Page 83 of Sack

Right. He wasn’t her father or her boyfriend.

“I better go. People are waiting on me.”

Like the douche waiting for a dance. Colt locked his jaw, forcing himself not to respond.

“Will you text me when you get home so I know you landed safely?”

“Yeah,” he gritted.

“Okay. Talk to you then.”

“Happy birthday.” But he got no response. She’d already hung up.

Ivy

Sitting in the stands, looking out onto the field, Ivy decided she enjoyed home games best. She felt closer to Colt. Not to mention, the hype she got surrounded by thousands of screaming fans.

Ivy regarded the empty seat next to her. The game was about to start and still no sign of Emerson. She hadn’t said anything about not being able to come. Ivy would give her five more minutes, then text her.

She didn’t end up needing to. A few minutes later, Emerson plopped into the vacant seat beside her, handing over a soda. “Sorry I’m late. The concession line was a killer.”

“Thanks.” Ivy stuck the cup in the chair’s holder. “You should’ve waited until after the game started.”

“I know, but call me lazy, I didn’t feel like walking back up a gazillion steps once I got down here.”

Emerson was anything but lazy, but, looking over her shoulder at the long way up, she couldn’t help but agree.

“You made it before kickoff. That’s all that matters. I was starting to worry Matt hadn’t made it in to cover for you and you wouldn’t show.”

“I wouldn’t leave you hanging to watch the game all by your lonesome.”

Lonesome. The story of Ivy’s life lately.

“What was that look for?” Emerson was eyeing her, a concerned expression on her face.

“I had a look?”

“Yes. It was a sad look. Spill.”

Ivy sighed. “I’m thinking of calling things off with Colt.”

“What?” Emerson sounded shocked. “You guys have been together longer than Oz and me.”

“That’s the problem. We’re not together. If I knew we had a future, I wouldn’t mind not seeing him for a week or even weeks at a time. If we were in a relationship, I’d know that it would eventually progress. We’d move in together, maybe even get married. Then I’d see him all the time. But we’re just friends who have sex, and with the way we’ve been bickering lately, I’m not sure we’re even friends anymore.”

“So, you’d rather not see him at all?”

“For my well-being, I think it’s something I need to do.”

“I’m here if you need me. I might be busy as hell, but my shoulder is always available to cry on.”

“I appreciate that. I care for Colt, but I walked into this knowing what I was getting. I knew it wouldn’t last forever. I’ll be okay.”

And Ivy would keep telling herself that until she believed it was true.

The noise from the crowd was deafening as Ivy watched Colt line up behind the center. It was the fourth quarter with only seven minutes left on the clock and the Phantoms were up by seventeen points, making Ivy breathe easy. It looked like the Phantoms would win unless by some miracle the opposing team scored two touchdowns and a field goal. And even then, they would only tie the game. They’d need a two-point conversion to win. And while she knew that must be possible, in all the weeks she’d been watching, she’d never seen one accomplished, so she still felt positive about the outcome of the game.

A win today would make the Phantoms zero and eleven and Colt would keep his good mood.

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