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“Please don’t tell me it’s Dylan Turner,” she
whispered out in a hushed tone. “Because that would be like the worst first
date ever and then some. I don’t think he actually even dates, just screws
anything that walks--no offense.”
    “No,” I shook my head to reassure
her. I had a feeling that she kind of had a thing for Dylan even though she
insisted that wasn’t the case. I’m sure knowing his reputation and how
protective her brothers were, they wouldn’t ever let Kitty and Dylan be alone
in a room together anyway. Kitty had filled me in on the two girls that
frequented the house that Dylan and Chris shared. Really, who does that?
    “It’s actually Ben Davies and I
guess he’s going to be my first date. I had my first class on Monday with him
and he remembered me from when you had introduced us on campus one day.”
    “Oh, okay that’s good, I guess. We
went to school together. We didn’t really run in the same crowds and he was
attached at the hip to his girlfriend, Amy.” The bathroom door creaked open and
Maddie’s head peeked through. “We’re ready whenever you two are.”
    The four of us made our way through
the dorm that was actually buzzing with life this early in the morning. You
could feel the excitement in the air over game day and everyone was showing
their school pride in full force.
    “Um, so if Ben was so attached at
the hip, does that mean he still has a girlfriend?” I looped my arm through Kitty’s
and let her lead the way to the area her parents tailgated in. If this was my
supposed my first date, I didn’t want it to be with a guy who was trying to
date around, while his girlfriend sat at home clueless.
    “No, actually they broke up. Ben
caught Amy in the act with some guy from another school, things didn’t end so
pretty. He was devastated after it happened and everyone could tell how
depressed he was all the way up until graduation. He really is a nice guy
though, but just take things slow. You don’t want to be his rebound girl.”
    I nodded my head and pulled out my
phone to text Ben to let him know where we would be so he could meet up with
us. He was probably just the kind of guy that would be perfect to start dating.
We both needed to take things slow, since he was getting over a broken heart
and I was just starting off.
                                                                    ******************
    “Can you believe this?” Ben
whisper-yelled into my ear as we stood in front of our seats in the student
section. He had one arm wrapped lightly around my waist and it actually felt
pretty good. He had showed up not long after I had texted him the area the Chapmans
were in, called the Cockaboose Railroad. That area was jaw dropping. Even after
all of the talk I had heard from Kitty, words really couldn’t compare. They
definitely tailgated in style.
    I met Bryce and Jared, Kitty’s two
other brothers, who all seemed to look a whole lot alike, but they each had
their own unique personalities. Tim and Susanne were gracious hosts and
genuinely thrilled to meet their daughter’s roommate. Of course, Dylan was
there too. He seemed to fit in really well with the Chapmans and Susanne seemed
to adore him like a son of her own.
    We made small talk, but things got
awkward when Ben showed up. I caught Dylan’s eyes narrowing over Ben’s shoulder
when he wrapped me in a quick hug and I really wasn’t sure why. After that, I
just caught brief glimpses of Dylan.
    He and Chris seemed to run back and
forth, from the Chapman’s to a student section of tailgating. Each time, I
noticed Dylan seemed to stumble more and more as he came back and I could smell
the alcohol on his breath whenever he got close enough, which wasn’t often.
    “Not really,” I finally answered.
The atmosphere in the stadium was electric and you could feel it humming in the
air. This was nothing like the baseball games I attended with