When you woke up the next morning, you hurried through your farm work once again in order to have as much time as possible to get ready.
You quickly showered and started getting ready. You had no clue what to wear. You didn't have any Tunneler's paraphernalia, so the obvious options were out. The team had oddly specific colors of neon green and electric blue, so you didn't own any clothes to match. Eventually, you settled on a white tank top, black ripped jeans, and a denim jacket. You prayed the other team's colors weren't white and black.
After that, you did some quick makeup, curled your hair, and threw on some fashionable sneakers. Before you knew it, the clock on your wall read 4:00 PM. You needed to get to the bus stop early to purchase tickets, so you headed out.
After buying them, you talked to Pam until Shane appeared in the distance, coming in from his long day of work. He was wearing a Tunneler's jersey under his Joja Co. uniform jacket. As soon as he saw you, he picked up the pace to reach you and wrap you up into a big hug. You pulled away and he leaned in to kiss you. It felt so nice to be in his arms and kissing him made your heart soar. "Happy birthday, sweetheart." You smiled as your boyfriend pulled you close once more. You were glad Pam was already on the bus, your face must have been bright red. "I hope your 30s are absolutely wonderful." He mumbled his thanks.
You and Shane climbed on the bus and went to sit in your "usual" seat. Almost instantly, Pam closed the doors and started driving away. "Attention passengers," her voice boomed over the PA system. "The time is currently 5:04 PM. The expected arrival time in ZuZu City is 6:32 PM. Let's keep it PG, alright? Thank you and have a wonderful ride with us."
Your face heated up realizing she must have seen you and Shane's kiss. Not that it mattered, you just weren't used to the attention. You looked up at Shane, whose face was equally red. "A quick kiss won't hurt though, right?" He asked jokingly, leaning in again. You kissed him momentarily before cuddling into his side. He held you close to him and planted a kiss on your head.
"I like your jersey." You commented, realizing your outfit severely lacked team spirit. "I don't have any Tunneler's clothes to wear."
"I figured that would be the case." Shane laughed as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a matching Tunneler's jersey. "Here, you can wear this tonight. It's my spare."
"Aww, thank you so much!" You said, taking the jersey from him. You held it up in front of you. It was bright green with blue and white accents, just like Shane's. It was also, however, much too large for you. Shane wasn't the skinniest guy out there, and jerseys are always especially baggy. "Let me put it on." You took off your jean jacket and put the jersey on over your tee shirt. It was definitely too big for you, and you sat in a puddle of green cloth.
"You look adorable." Shane laughed after seeing you. "Sometime we'll have to get you one that's a better fit, though."
"Thanks." You laughed embarrassedly. You scooted closer to him and he held out his arm to receive you. You cuddled into him and stayed like that for most of the ride to Zuzu City.
"We're almost there..." He gulped anxiously. "...pre-game nerves..." Once Pam pulled up to the Tunneler's stadium, you got out and made your way in. You stopped at a concession stand on the walk-in and you each got a beer and you got popcorn to split.
"Are you sure you should be drinking?" You asked Shane after hearing him order.
"Yeah, it's not a problem." He smiled reassuringly at you. "I'm just going to have one, I doubt it will affect me at all. I just kinda miss the taste of it."
"Okay, well you know your body best." You agreed. You made your way to your seats without any more stops. Shane continually freaked out about how cool it was that you guys were so close to the field. Shane quietly nursed his beer as the two of you watched the game. You had a hard time understanding it at first, but by the time the first half was over you understood that the teams were tied with one point each.
Midway through the second half, Shane left to use the bathroom. The stakes were getting high as the teams were still tied and the game was almost over. Shane startled you as he returned. "Here, I got you another cold one..." He handed you a beer. You took it but looked at him nervously. Did he get another beer too? He said he was just having one. Shane must have seen the concern on your face, because he continued by saying, "Don't worry, I got myself a Joja Cola." He held up the blue can to prove his statement.
"Good, I'm proud of you." You commended him.
"Yeah." His face looked more serious after you said that. He turned to you to get your full attention. "Hey, I've been meaning to say..." He looked at you nervously. "Thanks for sticking with me through everything...my anxiety, depression... you know. You've really been a good friend to me."
You nodded your head. You did know. "Of course, Shane. I'll always be here for you." His cheeks reddened with your kind words, a fact he tried to hide by taking a long sip of his soda. He looked away from you and back to the game, joining in on the Tunnelers chant and accompanying dance. "Anyways... it's your first gridball game, huh?" He asked, still cheering. "What do you think?"
"It's noisy. I like it, but it makes me appreciate how peaceful it is back home." You replied. It felt weird calling Stardew Valley your home after all these years.
"Oh yeah?" Shane looked over at you and shrugged. "I guess that makes sense."
"What about you?" You asked him sweetly.
He thought for a second before responding. "Me? I get bored with Pelican Town sometimes." Your face dropped slightly, hoping he wasn't referring to you. "But..." He continued, "I like that you're different. We balance each other out."
"We really do." You smiled.
The sportscaster announced that there was only a minute left in the game. Suddenly, Shane jumped, pointing towards the field. "Gahh!" He yelled excitedly. He turned to look at your surprised face. "Look, the Tunnelers are on the attack!"
He was right, the Tunnelers were heading to quickly score another point. There was a deafening roar as fans watched their team, on the verge of a win, aim to score.
"Goal!" Shane joined as the stadium erupted into a loud cheer. Then, in less than a heartbeat, Shane grabbed you by the waist and kissed you, deeply, and passionately. He held you, scooped up in his arm, and kissed you with more intensity than he ever had. He sexily bit your bottom lip and grabbed your ass, keeping you momentarily locked to him. You were utterly shocked, and he pulled away before you even realized what had happened. He quickly scooted away. "Oh!" He gasped, surprised by his own action. All of the kisses you had shared up to this point had been fairly gentle, but this, this kiss had been more passionate and deep than any you had ever had. Shane started apologizing immediately after he realized what he had done. "Um... sorry..." Blush spread over his face. "I got carried away there. Maybe one beer was one too many..."
You didn't care. You knew it wasn't the beer, it was Shane. He had wanted to kiss you like that and you had wanted him too. You had enjoyed the kiss so much. You wanted more of it. You swooped into him, wrapping your arms around his neck. Now it was Shane's turn to be stunned. You slowly moved his hands back to where you wanted them, not breaking the kiss. You took his right arm and placed it firmly around you while you moved his other hand back to your ass. Shane, getting over his moment of shock, moved into the kiss and pulled you in tightly. He once again grabbed your ass, squeezing it in his hand. He bit your bottom lip again, asking for entry as his tongue graced over your lips. You opened your mouth and your tongues battled at the entrance until Shane finally won and his tongue slid in. You grabbed his hair, curling it into your fingers while cheers erupted from all around you. He slid a hand up your waist to squeeze your breast as the buzzers rang, signaling the end of the game and the Tunnelers' victory.
You pulled away as the game ended and looked up into Shane's eyes. The look on his face was of pure bliss as he said, "Now this, this is the best birthday present ever." You grabbed his hand and left to go find Pam and the bus, which were waiting conveniently for you outside of the stadium gates. You climbed on board, and Shane followed you.
"How was it?" Pam asked Shane causally.
"Well... it was definitely a good game." Your boyfriend looked over at you with a slick grin, "Oh, yeah... and we won, too."
You nearly fainted as Pam started chuckling. Shane came back to your seats and sat down next to you. You hadn't realized just how tired you had been, and sitting on the plush bus seats made you feel so sleepy. You cuddled into Shane as the bus took off.
"I'm tired too," Shane said, reading your mind. He leaned over and rested his head on yours. You checked your phone for the time. It was almost 10:30 PM and you had an hour and a half long bus ride home. You pulled yourself closer into Shane and let the bus rock you gently as you drove home in the dark.
✏️ A/N: What did you think? I hope you all loved Shane's birthday surprise. Next week's chapter, Chapter 17: A Cold, Not Lonely Night (no spoilers there 😜), will be published this coming Sunday, March 5, 2022. I hope you all have a great week and stay safe given the current world events. xoxo Kira