“I might have to kill you for this,” I muttered just loud enough for my “friend” to hear.
Petra laughed. “Oh, come on. Leo is going to love it.”
“No, he’s going to see it and think I’m in love with him. Which is exactly what every single person who catches sight of my back tonight is going to think.” If worse came to worse, I could always let my hair down out of its ponytail. That should cover up the words.
“Is that such a bad thing? I mean, you’re on your way to the L word. I can tell.”
“No, you can’t.” I wasn’t even thinking about that possibility. I’d barely accepted that “the player” wanted me for more than sex.
“You went to a lot of trouble to make that shirt just for him.”
“You did all of the work.”
“And,” she continued, as if I hadn’t even spoken, “we’re here almost an hour early to make sure you can get a seat in the front.”
“Okay, okay. I get the point. But it’s not because of the L word.”
She let it go until we’d found seats directly behind the players’ benches. “Then what is all of this about?”
Staring across the field to where the bleachers were slowly filling in, I mumbled, “It’s going to sound dumb.”
“You never sound dumb, Thea. Except, maybe, right now.”
I crossed my arms in my lap, though there wasn’t much of a chill to the air yet. “Leo seems to want to do this right—the whole boyfriend, girlfriend thing. And, I don’t know. I guess I do too. See what it’s all about.”
“But you’ve had boyfriends before, right?”
I met her scrutinizing gaze. “I’ve had two fuck buddies, and that’s it.”
Petra tipped her head to the side. “Oh my god. You’re serious.”
“Yes.”
“Before Tristin, you’d only slept with two guys.”
“Yes.”
She shook her head. “You’re making me feel totally easy right now.”
“Don’t. My high school only had a few hundred students, total. And I was antisocial. It’s kind of a miracle that I got around to hooking up with two guys, to be honest.”
“So, you didn’t date at all?”
“Unless you count driving to the next town for a burger and shake dating.”
“Um, no, I don’t. How about prom?”
I laughed. “Yeah, right.” Even Tobias hadn’t managed to talk me into attending the big dance.
“First of all, that’s just wrong.” She knocked her shoulder into mine. “But I get it now. Leo is your first, so you’re making an effort. It’s kind of sweet, actually.”
“It’s not sweet.”
She grinned at me. “Oh, it’s totally sweet. You’re already not as much of a sourpuss as you were when I met you. By the time Leo gets done with you, you’re going to be a gorgeous, purring, domesticated kitty.”
“Please don’t start with the sourpuss thing again.” She’d referred to me and Leo as “the player and the puss” a few weeks ago, and Leo still found it hilarious.
“Fine. But at least give me points for my pretty kitty analogy.”
I pressed my hands over my ears. “Ugh. Never say those words together again.”
“What?” she asked innocently. “You mean, pretty kitty?”
“Seriously, stop it.”
She laughed. “Okay, I’ll stop. But only if you promise to tell me all about the first time he makes you purr,” she said, making a rather convincing cat-like sound with her tongue.
“You’re incorrigible.”
“And now you sound like Nana.”
“I’ve always known I was a fifty-year-old woman at heart.”
She scoffed. “Nana wishes she was fifty.”
Petra kept me entertained as the stadium filled up around us. I heard a few murmured comments about Leo from behind me, but no one spoke loud enough for me to make out their words. Which was probably for the best. I didn’t have the best track record when it came to responding politely to snarky comments.
When the Harbor U team jogged onto the field, my body hummed with excitement, and I knew it had everything to do with the quarterback. I’d enjoyed watching Leo’s games before. But it was different now. Which was crazy, since nothing had actually happened between us. Nothing but a declaration, a bouquet of pink roses, and a bunch of flirty texts.
And this ridiculous sweatshirt that I was seriously regretting.
The game started, and when the defensive team took the field, my pulse accelerated. Would Leo try to find me? Or was I making a much bigger deal of our fledgling relationship than I should?
Maybe it wouldn’t even cross his mind to search me out in the crowd.
But, then, I saw a helmet come off and sunlight reflecting streaks of blond. There were only two guys in the world with that exact shade of hair, and one of them was probably hiding on his borrowed boat right now.
Leo turned, and I watched him scan the first section of bleachers. I felt rather than saw Petra’s hand start to raise, and I snatched it mid-air. For some strange reason, I wanted him to find me on his own. Petra huffed, but she let her arm drop back to her lap.
I knew the second he caught sight of me, because his game face fell away, replaced by a smile that everyone could see but I knew was only for me. He mouthed the words “front row,” and I nodded, unable to resist grinning back at him. He lifted his hand to his mouth and blew me a kiss. Right there in front of everyone.
Laughing, I shook my head at his antics. I had no intention of blowing him a return kiss, but I did gesture to the huge “07” directly over my boobs. His smile grew even wider, and he continued looking right at me until one of the coaches approached him, drawing his attention away.
Whispers sounded behind me again, but I didn’t even care. I felt like a silly teenage girl. Which was somewhat ridiculous, since I was a teenager. But I’d so rarely felt like one, this sensation was new. And not at all unwelcome.
Petra released a low whistle. “Damn, girl. That boy is even more smitten than I expected.”
I considered rolling my eyes at her or doing something else to convey my annoyance. But, amazingly, I wasn’t annoyed. And, yes, I was still smiling.
At the end of the first half, the game was tied, and I could see Leo’s frustration every time he removed his helmet. From what I could tell, he’d been playing well, but the Harbor U defense was struggling.
The first play into the second half, he threw what appeared to be an impossibly long pass, and the fans surrounding us went wild. Less than twenty yards to the end zone.
As he moved back into formation, I mentally chanted, come on, Leo, over and over. But, before the snap, he straightened, his attention directed at something—or someone—in front of him. Pushing through guys in maroon jerseys who were attempting to stop him, Leo advanced on a player on the other team. I assumed words were exchanged, but they were too far away for me to hear any of it.
Then, seemingly out of the blue, Leo tackled the player, taking him down. Players from both sides rushed them, and before I could even process what was happening, there was nothing but a heap of maroon, white, and navy on the field.