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“Hey, man, good to see you.” Miller reaches out to shake his hand, and Dean pulls his away from the small of my back just long enough to return the gesture. Then the four of us head toward the stadium entrance. Once we get inside, the guys head to the beer line after asking what we want, and we take off to find empty seats in the student section.
I was not prepared for how cold the metal bleacher would feel through my jeans when we sit. I berate myself mentally for not dressing warmer as Avery texts Miller to let him know where we are sitting. We should have brought a blanket.
My best friend’s voice pulls me out of my head. “Okay, seriously, he’s bonding voluntarily with Miller, and he seems affectionate. I thought you said you weren’t sure if he’s really into you? Looks like he is to me.” She shrugs.
“I know…I just don’t want to get my hopes up. I remember when you and Miller started dating, you couldn’t stay away from each other. I’m not saying the guy has to be obsessed with me, I just don’t want to want to be around him all the time if he doesn’t want the same.”
“First of all, you can’t compare relationships, Mace. Everyone is different. And you can’t assume he’s not thinking about you or doesn’t want to see you because he doesn’t make plans all the time. Maybe he’s busy. Try enjoying this and see what happens.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I don’t know why it makes me self conscious. I don’t know why I can’t ignore the feeling that something seems off. I guess we will see. Can we talk about today’s jerseys? They are sexy!” They’re different for almost every game. Most of today’s uniform is black, with silver wings on the jersey shoulders and neon yellow names and numbers printed between them.
Before Avery can respond, we see the guys at the end of the row. Miller shimmies past me and Avery to get to the seat on the other side of her as Dean sits next to me. “Hi,” he greets me again and hands me a beer. “What’s sexy?”
“Thank you.” I take it from him. “The jerseys. Did you know that the co-founder of Nike is an alum, and he’s made it his mission to make sure the team always looks good. He thinks it’ll attract the best players and enhance the perception of the team.” I don’t know much about football, but I know this fun fact, and I’m excited to share.
He’s been smiling at me since I started talking, a slight glimmer in his eyes. “I did know that, but I love that you know it.” As soon as his words leave him, he leans in to kiss me. It’s quick and soft, but it’s the first time he’s done it in public. I shouldn’t be greedy, but I can’t help it. As soon as he pulls away, I lean back in and kiss him again. He flashes a smile, and his eyes meet mine before he turns his attention to his beer and the field.
“Soooooo, do you come to a lot of games?” I question Dean as I take a sip of my beer. Before he can answer, a voice comes from behind us.
“Hey, Dean.”
“Oh, hey, Coop.” Dean turns around to greet his friend.
“Surprised to see you here and not in your usual seats.” His friend leans forward. His short, light brown hair noticeably contrasts his bright blue eyes as he tugs on the strings of a maroon hoodie that looks similar to the one I still have of Dean’s.
“Yeah, Sophie wanted to bring her boyfriend today.” He shrugs.
“Boyfriend?!” Cooper whisper shouts. His jaw clenches. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath through his nose. When he opens his eyes again, the anger has cleared from them. His next words come out unaffected by emotion. “I’m Cooper by the way,” he says, directing his attention to me and reaching out his hand as if he’s completely flipped a switch.
I’m a little confused by his reaction, but I reach out my hand to shake his. Before I can say my name, Dean cuts in. “Oh yeah, sorry. This is my…Maci.” He hesitates before saying my name like his instinct was to introduce me as his girlfriend but he realized his mistake. I catch his quick sideways glance of panic before he adds, “Cooper’s parents live next door to mine.”
Was he about to call me his girlfriend? I nearly stop breathing from how quickly my pulse picked up. What else did he just say? I focus on Cooper, my hand frozen in his. I pull back and wing my response. “It’s nice to meet you.” He seems nice, and I love that every person I meet who knows Dean allows me to know him a little more.
“Yeah, you too. I think I’m going to head out though. Let me know when your next party is.”
“Will do,” Dean agrees as I wave goodbye.
Cooper reaches out to fist bump Dean before abandoning his seat and taking off upstream through the crowd of students looking for seats.
Dean settles himself facing forward again. His hand falls to my thighs, wiggling his fingers between them, and gently tugging so I’ll move closer. When I do, he doesn’t pull his hand away. The heat radiating off them warms me, and it’s impossible not to lean into him more.
“I hope Cooper is okay.”
“Me too.” He sounds concerned as his thumb rubs against my thigh.
“Well, I guess that answers my question about you coming to games,” I joke, hoping to lighten the mood.
“Yeah, we have season tickets, somewhere over there.” He subtly tips his hand holding his beer toward the 50 yard line on the opposite side of us. “My parents have been dragging my sister and me here for as long as I can remember.”
“Are you close with your sister?”
He nods as he takes a sip of his beer. “Yeah, she’s cool. She’s three years younger than me, a freshman this year, so kind of a weird age gap growing up since we didn’t spend a lot of time at the same school. Now that she’s older, it’s been great. We hang out sometimes.” He offers this information freely, like he hasn’t been mostly vague this entire time when talking about himself.
“That’s nice you have her at least. Avery is the closest thing I have to a sister.” I look over toward my best friend, but she’s so into whatever Miller is saying she doesn’t notice. Dean’s thumb rubs against my thigh, and it brings my attention back to him. “So it's safe to say you like football then? Because if so, I’m going to need you to explain a few things.”
He does that little to himself laugh I love so much. “I used to play. All through high school.”
I didn’t expect that. “Oh, wow, really?”
