Beyond Education [Jemily]

Good Luck Charm

December 8, 2021
— Emily's POV
Today was my last football game of the season. It was supposed to be a couple days ago but they had to push it back because it was literally too cold in New Haven for anyone to safely be outside. We're supposed to have another day like that next week, but for now my team and I are just focusing on today. We're playing UPenn, a pretty easy team to beat, but emotions are still shaken up because after this it's all over. Jennifer's season ended earlier this week, but her indoor sessions are gonna kick in this weekend. She's not looking forward to that at all, but today she's just trying to forget about it and enjoy my game. As I got everything together in my gym bag she asked, "Are you sure you got everything?"

"I think so. Run my checklist for me?" I rummaged through my bag as she rattled off everything I needed.

"Pants?"

"Check."

"Shoulder pads?"

"Check."

"Jersey and helmet?"

"Check."

"Mouth guard?"

"Check."

"Cleats?"

"Check."

"Cup?"

"Check."

"Kiss?"

I looked up at her, "Huh?" She made a kissy face and bounced up and down on the edge of my bed. I chuckled and leaned over to her, lifting her chin up and connecting our lips. "Happy?"

She smiled and hummed, "Very."

"I'll see you in a little bit, okay?"

"Okay, babe." I flung my gym bag over my shoulder and blew her a kiss as I headed out of my dorm and walked the long-ish distance to the football locker room. Derek's locker was right next to mine, and I patted him on the shoulder as I walked up, "Hey, D."

"Hey, Em. You ready for the end?"

"Not in the slightest. At least it's an easy one, yeah?"

"For sure. I'm not worried. JJ coming tonight?"

"Yeah, she and Penelope are gonna sit together."

He laughed, "Ah I should've guessed." Derek and I made conversation as we dressed into our uniforms and stretched a little before jogging out to the field. The stands were empty during our warm-ups but people slowly started to pour in until almost every seat was taken. Derek and I saw where JJ and Penelope were sitting, so we quickly jogged over before the game started.

JJ joked when she saw him, "Finally get a chance to come say hi, Mr. QB?" I looked her up and down and smiled when I saw that she was wearing my away jersey.

He laughed back, "Hey, blondie, it's a complicated job! I got important shit to take care of, this talent doesn't come naturally."

I rolled my eyes, "I'm surprised you're admitting that." He smacked me over the back of my helmet, getting me to shut up. I turned to JJ and smiled, "We can't stay for long, babe, coach has some big speech to give us."

She wiped some dirt off my jersey, "That's all right, hun, we just wanted to say good luck."

Penelope exclaimed, "Good luck!"

JJ pointed at her, "Like that."

I chuckled, "Thanks, guys. We'll see you after, yeah?" JJ nodded and then leaned down to place a kiss on my forehead. I blushed at the contact and Derek started teasing me, but who really cares anyway. He and I said one last goodbye and then jogged over to the rest of the team. The "last game" lecture we got from coach was unspeakably boring but it hyped us up more than I expected. Evidence of how bad UPenn's team is was clear when we were up 35-7 at the half. I scored once, which I was happy about because I told Derek ahead of time that if he didn't hook me up in the end zone at least once I'd tell Penelope about his OnlyFans obsession. I think that scared the shit out of him, so the first TD we got was mine. I thought back on my performance over this whole season and counted up my stats. I was also suitably impressed with myself when I realized I made it 3 months without a single injury. I spoke too soon, I guess.