Chapter 18
Given the abundance of animals out in the world, the insistence from his management that Sloan please not say anything that could be twisted, and my resistance to being ambushed in public, I hadn”t spent a lot of time outside the house lately.
But tonight was Sloan”s first pre-season game as a married man at Stallion Stadium. Of course, I was attending.
Angela even flew in for the game. Seeing as Angela wasn”t a football fan, I was pretty sure she was only there to check on me.
That was nice, though, because I”d be checking on her, too, if the situation was reversed.
I”d arrived early with Sloan and hung out with Angela and Elliott until the game started. That was something I never actually thought would happen. Willingly hanging out with Elliott, I mean. But he wasn”t the same as he used to be. He was actually down to earth, and well, I owed him for helping me out with the management sitch.
He finagled it so Angela and I didn”t even have to sit in the stands, nabbing us an invitation to stay with some of the team”s significant others in their special suite high above the field. The suite was air-conditioned, had private bathrooms, and a freaking phenomenal view. The signed jerseys and signed faded photos from past seasons were a very nice touch and added a nice ambiance.
I approved.
The best part of the suite was the small buffet table at the back with the usual game day snacks you”d expect at a stadium: popcorn and hot dogs with soda and beer. I brought my own ZipZing because those things were fire. I might have an addiction to them, but I was okay with it.
”Girl, you are here, and I cannot even handle how you”re breaking the internet on the daily,” Nisha gushed as she slid beside me, linking her arm with mine. She was clearly taking me under her wing. Which, let”s be honest, I needed.
”I”m so glad to see you.” I leaned into Nisha”s arm, grateful for her support, and made the introductions with Angela.
”Why do you look like you”re lost?” Nisha asked me with a warm smile. ”These are your people. I promise you that. We”re all in this together.”
”Can I tell you a secret?” I asked.
”You better, now that you started with it.” Nisha tilted her head to the side a smidge.
”This is my first pro game,” I said, under my breath.
Nisha”s eyes widened, clearly surprised.
”Me, too,” Angela said, grimacing. ”It”s not really my thing.”
”I”ve never even watched on TV,” I said.
Nisha whispered, ”Like ever?”
”The last football game I went to was soccer,” I said quietly.
”Maybe let”s not broadcast that part to the other plus-ones?” Nisha mimed zipping her lips.
Angela and I had seen Elliott play when we were all in high school together, but back then, he was less helpful and way more self-absorbed. Thanks to his attitude, he made sure any teenage infatuation I might”ve had with football players vanished. Pretty sure he handled that for Angela, too.
”Don”t worry, I”ve got your back here.” Nisha gestured to the end zone. ”Okay, you see those pokey things at the end of the field? Those are called goal posts.”
Angela and I laughed. Then I disentangled my arm so I could snag some popcorn. ”I understand the basics. I”ve just never… been to a game.”
”Not since high school,” Angela added.
”Then welcome to your new home away from home,” Nisha said, gesturing to the field.
I paused, tossing the popcorn in my mouth to study Sloan warming up on the field. He moved his tall frame with purpose, stretching and then jogging a quick sprint.
”I think this is one of my favorite parts of the game,” Angela said, scanning the guys on the field.
”Me, too,” Nisha said dreamily, as Darius did a toe touch stretch that put his backside on display.
”You”re Maya Mitchell.” One of the other women approached us. I hadn”t met her before and was nearly certain she hadn”t been at the Sloan Got Married to a Real Person Party.
I turned to her. ”I am. Hi.”
”I”ve seen your videos,” the woman said with a huge smile. ”Big fan.”
”This is the new Shelby,” another of the women said, stepping forward with a mini hot dog on her plate and a toothy smile.
”Who is Shelby?” Angela asked.
I wasn”t entirely certain I wanted to know who that was since I was the new her.
”That”s Ryan”s ex-wife. They got a divorce, so she had to give up her seat in the box,” Nisha said with a frown. ”We”re gonna miss her.”
”But now we”ve got you,” the first woman said. ”I”m Denice, and this is Karie.”
I actually felt bad for Shelby that she”d be missing the popcorn and…well…her friends.
”The new girls rarely stick around for long. It”s very hard to be together with an athlete long term,” Nisha said, letting that hang there in the air between us.
I waited for her to finish and tell me why it was hard to be with an athlete for the long term, but she didn”t add to the statement.
”Because they”re athletic?” I asked, going for a guess.
I had three sets of owl eyes blinking at me.
Nisha answered for them. ”The guys travel all the time when they”re on the team, and then when they retire, they either open a bunch of car dealerships and spend all their time there, or worse, they”ll travel again with the broadcasting team.”
”Or, even worse, they don”t know what to do and just hang out at home all day,” Denice added. ”That”s really the worst-case scenario.”
”I want to hear all about your excitement,” Nisha said. ”How does it feel to be in everyone”s ears?”
”It”s kind of thrilling, actually.” I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. ”And I got my first big break… I”m going to be opening for Dimefront on their upcoming tour.”
Karie frowned, and Denice actually groaned.
”What?” My heart sank, because they were all being so nice. I figured they”d be happy for me.
”You”ll do so great. Good luck with your future,” Denice said as she and Karie patted my arm and headed for their seats.
”Why did that sound ominous?” Angela asked.
”Because, honey, they don”t think Maya”s going to last.” Nisha pursed her lips. ”But they like you, so that”s a plus.”
”Why don”t they think I”m going to last?” I was genuinely curious. I mean, Sloan and I were going strong, and I was here supporting him.
”You”re a performer, and you”re already moving up the ranks as an artist.” Nisha counted on her fingers. ”This is Sloan we”re talking about, and he might not be back next season.” That was number two, then she counted the third finger—”And the two of you have a super couple name. Usually, anyone who ticks any of those boxes doesn”t return for a repeat. But then you just added number four, and you”re going to be traveling, and he”s going to be traveling, and”—she draped her arm around my shoulders—”they”ve seen it happen before. It”s hard to get close to someone and then have them break up.”
”Sloan and I aren”t breaking up,” I assured. I actually considered explaining our situation and how we continued to slash expectations by working through them with salt and pepper shakers. I decided against it since it probably wouldn”t make sense to anyone but us.
Pinpointing Sloan”s location on the field wasn”t hard at all. Funny, I had sampled those muscles the night before, so I knew what he tasted like. And yet the sight of him down there on the field, looking like a snack, made me want to lick him all over again.
I swear at that moment, he looked up in my direction. I nearly waved, but there was no way he could see me this far away, so instead, I just watched him toss a ball.
My hands got clammy as an intense desire to put my hands on Sloan, touch him, ensure we were okay, took hold.
Deep breaths.
”Don”t worry about what they think,” Angela assured. ”They haven”t seen you two together.”
”I think you have a solid shot at staying in the game as the new Shelby,” Nisha added.
My brain got all jumbled thinking about the nonsensical pieces of my life. I should try what Emily did, saying the first thing that came to mind.
”I do things all awkward. All out of order,” I said, not really expecting that to be the first thing out of my mouth. ”Which is why I”ve had multiple marriages that don”t even count, but now, I have Sloan.”
Maybe I should just go sit down? But then again, getting all of this out of my head made me feel lighter. Like gravity wasn”t so intense right here in that stadium.
”Everything you”ve done to get to this point in your life has made you who you are,” Angela said, totally serious. ”We get stuck and think we”re spinning our wheels. I get that. But just because you can”t see the progress doesn”t mean it”s not happening.”
”Your friend is smart. Listen to her,” Nisha said.
I nodded and settled into my seat between Angela and Nisha. I couldn”t tear my eyes away from Sloan. He moved with a graceful strength as he finished warming up, each stretch and jump a display of power and control. The muscles in his arms rippled as he tossed the ball back and forth with his teammates, his focus unwavering.
”The thing is, I want to keep him. We”re happy. I enjoy being married to him,” I said.
Nisha nodded as I spoke.
”A crappy day doesn”t really matter because I wake up with him.”
Angela squeezed my hand. ”That”s what matters. That”s what moves you forward.”
Nisha”s eyes went soft, and she pulled her lips to the side. ”Well, I don”t know the future, but girlfriend, I”m sold.”
Good. So was I.
As the national anthem filled the stadium, goosebumps prickled my skin. The crowd went silent, a collective hush falling over Stallion Stadium.
And then, with a roar that shook the foundations of the building, the game began.
My heart swelled with pride as I watched Sloan on the field, his every movement a testament to his passion for the game.
Beside me, Nisha let out a gasp of excitement as our team scored on the very first drive, the crowd erupting into cheers. Honestly, the energy in the suite was electric. That”s how I got caught up in the thrill of it all, cheering alongside Nisha and the others.
It didn”t matter that I was the new Shelby, and they didn”t think Sloan and I would make it. Because I knew we”d be just fine. Which was excellent, because the camaraderie among all of us became palpable, a shared sense of pride and support binding us together.
I”d been wrong all this time. The excitement and the thrill were football. The game had nothing to do with Elliott and his volatile teenage hormones.
I”d been missing out, but that stopped right then.