21. Dahlia
DAHLIA
By the time we find Stella and Holly inside the stadium, the game has already started. The noise is loud and the energy electric.
“You made it!” Stella scoots down to make room for us. “I almost had to fight a guy to save these seats.”
“Thank you,” I say.
She waves me off. I reintroduce her to Jane.
Holly leans over from Stella’s other side.
She’s wearing the same Valley U jersey I am, though I’m sure hers has Teddy’s name and number on the back.
“Hi, guys.” Her red hair falls over one shoulder.
“I’m glad you’re here. Felix is already having a great game. ”
None of us try to talk beyond that. It’s too loud.
The Valley U cheerleaders shout from the sidelines in front of the student section.
The band in their blue and yellow striped shirts take up one entire section, instruments out and ready.
The crowd is on their feet, clapping and screaming along with the cheerleaders.
It’s overwhelming and amazing. My pulse races in rhythm with the bass drum as I find Felix on the field. Dressed the same as everyone else, white pants and a blue jersey, he looks nothing like the others, though. At least not to me. I could pick him out by his posture and build alone.
He has a presence, especially now as he barks out commands from behind the line of scrimmage.
He claps his hands and then the ball is there.
He shuffles backward, poised to throw as he surveys the field.
When he sends it sailing through the air, I continue to stare at him.
The way he watches the play unfold in front of him.
His poise and concentration doesn’t end until the crowd cheers.
Felix’s body relaxes and he claps before unclasping the chin strap on his helmet.
It’s only then that I look down the field to see another guy picking himself up off the ground in the end zone with the ball in hand.
Holly is screaming louder than anyone else around us. She has her hands cupped around her mouth as she calls, “Good job, Teddy!”
I glance back to the field in time to see him point at her as he runs off the field in front of us. She yells even louder. Stella laughs and winces. “Geez, Holl. I’m gonna need to invest in ear plugs.”
During the switch from offense to defense, I lose track of Felix.
Blue jerseys cover broad shoulders all down the sideline.
I scan names and numbers I don’t recognize until Felix’s dark hair catches my attention.
He’s not looking at the field, but at me.
My heart skitters and skips as his mouth pulls into a smile, and his gaze drops to my jersey. His jersey.
Anxiousness I hadn’t even realized I was feeling since I walked in finally eases, replaced by excitement. I’m standing in the crowd with the star quarterback looking at me. I smile back, lift one hand, and mouth ‘hi.’ He replies with a wink before turning back to face the field.
Someone claps me on the shoulder. I turn, ready to glare at whomever is touching me, but when I do, I see a couple guys smiling at me.
“Your guy is on fire,” one of them says.
My guy.
I turn back to the field, a little dazed. Never in a million years could I have imagined this. Real or fake, I’m going to be riding this high for a long time.
I learn from Felix’s sisters that UTEP isn’t very good and was supposed to be a nice, easy start to the season, but Valley is just making them look silly.
Felix connects pass after pass with ease, and the defense shuts their offense down easily.
The restlessness of the crowd dies off a little as the game nears the end of the second quarter with us up by more than forty points, but the student section is still on their feet and ready to cheer on Felix every time he steps onto the field.
Everyone loves him. I knew that before today, but being surrounded by it is an entirely different thing. Guys cheer for him as loudly as the girls do. He’s the star of the team in their eyes, no doubt about it.
At halftime, Stella and Jane save our seats while Holly and I go up to the concession stand.
“How long have you and Teddy been together?” I ask as we stand in line.
The immediate smile on her face is contagious. “Eight months, but I’ve been crazy about him forever.”
“You’re cute together. It’s easy to see he’s just as crazy about you.”
“So are you and my brother. After Bethany royally fucked him over, I thought it would be a long time before he trusted someone again.”
“What do you mean she royally fucked him over?” I think back to everything Felix told me about his relationship with Bethany, which admittedly wasn’t much.
“Where to begin.” Holly blows out a long breath. “All she seemed to care about was going out where people could see them together. And she’d post every little thing on Instagram. I had to stop following her because one time she took a video of him going down on her.”
My eyes widen in surprise. “What?!”
“You couldn’t see anything. The camera was aimed on her face, but she rasped out something like, My man works just as hard off the field as he does on, and added enough tongue and kitty emojis to get the point across.”
“Gross.”
“Yeah, major ick. To be honest, I never thought he liked her that much. But maybe that’s because I didn’t really like her. He was upset when things went down though, so he must have felt something for her.”
“So, what happened? Why did they break up?” I’m dying to know more details.
“He really hasn’t told you any of this?”
“He said something about her wanting more than he could give with school and football. I didn’t press for more,” I admit.
“Eh, I get it. I don’t want to know anything about any of the girls Teddy even so much as looked at before we got together.”
I huff a small laugh as we move up closer to the front of the line. I’m anxiously waiting for more information, any little tidbit to better understand Felix. Maybe it will help me understand why he’s so hesitant to date (really date) anyone. And why he won’t kiss me again.
“We were all at a party. Things had been tense all night. They were fighting about something. Felix was really upset. I don’t know what started it, but then she started saying these awful things to him in front of everyone.
How he was pretty to look at but had the personality of a rock.
And how she had been trying to hold out for his NFL contract, but she just couldn’t pretend anymore.
She basically made it seem like she was using him for a paycheck. ”
My stomach twists and white-hot jealousy jolts through me with a heavy dose of anger. She had this great guy and only saw him for the money he’d make someday. No wonder he isn’t interested in another relationship.
We grab our food and start back for our seats.
“You know what,” I say, pausing outside the restrooms, “I need to pee. Go ahead. I’ll meet you back down there.”
“You don’t want me to wait?”
“Nah, I’m fine.”
“At least let me take your stuff.” She reaches for my hot dog and soda.
“Thank you.”
She smiles, juggling two drinks, a hot dog and popcorn as I disappear into the restroom.
I groan at the line of women waiting and seriously consider holding it until after the game, but I really have to go and the line is moving fairly fast, so I decide to stay.
I’ve been standing in line for a few minutes when the girl in front of me turns and smiles. I smile back politely.
She looks a little shy as she asks, “You’re Dahlia, right? Felix Walters’ girlfriend?”
“Umm…yeah,” I say like I’m not sure I am, then I smile. “Yes. Yes, I am.”
“He’s having a great game. I’m Francine. My boyfriend is Cody, he’s a freshman.” She turns to show me her back, which is when I realize she’s wearing a jersey just like mine. They really are the standard attire of girlfriends, it seems.
“It’s really nice to meet you.”
“You too,” she says as a toilet flushes and then a stall door opens. “I guess I’ll see you around.”
I’m smiling to myself as I stand at the front of the line. I can’t believe someone just recognized me by name in the bathroom. It’s surreal and even more surreal that they know me because I’m Felix’s girlfriend.
It’s finally my turn. I go and then head to the sink to wash my hands.
And there she is. Bethany. She comes out of one of the stalls, the same way other women might strut down a runway.
She tosses her shiny blonde hair over one shoulder as she steps up to the sink next to me.
While she washes her hands, she stares at her reflection, turning to see every angle.
She’s so busy checking herself out that it takes her a beat to see me.
Her gaze flicks to me, away, and then back. She laughs as she stands tall. Drying her hands with a paper towel, she slowly scans my outfit.
“Look at you,” she says, voice full of fake sweetness. I’m having a hard time meeting her eyes and not thinking about all the awful things she said to Felix. “Nice jersey. I wore it better, but I think we both know that.”
It’s hard to argue with her. She’s gorgeous. A truly awful human wrapped up in a very pretty package.
I shrug and try to ignore her. Bethany is not used to being ignored.
She steps closer, wedging herself between me and the sink.
Her voice lowers and is filled with venom.
“Felix may have plucked you out of your boring, dull life to feed his ego for a while, but sooner or later, he’s going to get tired of being with someone so…
forgettable. And when that happens, you’ll go back to being no one. ”
I don’t want her words to hit me so deeply, but they do. I’m frozen in place. I can’t make all the angry words bubbling up inside me come out. Instead, it’s hot tears I feel pricking the back of my eyelids.
The worst part is, she’s right. Bethany is just lashing out and saying whatever she can to hurt me, thinking I’ll cower and give him up.
She has no idea how close she is to the truth.
Because in a month, our agreement will be over, and I’ll go back to my life, him to his.
I was never going to get to keep him, but she’s just made me more determined than ever to enjoy every minute until then.
She tosses the paper towel in the trash and brushes past me. After she’s gone, I wait an extra minute, getting myself together, before I head out.
I almost run directly into Holly.
“Hey.” I force a smile at Felix’s sister. “You waited.”
“I didn’t want you to fight the crowd back to our seats alone.” She hands me my drink and food. “Did Bethany say something to you? I saw her come out before you, looking smug and evil.”
I can’t bear to repeat the conversation, so I lift one shoulder in a shrug and start for our seats. “I think that’s her everyday look.”