AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We’ve had some practice. We know how it works, and we know ourselves by now. Sharing a girlfriend is great. When I’m busy, one of the other guys can spend time with you. If Logan’s out of town, we get you all to ourselves.”
“I guess that makes sense,” I said. “Does that mean Logan’s… interested?”
He shrugged. “He invited you to the game, didn’t he?”
“Sure, but that’s towatchhim. That’s not really a date.”
“The date part comes after the game. He has something planned. Wouldn’t say what. You might have noticed this already, but Logan is kind of a private person.”
“I have noticed that, yes.”
The stadium where the Blues played was called the Enterprise Center, with a big green Enterprise Rental Car logo out front. It looked more like a convention center rather than a sports arena, but then again, I didn’t have much experience with these kinds of places.
When Trip brought me to the game a few weeks ago, we parked in a lot five blocks from the stadium. Tonight, Braden pulled into a gated section next to the stadium where a valet stand was located. He handed the keys to the attendant with a twenty dollar bill, then led me right up to the front entrance of the arena, where lines were forming to go through metal detectors.
Remembering my experience with Christian at the bowling alley, I steeled myself to be inundated with fans requesting selfies. But nobody recognized Braden as we waited in line. He was somewhat incognito in jeans and a blue hoodie with the Blues logo on the front, but his face and messy blond hair were still totally recognizable.
We passed through the metal detectors, then scanned our tickets at the gate and walked inside. Now that we were through security, I wascertainhe would get noticed. But the fans just streamed all around us without giving him a second glance.
“Let’s get some beer before going down to our seats,” he said, jumping in line for a beer stand.
“I have a question,” I said carefully. “And I don’t know how to ask it without making things awkward.”
“I’ve had half a chubby since I kissed you in the car, yeah,” he replied. “Is it that obvious?” He glanced down at himself. “Nice, the fold in my jeans covers it up.”
“Not that!” I said with a laugh. “My question will make me sound like more of a bitch.”
“You have my full, unconditional permission to ask any question, bitchy or otherwise.” Braden held up his palm. “I swear it on my honor as someone who catches a ball for a living.”
“It’s kind of related to that, actually. When I went bowling with Christian, everyone recognized him and wanted autographs and selfies. But we’re here, at a crowded sporting event, and nobody has noticed you.”
“There’s a little boy at our three o’clock who might be on to me,” Braden said while staring straight ahead.
I glanced over. Sure enough, a boy was frowning really hard in our direction while holding hands with his mom.
“But yeah, there’s a massive difference between being a Quarterback and a Wide Receiver,” he explained. “Everyone knows my name, but I’m not shown on every play of the game. And when I do make a play, I’m wearing a helmet. Sometimes the networks show me on the sidelines, but it only happens after a big play.
“But the Quarterback? He’s the face of the franchise. Christian is currently in three different local television commercials. The networksalwaysshow him sitting on the sideline when the other team has the ball. The Las Vegas gamblers know everything about him. If he has even theslightestlimp, it’s major news.”
“I’ve never watched much football, so I never thought about the different levels of fame,” I admitted. “That must be tough, being best friends with someone who is way more famous.”
Braden barked a laugh. “Hell no. I fuckingloveit. I’m comfortably rich, but I can still fly under the radar at most places. It’s the best of both worlds.”
We reached the front of the beer line and placed our orders. As Braden paid, the server said, “Hey, you’re… you’re that guy.”
“Sure am.” Braden winked and held a finger to his lips. “Don’t tell anyone.” When we walked away, he told me, “I get a lot more interactions like that. People recognize me, but don’t know fromwhat. It’s pretty dope.”
Inside the arena, the two teams were skating on opposite ends of the rink, taking warm-up shots at the goals. We walked down to our seats, which were almost identical to the ones I had sat in with Trip. That made sense; Logan had probably given the same two tickets to Leslie and Emily, who I met that night at the game.
“I’ve been given exactly one instruction for the night,” Braden revealed. “Logan says we have to take a selfie to make your ex jealous.”
“Yes! My ex has been a real asshole lately, so it will be nice to post this online and watch him flip out.”
We turned so that our backs were to the ice. Braden put an arm around me, and extended my phone with his other arm. Just before he snapped the photo, a Blues player skated up to the divider behind us and gave a snarling smile. Braden snapped the photo then turned around, laughing.
“There he is! Go get ‘em, Logan!”
Logan locked eyes with me, and for a brief second his game face softened. He tapped on the glass twice with his fist, and then skated away, barking commands to one of his teammates.
