Baby, It's You & No One Else

My arms wrapped around my body in a futile attempt to fight against the October chill that surrounded me. It was homecoming on the University of Minnesota campus and the game, including tailgating, was on despite the uncooperative weather. Snow had actually fallen the night before, a white dust covering a majority of the grass and slicking the Minnesota streets. I hurried down the sidewalk, my chin tucked into my sweatshirt as I kept my head bent low against the slight breeze. That was the one thankful thing, the wind was not howling like it usually did in the fall.

My Ugg clad feet pounded against the pavement as I picked my walk up to a slight jog, wanting to get to the parking lot and sit in the trunk of someone's car. It would still be cold but I would at least have some sort of protection from it. I reached 4th street and looked up at the looming stadium before my eyes. The multi-million dollar stadium had been worth every penny in the eyes of the students and players. It was the cream of the crop when it came to college football stadiums and had been rocking every home game of it's inaugural season.

I smiled at a couple of Gopher fans, already lined up to watch the players make the three block trek to the stadium. It was a new tradition. The players would march down 4th street and interact with the fans a bit before it was time to focus. The players enjoyed it and the fans lived for it. Being a girlfriend of one of the players though, It wasn't necessary for me to sit in the cold and wait for them.

I continued to jog to the adjacent parking lot, walking quickly to the SUV surrounded by my parents, my siblings, and my friends. I grinned, happy that after fighting the cold for 15 minutes, I finally reached my destination.

"Holla, Riley!" David, the younger of my three brothers, screamed. I rolled my eyes at him and wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Why must you act so ghetto?" I asked him, snuggling into his warmth.

"Because it drives you crazy," David laughed, rubbing his hands up and down my arms.

My teeth chattered as the breeze blew against my face, despite the fact that I had multiple layers on. I was dressed in a tank top, a long sleeved shirt, a t-shirt, a sweatshirt, Eric's jersey, and Eric's football jacket. All of it maroon and gold. But the layers didn't help much in fighting off the October chill.

"This is the ultimate homecoming," Katie, Adam Weber's girlfriend, and my best friend, told me, pulling me away from David.

"It is. And even though we'll be freezing our asses off for a couple more hours, this is going to be worth it," I told her, accepting the red cup filled with coke from her. It would normally be filled with beer but the U of M had started to do breathalysers to the students entering the stadium. Katie and I didn't want to draw attention to ourselves because it was widely known who we were dating.

"Only if they win," she told me, grabbing her camera and snapping a picture of me in my bulky clothing. I gave the camera a cute smile, despite my chattering teeth and then pulled her into me so we could take one together. The photo shoot continued through out most of the tailgating festivities and made for great entertainment.

The cheering of the fans pulled us from our obsession with creeping on people and we both looked to 4th street where the fans stood as the players marched through them. I laughed at Katie as she started screaming, mocking the energetic fans. I stood on my tippy toes, trying to see over the masses of people, knowing Eric and Adam were always the first couple players to go through.

My eyes landed on him, his visor hung over his eyes, hiding the excitement that I knew he was feeling. He loved football and he was just dying for the game to get started and make his last homecoming perfect. I watched as he high fived several little kids in a row who looked up at him in awe. It was moments like these where Eric blew me away. It's hard to believe that he gets so much attention yet, he's always so grounded and modest. He doesn't like being shoved in the spotlight all the time nor does he like it when people say the Gophers will be nothing without him next year. He just wants to play football and he always talks about how he wished all of the extra stuff would go away. Most importantly, the media.

I watched Eric pass through the gates of TCF stadium, and climb the stairs down to the field, crossing it while Adam and him spoke. He had already plugged his earbuds back in place and he glanced casually in our direction. Katie waved at him like a lunatic, knowing he would laugh and point Adam in her direction. Adam looked over his shoulder and waved back, blowing kisses also. I shook my head at Katie and then turned back to my boyfriend.

He had turned so he was walking backwards while looking at me. His mouth moved and I didn't have to be close to him to know what he was saying. He tapped his heart once with his hand and then blew me a kiss also. I grinned back and held up a heart with my hands. Katie awed next to me and I blushed while biting my lip. She rolled her eyes as I engaged myself in a conversation with my brothers, anxiously awaiting the opening kick off.
***

I bounced up and down along with Katie as the final seconds ticked off the clock of the big scoreboard across the field from us. We were bouncing not only because of the score, 35-20 in favor of our boys, but also because we were frozen to the bone. The temperature had fallen despite the sun that loomed above us. It was a bright day but it did nothing to the cold air. The boys had played great despite their first time being expose to the chilly temps. But they still started off a little shaky, giving us a scare. They managed to pull it together though and tore up the grid iron for the remainder of the game.

The Minnesota rouser was chanted around the stadium and Katie and I quickly ran onto the concourse, where the heat from all the bodies was compressed. We stood next to a pillar, talking amongst ourselves before Adam called Katie.

"Holy shit, Adam. We are freezing. Can we come down and wait by the locker room?" She asked through chattering teeth, shuddering as the wind blew her blonde hair about her face. She listened for his response and I jumped, literally, when her face held a look of relief. "Alright, we're coming now." She flipped her phone shut and we booked it to the stairs.

"Thank god they won. I would have been pissed if they lost." Katie laughed as we ran down the stairs for warmth.

"I agree." I laughed.

"So what are we going to do tonight?" She asked me as we were embraced by warmth when we passed through the metal doors that kept the fans from the locker room area.

"I don't know. I think it's up to the boys but I'm definitely going to need to take a hot shower or something." I ran my hands up and down my arms, trying to generate more heat.

"Oh I agree." She laughed, as we sat down on the bench at the end of the hall from the locker room.

"I don't know how they have their arms exposed like that. I don't care how much running they do, that has to be cold." I told her, wrinkling my nose at the thought.

"Oh I know. I told Adam he better be wear underarmor."

"Hm, and he listened to you? I told Eric that and he was all 'yeah, yeah' and then what does he not wear? Oh yeah, sleeves. God, you'd think I asked him to not wear his shoulder pads or something," I rolled my eyes at my crazy boyfriend who had just emerged from the locker room.

"I'm too manly to wear sleeves," He grinned at me, leaning down for a kiss. I immediately latched on to him, his skin still hot from his shower. I wrapped my arms around him and when he straightened himself out, he ended up pulled me off the bench. "Um, baby, I have to go give interviews now." He told me, his hands grabbing hold of my arms.

"Um, no you don't." I told him, wrapping one leg around him and pinning myself against him.

"We aren't having sex in public." He told me and I pulled away tisking at him.

"Eric Decker," I scolded. He just laughed and bent to give me one more kiss before walking towards the media room.

Katie still sat on the bench, laughing at me. "He's such an instigator."

"I know! What am I going to do with him?" I asked, exasperatedly.

"Deprive him," A voice came from our left, joining in on the conversation. I turned and immediately squealed with delight at the sight of my other best friend Kara who was currently dating Blake Haudan, one of Eric and Adam's teammates. She attended games when she could but went to school up at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and wasn't able to come down for all of them. But when she did, it was always a party.

"Oh my god! Why didn't you mention you were coming home?" I asked, pulling her into a hug and eventually on to my lap.

"What? I can't surprise my favorites?" She giggled.

"Um, no?" Katie said, pulling away from their hug.

"Well, I wasn't planning on coming down but then I decided, fuck homework. I have a game to watch and friends to catch up with." Kara explained.

"Good idea. School's overrated anyway." I stuck my tongue out in distaste.

"So where's my boyfriend?" She asked, pointing towards the locker room in question.

"Yeah, dipshit is still in there," I laughed as she gave me a scolding look.

Blake was basically my fourth brother, the addition to my already three biological ones. He lived with Eric and Adam and loved to give me shit all the time. He always mock flirted with me to piss Eric off and loved to pick me up and throw me onto the couch. His actions reminded me a lot of my brothers along with the fact that he liked to protect me from anyone who wasn't Eric, including Adam. He was my favorite of their teammates and never ceased to entertain me.

"Oh did your boyfriends tell you what the did to Eric and I last weekend?" I asked both of them. Katie and Kara immediately started giggling.

"Yeah, we were there." Katie pushed out before she burst out laughing.

"And who's brilliant idea was it to throw fireworks into Eric's room when we were sleeping?" I asked, looking at Kara.

"Hey, I am not responsible for Blake's stupidity," She grinned, "but come on. It was fucking classic."

"It scared the shit out of me," I told her in a flat tone.

"I sawy, boo" Kara grinned, wrapping her arms around me again.

"Oh I'm sure you are too huh, Katie?" I asked her, smiling smugly despite myself.

"It was amazing. Made my year," She laughed, getting up as Adam approached her with Eric next to him.

"Up!" I screamed at Kara, who decided she wanted to hold me down.

"What?" She asked, shifting around on top of me. I pushed on her but it was no use, she didn't want to budge. But then my savior walked out of the locker room and she dove onto Blake, completely ignoring me once again.

"Baby," I murmured when Eric wrapped his arms around me.

"Hi," He smiled at me, his white teeth contrasting against his tan skin.

"Good game," I murmured, kissing both of his cheeks as he lifted me into his arms. My legs wrapped around him and he wrinkled his nose at my comment.

"No, I only had three catches. That is terrible." He stressed, his face twisting into a disappointed frown.

"Oh baby. They were all over you," I kissed his lips as he pouted at me.

"Not an excuse."

I sighed and rolled my eyes at him. His competitive side always came out, even if it was just a simple video game. I remember one time when I beat him in NCAA football and he got so mad. He threw the controller across the room and wouldn't talk to me for an hour. And even then, I had to attack him with kisses. It's a strength and a weakness.

"What are we doing tonight?" Katie asked, pushing at Adam's face as he tried to seduce her into a midday romp in the sheets.

"Well we all know you're doing Adam," Kara snorted causing Katie to stick her tongue out at her.

"Whatever. I'm sorry Blake can't get it up."

"OUCH!" I laughed loudly at Blake's face, the shock and disgust written clearly across his features. Kara giggled next to him, patting his face lightly.

"I don't know. All I know is I need a nap," Adam yawned for effect. We all giggled, knowing Adam was full of shit and just wanted to get Katie in bed.

"I'm down for a real nap," I told Eric, leaning my head against his shoulder.

"Me too," He murmured and kissed my cheek before setting me back on the ground. I pouted at him but he just rolled his eyes. "I'm not carrying you."

"Mean."

"Lazy."

I stuck my tongue out at him and laced our fingers together as the six of us headed down the hallway and back into the chilly fall air.

"What the fuck! Minnesota you suck!" Katie screamed as she ran to Adam's SUV.

"Oh my god! I agree," Kara squealed, sprinting to Blake's car.

"See you lovely people later," I yelled to them as Eric and I, high tailed it to his truck.

We got hopped in and Eric immediately had the keys in the ignition, turning the heat on too. Then he turned to me and pressed our lips together. His kiss was full of lots of passion and love, causing my face to flush and the blood in my body to boil. All of a sudden, I didn't need all the layers I wore. But he pulled away before I could really warm up and pulled out onto 4th street again.

"Wait, we never decided what we were doing tonight." I realized, reaching for my phone.

"No," Eric said, grabbing my phone. "We're just going to Blarney's. It's easier that way, plus everyone will be there."

"More like, you guys will be the center of attention." I told him, rolling my eyes.

"No." Eric stated simply, lacing our hands together again. I looked down, admiring the way our hands fit perfectly despite how his large hand dominated my tiny one. He pulled up to a stoplight and looked over at me, flashing me another dazzling smile.

"I love you, Riley," He leaned over the center console and placed a soft kiss on my lips.

"I love you too Eric."

His smile widened even further as he turned back to the road. The rest of the ride to my house was spent in a comfortable silence. I took the time to reflect back on mine and Eric's relationship. I never thought we would be together or even be anything that we were today. He was the star of the football and baseball teams and I was the nerd in high school. I didn't like to party, I preferred to stay in my secluded little shell and read my book. But that didn't mean I never noticed Eric Decker. With his height, athletic ability, and charming attitude, it was hard to not feel his presence. Which is why I knew when he sat down at my lunch table the first day of senior year.

I glanced to my left, through the curtain my hair had made after I pushed it all to the side. I saw the black and red football jersey, the 7 proudly displayed in the middle. A large hand came towards my face, and brushed my hair off to the side. I turned my head slowly, looking at the star of the football team with the same expression that the dumb cheerleaders did, confused, from across the lunch room. I licked my lips and cleared my throat.

"Um hi?" I whispered at him, replacing my bookmark.

"Hi," Eric spoke confidently.

"Can I help you?" I asked, a confused expression on my face.

"Yeah, you can. Come to homecoming with me." He spoke. He didn't ask, he told me. The way his voice didn't waver and the way he held his head high gave off a confidence that I couldn't bare to destroy.

"Um, what?" I asked, not buying that this hot jock was even talking to me, first of all, and then asking me to homecoming? What the hell happened to him over the summer?

"Judging by the look on your face, you heard me." He laughed, his brown eyes sparkling.

"Well, yeah I heard you. But why me? You don't even know me." I brushed him off, turning to grabbing my book.

For the first time since he sat his butt down, his confidence crashed slightly and his eye widened in surprise. He obviously wasn't used to being turned down.

"No," He said, reaching for my wrist, halting me from grabbing the book. "I know plenty about you. You're Riley Kennedy, a senior at Rocori high school and the front runner for valedictorian. Every school in the country wants you and you never attend football games. And I've had a crush on you since the first day of freshman year. The same day, I made a deal with my buddy Blake over there, that I would ask you out by Senior year. So here I am. Please say yes, I won't be able to go on living if you don't." He pouted at me, causing me to burst out laughing. I titled my head back, my green eyes sparkling with amusement.

"And what does a guy like you see in a girl like me?"

"Everything." He told me, leaning closer to me, invading my personal space.

"Oh yeah? And what about all the heartbroken cheerleaders? Isn't that your type?" I snorted, still skeptical.

"No. You're my type and you want to know why? Because you're everything they could never be. And you're all that I want in a girl." He grinned at me. I tilted my head to the side, trying to read this Eric Decker kid that I had heard so much about. And despite my reservations, something told me to go for it and jump off the ledge. It was senior year and I needed to take a risk for once in my life. So I scooted towards him and wrapped my hand around his neck. His eyes widened as I leaned very close to him, my lips inches from him.

"I'd love to go to homecoming with you." I murmured, before placing a soft kiss against his lips, proud of myself for taking the risk. Little did I know, Eric Decker was everything I needed.

Eric's truck stopped in front of my house and we both sprinted into the warmth of the heat. I watched him pull his jacket off and then kick his shoes off as I did the same. I studied his little movements, like the way he always messed his hair up at randomly times when he thought it was sticking up. And the way his eyes were the dark chocolate color due to how tired he was. But also because he was with me. Love made his eyes the deepest shade of brown you'd think was possible.

"Come here," He whispered, extending his arms to me and pulling me into them. He scooped me up, walking up the stairs to my bedroom where he threw me onto the bed. "Do you want to take these off?" He asked me, tugging on the belt loop of my jeans. I shook my head yes and he grabbed a pair of sweatpants off my chair. His fingers undid the button and zipper mechanically. He slid the denim down my legs, trying not to let it get too sexual as a yawn escaped my lips.

"I'm tired," I murmured sleepily.

"I know baby," he practically mouthed to me, his voice so soft. His hands slid the sweatpants up my legs and then flipped the covers over us as we snuggled into one another. My head rested in the crook of his neck and I placed a soft kiss against his pulse. Our legs molded together under the blankets and our breathing slowly evened out to a steady pace. My eyes fluttered closed as he placed a soft kiss against my forehead and we drifted to sleep, both of us content in the only truly happy place we had ever been.