Page 107 of A Quarterback for Christmas

Two and Half Years Later

October

Drew:Hey, Bella. Long time no speak. I hope this is still your number. Not sure if you’ve heard, but the Rattlesnakes are playing a game out in London soon, and am I right in believing that you still live there? I’ve got tickets and I thought it would be cool for you to come. Let me know if you can make it. Drew.

“Bella, are you reading that text again?” Perry, my flat mate says exasperated. When I look up, she rolls her eyes. “You’ve read it a thousand times; I guarantee there’s no hidden message behind it.” She waltzes over to my seat and hauls me up so I’m standing at the glass. “Now, will you please explain to me what the hell is going on?” Her eyes widen as she watches the football players stand to attention on the field, waiting for a punt return. Laughing to herself, she flicks her silky black hair over her shoulder so she can get a better view. “Those men look utterly fantastic in their leggings.”

Clueless. She’s absolutely clueless to what’s going on, and I laugh because I remember the days when I wished I was that clueless about football. Now, being here in the atmosphere, it has made me kind of miss it.

Perry’s hand rests against the glass as she stares down at the players in awe while making a noise that can only be described as a growl. I discreetly look over my shoulder to see if we’re blocking anyone’s view with our antics, but thankfully, everyone else in the box is by the food, trying to talk business. Being in the corporate sponsors box has its benefits, I guess. “Mhmm, I’d like to see what’s under number forty-two’s helmet,” Perry wiggles her eyebrows at me as her fingers caress the glass. It’s weird, but not the strangest thing I’ve seen her do. That will forever be the time she nursed an ailing bird back to health in our flat for a week.

I groan and shake my head. “How have I put up with you for so long?”

“Umm, I’ll believe it’s my incredible personality and my even more incredibly cheap rent.” She has a point. If it weren’t for a chance meeting atCosta Coffeetwo and a half years ago, I might not have stayed in London. After three weeks of unsuccessfully looking for a place to stay besides my hotel, I was tired and fed up. Soaked from head-to-toe because I’d forgotten my umbrella, I was sitting inCostaon the verge of tears, feeling like a failure. I’d been here less than a month and I was nearly broke because I was spending all my money on hotels since my school didn’t offer accommodation and I naively thought it would be easy to find a place in London. I was berating myself because of course I fucked up at the first hurdle. I couldn’t do anything without my father’s help and this trip was proof of that.

I still remember the lurching feeling in my stomach as I glared at my phone because I was one button press away from admitting defeat and calling my father to ask for help to get back to Florida. But just as my finger was hovering over the screen, a giant coffee was pushed in my direction, and Perry was standing beside me with a smile. She asked if she could sit on the other side of my table since the place was packed and itwas the only seat left. I said yes, and we ended up talking until the place closed before she invited me back to her enormous Knightsbridge flat for some dinner. When she found out why I was so upset, she offered me a room at a surprisingly cheap rate, and I couldn’t refuse. It all felt a little too much like divine intervention for me to say no.

The crowd cheer and I peer down at the field, hopeful that it’s for Drew, but still not entirely sure. There are too many players on the field, and I missed the last call. The crowd aren’t much help here either because although this is technically considered a home game for the snakes, there are fans of all the teams across the league since it’s only one of three games played in the U.K., making it hard to know who everyone is rooting for.

“Is that him?” Perry points to the jumbotron excitedly, and I frown, noting the guy has a rat tail and braid in his beard. When I look at her with confusion, she just cackles. “Seriously, when is your sexy ex going to take his helmet off?”

“He already has. Several times, actually, but you’ll just have to wait until they show him on screen. Win or lose, they’ll definitely interview him at the end.” Not that he had to worry about losing. They were two touchdowns up at this point.

Perry grunts, and moves to the leather seat behind her, slumping in it dramatically. I stifle a laugh because even in her dressed down gear; she looks far too quintessentially British to fit in amongst the beer belly’s and jerseys, but I’m happy for the company.

Blowing out a breath, she checks her watch. “Well, how long is that going to take? We’ve already been up here for bloody ages. I’m not sure how long I can watch a bunch of men grunting at each other before I turn into a cave woman.”

Laughing, I adjust the Rattlesnakes jersey that Drew left for me in the box, liking the way it feels. “Don’t worry. We’re in the last quarter. It will go quick.”

Sitting next to Perry, I reach into my bag and pull out a sandwich, and she squirms in her seat which isn’t unusual for her. She has an inability to keep still when she’s bored. Just as I’m about to take a bite, Perry gasps and grabs my leg for added effect. When I glance at her, the look of disgust is splashed across her face.

“What?” I ask, ignoring her incredulous look and taking a bite from my sandwich.

“You’re having a laugh, right?” Still watching me, she shakes her head.

“I don’t know. What are you referring to?”

“The sandwich.”

“What about it?” I swallow down my food. “I got it free at work, and I didn’t want to pay the exorbitant prices at the stadium.”

She raises her brows and tips her head toward me. “You’ve got everything you could want for free over there.” She points her thumb at the large buffet with enough food to feed both football teams. “And you’re choosing to eat an egg and cress fromPret?”

“I might as well eat it, otherwise it’s going to go to waste.”

Perry laughs, shaking her head. “I don’t think it going to waste is a problem. Your very real problem is having egg breath when you meet your now millionaire ex for the first time in over two years.” She flicks her hair over her shoulder for emphasis, laughing lightly.

Stopping mid-chew, I swallow harshly. She has a point. Drew isn’t the Drew I knew back in college. Two and a half years isn’t that long in the grand scheme of things, but so much has changed for him in that time. He’s got financial and career stability. Not to mention the plethora of celebrities he hangs out with. I’m surprised he even remembered where I lived when he texted me, because who am I now? A poor fashion student that works at a sandwich shop on Oxford Street.

I glance down at the green, grassy-looking pieces spiking out of the sandwich and drop it back into its cardboard container in disappointment. “Not just egg breath. Is there cress in my teeth?”

“Let me check.” I run my tongue over my teeth before showing her, and she gives me a thumbs up. “You’re good.” With Perry watching me, I pick up the water sitting in the drink holder to my side and take a long swig, hopeful that will get rid of any bad breath. Although, if I do see Drew today, I doubt he’ll be close enough to smell it.

Perry laughs. “That’s going to do nothing. Here, take these.” She tosses me a packet ofPOLOmints, and I pop a couple in my mouth before handing them back to her, but she raises her hand, shaking her head dismissively. “Don’t bother. You’re going to need them more than me.”

With a mischievous glint in her eye, she turns back to the game, and my stomach starts to knot at the implication. She seems to believe that the only reason Drew would invite me here is because he wants something to happen between us. I, on the other hand, cannot believe that for my own sanity. Because what if it’s not true? I don’t think my heart would be able to handle the implication.

When the music picks up in volume, Perry moans. “I thought you said we didn’t have long left. What’s with all the music? I didn’t realize they were going to throw in a Bailey Hill concert in the middle of this shindig.”

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