CHAPTER FOURTEEN
HEATH
"Great game tonight, Heath!"
"Way to kick ass, Davis!"
We're swarmed in the middle of Northgate, a sea of maroon, with what feels like the whole city around us. Some guys were worried no one would give a shit because our long-standing feud with TU died many years ago after conference redraws, but the Aggies fans don't let us think twice about it.
It's sort of like football heaven and I love every fucking minute of it. Half the band is playing on street corners, rallying the fight song. The other half are split up around campus to keep the party going. Cheerleaders lead the crowds from bar to bar, where the booze flows freely, and a half dozen costumed Reveilles roam the block.
The guys are pushing me to do another set of Jaeger bombs, but I just need a minute to stand here in the middle of the chaos and remember what this feels like for the rest of my life. Pro games are going to be wilder, louder, and come with a lot more money. But there ain't no fans like Aggie fans in the stadium.
One day, when I'm old and gray, I'm going to look back on this memory and know it was the start of everything.
Except.
"The fuck are you doing out here?" Aidan yells at me over the brass kickin' another round of the War Hymn. A girl hangs on his arm and stares up in this weird admiration even though the asshole spent half the game with the trainers over a tweaked ankle. "Everyone's looking for you!"
"You found me, so I must be somewhere." I rub the back of my head and look around. Something is missing in the center of this maroon explosion and I can't quite place it. It should feel perfect. It's almost perfect. "I'll be there in a minute."
"There's a line of chicks waiting to buy you a drink, so hurry along little doggie." Aidan slaps me on the back and disappears back into the throng of people. Still a bit of a limp, which means he's going to be out for at least a week, maybe longer.
My own ankle hurts in solidarity. If there was a way to make my bones steel, I'd do it tomorrow. Maybe Leigh could engineer some up with her fancy space engineering degree.
Leigh.
I pull up to full height and scan the crowd. She's what is missing and has been this whole time. I haven't seen her since before the game. Every other home game, she's been here to celebrate, even if she didn’t go to the game. Trying to find a girl in a maroon wig in a sea of Aggie colors is damn near impossible, but that doesn't stop me from trying while I shoot off a quick text.
She's probably looking for me in the middle of this chaos. I send her the name of the bar the boys are at and head back inside. For the Jaeger bombs.
"Davis, get your ass over here pronto!" Jack slams his palm against a table in the back corner. He's surrounded by people, riding the wave of football mania despite being a half-assed player. Ever since Leigh told me about the bullshit he pulls in class, my tolerance for him dropped to almost zero.
Still, he's where the party is and it's hard to say no to that, douche or no. I squeeze through and grab a seat.
"You're a piece of shit, that's something we can all agree on, but a damn fine quarterback." Jack shoves a beer in my hand. "Now drink that shit up so we can take some goddamn shots!"
Everyone in the bar erupts in cheers. You couldn't tear this smile off my fucking face if you tried. And what the hell, right? This is a night to celebrate.
"Can I buy you a drink?" A pretty brunette slides through the crowd and sits on my lap.
Instant calm hits me as I put a hand on her lower back. This is what was missing. The whole goddamn time. I rest my head on her shoulder. "I know what our arrangement can look like sometimes, but I'm really glad you're here."
"I'll be here as long as you want me." She says and gives my arm a tight squeeze. "I can be here all night, too. You deserve some extra congratulations after tonight's win, if you know what I mean."
Takes all of two seconds to realize this girl is not my Leigh and for her to go flying off my lap and into Jack. The warmth I had only a minute ago leaves and I don't like the coldness behind it. I don't like how I keep checking the doors on either side of us. I don't like how the colors in the bar are muted.
"You look like you're having a great fucking time." Clark looks at me in the same way he always does when he feels like he's right about some shit I'll hate him for.
A space at the bar clears up and I order two shots of Fireball. "I am having a great fucking time."
"Right, sure, yeah." God, I hate this asshole sometimes. "You know, playing your conscience all the time is sort of draining."
"Take the night off." We clink glasses and shoot. The burn in my nose helps ground me a little more. "Where's your other half?"
"Outside. You look like you need some air."
I only follow because wherever Sealy is, Leigh is bound to follow. I'm tired of sitting around like an asshole, waiting for the girl to show up. I take fate in my own hands.
"All hail the mighty Davis!" Sealy cheers and gives me a quick hug. "Keep this shit up and that scout is going to be eating out of your hands. When is he getting here, anyway?"
I shrug and scan the tables for a maroon wig. "Fucker's changed dates like four times. He's going to give me a goddamn heart attack before I get out of my early 20s at this rate."
"You know what's the best about being on a team with Heath Davis?" Clark cracks a wide smile. "No one gives a shit about Clark Schmidt. No heart attacks for me, baby."
"Thank god for that." Sealy kisses him and they fall into that new relationship trap of forgetting the rest of the world exists.
Every drink I've had tonight catches up with me the second I lean back in the chair to look for Leigh again. The moment when everything goes blessedly quiet. It's the relief I've been waiting for. I join in a few rounds of the War Hymn for the 80th time and pose for a few pictures. Two different girls slip me their numbers. Time slips by like rain and soon nothing can hurt me anymore.
"See this?" I wave the numbers in Clark's face. "She can blow me off all the fuck she wants because I don't need her."
"What are you talking about, man?" Clark asks with a laugh, but it's the shit he does when he humors me.
"You're supposed to be taking the night off. Quit with the judgy shit." I shove a finger in his direction. "I'm talking about Leigh. She can blow me off all she wants because I don't need her, get me?"
"Think you can swing it without a tutor already?"
"The fuck are you talking about? I'm talking about Leigh."
"Right." He nods deliberately slow and it's infuriating. I'm not drunk, just enjoying the evening, and he wants to act like I'm an invalid? "So what does that have to do with some girl's phone number?"
"Because I can get anyone else I want. She's not the only girl on the planet who can get this dick." I pop a thrust in my chair for good measure. "But, like, I won't call any of them because girls are the worst things on this planet. No offense Sealy."
"Oh trust me. None taken." She says, eying me over her glass.
I throw the numbers at her. "You girls think everything is fucking about you. But it's not. Do you see what's going on here? It's about me. Y'all are a dime a dozen and Lord Davis will have his pick of the litter."
"Even though you weren't going to call any of them?"
"Shut up, Clark. I'm waxing poetic about how I don't need a goddamn girl to fuck up my career because they are everywhere and I can fuck who I want."
"But not the ones whose numbers you got?"
"Bro, are you even listening to me?"
"He might not be, but I am."
There is the voice that I've been looking for all night. I turn around and see Leigh without her wig, holding a drink and looking very... angry.
"Let me save you some trouble, Lord Davis." She trembles a bit. "You can find someone else to tutor your big brutish ass and suck your dick, because it sure as hell won't be me anymore."
She storms out of the patio gate. All around me, people are whooping and cheering and booing, but it takes a full minute of watching her walk away for my brain to thaw from what happened.
"Shit." I take off running after her.