SF Chapter 177: Super Bowl
The game between the Patriots and the Panthers had started, and they were already in the second quarter.
"Jesus Christ, Dad," Dani whined. "They're playing worse than the Browns. At this rate, we're gonna go thirty minutes without a single point!"
Jay grumpily complained for a different reason. "I told you we should watch the game only with people who actually like football!"
He glanced inside the suite, where the girls were talking among themselves, basically forgetting that the biggest football game of the year was happening right in front of them.
At this point, besides Dani, only Jay, Cam, Charlie, and Alex were really paying attention to the game.
"What did you bet?" Charlie changed the subject completely, looking at his youngest brother.
Dani replied, "Patriots by seven, the favorite. Panthers to win, just to make sure I made at least one good bet! And a bunch of smaller bets on top of that!"
Charlie nodded and nudged Alan. "You should bet the opposite. Daniel is horrible at betting!"
"Heyy!" Dani exclaimed. "I've still lost less money than you, Charlie!"
Alan looked reproachfully at the two of them.
"TOUCHDOWN!!" Cam yelled as the first six points were finally scored.
Deion Branch scored it, catching a pass from Tom Brady.
"You know," Alex chimed in, "Tom Brady was the 199th pick. Yet now he's one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Isn't that incredible?"
Dani stared at her. "I have to agree with Haley. Don't nerd everything up, Alex!" he mocked.
Alex scoffed and turned her attention back to the game.
Dani turned to his father. "199th pick! We could've easily had him if we'd had a competent manager!"
Now it was Jay's turn to scoff. "So could every team in the league."
"I don't care about them! I'm mad at ours!"
A few minutes later, another touchdown was scored, this time by the Panthers.
"Wow, that was almost 40 yards," Cam commented.
"Great one!" Dani cheered as well. "Finally, the game's getting started!"
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The first half ended with the Patriots leading 14-10.
Haley approached the group.
"Finally, something interesting. Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, P. Diddy, Kid Rock, and Nelly," she said, beaming.
Jay looked annoyed at his granddaughter.
Haley ignored him and asked her uncle, "Couldn't you try to meet them in person, Dani?"
"Nah, I'm good," Dani replied.
She clarified, "Couldn't you get me to meet them?"
"Nah, I'm still good."
The rest of the group also came back to watch the halftime show.
During Janet and Timberlake's performance, something controversial happened.
The two were already dancing provocatively, but at the end, Justin pulled away part of Janet's outfit, exposing one of her breasts - although her nipple was partially covered by a metallic shield.
"Wait... did that just happen?" Mischa asked in astonishment.
Prudence chuckled. "Pretty bold!"
"Nice!" Dani grinned. "The game's getting heated, and now boobs. I love the Super Bowl!"
He immediately received several stomps on the foot from some of the girls.
Meanwhile, Claire and Alan were covering their children's eyes - Jake and Luke.
"Why are you covering my eyes, Dad?" Jake complained. "It's not like I haven't seen that at Uncle Charlie's house-"
Alan immediately covered his mouth too.
"Not my fault," Dani quickly defended himself when he noticed a few accusatory looks being directed at him.
Lisa was glaring at Charlie.
"He might have seen it at the beach," Charlie tried to lie.
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The second half began.
"Eh, what's with this game? Another quarter without a single point..." Dani muttered.
But the final quarter completely changed everyone's perception, turning the game into one of the most incredible Super Bowls of all time.
After taking a 21-10 lead, the Patriots gave up a touchdown, cutting their lead to five.
But a few minutes later—
"Oh my God!" Cam exclaimed.
Even Jay had gotten to his feet.
Muhsin Muhammad had caught an 85-yard pass and scored another touchdown, giving the Panthers the lead, 22-21.
"Let's fucking go, Panthers!" Dani cheered.
What followed next was even more incredible. The Patriots went ahead 29-22, only for the Panthers to tie the game with barely more than a minute left.
But with only four seconds remaining, Vinatieri kicked a 41-yard field goal.
"Great one!" Jay was smiling, satisfied with the game.
Dani had a hand on his father's shoulder, beaming as well, even though he was wearing a Panthers shirt and had been rooting for them.
Then he suddenly remembered something. "Shit! My bets!"
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"Crap! Why do I keep doing that?" Dani said in anguish. "I didn't just lose the game - I lost every single prop bet."
He started listing them. "Total penalty yardage, number of replay challenges..."
He grimaced. "Even the coin toss... What are the odds?"
"Fifty-fifty, give or take," Alex remarked sassily.
Dani lightly squeezed her head between his fists. "You're wrong!"
"Fifty-fifty is the probability. I said betting odds, smartass. The house still takes its cut!"
"You just said odds!" she protested, never liking to be wrong.
"Same thing in the betting world!"
He continued listing his losing bets. "Interceptions, field goals, total sacks, whether or not there'd be a safety, Gatorade color..."
Dani went on muttering as he turned to look at Lexi. She had chosen the Patriots to win.
Lexi, her face almost completely expressionless, raised her hand and made an L on her forehead.
To make matters worse, she stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry at him. "Pbbbt!"
Dani gritted his teeth. "Lexi... you..."
"Curse this game!"
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[Dani, Lexi, and Prudence commentary]
After the game, the trio were sitting on the couch in their hotel room.
"My poor Prudence had to travel twelve hours to get here, and she already has to make the trip back tomorrow," Dani commented.
"So I decided to go with her. And while I'm at it, I'll spend a few days over there in Switzerland. I deserve a vacation!"
Lexi ignored his last remark. "Aren't you supposed to be at boarding school, Prudence?"
Prudence dismissed her concern. "I can sneak out. Or sneak Dani in somehow."
"And the best part," Dani continued, "Prudence can still use the plane. Her dad didn't forbid her."
"But he'll probably get annoyed when he finds out Dani came with me," she added with a shrug.
[Commentary ends]
[Berta commentary]
"Prudence's dad called me to talk about Daniel," Berta revealed. "And I told him what I thought about him."
"Promiscuous? Absolutely. An idiot? Frequently. But he's not a bad kid. He has his own money. I know his family. It could be a lot worse."
And Berta finished by addressing the kind of relationship Prudence and Dani had.
"You really think that girl does anything she doesn't wanna do?"
[Commentary ends]
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