“It’s nothing. Just a thank you.”
Phil raised his eyebrows, his mouth pinched slightly. “A thank you for what?”
I winced. “Okay, that sounded awful. Not like that, Phil. This isn’t some sort of payment for services rendered.”
Phil had the decency to look chastised. “That’s not what I was thinking. Not at all. I was only wondering what a man like Lucas Bradley would need to thank you for.”
“I helped him get a cab on Friday. He was appreciative. End of story. Now can we go to the shop so I can get pom-poms or something?” I didn’t want to talk about Lucas Bradley.
But I sure did think about him a lot.
Ugh.
“Okay. Uh. Sure.” Phil’s mood had soured slightly but led me to the packed shop full of Chester fans.
“So what should I get?” I looked through a rack of T-shirts in red and black.
Phil picked up a knitted scarf with Chester stitched in black yarn and handed it to me. I draped it around my neck. “Won’t this be too hot on a day like this?” I glanced down at my heels and skirt. The scarf was long, dangling to my knees. I looked like an idiot.
Phil wrapped it loosely around my shoulders so that it didn’t hang quite so long. “I think it looks perfect on you.” He smiled. His hands lingered on my shoulders.
I cleared my throat and unwrapped the scarf, balling it in my hand. “Super. The scarf it is.”
Phil took it from me, pulling out his wallet as we got into the line at the register. I tried to take it from him. “You don’t need to buy it for me,” I protested.
“Please. Consider itmythank you. For bringing me today. I’ve been trying to get tickets for this game since they went on sale. I may not be as flashy as Lucas Bradley in my appreciation, but it’s probably much more genuine.” I noted the hint of bitterness in his tone but chose not to comment on it.
“Well, thanks.” I waited by the door while Phil paid for my scarf then we made our way into the stadium.
“We need beer. And food.” Phil took my hand and led me to one of the many food kiosks just beyond the doors. “Hot dogs and lager are essential. That’s part and parcel for the whole experience.”
I chuckled, getting sucked in by Phil’s obvious excitement.
We got our beer and hot dogs —which was more of a sausage and so much better than the hot dogs I ate as a kid— and got out the tickets to see where we were seated.
“What section are we in?” Phil asked, taking a big bite of his hot dog.
“Um, section A, row 1.” I took a sip of beer. I wasn’t a beer girl, but it was good. Heavy and thick.
“Really?” Phil took the tickets and looked at them. “Those are great seats. Right on the pitch. I guess Lucas Bradley was feeling really thankful.”
“Can we stop talking about that?” I asked with an edge to my voice. If Phil were going to spend the day acting like a jealous jerk, I’d call it a day and head on home.
Phil put an arm around my shoulders in an awkward hug. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”
“Yeah, it was,” I agreed but forcing myself to relax. Phil was an all right guy. And he was trying to make sure I enjoyed myself. Sure he wasn’t sexy and infuriating like certain other men that I wouldn’t think about, but he was nice enough.
I started towards the stairs, leading to our seats when Phil took my arm. He nodded towards my beer. “You have to drink that first. You can’t have alcohol in sight of the field.”
“Really? Is that a joke? In America, sports and beer are synonymous,” I laughed.
Phil took a drink of his beer. “Drunk hooligans are no joke, Morgan. So drink up. There’s nothing to stop you from getting a little pissed here.”
I downed my beer as quickly as I could and then threw away the plastic cup. I felt a little fuzzy, but pleasantly so. “Come on then.” I looped my arm with Phil’s and we made our way to our seats.
The sun was out and it was incredibly warm. But I continued to wear my scarf. Phil had been right, our seats were amazing. Even though the seats themselves were tiny and constricting. There was no way to spread out. I was squished between Phil and a sweaty oversized man who had painted his face red with a black stripe down the middle, right over his nose.
Both teams were already on the field warming up.
