Page 71 of The Right Player
Everything will be okay.
And like a sucker, I actually believed it.BelleMy best friend at a Chicago Bears football game was like a nine-year-old kid in a store full of Disney toys.
It didn’t matter that it was a pre-season game, which even I knew didn’t count for much. Gemma was clad in her favorite Bears tank top, ripped denim shorts and — this is not a joke — Chicago Bears sneakers. They looked like Keds, except each shoe was covered in the team logo, instead. She had a rally towel hanging out of her back pocket that I knew from past experience she would wave around like a madwoman when the defense was on the field, and she’d painted two thin orange and navy stripes on each cheek.
More than anything, it was the look in her eyes that really got me.
Those intense green eyes of hers were wide and doe-like, black lashes almost never meeting her cheeks because she didn’t seem to blink at all as she took in the scene around us. Where all I saw was an obnoxiously loud crowd spilling beer all over the place, she saw her people. Her tribe.
Football fans.
Bears fans.
And to her, there was no better feeling than this one right here.
“Thank you again so much for coming with me today,” she said as we pushed through the crowd to make our way to her seats. “I know you hate this.”
“I really do. And I thought I’d gotten out of this forever with Zach being in the picture.”
Gemma chuckled. “Well, if it wasn’t for a family event, he’d be here and you’d be free of the torture.”
“He’s lucky I love him. And you. And his family, too, for that matter.”
Gemma had had season tickets for the Bears for years now. She’d bought them with the intention of coming with Carlo, her ex-husband, but that was before that asshole cheated on her and then had the audacity to die of cancer before she could properly castrate and divorce him.
Jerk.
The only good thing that came out of that situation was that after she dragged me to a couple pre-season games, I convinced her to get on the dating apps and find a guy to take, instead.
Enter: Zach.
He was more than happy to be her football buddy, which meant I didn’t have to be around the sport I loathed as much as the man who used to play it. Nathan had ruined a lot of things for me, and this was definitely one of them.
Still, I loved it any time I got to spend time with Gemma, even if I did throw a fit about being at a Bears game. And when she told me earlier this week that Zach couldn’t make the first pre-season game because it was his mom’s birthday, she asked if I’d step in as her date.
How could I say no to the girl who’d picked me up off the floor more times than I could count?
When we finally made it to her seats, we kicked back to watch the players warm up, sipping on our beers. Gemma already had a hot dog, complete with ketchup and cheese like the weirdo she was, and I picked at the plate of nachos I’d grabbed for myself.
“God, I’m so excited to see the guys play,” Gemma said around a mouthful of bun and meat. “I’ve been so caught up in the wedding, I have no idea what happened at training camp or what we’re looking like. It’s always fun to see the new players on the team.”
“Think you guys have a shot at the playoffs this year?”
Ohhhh, yeah. That sounded like you know what you’re talking about. Good job, Belle.
Gemma shook her head. “Way too early to tell. I know one thing, if we want any chance in hell, we need a better offensive line and receivers who can move the ball when our runners can’t.”
I blinked when Gemma looked at me. “I understand approximately none of that.”
She laughed. “Don’t worry, I’ll walk you through it.”
“Oh goodie, a football lesson. Just what I’ve always dreamed of.”
Gemma stuck her tongue out at me, but then her eyes were on the field, and she ate the rest of her hot dog with ravenous unawareness as she watched the players warm up. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight, and I pulled out my phone, taking a video of the field and panning over to where Gemma sat transfixed.
I sent it to Makoa, smiling as I typed out a text to go with it.
This is why I couldn’t hang out today. My best friend is a football junkie, and she’s the only one I’ll break my No Football rule for. Hope you’re having fun with the fam. Tell them all I say hello, and I’ll see you tonight!
I added a few kissy-face emojis before shoving my phone in my pocket, and when I looked up again, Gemma was watching me with a shit-eating grin.
