Page 26 of Game Changer

“Don’t take it personally,” I call back, and yes, I take my time changing so I don’t have to deal with all that hotness until Sunday.

F-Ex Field is packed. The energy is electric yet produces not a single degree rise in the temperature. Thousands of fans surround us, decked out in burgundy and gold, screaming as we make our way to our seats right behind the Knights, and hell yes, we’re repping our team with black and gold, loud and proud in a sea of hostile fans. The air is crisp, the floodlights shine down on the field, and the scent of stadium food lingers in the cold night air.

“Swear to God above we’ve all lost our minds,” I yell over the crowd at Riley, Lauren, Maggie, and Iz, my single ladies crew … well, all but Riley now that she’s rocking a ring and thatlittle bump growing inside her will one day be visible. “It’s seven freaking degrees!”

“Welcome to winter.” Lauren laughs.

“Why do I feel like I’m being personally attacked by the wind right now?”

Teeth chattering, Riley answers, “Because you are. This DC wind has some serious beef with us.”

Lauren pulls her scarf up to her nose. “You know what’s funny? We could be watching this from the Brewery with the rest of Blue Valley, where there’s heat and nachos that don’t look and taste like ass.”

Shivering, I mutter, “I don’t even want to know how you know what ass tastes like.”

She elbows me as Maggie pulls out a stadium blanket. “Butno, we had to come because, and I quote, ‘It’s the last game before playoffs, and we need to show up for the team.’”

Riley rolls her eyes. “I don’t recall saying it in those exact words.”

She did. She used them verbatim.

“I’m kind of thriving.” Izzy sips her hot chocolate like nothing’s wrong.

Riley shakes her head. “You have an actual heated blanket—your opinion is invalid.”

“I swear my toes don’t even feel like part of my body anymore.” Lauren pouts.

Maggie wiggles her fingers. “I think I lost feeling in my hands twenty minutes ago.”

“How the hell do you think you’re going to survive that awful reality show, Mags? Wilderness Warriors is no joke.” I pull an extra set of hand warmers from my parka pocket and hand them to her.

“You’re the best, Sid.” She grins.

Riley stands and claps. “Just think how good it’s gonna feel when we win and get to say, we showed!”

Lauren narrows her eyes at her sister. “Riley, if we lose, I’m never forgiving you for this.”

Izzy smiles. “But we’re making memories!”

“I’d rather be making hot chocolate … in my warm bed … with a heated blanket,” I admit to Maggie.

And in the blink of an eye, my mind changes as I watch them take the field. Not even going to lie, it’s sexy.

Riley leans forward, hands cupped around her mouth as our boys are lined up to kick. “Let’s go, boys!”

Lauren adjusts her beanie. “We need a strong first drive. No mistakes. No stupid penalties.”

Maggie clutches her team scarf like a security blanket. “I swear, if our defense doesn’t show up tonight, I’m gonna lose my mind.”

Izzy, already munching on nachos, nods. “Yeah, totally.”

The first two minutes, it’s like a pig you put lipstick on to make it look pretty, but it doesn’t do the trick.

DC scores first, and the crowd erupts. A guy in a burgundy and gold jersey in front of us turns around and smirks. “Gonna be a long night for you Knights’ fans. Haha.”

All we do is roll our eyes. we’re used to this shit.

But one of us, Riley, has not quite mastered the art of not confronting crazy.

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