Page 42 of Big Nick Energy

We all laughed.

“It was nice meeting you,” his best friend said, shaking my hand again.

Nick touched the small of my back and escorted me out of the building. We weren’t the only people who had the idea to leave immediately. The crowd was thick so we couldn’t move fast. But it didn’t matter because we were lost in our conversation. We spoke to people on the way, but for the most part, we were laughing and talking amongst ourselves.

Our tickets to the game were on our phone so after we scanned for entry, I showed Nick the pictures I took of him at the step show. We weren’t at the bleachers yet when I heard India Davis singing. I stopped in my tracks and my eyes darted to the big screen.

India Davis had an iconic voice.

We found seats and as bad as I wanted to talk to him throughout the game, I could see how into it he was. He was a football fan while I was a casual observer. I knew the mechanics of the game, but I didn’t watch regularly. As bad as I wanted to talk to him, I kept the conversation at a minimum during plays. And usually most of us attended homecoming for the halftime show and the band, but because HU was doing so well, so many people attended for the game.

“Did you see this article on the ESPN website?” I asked. “By Tatiana Green?”

He glanced at the article and then at me. “What does it say?”

“That this isn’t just a vanity game, and the winner of this match will likely win the conference.”

The way his smile stretched across his face made my insides jittery.

“What?” I wondered softly.

“Do you know what any of that means?”

“Yes!”

“What?”

“It means both teams are good and whoever wins the game is the best in the conference.”

He pushed my braids over my shoulder and then leaned in against my ear. “It’s sexy listening to you explain shit.”

I let out a giggle and leaned into him.

The game was as good as Tatiana Green predicted. The halftime show was amazing, and the HU band killed it. I took a lot of pictures. I ate nachos and he had a cold burger. I screamed loud for every point we earned. I threw my hands up in confusion for flags I didn’t understand. I high fived everyone around me. I kissed the man of my dreams after big plays. And during the fourth quarter, Paris and Tuck joined us and we cheered the Hamilton Hounds to victory.

I was living my homecoming dream.

“What are you doing after the party tonight?” Nick asked as we walked to my car.

“You.”

He draped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into him. “I like that.”

Gripping the back of his SONs t-shirt, I grinned up at him. “What are your plans?”

“For the rest of the night?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“I’m taking you to this party. I’m bringing you back upstairs to my room. And then I’m going to figure out a way to get you to Austin next weekend so we can do it all over again.”

My eyebrows flew up. “You’re inviting me to Austin?”

“Before I leave, I’d show you around and?—”

“Nick!” Evie called out, interrupting what he was going to say.

We both looked in the direction of the voice and slowed.

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