“Aren’t you gonna get something? You seem like a Bud Light kind of guy,” she joked, waiting for me to order myself something.
“I have to drive you home, remember? Better just stick with water.”
“Look at you being responsible,” she teased with a shocked look on her face.
We made it to our seats just in time for kickoff. Cassie definitely hadn’t been bluffing in my truck earlier. As the game continued, she followed it easily—touchdowns, kickoffs, fourth downs—she cheered her little redhead off the entire time, smiling happily or frowning in frustration, depending on how well or badly the team was doing. By halftime, she was on her fourth beer, her freckled cheeks turning a deep rosy color.
Chapter 9 – Cassie
Okay—full transparency—I was having the time of my life.
Between the delicious fried foods and the energy of the stadium as the Grizzlies took the lead, I never wanted this night to end. Tonight made me realize I needed to go out more often.
Getting out of the house or the coffee shop and having a good time without any responsibility or stress was never high on my to-do list, but the longer the night went on, the better I felt. It was like my body was resetting, all the worries from my life fading away, even if just for the night.
As the kicker sent the ball hurtling between the goalposts, I jumped up cheering.
“Hell yeah!” I yelled as everyone in the stadium cheered with me, the guys in front of me all high-fiving each other. Jace just stared at me, smiling. Not thinking, I jumped into him, wrapping my arms around him for a hug.
“Having a good time are you?” he teased.
“I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun, honestly. I’ve been so busy with the coffee shop and making sure my mom is taken care of, I didn’t realize how badly I needed to get out and let loose,” I admitted reluctantly.
“So, you admit I had a good idea?”
“I’m not ready to admit defeat yet. The night is still young. It might turn into a shit show, you never know.”
Jace looked down at the boot on his broken foot from our incident earlier this week. I could tell he was studying all the signatures on it. Between then and now, he had his mom anddad sign it. He also managed to get his childhood best friend Liam, Silver Creek’s only town sheriff, to sign it too.
The signatures were all from the most important people in his life. All except mine. I’d been forced to sign his boot by June, not expected to like everyone else in his family––because I wasn’t a part of their family. I’m not sure why, but that realization made me sad. I guess it made me realize how alone I truly was. I didn’t have a big family I could lean on when times got tough. Unlike Jace, I only had myself to rely on.
“Why did you draw butterflies next to your name?” Jace asked, pulling me out of my sad trance.
“Well, growing up I loved to spend time outside. It helped take my mind off the bullshit life I had. A lot of times I’d see butterflies flying through the air. Sometimes they’d land on my hand or arm, and I’d sit there, just watching them. It was like they were speaking to me somehow, telling me everything would be okay. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s the truth. For me, butterflies represent a new beginning, like the one I was given after I left home. Since everyone else drew something to represent themselves, it only seemed fitting that I draw butterflies,” I answered truthfully. I couldn’t tell if the alcohol was pushing the truth out or if I just felt more comfortable sharing things with Jace. He already knew about all my childhood trauma, so why stop now?
Cheers erupted around us as the Grizzlies got another touchdown, breaking up the serious moment we had sparking up between us.
As I jumped up to cheer with everyone else, my feet wobbled underneath me. That was my first indication that the liquor was starting to take hold of me.
But not long after, I drunkenly shotgunned my final beer with someone in the row behind me who’d insisted it was tradition. The music hit a higher note, and so did everythingelse: my head, my heart, my limbs. I laughed until my ribs hurt and then laughed some more, because laughing made the lights blink pretty colors. Jace just stared at me the entire time, a smile on his face I had never seen before.
As the game came to a victorious end, the exit seemed much farther out of reach than it had when the game first started. As people shuffled out of the stadium, it was clear to me that my trek back to Jace’s truck would be much harder than it had been coming into the stadium.
As we made our way up the stadium steps and onto the main platform, Jace wrapped his cool fingers around my arm on more than one occasion, because no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stay steady on my feet.
He stopped in front of me, bending down with his back toward me.
“Here, get on my back,” he said, motioning for me to put my legs around his sides.
“Are you crazy? You can’t carry me. And even if you could, your foot is broken. That can’t be safe for the bones trying to heal,” I argued.
“I’ll be fine, I promise. Besides, if you drunkenly fall and hurt yourself, I’m going to have to carry you out either way. So let’s go, sugar,” he said, justifying the piggyback.
I stood there for a second longer, trying to decide if this was a good idea or not.
Fuck it.
I gently wrapped one leg around Jace’s right side, then he reached back and grabbed my left thigh, pulling me in and lifting as he stood up straight.
