Page 87 of Forever Golden

We arrived a little early to grab good seats, and within ten minutes of getting settled, Rodriguez walks in looking like a cult nightmare in her usual all-black attire. She spots us and makes it a point to sit on the opposite side of the bleachers. She’s never liked us, and we’ve never thought much about her.

Until the rumors about her possibly being Pandora started.

Who the hell knows if that’s true, but I’m resigned to keeping my distance from her crazy ass.

“You both owe me for this shit,” Dane announces to Sterling and me, keeping with our tradition of demanding money from each other that we know we’ll never recoup.

He drops down into his seat between me and Joss and I snatch my popcorn off his tray.

“How about I take this off what you owe me for your plane ticket?”

That seems to have jogged his memory as he hands Joss her soda. “Well, yeah. That sounds doable, I guess.”

“Yeah, that’s what I fucking thought,” I add with a laugh.

Another surge of bodies flood through the door.

“Geez, the team must be really good this year,” Joss comments, staring as the swarm scrambles for good seats.

“Either that or our peers are information whores. With Southside being on the team, they knew West would be here,” Sterling says.

Joss thinks about that for a sec and then shrugs, agreeing with Sterling’s deduction.

“But while we’re on the subject of‘Southside’,”she chimes in again,“isn’t it kind of demeaning that you three still call her that? She’s your girlfriend now, West. Maybe give it a rest? It’s a new year, perfect time to turn over a new leaf.”

I lean forward to peer around Dane’s greedy ass hoovering down popcorn and meet Joss’s gaze. “You’ve met Blue. If it bothered her, please believe she would’ve called me on my shit by now.”

Joss shrugs again. “Guess you’re right.”

I’ve noticed the girls getting closer lately, and I’m guessing we’re reaching that point where it no longer matters that Joss has known me since we were kids, because you know, ‘girlpower’and shit…

I take another handful of popcorn and glance toward the door again. Thistime, I spot Mike strolling in with Scar. She’s smiling in that blissfully unaware way we all have before our parents do something to permanently mar their images in our eyes. He laughs at something she says, but it’s clear to see he’s on edge. I can tell by how his eyes keep darting toward the empty seats where the team will sit once they come out onto the floor.

My guess? He’s scared shitless about showing up today. Which probably means Blue told him not to come.

I’ve only laid eyes on the guy a handful of times, but this is by far the best I’ve seen him look. His eyes aren’t all glassy, his hair looks clean. Like he might’ve even taken a comb to it.

I’m on edge, though, because if I know my girl, she’s gonna be pissed when she sees him. So pissed I actually feel bad for whoever gets stuck guarding her tonight.

She’s been hell on wheels lately, taking her frustration out on others because she’s furious he’s back in the house. So far, he hasn’t violated any of the many,manyrules Southside’s laid out for him, but she’s ready and waiting if he does.

It’s crossed my mind that she should consider lightening up on him—mostly for herownsake—but I dare not mention it. She’d bite my head off for sure. So, as someone who knows what a delicate subject family can be, I’ve chosen to mind my own damn business.

So far, so good.

Someone in Maintenance decided it’d be a good idea to set the heat to ‘hell’, so I pull off my hoodie and drop it beside me on the bleachers. However, when I do, I regret it immediately because Joss takes one look at my t-shirt and starts with that sappy B.S. again.

“OMG! How sweet!” She points at my white tee, at the last name‘Riley’written in big, bold letters. “And isn’t that your jersey number? She picked the same one so you guys could be all cute and matchy?” she gushes.

“Here we go.”

“I’m just in awe,” she says. “Can we take a moment to talk about this incredible evolution you’ve gone through since the year started?”

“No.”

“Absolutely not.”

“I swear I’ll die if that happens.”

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