“Yeah, sure. Security is here all night. They’ll let us in.”
I lead the way to the door. It’s the same one we come out of after games when there’s family and press waiting for us. It’s crazy then but eerily quiet now. Dark and deserted. The rhythmic click of Kat’s claws on the asphalt follows me closely on my left. Lilly falls silently in step with me on my right.
The door pops open when we’re a few paces away. Ray stands in the open space, his short, round body draped in security blue and black. He smiles when he sees us.
Right up until he spots Kat.
“Whoa, you didn’t say you were bringing a dog, man,” he complains.
“She’s cool.”
“Not in here she’s not.”
“Dude, it’s a football stadium. What is she going to hurt?”
“I don’t know and I don’t want to find out.”
“Look, if she damages anything they can take it out of my paycheck, alright?”
He eyes Kat doubtfully. “Yeah, alright. Just as long as they don’t take it out of my ass.”
“You never saw her. That’s my story.”
“Then I’m not in trouble for letting a dog inside, I’m in trouble for being so fucking bad at my job that I didn’t see a dog walk in with you.” He opens the door wider. “If she shits on the field, pick it up. You hear me?”
“Cross my heart.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He nods at Lilly, giving her a friendly smile as she walks by. “What’s up?”
She mirrors his expression. “Hey. How’s it going?”
“You know how it is. Enjoying my last night of employment before this guy gets me fired.”
“You’ll be fine,” I groan, getting tired of the argument.
“We’ll see. Y’all have a good night. Make sure the door is closed tight when you leave, alright?”
“We’ll make sure,” Lilly promises.
He points at her as he walks away. “You, I trust. Thank you.”
“G’night, Ray!” I shout after him.
“Fuck you, Colt!”
Lilly’s smile widens. “I like him so much,” she tells me earnestly.
“Yeah, I thought you might. Come on. This way.”
I lead her to the tunnel that will take us to the field. It’s wide, meant to house fifty big men made even bigger by pads and helmets and adrenaline. At this time of night it’s barely lit. Only every other light tracking along the ceiling is burning, leaving dark sections that we get lost in before emerging in the light again. I feel Lilly close ranks next to me, pulling in tighter to my side in the first dark section. She’s nearly close enough to touch, her hand swinging a breath away from mine. I could extend my fingers to touch her but I don’t because I don’t want her to pull away. She seems like she spooks easy.
I’m surprised she showed up. I’m surprised she answered the phone when I called. I’m surprised by a lot of things about her, the biggest one being how much I like her. How psyched I am that she’s here with me.
When I was seven I saw Aladdin for the first time. It was by far the greatest movie I had ever seen, maybe still one of the top ten I’ve seen to date. Even now if I catch it playing on the Disney Channel you better believe I’m stopping to check it out. I got addicted to it when I was a kid. I played it over and over again until my mom nearly went insane. Then I played it some more. I couldn’t control how much I watched it. I just wanted it on all the time. I liked it that much.
Being with Lilly feels like that. Like loving Aladdin. I just discovered her, just saw her the other day, but tonight I had to call her. I had to see her again. And in the morning I’ll probably feel the same way.
I don’t have an addictive personality. I don’t flip my shit over everything I see, but there are things that stick with me. That make me feel high. Things that make me feel so damn good inside that I can’t get enough of them.
Football is one of them.
Aladdin is another.
And tonight, there’s Lilly.
From the glow at the end of the tunnel I can tell Ray has turned some of the field lights on. Not everything, not like it’s game night, but enough to get by with. When we come out of the entrance and set foot on the field I look down at Lilly to catch her reaction.
Her eyes are big and round, light with wonder at the scope of it all. The height of the goal post, the unending rise of the seats around us, the sprawling length of the field at our feet. It looks big on TV, but get down on the field and it feels huge. Gargantuan. Put thousands of fans in the seats and set ‘em to screaming and it feels like the end of the world. The first time I walked onto this field as a pro player I literally peed myself a little, I was that kind of excited.
“What do you think?” I ask her.
She grins at me, shrugging her shoulders helplessly. “I think your office is pretty cool. Great view.”
“High ceilings.”