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He smiles, knowing how much we liked it. “Of course. After the meal Maddox made for us last week, we need something home-cooked and good to cleanse our memories of his burned steaks.”
“I heard that!” Maddox yells from the living room.
“You were supposed to!” Mateo responds.
At least we’re honest with Maddox about his cooking skills, or lack of, and Mateo and Levi have even shown him a few things since they’re the two most comfortable in the kitchen. Doesn’t mean Maddox still can’t cook, but he at least knows how to make eggs and not burn bacon now.
Mateo starts getting everything prepped for dinner. He seasons the chicken and veggies and puts a pot of chicken stock on the stove to start boiling the rice. I sit on a stool at the bar, keeping him company and offering to help when needed.
“How’s your girl doing?” he asks me while dusting the chicken with some delicious-smelling spice.
“She’s going to be okay. We talked some this morning. I’m going to go to the bar Sunday and see if I can catch Garrett to talk about maybe having someone escort the waitresses to the bathroom and to and from their cars. At least for now, after everything is so raw.”
He nods. “They need to not have that goddamn bathroom at the end of the hallway like that. It’s sketchy for anyone walking down there alone. No one can see you from the bar.”
He’s right. The setup of the bar is lacking with the bathrooms being right next to an emergency exit and at the end of a long, dark hallway that is secluded from the rest of the building.
“Maybe after telling his dad about what happened, they can figure out a way to make it safer. Not even just for the employees, but guests too.”
Mateo nods in agreement.
After he’s seasoned all the food and set the rice on simmer, I help him carry the trays of chicken and vegetables outside to the grill. Over the summer, we all decided to chip in and splurge on a grill one of the seniors was selling after he graduated. It’s big and being able to cook large amounts of food for five athletes is a major help. Plus, who doesn’t like grilled food anytime?
Once all the food is cooked, we call for the guys to come outside and Conrad brings the rice out. Levi got back a little while ago after checking in at work. He’s the only one of us who works during the season, but he loves his job at the bookstore. Conrad is lucky enough to get an allowance from his parents each month that is far more than anything he would need. Maddox and I work for his uncle’s construction company over the summer and that makes me more than enough for the semester until he needs us during winter break. Maddox doesn’t need the money, but it is an excuse not to go home to his parents in Boston during the summer break. Mateo is like me and on a full ride scholarship, with living and food expenses covered. Since he doesn’t have any family to go to over the breaks, he lifeguards at the beach almost every day during the summer and winter break he takes odd handyman jobs here and there. We’re lucky to have someone like him around because the guy can fix anything.
We sit together around the outdoor table, shooting the shit. Maddox and Conrad catch me up on what I missed in the episodes of the show while I was helping Mateo, and Levi laughs at the craziness that isRiverdale. He’s more of a true crime binger or sticks to reading his books. We talk a little about the game tomorrow and how in sync the team is, especially after our first few practices were complete shit. I feel more confident that we will win this first game and coming in strong from the beginning will help us the rest of the season.
“You guys hear the Macki kid broke his foot over the summer?” Levi asks us.
Macki is the goalie for the team we’re playing against tomorrow, Cornwall University. He’s ranked one of the best goalies in Georgia, but this news may knock him down some.
“No shit? What happened?” Maddox responds.
After swallowing a mouthful of chicken and rice, Levi answers. “One of the girls I work with has a boyfriend at Cornwall and said they’ve been trying to keep the injury hush-hush, but Macki got plastered at a party last weekend and blurted it out.”
An evil smile comes over Maddox’s face. “This is very useful knowledge for us. Tell the girl thanks.” He looks over at me. “Now we just have to figure out which side is fucked up and make our shots there.”
“We got this in the bag,” I tell him, confidence radiating with each word.
24
BLAIRE
It’s official, sports and me do not get along. The stadium is loud, so loud I can barely hear my thoughts. It smells like fried foods, sweat, and fresh cut grass. We are surrounded by people wearing blue and gold jerseys with a variety of players’ names and numbers on the back of them. Collins is by far the most popular name I have seen, as well as his number twelve.
This morning before he had to meet the team at school, he stopped by my apartment to give me my own jersey with his name and number, as well as a memorable kiss I can still feel on my lips all these hours later.
Emree is sitting next to me with a lap full of loaded nachos, a hot dog, and popcorn. Her slushy is resting in the cup holder in front of us. Our seats are close, right in the front row and not far from the benches the players will be sometime soon. My body tingles with excitement in anticipation of seeing Camden.
Since Braxton is not a large school, they convert the football stadium to a soccer field during home games.
“Can you believe your guy got tickets this close?” Emree says around a mouthful of popcorn.
I can’t help but laugh at her and the smorgasbord she is balancing on her lap. “It is crazy. I can’t believe how packed this place is.”
Jules comes back down the stairs with a drink and burger in her hand, making her way through the row of people before taking the seat beside me. “The concession stand is nuts. I had to fight a guy who almost tried snatching my burger.” She rips a bite off and begins chewing.
“I was just telling Em how insane it is with all these people. I never knew soccer was so popular.”
