Chapter 7
Tessa
Before I can blink, it’s Saturday morning.
I make my way back to my room, so incredibly thankful it’s Saturday.
I don’t have another shift until Monday night.
Through bleary eyes, I head inside and up the stairs to my room.
I have just enough time to get a shower, get packed, and be ready to go at seven.
As tired as I am, I’m really excited for this trip.
It will be my first road trip to a college game.
After a shower, I feel a little more alive.
I dress in my favorite FMU shirt. It’s a soccer shirt that’s designed to look just like the guys’ shirts.
It’s navy and light weight with a white stripe running down the side.
Best of all, it has Slater’s name and number seven on it.
My parents got it for me last year for Christmas, and it is my absolute favorite.
I pair it with jeans since it’s a little chilly, and the game will be outside.
I leave my hair down to dry in the car. When we get there, I’ll throw it in braids or something.
I throw on some makeup and my socks and sneakers.
I grab my phone, a blanket and pillow so I can sleep in the car, and my wallet.
I look around the room once more, making sure I’m not forgetting anything.
“Are you leaving?”
I turn back to Stephanie, who’s just waking up. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“You didn’t. I need to get up early to study. So, you’re leaving?”
“Yeah. I’m going to the soccer game today with Evie.” I hesitate, feeling bad I didn’t check with her. “Did you want to come?”
“It’s away, right?”
“Yeah, it’s in Alabama. We won’t get back until late tonight.”
She waves me off. “No, I have way too much to do. Have fun, though.”
“Thanks.” I open the door and pause. “We should try to do coffee soon.”
She smiles. “Yeah. That would be good.”
“Have a good one.” I close the door just as Evie texts me that they’re out front.
I make my way down the hallway, not surprised at how quiet it is.
Most girls are sleeping in because it’s Saturday.
I jog down the stairs and head out front.
It takes me a minute to find them because I’m looking for Zane’s truck.
Evie waves at me from the window of a van.
The side door opens, and Quint hops out, all smiles. “Morning, Tessa.”
“Hey, Quint.” I climb in and turn to Reid, who’s sitting in the back. “Do you want to sit up here so you have more leg room?”
“I’m good. Thanks.” And that’s that. I notice that he sits in the middle seat, so he can stretch out his long legs.
I settle and Quint climbs into the seat next to me. “A van, Zane?” I laugh. “That’s not what I was expecting.”
“My truck didn’t have enough room for all of us, so I borrowed this one,” he replies easily.
“Yeah, they’re getting started with the whole family van thing a little early,” Quint says with a grin.
Evie turns around and swats at him, missing him and hitting the air. “No, we’re not.” She shakes her head and turns to me.
“I feel bad. You could have taken your truck if I hadn’t come,” I tell them.
“Slate would have murdered us if we didn’t bring you, Tess,” Quint says.
I frown. “That’s a little extreme.” I expect him to laugh it off, but he just shrugs.
“It’s fine, Tessa. I’m glad you were able to come,” Evie says, patting my knee.
I settle in my seat and try not to get weirded out that all these amazing athletes are literally in the same car as me. “You okay over there, Tessa?” Quint asks.
“Yeah, it’s just a lot.”
“What is?” Evie asks, turning towards me.
“Just being in this car with,” I pause. “All of them.”
“We are pretty amazing, aren’t we?” Quint adds, looking smug.
“And humble,” Evie points out.
“You all good back there?” Zane asks. “Too hot or cold?”
“It’s perfect for me,” I tell him.
“Same,” Quint adds. Reid’s quiet, but I figure he’d speak up if he wanted to.
“Did you work last night, Tessa?” Zane asks from the front seat.
“I did.”
Evie turns to me in concern. “You’ve got to be exhausted. Did you get any sleep at all?”
I shrug. “Nope, but I’ll be fine. I brought my pillow and blanket, so I can sleep in the car.
” What I don’t share is that my noisy suitemates kept me from getting good sleep yesterday afternoon as well.
I’m really going to have to figure out something about that; it’s killing me.
But that’s a problem for a different day.
“Do you need to stop for a coffee or anything?” Zane asks.
“No, thanks though. I really am going to try to sleep a little bit, so I can enjoy the game. How long is the trip?”
“Just under five hours,” Evie says after looking to Zane for confirmation. I look out the window, just content to be off campus for a change.
“So how does Alabama look for us today?” Quint asks, leaning back in his seat and getting comfortable.
“They’re not our rivals, but they’re a close second,” I say without thinking.
“We usually go one and one with them each season. They win one, and we win one. We won against them at home already this season. Two to one, so today ought to be a good game. We just have to watch out for number nine, Karim Dredsen. He’s the one that scored their only goal the last game.
” I finish and realize it’s totally quiet in the car.
I look over at Quint and see he’s grinning like a Cheshire cat. “What?”
“You’re a special breed, Tessa Parker.”
I frown. “I sound like a dog.”
“That’s my bestie,” Evie says, claiming me from the front seat.
“So, Tessa, are you going into sports journalism or broadcasting or something like that with all the brain power?” Quint asks.
I laugh. “No. I’m a history major.”
“Really?” Quint asks, looking puzzled.
“Yeah.”
“Why?” he asks.
I turn to him. “My stepdad is a high school teacher, and my mom teaches history at two different middle schools. My older brother was a history major; it just sort of runs in our blood.”
“Huh. I just thought you’d do something sports related.”
“Nah, I love sports, but it’s just for fun.”
He drops it after that, and I listen contentedly to the conversation around me.
I can feel myself getting to that stage where everything is starting to get hazy around me.
I last about another hour and then finally crash.
When I wake up, we’re getting off the highway.
I glance at my phone and realize I slept for about three hours. “Are we getting close?”
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty,” Quint says with a grin.
I stretch and try to get the kinks out of my back. “Hey, be nice. She didn’t get any sleep last night,” Evie says in my defense.
“Reid, you awake back there?” Zane asks.
“Yep.”
I glance over my shoulder. “Good game last night, by the way.”
He gives me a small smile. “Thanks.”
“I watched the score updates on my phone,” I tell Evie when she looks back at me. “Reid was the high scorer. That wasn’t on the updates; that was just the highlights after the game...which I also watched on my phone.”
Quint laughs. “Tessa, it’s so good to have you with us. You're our own personal hype squad. Who needs cheerleaders when you have a Tessa?”
“That’s a slogan,” I laugh.
Thankfully, we get to the stadium in time to make it through security and with enough time to go to the bathroom. “Oh man, I didn’t think I was going to make it,” Evie says as soon as she sees me.
“Yeah. That was a long stretch.”
“Zane is definitely not used to traveling with me. I have to stop for snacks; I can’t do these long stretches.”
“You’ll have to teach him,” I say with a laugh.
“I hope we can find food stat; I’m starving.”
“Me too.” When we get out of the bathroom, we find Zane waiting for us. I watch as his eyes light up when he sees Evie, as if he didn’t just see her minutes ago...or didn’t just spend five hours in the car with her. I love that about him; I love that for my best friend.
“Can we please find something to eat? I’m starving,” Evie tells him as he wraps an arm around her and pulls her close.
He frowns. “I’m sorry, Baby. We should have stopped.
Let’s go find food.” He takes her hand and starts leading her through the crowd of people.
She reaches back and grabs my hand, pulling me along as well.
I’m thankful because there’s quite a few people here.
Soccer games don’t draw nearly as many fans as the football games do.
Still, it’s a lot of people. I know that’s because of the crowd Slater draws now.
It started during his freshman year and has continued.
He’s only gotten more and more popular. There are video clips of him now that have gone viral, which adds to the excitement and all the attention.
It’s been good for the soccer program to get the attention it deserves.
Of course, he’s not the only good player.
He's got a great team too, and they just keep making a bigger splash. Everyone expects them to go all the way this year and win the college cup. They lost last year in the finals, and they’re looking for revenge this year.
I’m pretty sure they’ll get it too. There are very few teams that can touch them at the level they’re playing at.
I bump into somebody and force myself to pay better attention.
“What do you want?” Evie asks when we get into line at a food place.
“I’m not sure yet,” I tell her. “I’ll figure it out when we get closer.”
When we finally get to the front of the line, Zane starts ordering. My eyes widen because there’s no possible way he can put down all that food. When he finally stops, he turns to Evie, whose eyes are just as wide. “Did you order the entire menu?” she asks.
He grins. “I wanted to make sure you had what you wanted.”
Evie laughs. “I think I’m good; thanks.”
Zane turns to me. “I got enough to share Tessa, but is there anything you wanted in particular?”
“Nope. I’m pretty sure whatever it would be, you already ordered it.”
He pays, and we move to the side. “Here Zane.” I thrust a twenty towards him, but he simply shakes his head.
“I got it.”
I look to Evie, but she’s no help. She just shrugs. It takes a few minutes to get everything we ordered and figure out a way to carry it to our seats. When we finally make it to our seats, Quint laughs at the ridiculous amount of food we’re carrying. “Did you leave any for anybody else?”
“Nope,” I tell him as I slide past him to my seat. I end up between Evie and Quint. Reid sits on Quint’s other side, and of course, Zane’s on Evie’s other side.
“Hey, you gonna share?” Quint asks, leaning forward to see Zane.
“Nope. Go get your own,” he says without even looking down the row. “I got food for my girl and I.”
Quint looks at me, just as I take a bite of a large soft pretzel. “Tessa’s not your girl, and you let her have food.”
“She’s my girl’s best friend.”
I turn to Quint and grin before taking a huge bite in front of him. I laugh at the crestfallen expression on his face and tear off a large section of pretzel. “Here.”
He scarfs it down in one bite. I blink. “Wow, Quint. Did you even stop to chew?” He just laughs.
I lean forward. “Reid, you want some?”
“I’m good, Tessa. Thanks. Unlike some people, I can get my own food instead of eating all of yours.”
I laugh, and Quint doesn’t even look fazed. “Hey, if she’s going to share, who am I to turn her down?”