Beside me, he claps and hollers for his beloved team. He’s dressed almost head to toe in green Vipers merch. But while he’s wearing a jersey, I’m rocking a new hoodie I picked up in the team store before the game.
I was tempted to buy a jersey with a certain player’s name and number on it. But as I stood there staring up at it, I overthought the entire situation and talked myself out of it. Dad, on the other hand, is very proudly wearing “Hansley” across his shoulders.
I’ve already taken a photo of him and sent it to Cole with the caption of “your number-one fan.” Hopefully, he’ll get a kick out of it when he sees it later.
We’re on our feet, cheering for our boys as the clock counts down to the end of the second period.
“Do you want another beer?” I ask Dad as everyone around us begins moving.
“I can go,” he offers. “Casey, do you want another?” he asks, nodding toward the cup in her hand.
“Yes, please.”
“Soda for me, please,” I remind him, seeing as I’m his taxi for tonight.
“You got it.” He takes off, and Casey and I finally sit down.
“He’s living his best life right now,” Casey says as Dad disappears from sight.
“He really is.”
“And what about you?”
“What about me?”
“You’ve been quiet this week. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything is great. Just busy keeping our goalie fed and healthy.”
“The amount of food they eat is ridiculous, isn’t it?”
“Unbelievable,” I mutter as my cell buzzes in my pocket.
My heart jumps when I find a message from Cole.
I sense Casey glance over, but she doesn’t say a word as I open the message. Thankfully, she makes the most of the moment and pulls her own out.
Cole: I hope he’s having a great time.
Freya: He really is. Hasn’t stopped smiling since we got here.
Cole: I’ve got a question…
Freya: Shoot.
Cole: Why aren’t you wearing my jersey?
All the air rushes from my lungs.
“Are you okay?” Casey asks, making me put my cell to sleep so she can’t read that message.
All my thoughts from earlier as I stood staring at his jersey in the store come back to me.
Will he read into it?
Does he want me wearing it?
What if he wants another girl wearing it?
