AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Suck it up,” Eva said.
Mac nodded along. “You can’t leave Noah hanging. He’s been looking forward to this for at least fifteen minutes.”
Noah rolled his eyes and grunted, which could have meant either Mac was right or Mac was talking out his ass. Hard to tell with Noah. Harder to tell with Mac.
Riley sighed. “Okay, but I don’t want to stay out long.”
“We’re going out to celebrate!” Mac whooped and tossed Eva over his shoulder, running toward the other girls as she laughed.
Riley followed at a slower pace, turning to shrug at me. I met her eyes with an apology in mine. She knew my rules. If Mac was going out, I went with him.
We only made it as far as the parking lot before fans stopped us. Mac wagged his eyebrows as he ushered the cheerleaders and several of his own fans away to his car, but I stayed back. I was used to dealing with fans, and I didn’t want to leave Riley alone.
She blushed a pretty pink as several coeds gushed about how cool it was she played football, and a skinny guy with glasses asked us both to sign his TU shirt. Riley graciously thanked them, and when they moved away, a middle-aged lady approached with her hand on the shoulder of a little girl.
I wasn’t a good judge of kids’ ages, but this one reminded me of when Jaina was going through her ‘I’m a grown ass woman’ phase at around eleven. She had that condescending look in her eye, but she wore a pink shirt with Riley’s number on the front and Jones written across the back in careful block lettering.
The older woman, in jeans and a generic sweater, held out her hand to Riley. “I’m Marian Kelsey. It’s so nice to meet you. This is Alyce. She’s a huge fan.”
The little girl rolled her eyes, but a telltale blush turned her ears red. Neither woman addressed me, so I stayed quiet.
Riley shook Marian’s hand and smiled at Alyce. “Nice to meet you both. Did you enjoy the game?”
Alyce shrugged. “It was okay, but the ending was the best.” She eyed me up and down, then returned her attention to Riley. “He should have been throwing to you all along.”
Riley laughed. “Maybe, but he figured it out when it counted.”
Her eyes met mine, and I crossed my arms over my chest to keep from reaching for her. “Sometimes you have to wait for the right moment.”
Alyce held out a wrinkled sheet of notebook paper and a Sharpie. “Will you sign this for me?”
The easy smile returned. “Of course.” Riley scrawled her name and handed the bundle back to Alyce.
“Thanks. One day when you’re famous, I’m going to sell this and buy a Tesla.” She stuck the paper in her jeans pocket and patted Marian’s arm. “I’m gonna go wait in the car.”
It wasn’t a request. She just turned and walked back to a dark SUV a couple of spots down from where we’d stopped.
Marian shook her head as the confident kid climbed into the backseat. “Sorry about that.”
“At least your daughter knows what she wants,” Riley said.
Marian laughed. “She’s not my daughter, but I understand why you’d think that. I run STEM and Sports, a non-profit that supports girls interested in historically male-dominated fields like the sciences and athletics. Alyce begged to come watch you play—she earned the money for the tickets herself, but her mom works long hours and couldn’t come. I offered to take her as long as she let me pay her for the ticket.”
Riley’s expression softened. “That’s really nice of you.”
“I admit I had an ulterior motive. Would you be willing to come spend some time with the girls—maybe talk to them about your experience in sports?” Marian pulled a card out of her back pocket and handed it to Riley. “Take your time to decide. Look us up. I’m happy to answer any questions you have.”
A pensive look crossed Riley’s face. “I’ll think about it. Thanks for the offer.”
“You’re welcome, and congratulations on the win.” This time she looked at both of us. “I enjoy watching you two play together. It’s like a dance.”
With that strange comment, she waved and walked back to her SUV. I glanced at Riley, but she was turning the business card over and over in her hand, staring after the woman.
“You should do it.”
Her gaze jerked back to me, as if she’d forgotten I was there. “I said I’d think about it.”
“Why are you hesitating?”
