June reaches into her bag and pulls out a Dodger's hat, plopping it onto Simon's head. "Only the best for the best."
Alec opens Simon's door and waits for him to exit. Simon does and reaches back for June's hand to help her out. I weasel my way through after them and dust off my black bottoms even though there's nothing on them. Habit, I suppose.
"I can't believe this." Simon looks at me. "Did you know about this?" He turns to Alec. "Did you?"
"Yep," I tell him. "Are you surprised?"
He shakes his head. "I had no idea. Seriously. Zero clue."
June smiles up at him. "You're so hard to surprise, too. You're like a sneaky detective who finds stuff out before I even have it planned. I've been working on this one for a while."
"I can't help it. I like to know things." Simon throws his arm around June. "But this...this is perfect. Thank you."
I scan the vicinity, not seeing the guy I'm supposed to be meeting here. Checking the clock, I see that there are a few more minutes until the time he said he'd be here.
"Why don't you two go ahead? I'll be right behind you," I tell Simon and June.
"What? No. We'll wait with you," June says.
"Seriously, it's just a few minutes. Go ahead. This is a special day for both of you. Get it started."
June narrows her gaze at me.
I shove her gently. "Go. Now." I flit my attention to Simon. "I'm going to beat you both up if you don't get going. Get some snacks and I'll be there by the time you get to your seats."
June reaches into her pocket to pull out her phone. "Fine. I'm texting you your tickets. If you aren't there soon, I'm sending out a search party."
I roll my eyes. "Why do I have a feeling that you're not joking?"
"Because I'm not." She points her finger at me. "I'm not kidding. Don't wait for that man more than five minutes. You hear me?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Come on, love, you heard the lady." Simon nudges her toward the entrance of the place where hundreds of others are funneling in through the gates.
I've never been a huge fan of crowds, but lately, I prefer them. It's more witnesses that could prevent Ricardo from doing anythingtoocrazy. At least, that's what I hope.
"You sure you're okay with this?" Alec shuts the door to the SUV and focuses on me.
"Yeah. No biggie." I check the time again. "He should be here any minute."
"I can wait with you."
Horns blare, vehicles floating in and out of temporary parking places in front of the venue.
"It's okay," I reassure him. "Plus, you might get a ticket or something if you stay there too long."
Alec eyes a security guard walking in our direction. "I don't care."
I place my hand on his shoulder and ignore the way it gateways into me wanting to hug him. "It's fine, really. I'll see you after the game."
"Message me if he doesn't show, okay? I'll have my phone on me." Alec stares at me with such intensity I think I might combust.
"Okay."
He exhales and hesitates before walking away, the security guard almost to us.
The blacked-out SUV drives off, and I'm left here among all these strangers, none of them the person who's supposed to be meeting me. I double-check the text thread and confirm I'm standing where I told him we'd be. The minute hand clicks over, confirming he's officially one minute late. But there's nothing wrong with that. We can't always be punctual, and with the traffic around the venue, how can I blame him for not being on time?
