Page 32 of Sacked
The tip of her nose was cute and pink.
She tilted her head. “It’s the difference between watching a cooking show and being right there on the stage. You don’t just watch. You see the particulars. You smell the aromas and hear the absolute commotion. It’s exhilarating. From high above, you watch, but you’re not a part of it.”
I nodded. “I get it. With Dennison back, I’m going to be more of an observer.”
“The trainers haven’t cleared you yet to play.”
My smile disappeared. “I didn’t tell you that.”
Vee’s emerald eyes sparkled. “I can read a report. I got the email on Friday. I was waiting for you to tell me.”
“They haven’t not cleared me. I’m still listed as questionable.” She was looking at me in a way that meant she wanted to know more. “It’s my rib. My position requires rotation of my torso. Lacy Reynolds isn’t ready to give me clearance.”
“Rest it, Fin. Troy Dennison is back. We still have Simpson. There’s no sense aggravating your rib more than necessary.”
“I want to go to the Titans’ game. I want to be there for Dennison’s return.”
“Why wouldn’t you?” she asked.
Chapter 13
Fin
* * *
“If I’m still injured?—”
“You are injured,” Vee said. “You’re not seriously injured. There’s a seat for you on the plane. Same with other players who aren’t listed to play.”
Hearing her words was a relief. Not all teams followed the same protocol regarding injured players at away games.
“Seriously, Fin,” she went on, “Pratt has seen the bond you and Troy created. If for no other reason than for Troy’s state of mind, you will be in Tennessee.”
Quirking my grin, I asked, “If I’m not listed to play, I can ignore the eleven o’clock curfew. Right?”
“Wrong.”
I caught sight of Zane out on the field in his No. 53 jersey. “There he is.”
We both stood and Vee clapped her hands. The sound was muffled by the mittens.
Fans filled the seats all around us as well as high above. A bloom of orange and dark blue erupted where empty seats had been. While the majority of fans were decked out in the Chicago Bears’ attire, there were a few purple and gold Vikings fans scattered about the stadium. The Vikings had an indoor stadium; there was no doubt that the cooler temperatures would affect them. However, late October in Chicago wasn’t bad. Wait until it’s January in Foxborough or Denver and snow was falling.
By halftime, the Bears were up by nine points. The Vikings managed to score a touchdown and a field goal. Their offense looked better than I’d seen this season. Like the Coopers, the Vikings’ starting quarterback had been injured and was now back.
That would be the Coopers next week.
Vee and I made our way out of the wind and into the crowded darker stadium hallways. “Another hot chocolate?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said eagerly.
We scored a high-top table and stood sipping our warm drinks and talking about the game. As we drank and spoke, I had a flashback of us at University of Kentucky. Vee Hubbard had been the first girl who could really talk about the sport of football with me. She knew positions and each player’s objective. Not to sound like a jerk, but a lot of girls pretended to like the sport but were out of their league when it came to truly discussing a game.
Looking at her today, I was as enthralled with her now as I was then.
“I should have known,” I said, reaching for her ungloved hand.
“Should have known what?”
