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“Why? Because I was strict when you were a kid?”

“Strict? You were an Army general!” she said. “I couldn’t even date when I was in high school.”

“I thought I was protecting you. And, sometimes, it’s hard to let go. When your mother left, I had no idea what I was doing. I thought I was helping, Stacy. I’m sorry if I hurt you. I did the best I could.”

Stacia shook her head. “No, don’t be sorry. You’re a great dad. The best. Maybe I needed a little more protection. I actually did something that I haven’t told you about. I was afraid of how you would react. I moved in with Pace at the start of the semester.”

“Ah, yes. I’ve been waiting for you to tell me.”

“Wait, what? You knew?” Stacia squeaked.

“I did. I overheard Derek talking about it on the phone with you. I was just going to let you figure it out. It seemed important to you.”

“It was,” she admitted. “And I think I’ve realized that I should have come to you from the start. I can’t continue living with Pace, and I can’t afford an apartment with the rent I’ve been getting.”

“We’ll find something else for you. I’m sure there are plenty of apartments. But why didn’t you come to me before?” he asked.

Stacia shrugged, even knowing that he couldn’t see it. It felt so long ago that she had been afraid of what her dad would think. She hadn’t wanted to disappoint him. She’d been afraid of him adding extra rules, and she didn’t realize until now that she actually needed them.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Probably the same reason it took Derek so long to come out. I was just afraid.”

“Well, neither of you needs to be afraid with me. I’m your father. I will always be here for you.”

“Thank you, Dad. I love you.”

“I love you, too, honey.”

They talked a little longer about where she should possibly move to and if she should get roommates.

And it was Stacia’s idea to ask Whitney if she’d want to move in with her for the spring semester.

“Ahh!” Whitney screamed later that week. “You’re serious? Really serious?”

“Yeah,” Stacia said with a smile. They lingered behind after their last class of the semester, waiting for Simon to meet them. “My dad is helping me get this new apartment, and I thought it’d be cool for us to live together. We can do study sessions at our place.”

“That’s amazing. You have no idea how much I want out of my other apartment situation. One of my roommates has her boyfriend over all the time, and he’s a total slob. He should be paying rent or at least utilities, but he’s just using her because she’s brainwashed, and she’d do anything for him. He can take my space. I’m ready to get out.”

Stacia laughed. “Then, it’s settled. When do you want to go look for places?”

Simon appeared just then. He smiled awkwardly at Stacia before pulling Whitney in for a hug and a chaste kiss. “Hey, Whit.”

“Hi, Simon,” she whispered, red with excitement.

“Wait…are you two official?” Stacia asked.

“Um…” Whitney muttered.

“I think so?” Simon said, turning to look at Whitney.

“You do?”

“Uh…yeah. If you want.”

“I do…I mean, I want,” Whitney rambled.

“Great!” Stacia said. “You’re together. I’m so happy! Let’s go celebrate.”

The trio left campus and went to celebrate at a place where Stacia insisted on treating.

By the end of the next week when finals ended, Whitney and Stacia had nailed down an apartment near campus that they both loved. Bryna took one for the team and made sure Pace was gone at football practice before a group went over and removed Stacia’s things from the premises.

It was sad to leave the place behind. She had a lot of amazing memories there, but it was time. It was time to start over and actually let herself grow. Her dad might be right that letting Pace go for too long would be a bad idea if he was the right one. But, for now, she needed to be on her own.

She couldn’t help herself though. She walked into Pace’s room one last time and surveyed the space. Everything was exactly how she had left it. It all smelled like him. She even choked up a bit, seeing the fluffy pillows she had lain on all semester and remembering all the dirty things that had gone on in this room. She felt nostalgic for the past, for the simplicity of it all, and then she walked out of the room before she could bury herself into the bed one more time.

“What was that?” Bryna asked.

“Nothing,” Stacia said quickly.

“Did you just go into his room?”

“Just wanted to double-check that I didn’t leave anything in there.” She frowned at the ground. “I slept in there for most of the semester.”

Bryna frowned. “You going to be okay?”

“Yeah. You don’t have to keep asking me that,” Stacia said. “I’m going to be fine.”

“Okay.” Bryna held her hands up. “I’ll miss having you at the house.”

“You’ll like going back to walking around naked and having sex all over the house though.”

Bryna pointed her finger at Stacia. “Touché.”

Once they finished moving everything into the new apartment with Whitney, Stacia sat down on their shared couch in front of their shared television with her feet on their shared rug, and she sighed with relief. She hadn’t known how much she’d needed this and how much she’d missed it until she had it again.

It didn’t matter that both she and Whitney were leaving soon to spend winter break with their families—Stacia in Los Angeles and Whitney in Portland. All that mattered was that things were back on the right track.

Bryna, Trihn, Stacia, and Maya came back on New Year’s Eve to celebrate ringing in the New Year in style. Unfortunately for all of them, they were manless. The playoff game was set for New Year’s Day, so Eric and Drayton were already in sunny Atlanta, preparing for that. Damon was performing in Chicago and would be busy all night. And Stacia was single at the present moment.

But, regardless, they had an amazing time. It was probably easier for Stacia not to be surrounded by happy, smiling couples when her love life had once again gone down the drain.

And no one said anything when, the next day, Pace ran the ball in on a QB sneak to win the playoff game, sending LV State to the national championship. He was playing like none of them had ever seen. The entire team was wearing all-black uniforms, in mourning for Boomer, with badges with Boomer’s number on it, but Pace was the one playing with a fiery vengeance.

The national championship game was the following week, and even though the girls had all agreed that they weren’t going to go, Bryna showed up at Stacia’s apartment the Thursday before the game. She flashed national championship tickets at Stacia.

“No,” Stacia said, walking away from the door.

“It’s our last game as undergrads,” Bryna said. “You can’t tell me that you don’t want to be there.”

“I don’t want to be there. And I have another year. So, you can go without me,” Stacia told her.

“No, we can’t.”

“Why? Why do I have to go?”

“Because we’re a team,” Bryna said. “You’re not going for Pace. You’re going for us. For your girls. So, buck up, throw some shit in a bag, and get your ass in my Aston Martin.”

Stacia laughed. “You’re insane. You know that, right?”

“Of course. I’m well aware. But my daddy got us the private jet, the penthouse suite at the hotel across the street from the stadium, and box tickets. So, we’re going to go and sit our hot asses in air-conditioned comfort with lots and lots of booze and enjoy our boys whooping ass.”

And, when Bryna put it like that, it was hard to argue. They might have been used to sideline seats, but if the alternative was a life of luxury, Stacia could get on board with that.

By the time they got into their air-conditioned box seats, Stacia was thanking God that she wasn’t on the sidelines. Just the walk across the street from the hotel had sent her pin-straight hair into a frenzy. Tampa was a humid swamp of a place. Coming from the desert, she was not used to this.

Champagne was flowing through their booth, and Stacia felt like she was being converted. This was the best way to watch a football game. She loved her sidelines. She even aspired to work those sidelines, but damn if the booth wasn’t a slice of heaven.

Watching her team win the national championship for the second time in her college career was even better.

Commentators had worried that LV State would be off their game without their starting running back. But everyone had picked up the slack in Boomer’s absence. They were playing for him. And, afterward, the trophy was dedicated to him.

The girls watched from a television in the booth as speech after speech was made. They were each at least a bottle deep in champagne by then, and Maya turned on music to dance around in the booth. Trihn joined her at some point in the middle of the speeches while Bryna and Stacia stayed glued to the TV. They had started this together. It was nice to end it together, too.

Then, the TV suddenly switched to Pace’s face. A pretty brunette reporter was speaking into the microphone over the din of the celebrations on the field.

“I’m here right now with quarterback Pace Larson. How does it feel to secure this important victory for your team?”

Pace had on a NCAA championship hat on his head, and Stacia was practically swooning, looking at him.

“It feels amazing. Of course, we would have liked to have Boomer here for this moment.”

“Of course. I heard that you’re dedicating the trophy to TJ Boomer. Is that correct?”

“Yes,” Pace said. “The uniforms, the badges, the trophy, the season. We wouldn’t have made it this far without him. It’s only fair to go the rest of the way in his honor.”

Bryna snorted. “As if he were a good person.”

“Bri!” Stacia cried.

“What? Not to speak ill of the dead, but he was a shitty person. And you know it. His death is sad and tragic. Of course Pace can’t talk about that on TV, but I wish Boomer had been as amazing as his brother made him seem at the funeral.”

“He was probably that amazing…to Shawn,” Stacia said quietly.

They had missed the reporter’s next question, but Pace started going on about the game some more.

“Maybe. I’m not glad that he’s dead,” Bryna said. “I just mean…this season has been dedicated to him even though he was an asshole all season.”

“And he paid the ultimate sacrifice for it.”

“You’re right,” Bryna said softly. “You’re right.”

They both turned their attention back to the interview.

“But also for my girl, Stacia,” Pace said.

Stacia’s eyes rounded, and she shot up. “What?”

“That’s very sweet. I’m sure, if she’s watching you right now, she feels like the luckiest girl alive.” The reporter smiled brightly at Pace, but he didn’t even seem to notice.

“Did he just talk about you on live TV?” Bryna asked.

Stacia nodded. “Yeah.”

“Shit.”

“Have you made any decisions yet about if you are coming back for one more season with the Gamblers?” the reporter asked.

Pace stared straight into the camera and said the words he had been waiting to say his entire life, “As of this moment, I’m going to elect to leave school a year early and enter the NFL draft.”

“WILL YOU STOP BOUNCING
around the apartment in a panic?” Whitney asked.