“I like the way you think.” Brooke nods in approval. “Then we can party our asses off tomorrow after the game and spend all day Sunday recovering.” Her green eyes sparkle at the prospect. “Oh, better yet, we can get mani-pedis on Sunday.”
“I’m down.” Maddie turns to me, her sandwich all but forgotten. “Are you sure you don’t want to go to the game with us tomorrow? I’ll bet we can find someone willing to sell a ticket.”
Yeah, right.
Tomorrow is the home opener and the Wildcats are playing Illinois. Or maybe it’s Iowa? It doesn’t matter. They could play a high school team and it would be standing room only.
“You know I don’t do football games.”
Not entirely a lie. I haven’t been to a game since freshman year, and I sure as hell wouldn’t be going tomorrow if it wasn’t the only guaranteed way to avoid expulsion.
“You bleed blue and white, yet you refuse to support the biggest athletic program in the school,” Soraya says, studying me. “Make it make sense.”
I can’t. Not without revealing my humiliating half-night stand with Parker.
“What can I say?” I shrug. “Watching a bunch of dudes play grab-ass isn’t my thing.”
“Girl, it’s everyone’s thing.” Brooke sighs and rests her chin in her hand. “Have you seen those pants? They leave nothing to the imagination.”
I shove a bite of salad in my mouth. No way I’m stepping on that minefield.
“Don’t be gross,” Maddie says. “You’d be pissed if some guy said that about our leotards.”
Brooke huffs out a breath. “They do. All the time.”
“Yeah, and you hate it.”
“I believe that’s called a double standard,” Soraya deadpans.
“Whatever.” Brooke grabs the bag of popcorn from her tray and tears it open. “I’m just saying, the view alone is worth the price of admission.”
“Speak for yourself,” Soraya says, pushing a piece of salmon around the edge of her plate. “I expect to be wowed with impressive displays of athletic prowess.”
Athletic prowess?
I inhale and a piece of lettuce goes down the wrong way, leaving me gasping for breath.
Maddie pats my back and when I clear the lettuce blocking my windpipe, I grab for my water bottle, taking a long swig to avoid saying something I’ll regret.
“What?” Soraya looks around the table. “I heard they have a decent shot at winning a national title this year.”
A dull throb builds behind my eyelids and I try to remember exactly how many weeks there are in the football season. Judging by today’s incessant chatter, it’s all anyone’s going to be talking about until it’s over.
“Oh, hey, anyone want to go shopping this afternoon?” Brooke asks, abruptly changing the subject. “Before I hit the books, I need to find something cute to wear tomorrow night.”
Soraya gives her the side-eye. “You have more clothes than a Kardashian. There must be something at home you can wear.”
“You’d think that, but you’d be wrong.” She plucks a piece of popcorn from her bag and tosses it in her mouth. “If I want to grow my online following, I need to keep it fresh. No one wants to see the same old, same old.”
Maddie laughs. “You mean sponsors won’t pay for the same old, same old.”
Brooke is on a mission to land an NIL endorsement before graduation, and while it’s not my jam, I can hardly blame her. Gymnastics might not be top priority when the mega-donors open their checkbooks, but the top earning college athlete for Name Image Likeness sponsorship deals isn’t a football player. It’s a gymnast.
A smart, savvy woman who’s leveraged her social platforms to amass over two million dollars in endorsement deals as a collegiate athlete.
If Brooke plays her cards right, she can earn enough to set herself up comfortably when she retires from the sport and starts her teaching career.
Soraya’s phone vibrates and she checks her messages. “Count me out. I’ve got study group.”
