Chapter fifteen | After Game Fair
"Is he wearing a Burberry suit?" Micah asked, looking down at Bartholomew, who was in his scroller sucking on a pacifier.
I nod. "Declan picked it out. As you can tell, he does the most." I sighed.
The game hasn't even started yet and the field is already filled with people from all over. It's not surprising though since this is a big game, and it's all everyone has been talking about. The smell of the concession stand food lingered through the night air, as people ordered themselves drinks and snacks before the game.
"You want a hotdog?" I asked Micah, gesturing over the line forming at the stand.
He shook his head no. "Nah, I'm not really hungry. How about you? You want something? I'll pay."
Kissing my teeth, I told him no. "The only thing I'm allowing myself to eat tonight are these mints," I pulled out the pack of mints I bought earlier. "I can't be running a kissing booth with my lips tasting like mustard."
"I forgot you were doing that." Micah chuckled, taking a seat on the bleachers and I followed.
I looked down at Bartholomew in his schooler and removed the pacifier from his mouth. "Yeah, I'll have to leave at around halftime to get help Taj set up the booth. You don't mind, do you?"
"Nah I don't mind. You do your thing, as long as I can still get my kiss." His lips twisted into a smirk and I chuckled, shoving him lightly.
The game was about to begin and I looked down onto the field to see Declan. His helmet tucked underneath his arms as he talked to someone on his team. After a while he noticed my gaze on him and turned to meet my stare. I stuck my tongue out teasingly at him and he narrowed his eyes and glared at me playfully. Confusion soon came over me, as Declan puckered his lips and blew a kiss, my face twisting up at the action.
"That's for Bartholomew!" He cupped his mouth and shouted from the field. I gasped as everyone and their mother turned to me, confused as to why the quarterback was yelling at me.
My cheeks burned from the attention and I furrowed my brows at Declan and flicked him the middle finger. He shrugged it off with chuckle, before he turned on his cleats, and placed his helmet over his head.
He's so damn annoying.
"So, I'm assuming that's Declan." Micah said to me, and I turned to him and nodded. "Yeah that's his annoying ass."
"Let's just hope he's as good as a player as he is playful." Micah mumbles, and my brows raised at him.
Oops.
I chuckled to myself at Micah's words. There's no doubt Declan is a good player, probably the best player out there on the field right now, but I'll let Micah figure that out on his own.
••••
Back and fourth the teams went, both nearly evenly matched in their offensive and defensive powers, which made for an anxiety filled first two quarter that was about to end with a measly score of 21-21 on the board.
"Come on," I growled, leaning forward in my seat with my elbows on my knees as I watched Declan and his offense take the field at the end of the second quarter. My nerves were tingling as I watched them line up in formation. I thought if I tried hard enough, I could almost hear Declan shouting at his teammates. As the play clock wound down, I watched as the center hiked the ball towards Declan who caught it with ease before falling back into his throwing stance.
While he scanned for an open receiver, he was too busy to see the large player from the opposite team that had made him his target.
I bit my lip to stop the yell that was clawing its way up my throat as I watched a hulking linebacker running at Declan with all the grace of an enraged bull fixated on the green of the Declan's jersey. Without any guards on him, he was certainly going to be sacked.
And if that happened, well I would probably need to head down to the field to take care of the quarterback himself.
I watched with baited breath as the defensive lineman closed in on Declan as if moving in slow motion, when he saw the shift in the his stance. As if sensing the impending strike, Declan spun on his heel, narrowly avoiding the hit before he took off through a gap set up by his guards. The sound of the crowd grew tenfold as Declan tore down the field toward the end zone and sending my heart into my throat as he drew closer. Without realizing it, I found myself on my feet with my hands cupped around his mouth.
Micah looked up with a strange look, but I shrugged it off and returned my focus back to the field.
"C'mon, Declan!" I shouted as I watched the him cross yet another field marker. 15 yards...
10 yards...
5 yards...
Large linebacker from the other team suddenly showed up out of nowhere, cutting across the field like a shot and leaping towards Declan, his arms outstretched to wrap around his torso and stop him just short of the goal line.
"No!" I yelled, blood pressure ratcheting up a few notches as I prepared for the inevitable hit. Without so much as a pause, Declan used the momentum to push himself upwards and sending himself hurdling over the top of the linebacker. For just a moment it looked as if he was suspended in midair, frozen in a perfect leap with the ball held in his outstretched arms to break the plane of the goal line.
The screams of the crowd were deafening as I watched him tuck into the fall and roll over his shoulder, quickly hopping up to his feet with the football raised toward the sky. Declan's teammates rushed him, smacking the top of his helmet and back in congratulations, but he didn't seem to notice as his attention seemed to be fixated on the stands.
I watched as Declan handed the ball to a referee, not bothering to tear his gaze away from where I sat as he brought a gloved hand up to his mouth. Pointing at me with his other hand, he stepped back in a throwing stance, pulling the hand he'd kissed back before mimicking the form of a perfect pass directed right at me.
It felt like a solidly placed punch to the chest as I stood there, eyes wide and mouth gaping as my brain struggled to catch up with what had just happened.
Ugh, he's so annoying.
Taking a seat back on the bleacher I turned to see Micah with his brows cocked upwards. "What?" I chuckled.
"It's halftime." He said.
I looked over at the scoreboard to see it was indeed halftime. "Oh," I laughed to myself, getting up from the bleachers I turned to Micah. "You don't mind sitting here while I get set up the booth? It won't take long, I promise."
"Yeah, it's cool. Go do your thing." Micah nods. "Beside, Bartholomew is here to keep me company." He laughs.
I smiled at him one time before making my way down the bleachers and over to where we had planned to hold the kissing booth.
I spotted Taj setting up the banner, nearly finished with the booth. I rush over to him and quickly apologized. "My bad Taj, I didn't mean to leave you hanging. I just got really caught up in the game." I told, holding up the other half of the banner that Taj struggled to do on his own.
"You good, you good," Taj shook his head, placing a tick in the side of the banner I was holding, he sent me a smile. "Besides, it's not much to do anyways."
I walked behind the booth grabbing the decorations from a box. "I'm usually not really into sports like that, but Declan is like super good and I just got captivated by it."
"Yeah he's really good," Taj agreed, putting the tip jar in front. "So are you two gonna go to the same college or are you two doing long distance?" He suddenly asked.
I cocked my brows up at him. "What do you mean?"
"Are you and Declan going to the same school for college or are you guys doing the whole long distance relationship thing? I heard that's tough." My eyes widened at words after I finally had caught on to what he was implying. "Oh no, me and Declan aren't together." I shook my head.
Taj's threaded brows raised. "Oh really? I just assumed since you guys are always together and y'all always bicker like a married couple."
"That's because he's annoying," I said, " And he likes you. I thought you knew that already?" I asked.
Taj shrugged his shoulders leaning against the booth. "I kind of figured that he did when he gave his number during lunch that one day, but literally all he ever talks about is you."
My expression fell at his words. He talks about me? That tingling feeling arose in my chest again, and I felt my cheeks heating up at the thought. I wanted to know what has he said about me, but before I could even ask, my phone vibrated in my pocket.
I frowned at the message. "Taj I'll be right back." I said and he simply nodded his head, continuing to fix the up the booth.
Walking over to where I was previously seated on the bleachers, I saw no sign of Micah and Bartholomew sat there alone in his scroller. I looked around hoping to see any sign of Micah somewhere nearby, but he was no where to be found. What the hell? He left Bartholomew here by himself? He's probably scared out of his mind with no one watching- oh right, he's fake. Shit, I sound like Declan.
I looked at Bartholomew to see him his face looking creepier than usual. His left eye closed while his right one stayed wide open, his mouth slightly agape.
Ah, poor thing looks tired as hell. I'll give him to Declan after the games ends so he can take him home and get some rest.
••••
Redwood Robins won, 28-20, clinching our spot in the playoffs. I don't and probably never will know much about football, but the way Declan really puts his heart and soul into this game, and it really makes him happy, and I guess that makes me happy as well.
I said I guess.
Taj and I sat behind the booth, Bartholomew to the side of me. At first it was rather intimidating. Sitting up in a brightly coloured booth with a rather bold offer above our head and hundreds of people walking past us; it was impossible not to be nervous. Some people just glanced at us, some looked to be totally analysing me. A group of guys gossiped, giggling with each other as they nodded in our direction.
That had been the source of his first customer, a fair-skinned boy with a shy smile and four friends cheering behind him. His freckles danced under the stadium lights and he breathed in deeply.
I sent him a charming smile; one I'd perfected for the sake of getting what I wanted from people in the past. "Hey there," I said, not having any idea how I was expected to speak to the customers.
I looked over at Taj to see him grinning as he sent me two thumps ups.
The boy batted his eyes, blushing at the awkward situation. "Hi, can I get a kiss?" He asked, holding out a five-dollar and flicking his gaze between the bill and my eyes. There wasn't much time to think about that, because Taj instantly took the money and tucked it into the little moneybox beneath our make-shift desk. "He'll be glad to give you one." Taj chimed.
The boy licked his lips, bracing himself on the desk and he leaned in. I did the same, closing my eyes to make it less awkward than it already is. I wait to feel a pair of lips on mine, but the feeling never came and instead was replaced with a yelp and shuffling noise.
I opened my eyes to see Declan with his fist wrapped in the boy's shirt. The boy face as pale as ghost as Declan stared dagger at him.
"Declan what the fuck? Are you insane?" I slammed my hands against the booth. "Let him go."
"I can't believe you were about to kiss him." Declan furrowed his brows at me.
I folded my arms over his chest. "It's a kissing booth, Declan. That's kind of the whole point." Declan finally let go of the terrified boy's shirt. "And he already paid his money."
Declan's eyes darted from me to the boy. "How much did he pay?" Declan reached into his gym shorts and pulled out his wallet. "You know what, it doesn't even matter. Here." He handed the boy a ten dollar bill, and the boy took it from him hesitantly.
"Now go somewhere and don't come back here asking for a kiss again, alright?" Declan scolded, before shooing the boy and his friends off.
I stared daggers at him, shaking my head at how he could be so inconsiderate. It's a kissing booth, that's the entire purpose.
"Um Declan, you're kind of holding up the line." Taj spoke up, pointing at the forming line standing behind a fuming Declan.
Declan turned around with wide eyes. His mouth slightly agape at the line. "Oh hell no," was all he said before he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
"Who are you calling?" I asked, but Declan ignored.
"Jaylen? Where are you and Lip right now? Concession stand? Come over the kissing booth and take over for Wynter." He said, and I gasped while Taj only chuckled and shook his head. "Just come to the booth. I'll pay you both." And with that he hung up, a victory smirk on his lips.
"Declan you can't just-" Before I could even finish my sentence, Bartholomew erupted into a fit of cries. It startled me honestly, because they didn't sound like his usual cries.
"What's wrong with him?" Declan jumped over the booth. Immediately, he rushed to Bartholomew's side.
I shrugged. "I don't know. You were supposed to take him with you after the game, but instead you came here and ruined things."
Bartholomew cries seemed to get louder, his screams causing a scene and everyone heads turned to us.
"Declan do something." I nudged him with hm elbow. Declan nods, "Alright, I'm taking the baby home." He said.
I nod at him, only to be caught off guard when he swept me off my feet, tossing me over his shoulder. "Declan, what the hell are you doing?" I questioned, struggling to break out of his hold.
"I said I'm taking my babies home." He repeated, grabbing Bartholomew scroller and pushing him along as I struggled on his shoulder.
••••
Excuse any mistakes or errors