“I’ve seen it.” Ford grabs his hat from his head, shaking his hair a bit before putting it back on.
“I’ve never watched it, but I’ve heard of it,” I admit. “You’ve sat and watched it?” I turn to Ford.
“Yeah.” He’s so nonchalant in his answer as he shrugs. “Abby watches it, sometimes I catch an episode or two. It’s entertaining, don’t knock it until you try it.”
“And you?” I ask Nate.
“I’ve never watched it. I only learned about it maybe two weeks ago from my sisters.”
The perk of no sisters is being completely unaware of anything trending, ever.
“Are you about to tell us you’re an avid watcher, big daddy?” I direct my attention to Chase, smirking as I do.
“If Summer has it on, I’ll watch it. And he’s right,” he says, gesturing to Ford.
“Yeah?” Ford perks up. “What season are you on?” The energy coming from Ford makes me pull back as I look at him.
“Is it any good?” Nate asks.
“No fucking clue what season we’re on.” Chase’s face contorts. I get the feeling he didn’t even know there were multiple seasons. “Summer has been watching it, and I originally told her I thought it looked stupid, but it fucking sucks you in.”
“They get married without seeing each other, right?” I ask.
“They getengagedwithout seeing each other,” Ford emphasizes.
“Really?” Nate sounds intrigued.
“Yeah, it’s wild. I don’t know if I could do that,” Ford continues. “Not that someone’s appearance is everything, but I just think it would be really hard to ask someone to marry me if I’ve never been face-to-face with them.”
“The concept is cool,” Chase says. “Forces you to really get to know someone.”
“So, you’re really into it then?” Nate asks.
“Kind of. It’s reality television, so take that for what it’s worth.” Chase shrugs.
The clock has been ticking, and our offense hasn’t scored anything so far this half, but neither has the other team so it’s still anyone’s game. The two-minute warning is about to hit, and I’ll take that as my go-ahead to start toward the locker room when it does.
“Well, I’m really happy for you.” My hand palms Chase’s shoulder. “It sounds like Summer is really adding some spice to your life. There’s more on television than just the animaldocumentaries you watch.” I smile, taking myself two steps away from them.
“Hey.” He points at me. “Those are educationalandfun.”
Along with a few other starters, I begin making my way toward the tunnel. I can’t fucking wait for this season to start and to be out there playing, but for these couple weeks I give my body the additional time before I’m having to scramble away from three-hundred-pound guys who want to throw me to the ground.
Demi’s busy in conversation with Abby, and I see one of the sideline photographers staring at both of them. He’s clearly not interested in the game happening to his right as his focus is on the girls. I watch him the entire time I’m walking. He finally turns back toward the field and crouches down near the end zone where he’s ready to snap a photo if something happens.
But this guy must be new—either that, or he’s just a fucking creep with zero decency or respect. I don’t miss when he pivots on his bent knee, moving the camera in the direction of Abby and Demi.
What the hell? I speed up so I’m a little closer, and it hits me that both of them are wearing skirts. Or at least Abby’s in some kind of jersey dress thing.
“Hey!” I yell, grabbing his attention, the girl’s attention, and anyone within a ten-yard earshot to be quite honest. “Get up,” I demand, throwing my thumb in the air as I approach him. “Camera faces that way,” I say, pointing toward the field.
He’s standing and his eyes nervously dart between the tunnel and the field, barely making contact with mine.
“Hey, yeah, of course.” His words are muffled and rushed.
“Point your camera atanywoman like that again, and I’ll make sure you never hold one again.”
He doesn’t work for the league, but he’s local media, and I can see the lanyard hanging around his neck that he was givencredentials to be down on the field tonight. I’ll make sure that’sswiftlyrevoked.
