Page 23 of October
“Uh… Yes. She explained… that there are rounds, and each team gets a pick for each round. But sometimes, they trade picks. Right?”
“For other players or picks, yeah,” Finley replied. “So, there are seven rounds, and there’s all this wheeling and dealing that happens before it even starts and then throughout. It’s actually really cool to watch because if the coaches really wanted one guy, but he gets taken before they have a pick, they need to look at their board and find someone else, and that’s happening with each pick. If they really want a player who’s already in the NFL, they can trade other players or a pick or two to get that player, but they risk losing their higher picks and getting better players in the draft. The worst team in the league the previous season gets the first pick, so if some teams are already pretty bad, they might tank the rest of the games just to secure that number-one pick, which is usually a quarterback but can be any position, really. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen any kickers get picked number one, but they’re one of the most important positions on the team, if you ask me. Do you know about field goals and stuff? There haven’t been any in this game, so I don’t know.”
Finley turned to see that Molly was staring at her with a smile on her face.
“Sorry, I’m rambling about football? Are you bored?”
“What? No. Tell me about your kicker theory.”
“No, it’s not a big deal. Let’s just get garlic–”
“Finley, tell me.” Molly punched her shoulder playfully.
“They just have to be clutch, is all I meant. They usually don’t get enough credit, but when a team can’t score a touchdown, they’re in there to get them at least three points. Some of the best in the game make these long-distance kicks at the last second and end up winning the game for the team.”
“That’s pretty cool,” Molly said and seemed to actually mean it.
“Yeah, it is,” she replied and took Molly in for the first time since she’d put on the jersey.
Molly looked really cute in it, but also like it suited her, despite her not being a football fan. Finley had picked out the right size for her at the shop that sold official NFL merchandise by the stadium. She hadn’t wanted to lend or even give Molly a jersey that she’d originally purchased for India. That one would sit at the back of her drawer, and she might wear it when her current one wore out, but she didn’t want Molly to. She’d bought her a new one and then, like an idiot, hadn’t bothered to remove the damn tag. She only hoped she had been able to pull it off without Molly or anyone else noticing.
“Hey, what are you doing after this? Hanging out with Juliet?”
“No, she’s going home to pack. I assume Gwen will go with her, and they’ll bebusyfor the rest of the night.”
“Juliet leaves again tomorrow?”
“Yeah, and for the next few weeks, too. Honestly, the way she talks about business travel, I am glad I don’t have to do that for work. She hates it, and it started right when she met Gwen, so I think it’s been a rough adjustment for her.”
“But she’s got that promotion and an office now.”
“She does, and she wants to be in it already, but they needed her to cover everything this month.”
“I’ve never had to travel for work. Conferences count, I guess, but those can be fun for me. You’re walking around, learning stuff, or there’s a tradeshow floor where you get to play with new techy things.”
Molly laughed and asked, “Things to add to your computer?”
“Sometimes,” she replied. “And you always get those gift bags that have a lanyard, a pin for your shirt that no one ever wears, a magnet or a key chain, never both, and a stress ball. If the world put all the stress balls together, would we be able to overcome our universal stress?”
Molly laughed again and said, “That’s a good philosophical question.”
“For another time, because now, we have garlic fries.”
“I’m buying,” Molly stated, pulling out her credit card. “You got everything else earlier. Do you want anything else? Another beer?”
“No, I’m good. Um…” Finley cleared her throat. “I was thinking about maybe grabbing a burger or dinner later, after the game. It’s a lot cheaper to have dinner… elsewhere… like a pub or something.”
“Oh. You want to grab dinner?” Molly asked as they moved up in line. “You’re not full yet?”
“Not really. I ate a lot, but also a half of football can take two hours, depending on time-outs and injuries, so I’ll eat the fries with you, but I’ll be ready for dinner by the time we make our way out of here, get through the crowd, find somewhere to eat, and then, wait for the food.”
“Two hours, huh?”
“Football is a big commitment,” Finley replied with a faux-serious expression.
“Next,” a woman behind the counter said.
“Garlic fries, please,” Molly said. “And can we get extra garlic and parmesan?”
