Unintended Consequences

Chapter 32

    "Well," he said in that low, slow voice that fogged my brain. "It would probably help if I looked up into the stands and saw my girl wearing my jersey."

    "W-wouldn't it k-kind of be a dead giveaway that we're dating," I stuttered as Archer dragged his lips up behind my earlobe. I felt Archer's shoulder shrug as he continued his torture along my jaw.

    "You wanted to tell our families," he mumbled between kisses.

    "Well, that was before all heck broke loose."

    Archer stopped and pulled his head back to stare down at me. His full lips glistened from the slightly wet kisses. "If you really don't want to—"

    "I do," I interjected. "I guess I'm just more nervous now to tell them because we kept it a secret. I don't like lying."

    "It's not really lying. We never said we weren't dating." Archer smiled sneakily.

    A soft laugh popped from the back of my throat. "I don't know if I like how easily you can find a morally grey area."

    A week later I anxiously followed a girl with a clipboard through the crowd of Trojan fans. The National Championship game was a way bigger deal than I had realized. There were cameras everywhere with news reporters yelling into mic's and pointing out players on the field. Several assistants walked around with headset's and black blazers making sure everything ran smoothly.

    One of those assistants was currently showing me to my seat. The players had been given tickets for their families to sit in the front row. Archer's tickets went to his mom, sister, then my family. I anxiously tugged on Archer's jersey as the assistant stepped aside and motioned to the seat I could take.

    I beamed as I saw my family and Archer's already sitting. They all jumped up to hug me, passing me from one to the other until I finally found myself pushed into a seat between Oliver and my dad. I pretended to be really focused on the field when I noticed my dad eyeing the jersey.

    "Alright, folks! We have quite the game coming your way soon!" The announcer's voice boomed through the speakers. "We have the defending champs—The Ohio State Bobcats! They've been here two years in a row now and taken it home both times!"

    Sweat moistened my hands as the announcer went on and on about our competitors. I rubbed my palms on my jeans to dry them off as I sucked on my bottom lip.

    "Now, trying to take the reigning champ's title is the USC Trojans!" The announcer continued. "They had a perfect season up until now and I'm sure they want to keep that streak going here in the post-season."

    The booming voice continued to give us highlights of both teams' seasons but I tuned him out. My bottom lip was almost numb by how hard I chewed on it. Finally, the announcer called out each team from the tunnels.

    My eyes found Archer right away as he led his team from their locker room. The whole team bounced excitedly behind him as they got riled up for the game. Archer jogged determinedly though, keeping his jaw locked and his eyes straight ahead. My breath caught in my throat as I realized so much of Archer's hopes came down to this one game. He needed to win.

    The game moved agonizingly slow. It felt like every second of playtime dragged on. Both teams were so evenly matched that neither could really get ahead. By the end of the first half, the game was tied 14-14. I could tell both teams left the field frustrated with how hard it had been to get the leg up.

    As the field cleared, the cameras that had been focused on the players swung towards the crowd. I averted my eyes as the assistants pointed the camera-men in different directions, getting shots of the players' families.