D A L T O N ' S P O V

Sometimes I wonder what would I have done if I never met Aspen.

Would I ever meet her friends? Would Hunter have ever met Rosa and got a crush on her?

Or would I still be asleep at 8 in the fucking morning when I don't have classes?

For some reason, she decided to drag me out of my bed this morning and force me to get ready.

She wouldn't even tell me where she was taking me. All I knew was she wanted me to get dressed and get in her car.

Speaking of, she drives like a speed addict.

As soon as she got behind the wheel, she didn't even wear her seatbelt the right way. She has been surpassing the speed limit for who knows how long.

How did she even get her license?

"Aspen, that was a red light." I warned her, tightening up my seatbelt.

"I know." She shrugged, driving with one hand on the wheel like it was nothing.

That was kind of hot to be honest.

"Ok, but how did you get this car? I've always wanted to drive a BMW." I spoke, trying to take my mind off of her crazy driving.

"My dad and sister got it for my 18th birthday." She answered, actually stopping at this red light. "And no one drives my baby."

"Damn, ok." I laughed, putting up my hand in surrender. "Are we almost there?" I asked, looking up to see us coming near a stadium.

It would be a dream to play there one day.

"Actually, we're right here." She smiled, pulling into the parking lot of the stadium.

What are we doing here? There's no games as far as I know and they for sure don't start this early.

"Why are we here?" I asked, watching as she pulled in beside a car and smiled at it before turning to me.

She parked the car, turning it off as she ignored my question. I tried asking her again but she just smiled and told me to get out of the car.

We both got out, her locking the doors. I'm still confused as shit as I have no idea what we're doing here.

Practice wasn't moved, was it?

"Dalton, hurry the hell up. We don't have all day." She groaned, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the entrance.

"What are we doing here?" I asked her, hoping I would get a very good reason.

"Hey, Aspen. What're you doing here?" The lady at the front desk said as soon as we walked in.

"Hey, Julia.They're on the field?" She asked, not letting go of my hand as we stood against the desk.

"Yes, but they had to run laps. Apparently, the boys were being rowdy at some bar last night and got in trouble." The lady explained as Aspen nodded before thanking her.

Boys?

What is going on?

"Thanks, Julia. Have a good day." Aspen waved, dragging me down a bunch of halls and out of a door.

She continued taking me through halls and doors before we reached outside somewhere. I looked around, squinting my eyes in the bright sun. I noticed a huge field, bleachers surrounding it.

Holy shit.

Upon closer inspection, I realized we were at a football field. I looked around and noticed the same logo and mascot painted around.

Oh, shit.

Did Aspen really just take me to an NFL teams practice?

Don't freak out, Dalton.

She continued walking with me to the field, acting like all of this was totally normal. I was trying to calm myself down as we got closer and closer to everyone. She let go of my hand to wave at a group of people running towards us.

What the fuck.

As I looked closer, I spotted the faces that I had gotten used to seeing on a TV for so long. It was the fucking Chargers. I felt myself beginning to panic, not wanting to embarrass myself in front of people I looked up to.

Suddenly, I heard their running stop as they looked over here. I saw Aspen crossing her arms with a smirk on her face as she stood slightly in front of me.

"I know you guys see me standing here." She joked, diverting their attention over here.

The guy, who I recognized as Elijah Mason, standing in the front of the group walked over to Aspen and ruffled her hair.

"Hey, tiny coach. Your dad is over there on the phone by the way." Elijah spoke, looking behind Aspen as he finally noticed me. "Who's your friend?"

"Guys, I want you to meet Dalton Rivers. He's the football captain at my school." Aspen announced, coming to stand beside me as I nervously rubbed the back of my neck.

"Hey, man. Football captain, huh?" Another one of the guys (who I this time recognized as Asher Lincoln) said, coming up to me and clapping me on the shoulder.

Dalton, this is not the time to freak out.

Aspen just stood beside me like this whole ordeal was nothing. I was trying not to freak the fuck out as I was greeted by my idols.

Holy shit, is this how girls feel when they see their favorite singer/actor?

"Hey, Ens. What're you doing here?" I heard a male voice say behind me as we both turned around to face wherever the voice had been coming from.

Oh, shit.

As I turned, I took in the features of the man. He was a tall, seemingly middle-aged person. Upon closer inspection, I realized he looked a shit ton like Aspen. Like the older male version of her.

They had the same hair, skin tone, facial features. It took me a moment before I realized one thing.

This was either her father or her brother.

Either way, I was fucked.

"Hi, Dad." Aspen greeted, walking over to go hug her father. Yeah, I was fucked.

"Who's this?" He asked her, eyeing me up and down as I very visibly clammed up.

"Dad, this is Dalton. Dalton, this is my dad." Aspen introduced, gesturing her hand between us both.

"Ooh, Aspen has a boyfriend." I heard one of the guys mutter behind me, making me clam up even more.

"Nice to meet you. You play football?"

♤♤♤

Ok, this probably was the best day of my damn life.

After the most awkward introduction with her father and the team members, her dad suggested a practice game.

Why did no one tell me Aspen was a literal beast?

As I was about to make a touchdown, she tripped me and stole the ball, making it to the end before I got back up.

I might have to get Coach to make her captain.

She laughed her ass off before helping me up just to trip me again.

And why was she so fucking fast.

I thought Luka could run a good mile but damn. Aspen had outran each one of us, even the pro-NFL players. I was shocked and out of breath as I tried to reach her before she made a touchdown.

I blame it on my shoes.

I went to go take a break by the bleachers, grabbing the water bottles that Aspen had gotten from the vending machine inside.

I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to catch my breath. Suddenly, I heard someone walk up beside me, standing beside me. I turned to see her dad, looking at the field before he glanced over at me.

"She really is one of kind, isn't she?" He said out of nowhere, catching me off-guard.

Is this a test? Is he trying to trick me?

"Yeah..." I trailed off, not knowing how to respond to that.

"How long you two been hanging out?" He asked, making me gulp as I shoved my hands in my pockets.

"About 2 months." I answered, looking over at him briefly.

He simply nodded, keeping my his arms crossed as he looked out at the field. I followed his gaze to see everyone in a group. They lifted Aspen up into the air, sitting her on their shoulders.

She truly looked happy.

I tried to ignore the stinging of my cheeks as I watched her smile and laugh. I couldn't keep my eyes off of her as I tried not to admire her too much.

"Listen, son," He began, turning fully towards me as I gulped and turned towards him as well. "Aspen's a sweet girl and I can already sense something between you two. Call it a father's intuition. But don't you even think about hurting her." He spoke in a calm voice that somehow intimidated me even more.

"Of course not. I would never." I rushed to say, hoping he would believe me.

Just as he was about to say something else, we heard small but loud footsteps coming towards us. I looked beside me to see Aspen come to a stop beside me. She looked between us before sighing and rolling her eyes.

"Leave him alone, Dad." She joked, scooting closer to me.

"We were just talking, Lele." He shrugged, a small smile spreading across his face.

"Ok..." She mumbled, looking at her dad as if she didn't believe him. "Dalton, you wanna play another practice game? I won't trip you this time."

"Fine...but if you cheat this time then you have to go with me on every single ride at Disney." I smirked, watching her fake a yawn.

"That's boring. But fine, let's go." She shrugged, grabbing my wrist and pulling me back onto the field.

It's just something about this girl.

im sorry for no chapter last week. I hadn't finished writing this one and didn't want to rush to finish it but i do hope you guys enjoy this short chapter.

merry christmas and happy holidays! i hope you all have fun no matter what holiday you celebrate <3