As Seen On TV

30. Wedding Bells & Farewells

The sun beat down, dust particles swirled hectically in the air, and the savory smell of roasted peanuts, fried food, and other snacks mingled with the sickly sweet aroma of sweat rising off both the players on the field and the hundreds of people gathered in the stadium. 

It was the San Francisco Giants versus the Milwaukee Brewers, and none of us really cared about baseball except for Andrew. I sat between him and Uriah, one man sitting forward in his stadium seat, sweating and looking enthusiastically down at the players on the field, fanning himself absentmindedly with an empty popcorn bag, eyes always glued to the game. The other was chugging his third beer and accidentally spilling some of it on his "Good Game, Good Game, Good Game, I Hate You, Good Game" t-shirt. Guess which man was which.

"Babe, you really are spilling that all over. If you get beer on this jacket, I'll kill you. I really will," I heard Rose say from the other side of Uriah. 

A look came into his eyes as he turned to her and doused himself in the remainder of the amber liquid, rubbing it over his chest and hair suggestively. I burst out laughing. I couldn't help it.

"Look how wet I am for you," he murmured fake-seductively.

"Uriah! U! Oh my God, stop! Look, you're getting it everywhere! Lyra, tell him to stop!" Rose was now pretty legitimately mad, but she looked like she, too, was trying to fight back giggles. Even Jazmin and Patrick on her other side were entertained. 

Patrick had attempted to sit down next to me back when the game first started and we were getting situated for what would be one of our last group dates for the show, but Andrew had forcibly pulled me to his other side, and Jazmin had caught on, pulling Patrick to the other side. She was still too mad (presumably about Alice) to even acknowledge my presence, but at least Andrew still cared enough to be jealous. I knew that wasn't how I should be thinking about it, but I couldn't quell the small bit of excitement it prompted in me.

"Come on, come ON! Shit!" Andrew was yelling at the game again. Naturally, being on the show presented its perks once again, and we were sitting in prime seats right behind home plate, right in the middle of the action. Unfortunately, this also meant the midday San Francisco sun was beating down directly on our heads. I adjusted my purely decorative baseball cap and looked back over at Rose, who was now trying to hide the fact that she and Uriah were caressing each other's thighs and intertwining their fingers at their sides periodically.

I loved their relationship. I really did. It was the only wholesome thing about this show anymore.

I looked past them to Jazmin. She was wearing wide sunglasses and a floppy hat, looking as beautiful and put-together as ever, but even below her hat's brim I could see her expression of distaste. She had barely said two words to anyone since Alice had been kicked off the show, and no one except Pat and I really knew why. I hadn't been able to talk to him much in the past few days, but I had meant to. 

Something about her looked weirdly familiar, and I couldn't tell whether I was beginning to get used to her facial expressions, or if that outfit...

"Oh, my God, Lyra! Lyra, look, look, they're gonna- he's gonna go all the way... YESSS!" Andrew stood and grabbed excitedly at my hand, interrupting my train of thought and pulling me forcibly to my feet next to him as he got up to start cheering. A Brewer was rounding the bases down on the diamond, having hit a ball to deep left field. 

As the players on base came in to touch home one by one, Andrew's excitement mounted visibly. The stadium erupted in cheers. Everyone got to their feet but Uriah, who refused to get into the game on the grounds of "basketball, football, and capitalism," as he had said. I wasn't sure what he meant.