Free Over the Middle: A Sports Romance by Lauren Landish

couple of hours. What happened?"
    "Tiffany and Mandy happened," I say. "Couple of sorority row girls who came by with dismissive looks for me and open legs for Duncan. They practically begged him to go to some new club with them. He . . . he didn't exactly stick up for me."
    Chelsea nods, as if she's seen it before. “I know what you mean.”
    "You too?"
    “Not with Duncan, but yes, I know what you mean. It's in the past, and I’d like to keep it that way, no offense. By the way, here are the notes. See you tomorrow?"
    "Yeah," I say, taking the notes. "See you, Chelsea."
    It's about twenty minutes later that I hear a motorcycle rev its engine outside, a Kawasaki, I know for sure, and I finally let a tear trickle down my cheek.

Chapter 7
Duncan
    I can't believe it .
    "Dad?" I ask, seeing the familiar silver-streaked hair and broad shoulders that I hadn't seen in at least six months. "Dad!"
    My father turns around, and there's a look of surprise on his face. "Duncan? What are you doing here?"
    I shake my head and approach him. We're outside the team hotel, and everyone is getting ready for breakfast, but I have a few minutes. After the past few days, I could use some good luck. "It's the team hotel. We're going to have breakfast before heading over to the stadium. You know, the Clement game is today?"
    “Oh, no, I didn't," Dad says, and my mood immediately darkens. Why else should it be any different? He hasn't been at any of the other forty starts I've made for Western over the past three years. "I'm in town on business. Meeting with investors, you know. New project upstate."
    That's Dad, always looking for a new angle. I see he's wearing a wedding ring again. I hadn't been notified.
    "So, what's her name?" I'm cold, my mood going from glum to black, and I can hear the excitement draining out of my voice as I look him in the eye. "You know, you didn't send me an invitation."
    "I didn't? My mistake. I remember telling my secretary to send out the invitations."
    “What's her name, Dad?"
    "Tawny," he says with a leer that tells me exactly what Tawny Hart looks like. My father has very consistent tastes: tall, long hair, and a body you could bounce a quarter off any part of it, even if it is surgically enhanced. In fact, to him, a girl just isn't a woman without a little silicone somewhere.
    "Where'd you meet her?"
    "She was a massage therapist at a club I frequent," he says, and I try not to roll my eyes. Great. He met her at a rub-n-tug. Wonder how much she charged for a handy. "She and I just clicked."
    "Uh-huh. Well, if you have a chance, think you can make it to the game? I'm sure I can get you in if you don't have tickets."
    Dad shakes his head and looks at his watch. "Don't think so. Meeting's going to run all day, so . . . another time. Really, though, I've gotta go. See you later, Duncan."
    "Yeah, Dad . . . bye."

    * * *
    T he reporter is in my face, and it's not the day that I want to do any of this shit. The past two days have been terrible, and it’s only because the Athletic Director insisted that I'm doing this.
    "I'm telling you, college football fans, what a game we've got for you today. The Western University Bulldogs host the Clement Golden Spartans, in what a lot of folks are calling the biggest game in the first half of the season. Western and Clement have traded the conference championship back and forth over the past few years, with whoever wins this game normally going on to clinch the conference title."
    Yeah, yeah, yeah. Last year, we took Clement, and two years ago, they took us. Big fucking deal. The yapping announcer goes on.
    "Things are a little different this year, as the Pacific Football Conference has followed in the footsteps of many of the other major conferences and implemented a championship game system. That doesn't make this game useless, of course. There are still major impacts for the national championship at stake, as well as the fact that whoever wins this game holds the edge for