a second.
Having run the gamut of judgment when I was stuck on close protection for that asshole baseball player, I knew what came next.
The wives and girlfriends club for professional sports players reminded me of high school.
Some of the women were truly interested in helping the newest addition fit in, but many of them felt threatened and acted accordingly.
This one was definitely part of the latter.
Dealing with women like her was a hell of a lot easier for me now than it had been back when I was a teenager.
Being supremely confident in my ability to kick her ass with both hands tied behind my back helped.
Not that I would actually get physical with her, but just knowing what I could do took the power out of her hands.
“I'm with Rowan,” I answered.
“Rowan Charles, our quarterback?” she echoed in shock.
I hadn’t wanted to draw too much attention to myself, so my answer had been softly spoken. Apparently, she didn’t have had the same concern because she screeched her response. It wasn’t much of a surprise when the head of every person sitting near us turned our way.
“But he never brings anyone other than his mom to the games,” she stuttered.
I shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you. She couldn’t make it today, so Rowan gave me her ticket.”
The girl sitting on the other side of her, who looked like she was barely out of high school and was dressed more for the night club than a football game, added, “My best friend couldn't even get him to buy her a drink when he was out with the guys a few weeks ago, let alone ask her on a date or to a game.”
The woman sitting next two seats down from me, who was dressed in an oversized jersey and a pair of skinny jeans with kick ass heels, muttered, “Probably because he's interested in a woman who can hold her own with him. Not a girl who would drop to her knees in the middle of the club for any of the guys if they pointed down at their dicks.”
I made a mental note to have one of the guys look into her best friend.
It was doubtful that she was the one sending the notes to Rowan because she didn't fit the profile, but I would not rule anyone out without digging into them. If she was pissed enough over his rejection, it was possible she would’ve done something about it.
“You don't know what you're talking about, Britney,” the girl said. “Marnie is like a thousand times cuter than this chick. It makes no sense that he'd get serious enough with her but not even give Marnie a second glance.”
“And that right there is why you'll never fit in with the wives, and we're all rooting for Dave to wise up and dump your ass.” Her attention shifted to me, and she asked, “What's your name?”
“Sera,” I answered with a grin, really liking Britney’s style.
“Sarah?” The girl rolled her eyes. “See, she even has a boring name.”
“Actually, it's Sera, spelled S-E-R-A. It's short for Serafina.”
“Whoo, boy!” Britney hollered, slapping her knee.
“You couldn't have been more wrong about her name if you tried. And if you had more than two brain cells to rub together, you’d look under the surface and realize Sera here is a hell of a lot more interesting than you think. I have a feeling that still waters run deep in this one.”
I lifted my cup and asked, “Can I buy you a drink?”
“Hell, yes,” she agreed, nudging the woman sitting between us to ask, “Switch seats with me?”
“I’ll buy a beer for you, too,” I offered the woman.
“Sure,” she said as she got up. “I’ll take a Miller Lite.”
I flagged down a beer vendor carrying a cold tub of bottles and ordered three.
I was on the job and hadn’t planned to drink more than one to fit in, but the bottles were aluminum, so nobody would know I was leaving them half empty.
Plus, Whit and Devon were seated about ten rows behind me, so I had backup in case the stalker tried something during the game.
Settling back in to watch as Rowan took the field again, I jumped to my feet and cheered with the crowd when he threw for a touchdown with only thirty seconds left on the quarter.
“Hot damn! Your man is on fire.” Britney tapped her bottle against mine. “If he keeps playing like this, you’re going to have to come to the rest of the games this season.”
Since I didn’t know how long it was going to take to resolve Rowan’s stalker situation, I couldn’t commit to Britney’s suggestion. “This was a one-time thing. I’m sure Rachel will want to use her ticket during the next home game.”
Britney aimed her thumb in direction of the girls we’d gotten into the argument with earlier.
“Football players are notoriously superstitious. If Rowan kicks ass on the field, a bunch of the guys would volunteer to give up their tickets in a heartbeat. If their current flavor of the week doesn’t understand the game comes first and complains too much, they’ll be replaced with someone who does.
” A wicked gleam entered her eyes. “Maybe I’ll suggest to Roger that he gives up his ticket. ”
“Who’s Roger?” I asked.
She grinned. “He plays on the offensive line, and the teenybopper behind us is currently riding his dick.”
I grinned back. “Have I mentioned how much I like your style?”
“Not yet, but all is forgiven if you buy the next round of beers, too.”
I laughed and raised my almost full bottle to grab the beer guy’s attention again. “Sure, I can do that.”
The cost of a couple more beers was a small price to pay to keep Britney happy. Not only was she a lot of fun to hang out with, but she was also a font of information when it came to people connected to the team.