Page 37 of Touchdowns and Temptations

The stadium is already packed and the atmosphere, as always, is electric.

Noah wrote to me last night. I haven't heard from him today, but he says he's always introverted on game days. He needs the peace and quiet to concentrate better, and who am I to begrudge him that? Nevertheless, I write him a short message wishing him good luck.

Suddenly it gets unbearably loud and I turn my attention to the tunnel where the Boston Foxes players are coming out. Led by Noah, they are running onto the field to warm up. He looks even hotter than usual in his jersey with the pads and the unbelievably tight pants. His helmet dangles loosely in his right hand as Alex nudges him. He raises his finger and points around the stadium. Noah says something to him, shakes his head and speeds up his steps to get away from Alex.

The more I get to know the twins, the more different I find them. Noah is quiet and introverted, while Alex is loud and direct. I wonder who their brother Logan is more like.

“Will you ever get used to the stadium?” my mom asks and I look at her.

“Probably not,” I answer with a sigh. “But it's part of our lives.”

“It is,” she says, “and soon it may be more a part of yours than you realize.”

I raise my eyebrows in question, but she just grins at me. It's nonsense that her statement is directed at Noah. Now that I'm working in sports management myself, I'm just less able to push away who I am.

“I'm Michael Corse's daughter,” I reply. "Of course it will always be a part of my life."

“I didn't mean your dad,” she replies with a smile and looks out at the field. I follow her gaze as Noah puts on his helmet. Suddenly, he raises his hand and waves in our direction. I open my eyes in surprise. Was it meant for me?

“We're on the jumbotron,” my mom says, pointing to it. “He's waving at you.”

Heat rises inside me, and I barely dare look at the jumbotron. Why is he doing this? And why does my mom think he's waving at me?

“Why do you think he's waving at me?”

“He only waved after you were shown.” She shrugs.

So, I wave back, because it's only right. Our names are displayed below our faces: “Dana & Cara Corse - Michael Corse's wife and daughter.”

“Great,” I grumble. “Now the whole stadium knows we're here and Noah McCarter is waving at me.”

“That's nice,” she replies.

“Oh, Mom,” I mutter. “I don't like being the center of attention.”

Which is another reason I'm not going out with Noah!

“I know that,” she says with a smile, squeezing my arm. “But he waved at you.”

I can only hope that my mom doesn't jump on the same stupid Noah bandwagon as Marina. My best friend has nothing else to talk about. Maybe her pregnancy, but there's not much news about that either, apart from the fact that her belly is growing.

“We know each other,” I say. “I work for him, Mom.”

“I know that.” She smiles at me with satisfaction. “I think he's nice and very handsome.”

“Mom!” I look at her indignantly. “Why would you say that?”

“Because it's the truth,” she insists on her point of view. “You don’t think so?”

Yeah, great, what can I say now? Of course, Noah is handsome and nice and certainly a dream son-in-law, but not for my mother. She can kiss that goodbye. Noah and I are friends, and that's fine. In the last few weeks, we've become closer and closer friends and I think that's nice. Really nice. “Well, I think... Daddy!” I call, glad that my father's appearance saves me from the situation.

“There you are,” he says, smiling at us. “Are you guys excited? I think Noah is going to be in a really good mood today. There's no way he's going to be overshadowed by a rookie.”

I look at the field and at Noah. He throws a few balls to Alex and fakes a run. Then my eyes slide over to Jalen Armstrong. He's talking to one of the Seattle Commanders. He looks pretty good; I have to admit. But I hear he has a girlfriend he met in college.

“Hm,” I reply. “We'll see.”

“Shall we sit down?” My dad points to the chairs in front of us and smiles at us.

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