| October 21 | Saturday |

"Sam, come here! I have something for you!" Megan called from the den.

I roughed my hair one more time before I pulled back and escaped from our bathroom. When I made it out our room I spotted her holding up a shopping bag.

I smirked. "You got me a gift?"

She gave me a nod.

The smile on my lips expanded as I moved closer to her. Megan seemed giddy as she handed me the bag and waited for me to open it.

"You didn't have to get me anything."

"Actually, I did." She sat on the couch. "Because you destroyed the other one."

I squinted my eyes in thought. What could she-

"My favorite mug?" I guessed with a grin.

I reached in and pulled out what she had bought, but realized it wasn't a mug.

"I told you, I can't find a replica of that mug anywhere," Megan claimed. "But you also needed another shirt for tonight's game considering you decided to do car maintenance in your last one."

I held up the yellow Mizzou State shirt and smiled. "I miss that mug."

"Well you shouldn't have broken it," Megan teased.

I frowned. "It was an accident."

"I know." Megan pulled me into her. "I'll keep looking."

My face heated as I allowed her to kiss me. Although, I was grateful she had gotten me a Mizzou shirt. I would've most likely been the only one not wearing spirit colors today if she hadn't. College sports were serious business to about ninety-five percent of Missouri's population.

And I was in the remaining five.

"Because if you're not wearing the colors..." Megan started.

"You might as well be rooting for the other team," I finished. "I know the drill. But why choose the God-awful color of mustard yellow?"

"It's not yellow, Sam. It's gold."

I held up the shirt. "This is yellow. Gold is shiny."

She folded her arms. "Well they didn't have black shirts, okay? But it's cute."

I inspected the gift and shrugged. "I think we can agree to disagree."

"Go change." Megan folded up the gift bag for recycling. "Blair and Tony are waiting for us."

"The game is not for another like, four hours?"

"Yeah," Megan said. "It's called tailgating. The best part about college football."

I just raised a brow.

"You've never gone tailgating before?" she wondered.

"I was never a fan of football," I claimed. "So I usually stayed far away from anything that had to do with it."

Megan seemed shocked that I, a Missouri native, had never once been tailgating. Of course, I had been to football games, courtesy of Blair forcing me to attend back in high school, but never college.

She smirked. "Well, you'll like it."

"I guess I'll take your word for it," I flirted.

I caught her biting her lip before I turned away to change. Last year I hadn't been able to experience tailgating since I had to work at Buddy's shop, but I had caught the game. And even though it was football, I still found myself excited.

Once I was changed I rejoined Megan in our kitchen and watched her inspect me.

"That color looks good on you," she teased.

"Yeah and I love football," I countered. "Let's go."

We grabbed our things and headed over to Blair and Tony's. We were carpooling, which would make parking easier. And since Blair wasn't of age yet, she was automatically our designated driver if anyone got too wasted. I pitied her. The only way I would survive today would be with the help of alcohol.

The traffic to get to the stadium wasn't as bad as I expected, but the parking was. I became grateful I wasn't driving as soon as we made it.

"Where are you going?" Blair asked Tony who was in the driver's seat.

"My friends have a tent, and parking spaces," he claimed.

Blair rolled down her window. "Oh, my God, why are these people in the walkway?"

"Will you relax?" I told her. "You're making me anxious."

Blair glared at me. "Don't tell me to relax."

Tony pumped his brakes a little too hard as some chick basically ran out in front of the car. Blair nearly hit her head on the dash.

"Jesus!" Blair stuck her head out the window. "Watch where you're going you drunk bimbo!"

Tony rolled up Blair's window as he grabbed her hand. "Babe."

"Don't babe me, you know I'm right."

Megan and I just giggled in the backseat.

When we finally parked and exited the vehicle, the scene of the stadium overwhelmed my senses.

There were people everywhere. A sea of black and yellow, or gold, if you asked Megan, expanded until the end of the parking lot. The aroma of grilling food filled the air as two guys lobbed a football back and forth. In the distance, I could hear pop music bumping through a system.

Okay, this was way better than actual football.

"This way," Megan directed as she grabbed my hand.

I allowed her to lead me through the crowd as we followed Tony to wherever he claimed this tent was.

When we finally made it to the tent, we were approached by a guy who I assumed to be a member of Tony's posse.

"Bro!" The guys exchanged their typical manly hug-slash-back pat gesture. "Finally! I was thinking you were gonna be a no show."

"I'd never miss a homecoming tailgate," Tony claimed. "You've met Blair already but this is Sam and Megan. Guys, this is Brad."

Nice to meet you," Megan greeted on my behalf.

"Pleasure." The guy smiled and clapped his hands. "Alright well, any friends of Tony's are friends of ours, so help yourselves. We have food over there on the grill, beer in this cooler, and if you're feeling brave... I've made my special Tiger Juice."

Tony nodded. "Sam, you gotta try the Tiger Juice."

I gave him an unsure grin. "I would if it wouldn't be called Tiger Juice."

Blair scoffed. "Since when are you afraid to try alcohol?"

Everyone waited for my excuse, but I didn't have one.

"You're right," I said as I grabbed a cup. "Fill me up."

Brad nodded. "I like you already."

Then before I knew it Brad was filling up my red Solo and Megan was handed a beer. She emptied it into her own cup as she watched me.

"So what do you think so far?" she asked.

"It's alright." I sipped my drink. "Why are you drinking beer?"

She sipped. "Because that Tiger Juice got me last year and I'm not making that mistake again."

"Oh, come on," I teased. "There's barely any alcohol in here."

"I'm telling you, there is plenty in that one cup to get you buzzed." She moved closer to me. "And your alcohol tolerance isn't like it used to be."

I tilted my head. "I thought you wanted me to have fun?"

"I do." She smirked. "But I also want you to make it to the game."

I took another sip of my drink as I watched Megan's lips finish her sentence. For some reason, seeing her let loose and act like an actual college student was a bit of a turn on.

"Are you two done flirting or can I kick your asses at Cornhole?" Blair teased.

Megan folded her arms. "Blair, pool may be Sam's game, but Cornhole is mine."

"She's right," I agreed. "Megan's crazy good."

Blair tossed us the four bean bags. "So am I."

I looked at Megan who had the most competitive look on her face. I couldn't help but laugh as she responded.

"Game on."

* * *

"Oh, come on Blair don't be a sore loser!" I teased as she rolled her eyes.

"You barely won," she defended. "So stop gloating."

"But gloating is fun."

"The only one who should be gloating is Megan since she carried you through that entire game."

Megan laughed as she sipped her beer. "That's true."

"Oh whatever. I scored a few points, too."

"Like, four?" Blair laughed. "Just stick to pool."

"I'm going get some more Tiger Juice," I dismissed as I left Megan and Blair.

Blair could be mad all she wants, I still technically won. Even if Megan had carried me to the winner circle.

I waited for the chick in front of me to hurry and finish and glanced back at my girlfriend. Megan just looked so hot right now-

"Sam?"

I turned back and came face to face with none other than Shay, who I hadn't seen in years. What the hell was she doing here?

"Shay?" I said in disbelief.

She looked different. I mean, who wouldn't after an entire year? But no, she looked... better. Or at least better than the last time I had conversed with her, considering she had a bloody nose.

"Do you go to Mizzou?" Shay asked.

"Uh, no," I responded. "I'm just here with..."

I stopped. No. I couldn't tell her I was here with Megan, he old assistant softball coach. How crazy would that look? And even though she looked different didn't mean her personality was.

"She's here with me," Blair interrupted. "And my boyfriend, Tony."

"Blair," Shay greeted. "It's good to see you. Both of you."

Blair and I exchanged unsure glances as I tried to figure out why Shay was at this specific tent.

"So, do you know Brad?" Blair asked.

"Um, not personally," Shay confessed. "I'm actually here with Emma."

Emma.

Suddenly my eyes were scanning the crowd for Megan. Where she hell was she?

"Sam Carson?" I heard behind me.

I turned and came face to face with Emma and forced a smile. I knew Mizzou was a popular choice for the kids I had graduated with, but it was also massive. Should I be this surprised to have run into two old faces?

Unlike Shay, Emma pulled me into an embrace. I returned the gesture but still felt the burn of the spotlight. How was I supposed to navigate around the fact that I was living in Columbia but wasn't attending college? Or the fact that I had moved here with Megan. If I told the truth, Emma and Shay would only assume the worst.

"You'll never guess who I just saw," Emma teased.

I refilled my empty cup and gulped.

"Miss Adams." Emma turned towards the crowd. "What do you think she's doing here?"

I remained silent.

Blair stepped in. "It is a college homecoming game, Emma."

"Yeah but she's hanging around a bunch of students."

"Because she is one."

Three pairs of eyes fell onto me.

"I-I ran into her once," I tried to recoup. "At a bar. Jinx. Where I work."

God, I sounded manic.

"Wait, you work at a bar?" Emma asked.

"And had a conversation with Miss Adams?" Shay included.

Blair just gave me a 'you're on your own' look.

"Yeah, I think she's going for her doctorate or something." I lifted my cup. "This Tiger Juice is amazing. You guys should try some."

But they couldn't let it go.

"Did you hit on her?" Emma smirked. "Oh, tell me you did, Sam."

I furrowed my brow. "Why?"

"Because if you didn't hell's gonna freeze over!" Emma nearly spilled her drink. "Everyone was dying to make a pass at her during senior year. I bet you were no different."

This time when I looked at Blair, she knew I was in deep.

"Of course, Sam hit on her," Blair said. "It's in her DNA." Then she grabbed my arm. "But we've gotta go. Tony's waiting for us. We should catch up soon, okay?"

Then I was pulled away from Shay and Emma as I tried to slow my heart rate.

"Where the hell is Megan?" I asked.

"She saw Emma and Shay and jet while we distracted them," Blair said. "She's gonna meet up with us a few tents down."

We shoved our way through the crowd and trekked to find Megan.

"I didn't know Emma and Shay were attending Mizzou," I said.

"Last time I talked to Emma she was looking at a college in California." Blair shook her head. "That scholarship must've never happened."

"And I just told them where I worked." I pounded my fist into my head. "God, what the hell was I thinking?"

"You weren't, but that's okay." Blair tugged me through the sea of people. "They'll probably never go there."

I gave her a 'really?' look.

"Hey," Megan said when we joined them. "Talked to Emma and Shay?"

I nodded. "Unfortunately."

She eyed me. "What did you say?"

"Too much," Blair answered. "But they don't know about your relationship, so that's good."

Megan and I just exchanged unsure looks.

"It just makes me uneasy because they know I was your teacher," she said. "And if they find out we're together..."

"They'll assume it started before I graduated," I finished. The sentence burned my tongue.

"Look, you'll probably never see them again." Blair rubbed my shoulder. "Stop stressing and enjoy the day."

I nodded but knew that the worry of Emma and Shay discovering the truth would haunt me. It's not like we couldn't lie. I knew we could. But lying never worked for me in the long run. It always bit me in the ass, and I didn't want that to happen with my relationship.

But if they kept coming around, the truth would inevitably come out anyway.

I decided to take Blair's advice and tried to forget about the worry as I downed my Tiger Juice. I felt the pull of it not long after, and then somehow ended up with another beer in my hand. Where had that come from? What time was it? And where were we going?

Megan tugged me through the crowd as I gripped her hand. We must be going to the field. Oh God, the worst part of today was approaching.

We were going watch the game.

Gag.

When we made it into the stadium Megan looked back at me. "Are you drunk?" she asked with a smile.

I shook my head. It felt like my neck was a noodle.

"Nope." The 'P' popped on my lips as I watched Megan grin and look around.

"You so are," she teased. "Just don't make a scene. I really wanna watch this game."

I tugged her closer to me. Suddenly I realized my inhibitions were way down and I had no intention on picking them back up. The burning in my chest ignited as Megan's eyes found my lips.

"How about we go make a scene in Tony's car?" I asked.

"Um no!" Blair fumed.

"Shit." I laughed. "Did I say that loud?"

"Just a bit." Megan blushed. "Come on. It's just three hours."

"Three hours?" I whined. "Megan, that's like, forever."

Blair looked back at us. "Jeez, when did she get this drunk?"

"I warned her that the Tiger Juice would catch up to her," Megan said. "But she's hard-headed."

We decided to avoid the student section just to make sure we didn't run into Emma and Shay again, and since I as drunk, I was having a ton of fun.

"Go Tigers!" I shouted.

"Sam." Megan grabbed my hand. "The game hasn't started yet."

I giggled. "Oh yeah, I knew that."

Megan laughed and all I could do was admire her.

If Emma and Shay did come around and find out we were dating, I wouldn't lie. Okay, I would lie a little, but I'd be damned if I had to hide my relationship with Megan any more than I already had. We didn't deserve that.

Not after everything we had gone through to be here.