Mia grabs a piece of celery from the table and plops herself in one of the chairs, bringing her feet up on the chair with her. “Pretty much. I don’t always come up here though, a lot of the time I’m in the stands behind their bench. It’s actually more fun to be right in the action like that.” Mia pulls her brown hair up into a ponytail and pulls out her phone to text someone.
“Sometimes Ford’s parents are up here too.”Shit, does that mean they’ll be here today?Why does that make me nervous? “They’re out of town this week though,” she adds, as if she somehow saw my panic.
The game is finally underway and I spotted Ford the second he showed up on the sidelines. He’s hard to miss. Tall and muscular, plus I remembered that Summer said he was number eighty-seven and she wasn’t wrong. The back of his jersey says Anderson and my heart skips a beat when he turns around towards the stands. We’re in the second tier, so I doubt he can actually see up here, and does he even know I’m at the game? I haven’t spoken with him since we were casually flirting in texts the other day.
“Did you tell anyone we were coming with you today? I don’t even think I officially told my brother, I just said we were thinking about it,” I say to Mia, but keep my gaze on the field.
“Uh huh, the guys know,” she says so casually while stuffing a chicken wing in her mouth. A small smile lands on my lips and Summer hip checks me as she catches it.
“Maybe he’s looking for you.” She raises her eyebrows as she stares down at the field with me. I bite the inside of my cheek and take a seat on one of the chairs overlooking the field to finish watching the game.
Ford is on the sidelines with his helmet on, waiting to go into the game. I watch him run into the huddle, and then again as he lines up on the field. I’ve watched plenty of football games so why do I feel my nerves the second the ball is snapped? The quarterback drops back and scrambles to his right, avoiding a hit with just enough time to make a pass. Ford jumps up and brings the ball in before a defender takes him to the ground, but not before he earns a first down for the team. I cheer with the rest of the crowd and feel my blood pumping and heat rising through my body.
There is something about seeing him play today, it’s like seeing him do what he does best puts him in a new light for me. Knowing him on a more personal level and seeing him display this level of athleticism, it stirs something in my stomach. I knew he was good, I’ve seen him on TV plenty of times to know he’s a great football player, but seeing it in person makes me feel all sorts of things I wasn’t fully prepared for. I swallow the lump in my throat and take a sip of my water, my mouth feels so dry all of a sudden. He’s so certain of his movements. He’s full of confidence on that field and his presence is commanding. I try to hold back a smile while watching him jog over to the sidelines after the play.
Once the game is over, Summer, Mia, and I head down to the players exit.
“They have to get changed and have their little pep talks afterwards, so there’s no rush to get there right away, but I can show you guys around a little bit before we meet up with them if you want?” Mia offers.
“Hell yes!” Summer has no problem soaking in all of this.
We walk down the hallway and pass a couple of other suites on the way, I’m seriously in awe of this side of the fan experience. It’s nothing like what I’m used to, which is usually tailgates in the parking lot and hiking a mile to our seats, paying sixteen dollars for a beer and squeezing into the stadium seats. This is literally the opposite in every way and while I don’t say it out loud, I could definitely get used to this. I should’ve started coming to Chase’s games years ago.
“And then here’s where we can wait for them if we want.” Mia leads us through a door and I see a few other women outside, and then there are some fans lined up behind a gate, probably hoping to grab an autograph or picture when the players start making their way out.
Chase is the first to exit and he comes over and kisses my cheek along with Summer and Mia’s before stopping to talk with a few people. I spot Ford walking out of the tunnel immediately. He’s wearing dark jeans that cling to his muscular thighs with a black t-shirt and a backwards hat–that fucking backwards hat–and looking all kinds of irresistible. I take a deep breath and give him a smile when he notices me too. Nate isn’t far behind him, wearing almost the same get up, except his shirt is blue.
“Super Bowl here you come,” Mia says as she shoots her hair scrunchy at Nate and he laughs as he catches it.
They won their game 37-13 and you can tell the guys are in good moods. Ford walks over to us and gives Mia a hug and smiles in my direction.
“Hi I’m Summer!” Shit, I was so busy drooling over Ford, I totally forgot Summer was even standing next to me.
I shake my head. “Sorry yeah, this is my best friend. Summer, this is Ford, that’s Nate.” I gesture to the guys. Ford, ever the gentleman, extends his hand to shake Summers and gives her a ‘nice to meet you’ with a nod.
“I’m fucking starving. Let’s go to Louie’s Bar.”
Everyone nods in agreement with Nate. Sure, I could use a drink.
“What are you girls drinking?” Ford asks as he leans in to where Summer and I are sitting. His masculine scent pulls me in every time and my heart rate picks up with him being so close to me.
“I’ll just have a beer, thanks!” Summer speaks up first.
“Make it two, please.” I flash Ford a smile and he nods in my direction before walking to the bar.
“Tell me what’s on your mind.” Summer turns to face me as we sit at this high-top table. The music isn’t too loud, so I don’t have to yell to talk to her, thankfully. The bar is pretty big considering the outward appearance makes it look the size of a shoe box. Nate and Mia are over by the pool tables with a pitcher of beer and Liam is with Ford at the bar ordering our drinks.
“What do you mean?” I give her a side eye.
“Oh come on.” Summer laughs. “You look like you’ve been in a daze since the second that guy walked out of the tunnel.” She gives me a look and I know that look, it’s the ‘I know you’re into him so just admit it,’look.
“I don’t know.” I sigh. “Any time I’m around him, I just want to grab his face and kiss him,” I say a little more candidly than expected, but whatever it’s the truth.
Ford and Liam walk over with our drinks and take a seat with us at the high top. We lift our glasses to cheers and we all take a sip.
“Thank you for this.” My eyes lock with Ford’s and his head does a small nod in my direction.
“So, I hear you’re from Miami?” Liam looks at me before taking a sip of his beer. “Why trade South Beach for Tampa?”
