Mia Gibson and Hunter James were always meant to be. But dating the star quarterback that was destined to be in the NFL was not easy. Especially when even his parents believed you were ruining his career.
With no other option Mia broke up with Hunt...
"Woah." I breathed staring up at the stadium. It was even bigger in person. In all of my 26 years I've never been to the stadium. With it just being my mom and I we weren't that much into football and if we were we didn't have the money to go to any games.
"Come on." Hunter reached for my hand and tugged me towards him. My eyes went to our hands, a tingle shooting up my arm. His hand easily engulfed mine and I could feel the calluses from years of playing ball, some of them rougher than they use to be. I always use to love how our hands fit together.
I drew my attention away from our hands and looked around me. Hunter lead me through a set of double doors, holding the door above my head as I walked through. Our hands were disconnected for just a moment but the second I was through he was lacing our fingers once more.
I took everything in as we walked down an empty hallway, our footsteps echoing around us.
"Where are we?" I whispered feeling like I had to. It was just so quiet.
"We are walking down the hallway the players use to get in." Hunter said while chuckling. Clearly amused at me for whispering.
"I always wondered where you walk in." I mumbled. As we walked down the hallway the walls around us were filled with different kinds of pictures, newspaper articles, and plaques. We didn't pause to look at any of them but I noticed a lot were of milestones the team had achieved.
"Here's the first stop." Hunter pulled us to a stop in front of a closed door. His hand hovered over the door handle and he had a wide grin on.
"Just open the door." I tutted, nudging his hip with mine as he kept me waiting. With a dramatic motion he opened the door and swung it open. I ventured further in, dropping his hand although I instantly missed the feel of it.
I was standing in the locker room where the entire Patriots team changed and used. The room seemed to stretch for a mile I swear. Both walls lined with boxes/cubicles for each player to put their uniform and clothes in. The floor was engraved with their logo.
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I was pleasantly surprised at how clean it was, probably thanks to the janitors, but I had expected each of the players cubicle to be a mess. But each one was neatly situated with their uniforms and their helmets hung on the side. This locker room was triple the size of the one at UMass that's for sure.
"Wow this place is huge." I commented.
"Once its filled with about 53 players it can get crowded." Hunter came up beside me. My eyes widened at the number. I hadn't realize how many players there actually was on a football team. I can imagine this place being small with that many people in one room.
"Where is yours?" I asked, looking around for his number.
"Right this way." We had to walk a little bit down the room until we finally stopped in front of the number 15 cubical. I ran my fingers over the helmet that was hanging on the side. It looked brand new.
"Do you guys get new ones each season?"
"We do. Some guys like to keep their saying it's their good luck charms but we do have the option of getting new ones whenever we need." Hunter explained. I had always wondered what happened if their helmets got too scratched up or loose.
"I have another question I'm curious about." I said as I reached out and touched a jersey that was hanging there. Hunter leaned on the side of the wood, his arms crossed over his chest and he even propped his foot up. The pose made him look like a model. Maybe he learned it doing photo shoots for ads that I've seen around town and on tv.
"Shoot."
"Why did you pick 15? Do you have an option or do they just hand you a jersey number when your signed?" I was actually curious about that one. He was quiet for a moment before he answered.
"They let you pick. They usually give you two options and you go with the one you want." I waited for him to answer my other question but he never did. I opened my mouth to ask it again when he reached out and grabbed my hand again.
"Come on theres more to see." Before I could say another word he tugged me towards the door to leave the locker room. I wanted to know why he didn't answer but I let it slide for now.
We were back to the hallway and it looked like we were heading deeper into the stadium. With each step Hunter's pace sped up. I could practically feel the excitement coming off of him in waves. His excitement was so contagious that with each step I felt just as excited to see where we were going.
Pulling to a stop in front of a little gate that came up to our knees, well Hunter's knees my thighs. He faced me, that wide, cute grin was back on his face as he looked at me.
"Are you ready for this?" He questioned. I nodded, eagerly wanting to see what he was talking about.
Hunter easily stepped over the gate but with my shorter legs I knew I would have a harder time. I was almost 100% certain I was going to trip and fall flat on my face. I swung one leg over first and had to stand on my tippy toes so the gate didn't slam into my crotch. As I hopped on one leg I went to swing it over with the motion but I only succeeded in throwing my off balance.
I veered to the side and expected to feel the ground but I didn't. Hunter's arms came around and gripped my waist. He gripped me tightly as I put both my feet on the ground. I suspected my cheeks were bright red as I peeked up at him. He peered down at me with an amused look.
"Always the graceful one." He teased. I couldn't even deny it, we both knew how clumsy I was. Hell it was one of the reasons we met in the first place.
Hunter kept his grip on my waist for another second before eventually pulled away. He still had a smile on his face as he gestured with his head.
"This way."
The two of us walked side by side, our arms brushing against each other. Even though we both had a jacket and a sweater on I could have sworn I felt tingles from every brush against each other. The further we walked the bright it became and I had a feeling I knew where we were going.
I turned to Hunter, a wide grin starting to take over my face.
"No way." I breathed. His own expression matched mine as I figured it out. Without another word I took off around the corner. I could feel Hunter right behind me as I ran through the tunnel and then out into the open air. Right in front of me, inches away, was the bright green grass of the football field.
I came to a stop just at the edge of the grass my eyes and mouth wide open. I gazed at the huge empty field in front of me before I slowly turned around in a circle, taking in the entire stadium. Rows after rows of empty seats, going up as high as you can see. Standing where I was felt so small.
I was at a complete loss of words. I could just imagine what it was like to stand here with the entire place packed. One thing about the Patriots is that they can pack them in. The fans were beyond crazy.
"This is incredible." I awed. I wondered if the feeling ever went away for Hunter, because standing here felt so surreal.
"It really is." Hunter said from beside me. I looked over at him and found him already staring down at me.
