Linda basked in the adoration of everyone else on the field for longer than most middle-aged women would have found tasteful. Even the opposing team couldn't stop talking about how amazing her last play was: forcing a fumble, picking it up, and taking the ball all the way down the field. It was incredible.
"Did you ever play professionally?" "Are you related to someone famous?" "How are you so good and we've never seen you before?" "Are you single?"
Not all questions received polite answers.
But after a few minutes, the boys began to disperse. And as Linda made her way towards Jon, Biff made his way towards Sarah, and they both realized they were going to the same place.
"Hey, sorry about Dougherty on that first play," Biff offered Jon a hand. "Usually we don't even tackle each other that hard, he was way out of line with you being new and all. I wish you didn't have to sit out the whole game."
"It's okay, football isn't really my thing," Jon shot a knowing glance at Sarah, even as he accepted Biff's help standing up.
"Besides," Sarah added as she stood up herself, "he had me to keep him company." The girl stood up and pressed herself into Biff's side, stretching up for a kiss.
Biff met Sarah's lips, and suddenly Jon felt very much an outsider between the cheerleader, the quarterback, and whatever his mom was becoming.
For her part, Linda smiled at the couple. "Hey, why don't I invite you two over to dinner at our place? Give your parents a call to make sure it's okay, but I'd like to get to know you a bit better."
Biff broke off the kiss and met Linda's eyes, a knowing expression shared between the two, as Sarah leaned her head possessively into Biff's shoulder. She knew Biff was forming a bond, but now she would be there to... monitor the situation as it developed. The more Sarah knew about Linda, the better she could control Biff.
Linda was completely oblivious, but Jon knew that the gears were turning in Sarah's head. And this knowledge just made him feel even more out of his depth as the four of them piled into his mom's car: Linda driving, Biff up front (he needed the leg room), and Jon and Sarah in the back seat, Sarah eyeing Linda the whole time, and Jon eyeing Sarah with identical energy.
As if he didn't have enough to worry about with Biff.
