Saving Us [Published]

1. The Game

I was close enough to the playing field for their tangy sweat to mingle with the crisp fall air at just the right balance. If we were any closer to the athletes' bench, the stench might have been a little overwhelming. The players ran around on the football field, but I couldn't absorb any of it. Or maybe I just didn't want to.

"First down! Yes!" Annika screamed and clutched my arm, her brown face joyous.

I jumped up and down with her, feigning enthusiasm. Her dark hair bounced on her shoulders with just the right amount of curl. Far more admirable than what was happening on the field.

"Isn't this great, Natalie?" Her dark eyes were glued to the action.

Annika's father was a high school football coach, and my theory was that, somehow, football had worked its way into her blood. If there was a game on television or if she could access it on the internet, she was watching it. An Exercise and Sports Science student, she intended to become a football coach herself. Annika worshipped the quarterback of our college football team, so here we were at yet another game.

Last year, our dorm room had been a haven for football fans, and now our off-campus house was headquarters for every fan of the game within a five mile radius. When I first met Annika, I tried for a few months to feign some level of enthusiasm, but I couldn't do it. Something about grown men running full tilt into each other didn't appeal to me. Some of the players obviously enjoyed the violence of the game more than the win.

"Yeah, this is an amazing game!" Which one of them would look best without his padding? Not that their appearance mattered. Hooking up with any football player made me feel gagtastic. What would we even talk about? I supposed that was the point—no talking. Still, the risk of an STD would be sky high and not worth the two minutes of moderate entertainment they'd provide. The guys on the team were weirdly popular with girls at our school.

Annika glanced at me before turning back to the field. "Yeah, your enthusiasm is overwhelming."

"Hey, I came." I rubbed my hands together. The cool fall air wasn't good for the circulation in my hands. My toes were starting to grow numb. "I also agreed to go to the after party at the frat house, which I never do."

"Yeah, you and Clay breaking up was the best thing to ever happen to my social life." Annika puffed her warm breath into her hands.

At the mention of Clay, my heart sank. He was still calling me even though we'd broken up at the start of the summer. We'd been together all of freshman year, but when he started dropping hints about engagements and kids, I bolted.

"So, how long is this game? Is it like three periods or something?" My dark red nails had a few chips. I should have painted them again today.

"Oh, my God," Annika huffed. "Seriously, Natalie, it's not that hard to figure out the basics. I get that you might not know what a two-point conversion is or what the kicker does." When I started to interject, she held up her hand, partially covered by the sleeve of her sweater. "Yeah, that one is easy. A football game is four quarters. It's like the coin version of a dollar bill."

She'd used that analogy before and it never stuck. "So, which quarter are we in?" Did we have the intermission yet?

"Fourth quarter. Soon enough, we'll be headed to the frat house to get drunk." Annika let out a loud whoop.

"If we're going, you've gotta get the nerve to speak to Johnny. You're not going to just gaze at him from afar, right?" One of the players running by drew my gaze with him. "Who's that?" The words left my mouth without me realizing.

She grinned. "Potential? Am I hearing potential interest? In a football player?"

"No, idle curiosity. You've dragged me to enough games now that his face looks weird to me." Weird was the wrong word. Familiar. He reminded me of someone.