Page 68 of The Disasters of Dating
I moan and pat my stomach. “No more food!”
“Then let’s go find our seats.” She tugs me in the direction we are supposed to go. I obediently follow along behind.
We settle in our seats, and a man in the row in front of us turns around. “Hey, Poppy. Where’s Brody?” He looks like he’s about the same age as my dad. Maybe a little older. He has a head of hair that used to be light brown but is mostly gray now.
She smiles. “Hey, Jim. He’s home with Daphne. They are expecting their baby any day now.” She gives him wide eyes. “Who knows why, but Daphne refused to come. Something about going into labor and the Jumbotron…”
Jim laughs. “That’s right. I thought she might have already had it. But that sounds like Daphne.” He looks over at me and sticks out his hand. “Hey, my name’s Jim Telford.” He openly appraises me. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was her dad.
I shake his hand. “Keaton Barrington. Nice to meet you.”
“You too.” He glances over at Poppy. “Poppy, here, is a keeper. You make sure you treat her right.”
Poppy’s face goes crimson. I’m about to give the whole ‘we’re just friends’ speech, before Poppy has to do it, when she surprises me. “Don’t worry, Jim. He’s a keeper, too.” She flicks her eyes over to me, and her face goes a deeper crimson.
I can’t help my smile. She thinks I’m a keeper. Does that mean she’s thinking of me as more than a friend? I squeeze her hand. “Don’t worry, Jim. I realized that almost from the first moment I saw her.”
Poppy’s eyes widen slightly. But she doesn’t have time to say anything as someone comes to get to the seats on the other side of us. We both stand up and suck in our breath, trying to make ourselves tall and thin while they scoot past. They take the seats right next to us. The woman leans over me. “Hey, Poppy. It’s good to see you.” She glances at me. “It looks like your brother got more handsome over the summer.” She winks at me.
Poppy laughs. “I’ll tell Brody you said that, Gina.”
She laughs. “I talked to Daphne yesterday, and she seems more than ready to have this baby out.”
Poppy nods. “Yeah, she’s pretty ready. I think Brody was hoping coming to the game would put her into labor.”
Gina shakes her head. “Just like a man to want to drag his pregnant wife to a football game.”
I don’t know Brody, but I’m feeling the need to defend him. “Better a football game than castor oil, right?” I’d heard my mom say that she had nearly resorted to drinking castor oil to induce labor with my brother, Lowell.
Both women’s eyes turn to me, and Gina’s brows perch high on her head. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut. I mean, for all I know, Brody is a complete tool.
“I’m pretty sure no one does that anymore,” Gina says.
“But thanks for sticking up for Brody, Keaton. I’ll tell him you defended him.” Poppy smiles at me and wraps her arms around my arm in a hug. If this is a reprimand, I’ll take two.
I shrug. “I mean, he’s not here to defend himself.”
Poppy points to Gina. “This is Daphne’s sister, Gina.” Poppy looks at me, and my heart skips a beat. That’s not how friends look at each other, right? “Gina, this is my friend, Keaton.”
I pushed down the frown at the ‘f’ word.
Gina tips her head to the side, looking between us. “Friend, huh?”
Poppy squeezes my arm even tighter. “Yeah.” There is a question in her tone.
The whole stadium erupts, and Gina looks ahead as the Utah football team runs onto the field. What looks to be the student section goes crazy! I’ve never heard so much noise. I look over at Poppy. “They areso loud.” It’s more mouthing because I’m certain I can’t be heard over the screaming.
She grins and leans in right next to my ear. “Yeah, they’re called The Muss.” A full-body shiver starts at my neck and ends at my toes.
I try to ignore it and give her a side look. “They have a name?”
“Yep. And you have to be a member to sit in that section. They even have a code of ethics.” She glances over at the sea of red several sections over. The noise has died down slightly, so she doesn’t have to be so close to my ear. I’m both grateful and sad. “The U is kind of well-known for how loud their crowd is. They are one of the loudest in the country.”
The players head to the center of the field for the coin toss, and the crowd quiets for a moment. But as soon as the coin comes up in the U’s favor, the crowd erupts again. I rub my temple. It’s going to be a loud night.
Utah chooses to receive first, and the players all line up for the kickoff.
Poppy bounces in her seat next to me. As the ball flies through the air, she squeals, “Football season is officially underway.”
