Happy Ellery can play this game. “Not as cute as you guys. Do you two ever come up for air?”
Her cheeks darken. “Oh, Ellery. I love him.” She covers her mouth like she let out a secret of her own, then her eyes go wide. She clamps onto my arm with a desperate look on her face. “Don’t tell him.”
“Like I would do that.”
“I know. I just . . . what am I going to do?”
“Nothing. Just act the same. He’s happy, even I can see it.”
Her smile fades as she turns back to the field. “There’s Colt. Ugh, he’s with Kirstyn.”
I glance over to her. “Are you not friends with her anymore?”
“Hell no. Not after the shit she’s said about you. She’s no friend of mine.”
My insides warm slightly at her declaration. Wait, what has Kirstyn said about me? No, I’m not going to care about that. I’m not.
“She’s such a bitch, I’d be surprised if anyone—hey.” She looks up at Kirstyn and Dee. Colter’s behind them.
A sliver of what feels like jealousy sweeps through me when I see the three of them walk up together.
Kirstyn sits next to me and sandwiches me into Janie. Janie turns and glares at Kirstyn. I do my best not to glare at her myself. I’m not supposed to care what she did or didn’t say about me. Colter passes by and shrugs, taking a seat next to Kirstyn, leaving me wondering if she did this on purpose. Dee slides next to Colter. I can’t learn about football when he’s one seat over.
Janie gives me a conspiratorial look and stands up. “Colt? I can’t see Jackson as well over here, switch seats with me?” She winks at me as she squeezes by.
Colter stands and they do an awkward dance in front of us, then he sits down next to me. His knee touches mine and my leg feels like it’s a thousand degrees.
This has to stop.
Get control, Ellery. You need to be pushing him away.
I move my knee nonchalantly away from his.
“Vast improvement,” he says, giving me a sidelong glance through his thick eyelashes. “Thanks, Janie. The view here is much better,” he says, never taking his gaze off me. I shiver and for the first time tonight, it’s not from the cold. He turns back to the field. “Okay, lesson one. Teams have to get touchdowns. Those are six points, and—”
I laugh. “I know that part. It’s the downs and stuff I don’t get.”
“Well, the offense gets four chances, or downs, to get ten yards or more toward the opponent’s end zone. When you get those ten yards you’ve gotten the first down, and you’re given four more chances to get ten more yards.” He leans closer to me, and his cheek is so close to mine I can feel the heat radiating off of his skin. “See those bright orange numbers?” He points to the sidelines, but all I can visualize are his lips on me.
I swallow. “Uh huh,” I squeak out.
He turns slightly and his lips graze my cheek. I jerk away, surprised to feel his lips on me anywhere. “Those signs mark the downs,” he says in a strained voice.
What’s a down? What’s football?
“Cool.”
“Does that make sense?”
I nod, unable to speak, afraid it would come out as manic gibberish.
“We’ll go over the penalties when they get them. And they will get them.”
“Are you trying to bore her to death, Colt?” Janie says, leaning over Kirstyn, who seems to be in a deep conversation with Dee. Janie eyes Kirstyn. “Can you move over so I can sit next to Ell?” she says, dripping with attitude.
Kirstyn looks appalled, but gets up and moves closer to Dee.
Janie plops back down next to me, putting her feet on the bleacher in front of us. She lets out a sigh. “Thank God. That guy was taking up all my leg room over there.”
Hat-with-a-ball-guy looks back again and glares at Janie. She matches his narrowed eyes. “You’re taking up three seats, just so you know.” He turns around with a huff as her gaze moves to the field. “Is Jackson up yet?”
I squint toward the field. “I think so. Isn’t that him? Thirteen?”
She grins. “Lucky Thirteen. Or at least, it will be tonight.”
I groan. “Seriously, stop.”
She giggles. “Sorry, I forgot. So, Colt. You and Ellery have plans after the game?”
I glare at her and she just grins at me. She smacks the gum that I didn’t know she was chewing.
Waiting for him to answer is like waiting for test results. I should say something. He should. Someone should.
He shrugs. “I hadn’t thought about it.”
I swear that guy can’t tell a lie. We are so different.
“I have a lot of homework,” I say.
Janie play-frowns. “Do you guys want to get us some drinks? I’ll buy.”
“The game hasn’t even started yet, Jane,” Colter says.
“Pleeeeeease, I need my hot chocolate.”
“I’ll go,” I say, waving away the cash she holds out. “On me.”