Page 84 of Rival Season
Of course—Ally’s upstairs, she’ll let you in to grab them. You just get your cute ass over here ASAP.
Hazel
Okay, thank you for everything! Can’t wait to spend time together tonight.
I rush to my room to pack an overnight bag, making sure to grab my cutest pajamas. I stop into the bathroom quickly to apply some mascara and lip gloss to my face, then toss them into my bag. I braided my hair up into a crown braid this morning, so no worries about frizz today. Making my way toward the door, I yank on the black boots that match the outfit I’m already wearing, tights, a comfy black skirt, and a knit sweater. With a sigh, I glance around the apartment, hoping I remembered everything.
My eyes land on Fluffy, and I grab her crickets out of the fridge and feed her an early dinner. “Don’t miss me too much tonight,” I tell her with a wave as I head out the door with my bag.
Ally answers the door of 3B when I make it upstairs, greeting me with a smile. “Hey! Come on in. Penn just texted you’d be coming up.”
“Yeah, he surprised me with tickets to tonight’s game, so I’m gonna drive his truck up there.”
“Stop! That’s so sweet.” She plants a hand on her hip. “What a guy.”
“Right? I’m so excited. He even got us a hotel.”
Ally smacks my shoulder playfully. “Girl, that’s so swoony. I can’t believe he didn’t even mention it to me! He’s pulling out all the stops.”
I blush. “Okay, I need to hurry to beat traffic.”
“You kids have fun!” She waves me off, and I realize the comment feels so natural because Ally is mature for her age. And more than that, age is just a number—I like Ally because of who she is as a person, not how old she is. It hits me that I’ve been ridiculous for my paranoia about being the oldest one in our group.
I smile at my friend, then head toward Penn’s room. When I step into his bedroom, Penn’s scent wafts around me, oaky and masculine. I want to bask in it, maybe lay my head on his pillow for a while, but I don’t have time for that. Instead, I spot his truck keys on his nightstand as promised and toss them into my overnight bag. When I turn to leave his bedroom, my gaze lands on a crisp aqua Lions jersey peeking out of his open closet. A wide grin creeps onto my face, and I yank the jersey off the hanger, pulling the fabric over my head. It’s an away jersey, perfect for tonight, and it has Penn’s last name and number on it. I tuck some of the excess fabric into my skirt, and smile at myself in the full-length mirror in the corner—I’ve never worn one of his jerseys to a game, so I love the idea of surprising him back with this.
I make great time getting into Sac, checking into my hotel room and dropping off my bag before driving to the arena. I’m so excited at the prospect of a night alone with Penn in the amazing suite he booked that the pit of worry in my stomach about the game from earlier today is gone.
Walking into the massive building right at seven, I can’t wait to find my seat and watch Penn. I’ve been here numerous times before to support Chadwick, but being here for Penn feels a thousand times better. Chadwick always wanted me to come to games for appearances’ sake, whereas Penn seems to want me here just to see me—he wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble if he didn't.
Glancing at my ticket, I check the seat number, surprised he got me a ticket right in front. I’m even more surprised when I walk towards the section and realize it’s on the Fire Cats end of the ice…that’s odd.
As I enter the noisy arena and walk down a few flights of steps to my row, that niggling feeling in my gut is back full throttle…it’s probably just the loud music and the crowd. It hits me that the song blaring through the speakers is Shaboozey’s “Steal Her From Me.” I swallow, my throat feeling tight.
The buzzing, excited energy I entered the building with has turned sour.What is wrong with me?
I can’t make sense of it, but something doesn’t feel right. With a deep breath, I tell myself I’ll feel better once I sit down and find Penn on the ice. Once his eyes are on me I’ll relax and have that overwhelmingly content feeling he always gives me, the one that makes me feel warm all over and has butterflies fluttering in my stomach. Finally, I arrive at the first row and seemy seat is smack in the center. I look up to the person on the end to ask them if I can scoot past, but the words are lost on my lips when I come face to face with…my mother.
I blink rapidly, trying to make sense of it, wondering if I’m seeing things.
“Mom?!” I yell over the noise when I finally find my voice.
My mother beams at me, standing up and giving me a quick hug. “Sweetheart! You finally made it.”
“What are you doing here?” I ask, gaping at her.
“Wasn’t it so nice of Chadwick to surprise us all with tickets to his game? He even paid for our flights.” She brings her hand to her chest. “That boy is a keeper for sure.”
I’m stunned into silence. This was allChadwick’sdoing?
I look past my mom and see my brother, my dad, Chadwick’s father, and Chadwick’s mother…all sitting together—and my seat is right between our fathers. The whole group is wearing matching Weatherby jerseys.
“What the hell are you wearing, Hazel?” My dad asks as he looks me up and down in horror.
“If it’s a joke, I don’t get it,” Chadwick’s dad says, narrowing his eyes at the Lions’ logo on my jersey. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more uncomfortable than I do at this moment as the one Lions fan in a sea of Fire Cats fans—a sea that includes me and my cheating ex’s families.
Someone bumps into me from behind and I realize I’m still standing in the aisle grappling with my life’s decisions. I offer my mother an awkward smile, and as much as everything in me wants to run out of here, I begin to scoot past my brother and parents to take my seat. I give my dad a quick hug before taking my seat—entirely too aware of Chadwick’s parents sitting beside me.
I can practically feel the awkward tension rolling off of the Weatherbys. A thick layer of disdain seems to surround us,making it difficult to breathe. I’m not sure what story Chadwick told them about our breakup, but I have no doubt he left out several key details.
