Chapter 19

Sandy

It was game day, and things were very different from Sandy’s last experience.

The biggest difference was that she was no longer a secret. There was no need for her to get into a lonely hover, fly into the stadium by herself, and sit with Elffa in a quiet, private box. Which is what she told Drevor to tell Elffa along with her decision to be with the other mates of the team in their private box – which Rane told her was a lot more fun than his mother’s box.

Honestly, the box would have been more fun with just Elffa’s absence, but knowing there would be food and music and they’d actually be able to hear the announcer along with being around actually nice people just made the prospect even better.

Drevor flew her there instead of Green or Blue. She was wearing her own, new, clothes, and not anything Elffa bought her. She was looking forward to the day and was eager to cheer as she watched the game.

Sandy hadn’t intended on making her and Rane’s date into a PR event, but when it started, she saw no reason to stop it. He might not have a personal PR team to hype up events like that, but the fact that he had spent so long being the bad boy of trikball meant that this story blew up for nothing more than the sheer fact that nothing happened.

There were pics and vids of them playing games together. People had posted their own pics and vids to go along with the professional ones. Moreover, there was a clear and quality recording of her giving away a bunch of his credz and then apologizing for not giving more – and blaming it on his allowance cap .

It wasn’t much, but it raised questions. Rane earned far more than a thousand credz a day. Some might make that much a month, but they weren’t famous trikballers. Some people were questioning why he was being so restricted, while others were refuting that he had to be kept on that tight of a leash because of his inability to be trusted.

Nothing had changed, of course. No one was in an uproar because of his allowance. But it had raised questions, and that’s what she wanted.

Even better than that, in her opinion, were the people that had seen him doing something normal and unproblematic and had been encouraging. There were, of course, those that claimed it was just a fluke or a one-time thing. But there were also others that declared that maybe this was proof that a mated male could change for the better.

There was a lot of talk. Nothing heavier towards one side or another. But the point was that they were talking, and that was her goal for now.

Satisfied that side of things was going as well as could be expected, she now looked forward to meeting the team’s family. Her belly was clenching into nervous knots when Drevor pulled the hover up by the landing dock for her to step out. This place had indoor parking for the box, but there were too many people for them to all use it unless they carpooled.

Which they did.

Sandy was showing up after them, alone. Rane told her it was alright for her to join, but she wasn’t one of them. Not yet. She wanted to make sure that she had an out if she needed one. So, she thanked Drevor and told him to be on standby in case she had to bail.

To which he agreed before flying off, leaving her standing there on the outdoor dock, looking over the massive space that surrounded the stadium. The wind was blowing pretty strong this high up – it was far taller than even a professional stadium she’d be used to back home. This mega-structure put to shame anything she’d seen on Earth.

But that wasn’t what made her nervous. It was these people.

Drevor had proven himself a faithful ally. In fact, if they weren’t around Elffa and he wasn’t playing the role as her assistant, he treated Sandy like his boss. He deferred to her in all things and obeyed her orders, trying to make her life easier and smoother. She didn’t think it was done completely out of the kindness of his own heart. Though she believed he wanted to help Rane, she was also pretty sure he was securing his future job prospects.

Which she didn’t mind. In fact, she liked that his motive was self-serving, it made all the things he was doing seem more trustworthy.

Aside from him, however, it just seemed like her and Rane were out here fighting for themselves. Sal knew about Elffa’s grip on Rane, but he either didn’t care how bad it was or just didn’t know. And Lisra, for as nice and useful as she was right now, also didn’t know the truth.

So, Sandy was about to go into a group she didn’t know, at a disadvantage, and needed to make friends with them for the sake of her future. No pressure.

After gathering herself, she turned and finally walked inside. Past the large hover they’d all taken here together, up the spiral escalator, into a box that, at first glance, was exactly the same as Elffa’s. The same comfortable seating, the same massive window looking out over the stadium, and the same buffet filled with food at the back.

But that’s where the similarities ended. Because this room was vibrant and loud, filled with smiling males and females that all turned to look at her when she came up. There was a single beat of silence, and then they descended.

Not like rapid wolves on a carcass, but like family at a long overdue reunion. They subsumed her into their group like an amoeba, and she immediately found a drink in her hand and Lisra by her side introducing her to everyone.

There were more than just mates and girlfriends here. There were also parents, siblings, close friends – all of them gathered to drink and eat and enjoy the game that had yet to start. The teams were already on the field, doing their warmups, but they hadn’t even done the pre-game lineup yet, so no one was paying attention. All eyes were on her as she met more people than she could keep track of, smiling and chatting with all of them, trying and failing not to be overwhelmed.

Sandy hadn’t been around this many people in a long time. She didn’t go out; she didn’t even really have friends. She stayed inside with her grandmother and her biggest excitement was the weekly trip to the grocery store. Even once coming here, she had been locked up in the manor. The crowd that gathered around Rane at the arcade was the closest she had come to being crowded, but they had been there for Rane, not her. She had been able to stand as a part of them without actually being their focus at any time.

But she couldn’t escape it now. Everyone wanted to meet her. Besides Sal and Lisra, no one else on the team even really knew her. Their families especially didn’t. They all found out at the same time, through celebrity gossip news, so half of them were playfully offended that they weren’t told. All Sandy could do was beg their forgiveness and explain that she was just shy and getting used to this place.

It was a lot, but it was necessary. She needed these people as friends. She needed to foster good relationships with those that were most likely to be on Rane’s side. If these people didn’t wish for the best for him, then they had nothing to work from.

Still, she kept close to Lisra, the one person she did know, as much as possible. The story of her shyness actually worked in her favor because Lisra clung tight to her side as well and, after the initial rush to greet her, people began to stay back and approach her in lower numbers.

Then, the starting lineup began. Everyone rushed to the front and, despite who was related to who, everyone on their team was cheered for equally.

Unlike last time, Sandy actually recognized the teammates. She cheered as she couldn’t before and was quickly swept up into the energy.

Then, Rane’s name was called. She screamed louder, jumping in place as he swam up and posed, as he did before-

-then did his own tricks!

He didn’t just present himself and leave, he did a quick display that she immediately recognized as the fighting – punching and kicking – moves that they had been doing at the arcade in the first game they played.

That was his display. A reminder of their time together.

Sandy smiled, heart fluttering, as he dropped to the field to take his place on the floating rocks. Lisra smiled, nudging her.

“I haven’t seen Rane look that excited in a while,” she said, beaming.

“Yeah?” Sandy responded to her but didn’t look away. Rane really was impressive. All dressed up – even if it was in ugly beige that clashed so terribly with his golden skin. His expression was focused, crest half raised, all muscles tense in preparation for the starting buzzer. He was absolutely gorgeous, in the most masculine way that word could be applied.

Lisra chuckled, stifling the sound behind her hand.

“What?” Sandy asked, gaze darting quickly between her and Rane, not wanting to look away from him for too long.

“Nothing. Just that everything they say about humans appears to be true. You really do adapt to anything, huh?”

“What?”

“Nothing. Let’s go, Sal! Woo!”

Lisra started cheering. Sandy didn’t get a chance to ask her anything further because the others in the box followed along, cheering on the team as a whole and their player in particular as the ball dropped, the buzzer blared, and the game began.