"That's cheesy."
"You love it."
He sighs. But he's leaning into me, hands gripping mine, and when I kiss him, he kisses me back, soft and sweet.
We'll be okay. Whatever shit my family throws at me, we'll be okay.
Chapter 26
Wow, Football Players Stink
Sebastian
I'm wearing a football jersey.
Me. Sebastian Moretti. The guy who spent high school actively avoiding anything sports-related. The guy who once got hit in the face with a volleyball in gym class and used it as an excuse to get out of PE for three weeks.
I'm wearing a football jersey with ROBINS and the number 52 on the back.
"You look like a groupie," JP observes from beside me.
"I look supportive."
"You look like you want to have his babies."
"Biologically impossible."
"Science is advancing every day." JP's mouth twitches. "I'm sure they'll figure it out."
Max bounces on his toes, scanning the field with an intensity usually reserved for robotics competitions. "Holy servo motors, there are a lot of very large men down there."
"That's generally how football works," I say dryly.
"No, I mean—" Max gestures vaguely. "They're so... big. And muscular. And sweaty."
Leo, on Max's other side, glares at the field like it personally offended him. "It's just sports. Organized violence with arbitrary rules."
"Organized violence performed by extremely athletic men in tight pants," Max corrects. He tilts his head. "Which one is yours, Seb?"
"Number 52. Defensive end."
Max squints. "Gavin really is a mountain with legs?"
"Yuuup-p!" Popping the P just feels right.
"Oh wow," Max nods approvingly. "He's huge in pads." He waggles his eyebrows at me like he's not as innocent as we think. "All over?"
Leo's glare intensifies.I'll think about that later.
The stadium is like a really ambitious set of bleachers; it's packed with people in teal and silver. Flags wave. Someone's got an air horn that they're using way too liberally.
The Navigator, PCU's mascot, is doing some kind of interpretive dance near the fifty-yard line, involving a lot of telescope-pointing and dramatic poses.
It's ridiculous. It's loud. It's absolutely not my idea of fun.
I love it.
"This is good," JP announces, surveying the crowd with an analytical expression. "This is us experiencing college. Integrating into campus culture. Expanding our social horizons."
