Unhappily Married ✓

24. Upbeat

"Well, thanks. You look pretty cute yourself."

I scoff.

Together, we make our way inside the arena through the main gate at the front of the building. Soon, we take our seats on the upper deck and the view from here is great. The place is colorful with pastel green, yellow and blues everywhere.

All of the lights begin to dim and the sound system plays a song before the energetic PA announcer introduces the players. The air of excitement buzzes through the arena and the fans are all fired up.

Todd takes the bucket of popcorn from my hands and stuffs a handful into his mouth.

"I'm so excited to be here," I say, taking a sip of my coke.

"Me too."

Suddenly, my eyes land on his wrist as he puts some more popcorn into his mouth. For the past two days, he hasn't been wearing the splint, but there's still a light bruise on his wrist.

Gently, I move my thumb over the bruise. "How's your wrist, Todd?"

"It's fine now; don't worry."

"Are you sure we don't need to visit the doctor."

He slightly shakes his head. "No, I don't think so."

I put my hand on his and slowly slide my fingers between his. The moment he slides his fingers through mine, my heart skips a beat and my stomach flutters. The warmth of his hand brings a small smile on my face and I'm over the moon right now.

As the game finally starts, the fans hold up their signs and turn louder than before.

"I'm already having so much fun," Todd says.

I let out a chuckle. "Me too."

As I take a bite of my nachos, I give Todd a sidelong glance.

"Do you want some?"

He nods.

I dip one tortilla chip in salsa and put it carefully into his mouth.

"Mm, it's so delicious!"

I look down at our intertwined hands and something stirs inside of me. When I took Todd's hand in mine, he didn't react against that and frankly, it was a little surprising for me. I thought he wouldn't let me hold his hand, but I tried anyway and much to my surprise, he didn't stop me. And it makes me so happy on the inside.

The crowd cheers wildly as a home team player leaps to catch the ball in midair and dunks it before he lands. After a few minutes, another home team player makes two point shot and the crowd erupts again.

The score at half-time is 23-36 as Brooklyn Nets take the lead.

"Stella, what do you think? Can we win this game?"

I shrug. "I can't say anything right now, I mean, both the teams are running neck and neck."

Cheerleaders and mascots performing their routine for the past five minutes stop suddenly, as a romantic song booms out from the speakers. A few seconds later, the cheerleaders form a circle around their friend while the mascot brings a chair for her to sit on.

Todd and I exchange a look.

"What is going on?" he asks.

"I have no idea."

Soon, the whole arena turns silent, the music fades and a guy slowly makes his way to the cheerleader sitting in the middle of the court. He finally reaches her and her friends can't seem to contain their excitement.