After All

Chapter 35: Forces to be Reckoned With

The flight to Atlanta was uneventful, and the three of us are now on our way to the stadium. People were right. Atlanta traffic sucks big time. It either goes at warp speed or grinds to a complete halt. I texted Dakota to let her know we were on our way. She sent me a smiley back and said, "Don't eat. We're getting ready to break for dinner and you don't want to miss the sight of professional football players at the craft services table. The three of you can eat with us."

"I figured you, Chris, and Henry would want your privacy from the larger group."

She sends me cat laughing emojis. "Nah. We've bonded and the guys are just great bunch of big pussycats. The cheerleaders, on the other hand, are slut hussies and I have absolutely nothing to do with them. And you won't either. I'm tempted to sic Della on them."

"Copy that, control tower. See you soon."

My phone buzzes with a text from Chris. "I didn't want you to miss this. Earlier today Dakota had a watermelon seed spitting contest with one of the players. And she whooped his ass." I hit the play button and there's my girl, looking like an elf next to, fuck me, the largest man I've ever seen. He has to be at least 6"7 and 300+ pounds. He has dreadlocks that hang to the middle of his back, and a nose that has clearly been broken more than once. He tugs on her pony tail gently and I hear him say, 'Okay Boo. Time to see if you can back up that trash talk.' She giggles at him, 'Be prepared to be humbled, Tiny. I hope you brought your tool box 'cause Mama needs a manicure.'

What would be explained to me later is that Tim, aka 'Tiny', is a masterful nail artist. Dakota made a bet on the seed spitting. If she wins, he has to do her nails. If he wins, she has to toss the football with him and let him put it on Instagram. There is quite a crowd around them, with more than one phone out filming. Some smart ass has his phone playing 'Let's Get Ready to Rumble' and a mix of stadium tunes. There is an official camera man filming, and I have a feeling this is going in the behind the scenes reel.

Tiny goes first and hits an impressive distance. She crouches over with her hands on her knees and takes a big breath and spits with all her might. It lands only about one inch short of Tiny's. Damn. My girl can spit. Tiny goes again and it lands a few inches past his last mark. Dakota smiles sweetly at him, 'I was just giving you false hope.' Then she puckers up and spits and this one clears his be a good five inches. The crowd around cheers and Tiny just shakes his head. "Damn, Boo. That is one powerful mouth you got there."

Henry throws his hands up, "Time out! Tiny, I beg you, don't go on with that conversation or I'll have to pummel your ass."

Dakota giggles at Tiny and pats his arm. "It's in the lungs, Tiny, not the mouth. You gotta blow hard."

Henry shakes his head, "Dakota, for God's sake. You are just asking for trouble." He turns to look at Chris, who I can hear as he holds his phone filming. "God Man, when does Jamie get here? She is exhausting." I hear Chris chuckle. "He'll be here in a few hours. Her body guard is coming too."

Tiny snorts, "Woman don't need no bodyguard. She got us." The players all cheered. Damn, this woman just collects protectors wherever she goes. She's a freakin' magnet. Poor Ted. He's not going to be very popular with this crowd.

They line up for their final spit. Dakota offers to go first so Tiny knows what he's aiming for. She takes a few deep breaths and then cuts loose. Her final seed goes even farther than her second one. She turns to Tiny with a smirk, 'Should I go start soaking my cuticles now?' He grunts, 'That was harsh, Boo. Way harsh.' He steps up to take his shot, spitting with a rumbling groan, but alas, his seed lands a few inches behind hers. The crowd cheers and you see money changing hands.

Once Dakota gets done with her victory dance, she puts an arm around Tiny's waist and leans her head on his arm. 'Let's go toss the football. You can put it on Instagram. And bring your toolbox to dinner, because I want a creative paint job.' He tugs her ponytail again and kisses the top of her head, 'You're good people, Boo. Good people.'