The Hiding Game Ch. 07

Just when she said that, we felt raindrops landing on our skin, and the crowd groaned. Marisol and I had come prepared, and we opened our umbrellas and huddled together under the blanket she had brought. It was rather cozy. The rain only intensified as the varsity players entered the field, and we knew that this was going to be a mud massacre. The JV had left the field a mess, and the fresh rain was making it worse. I looked down and was able to make out Seth, wearing number 28 as always. He was jumping up and down, probably to keep himself warm.

"He's so hot," I heard Marisol mumble next to me. I nodded my agreement, lost in my thoughts, then I turned to her hastily.

"Wait, who?"

"Jason Henderfort."

"You think?" I peered at the large full back standing amidst the players, not seeing anything special. "He's not ugly, I'll give you that."

"You were the one that told me to get over Josh," Marisol reminded me. "This is me trying."

I nodded in approval and took another look at the Senior.

"You could certainly do worse," I sanctioned her choice.

The game was even dirtier that I had imagined. Players were sliding all over the place, and the running was painful to watch since members of both times often slipped without being tackled. Still, Glenn Valley's players did well enough, and Seth especially managed to make a few brilliant plays, using the slippery, muddy field to his advantage more than once. By the time the game was over, he, like the other players, was covered in dirt from head to toe, but smiling at the decent resultant score of seventeen to six. Marisol and I were applauding. We had wedged the umbrella in between out bodies, since it was still raining.

"Didn't you miss it?" Marisol asked me when the players were leaving the field. She was referring to us not attending the previous two games, and I nodded.

"It won't happen again," I promised her, and she gave me a cheerful smile.

"What do you want to do now? We could go to my house." She frowned when a thought struck her. "Or are you going on a secret date with the mysterious mystery man again?"

I smiled. "Yes, actually. We'll be wearing black and hiding in the shadows, and maybe I'll get him to take off his mask one of these days." I steered her in the direction of her car, away from the celebrating crowd. Marisol giggled, then jabbed me in the ribs.

"Be serious. Are you meeting him? With all your talk about him apologizing, I figured you might."

I nodded. "Yes, I'm meeting him. In an hour, actually, so I'll probably just wait here and be bored and look like I have no friends. Unless you'd like to wait with me, that is."

Marisol was quick to decide. "Definitely, but we're getting food first if that's the case." She pulled me backwards, in the direction of the concession stand. "And you're paying."

"I'm paying," I agreed, letting her drag me along.