Far Love (Book 1)

1 | Hot football guys

August 18th, 2023

Mara and Serena—who went by Nina—trot on either side of me excitedly.

"I'm not going," I state. Usually, when they try to drag me out to their outings, I give in. Mostly because I don't want them to feel bad, but also because sometimes I actually end up enjoying my time once I am already there. But right now, I have a chapter to finish for my personal deadline.

"Oh come on, Rylie," Mara pouts, "You never want to go out."

I shrug, "I like being home with you guys more. Plus football games are always so hectic and unappealing."

Nina rolls her eyes, "But you had fun when we went to that one last season."

"You mean the one where we all got black-out drunk? No thank you."

Mara sighs, "It's fine if you don't, but you'll miss out."

"I really do have work to do," I shrug.

We all walk up the stairs to our apartment. I am exhausted and probably would have declined their offer even if I had nothing to do anyway. I'd been looking forward to laying in bed until they came to my work two hours ago and declared we were going to the football game.

Nina opens the door in front of us, leaving it open for me and Mara behind her. She drops her car keys on the small shelf next to the door and slips her shoes off.

We follow suit and go to Mara's room. Of all of us, Mara probably has the best sense of fashion and puts the most effort into her wardrobe.

Nina goes to Mara's walk-in closet and picks out a t-shirt with UCLA's logo on the front. She holds it up to her torso, shakes her head, and puts it back.

Mara strips down to her underwear and puts her clothes from earlier in a hamper. "What do you think I should wear?" she asks the room.

I look at her clothes hanging in the closet, "What about that pair of black slacks you like, and a blue sweater?"

She points, "Yeah, but I think I'll do some jeans instead."

I shrug and lay back on her bed. From the spot in Las Angeles where our apartment is, we can see the beach well, which also meant that we have a great view of the sunset from Mara and Nina's rooms. From mine, I can see the twinkling lights of the city since my room is on the other side of the flat.

I watch the sunset through her sheer white curtains as they both get dressed. When Nina taps my shoulder, I turn over.

"What do you think?" she asks.

"You guys look like you're going to a football game," I shrug.

Nina laughs, "I'm glad."

Mara rolls her eyes, "Always helpful."

I walk to the kitchen and ask, "Do you guys want dinner before you go?"

Mara checks her phone, "No we'll have to go in just a couple of minutes if we want to get there early."

I nod, "I'll order you guys something when you're on your way back." Looking up, I ask, "What do you guys want?"

"Can we get Thai?" Nina suggests, "I've been craving it for so long." I nod, putting her order into my phone, then look up at Mara for hers. She tells me and I put it into my notes under Nina's.

"Okay, that should be good, I'm going to go work on my manuscript, text me if you guys need anything."

They both nod and we say our goodbyes. Then they are walking out of the front door, locking the door behind them.

I sit down on my bed and go over my plot notes.

The space between my brows pinches as I focus on the part that has specifically been hard to work through.

I sigh and start writing the second draft again. When I get to page four, I read it back. I'd always liked the way I described the small things—like the way a glass vase looked in the sunlight or the way someone walks. I smile at the descriptions. They are great, so I continue on.

Somewhere around page six, I'm feeling my groove fall into place and start getting more comfortable with the story.

My stomach growls around page ten, so I close my laptop and walk to the small kitchen in the corner of the apartment. The way the apartment is set up, makes it feel bigger than it is. It has vaulted ceilings and an open floor plan from the kitchen to the dining area, to the living room.

I grab some frozen dino nuggets from the freezer and put some on a plate. I've eaten them so much that I knew the exact amount of time to leave them in the microwave. Waiting for the nuggets to cook, I pour a glass of wine. When the microwave beeps, I take the plate out and flip each chicken nugget, squirt a dollop of ketchup in the corner, and walk out to the balcony.

I look out toward the horizon where the sun is practically set and take a bite of one of my nuggets.

My phone chimes in my sweats pocket. I pull it out and my phone immediately unlocks with face ID. A photo of Mara and Nina sitting at the game springs across the screen.

I smile as another message comes through.

Mara: You should have come, the guys on the other team are so hot

I laugh out loud and type back,

Rylie: Send pictures

Nina sends a picture of a guy in a blue and yellow jersey—our team (UCLA).

Rylie: Hot damn, send another
Rylie: You guys are so close to the field, how'd you do that?

Nina: I don't even know, someone said no other seats were available for students so he sat us here.

Mara sends a picture of another guy in purple this time—the opposing team (UW)—and I almost drop my chicken nugget. That's Dylan Woods.

Mara: Isn't he hot? I think that's Dylan.

I send a laughing emoji then send another message,

Rylie: I guess, I'm not really into blonds though

Nina: Yeah, right
Nina: I could still find him hot if he had turquoise hair

Rylie: Nope
Rylie: Get back to watching the game, aren't you there to watch hot football guys?

Nina: Yes

That's the last text I get, so I shrug and look back out toward the beach and finish my nuggets, propping my ankles up on the metal railing.

A couple of hours later, I get a text telling me that they are on their way back, and I order the food from our favorite Thai place.

🪿
Side note: Dino nuggets are a delicacy and you can't tell me different 🤚

🪿
Katelynn J. Peterson

Published: March 19th, 2023