AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She clears her throat. “I need to tell you something.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “What?” I repeat.
“I, um…I told Marcus about us.”
My chest tightens for a beat. One more person knows. That’s one more person capable to outing us. “You…what? I thought we agreed nobody except Sam.”
“We did, but with the threats coming in from Rivera…I don’t know.” She shakes her head as her eyes fall toward the ground. “Marcus pulled me aside on Monday to ask me about the fight over the weekend. I came clean and told him about Rivera.”
“Everything about Rivera?”
“No.”
I sigh. “Okay. We can trust him?”
“We can trust him,” she confirms.
“If you say so.”
“Are you mad?” she asks. She glances up at me with a bit of fear, and I don’t like that she feels nervous to hear my reaction.
“No, I’m not mad. I’m just surprised.”
“He told me to be careful.”
I nod. “We will.” I move toward her and take her in my arms again. “It’s our only choice.”
And it’s not hard to be careful when we barely get the chance to see one another. Over the next couple weeks, I really only see her at one OTA practice each week, and it’s like a goddamn beam of sunshine bursting from a raincloud the moment I spot her.
This week was our voluntary minicamp. It’s Friday night before the big charity ball that I’m honorary chair of—something that’s taken up very little of my time, to be honest, but at least I know tomorrow I’ll get to see her even though I’m attending with her best friend.
And she’s been busy with her kid. Her lawyer informed her that in order to change the visitation rights with her ex, she has to file a motion with the court proving he’s unfit to be with their son. So she’s been fighting for her son while I’ve been working, and unfortunately we haven’t had much time to connect.
I don’t acknowledge her at practice. I can’t. She’s with the media, and I have my own work to do. We’re installing new plays, practicing without contact, going through the motions. There’s a lot to break down here, and I’m using every second I can on the field to make sure my team will be ready for camp next month. We’re limited in what we can do thanks to the player’s association—which is great to keep players safe, but it also puts in place restrictions on both time and the sorts of activities we can have players participate in.
Still, knowing she’s there watching this gives me a different sort of perspective that I like more than I’m willing to admit. She gets it. She’s not harping on why we never get to see each other. Instead, she has a life of her own, one that coincides with the things I’m doing, and as I think toward a future with her, I can’t help but think that’s one more thing that sets her apart from anyone else I’ve ever been with. She gets me. She gets my schedule. She grew up in this life, and she’s a part of it now, too.
It's refreshing. It’s also scary as fuck since the chances of us actually achieving that future are slim.
OTAs are voluntary for players, but the majority of the team shows up because these are fucking football players. They’re here because they love the game. Guys don’t make it to this league if they aren’t serious about it, and we’re all putting in the work that comes with a new coach.
Some of our rookies are excelling, showing us what they’re made of, and I’m excited to see more of it in training camp next month. It’s the real start of the season for us even though we have these shorter sessions, and I’m ready for it to get underway. The anticipation is killing me already.
I should have plenty to do on a Friday night, but I’m beat to hell after minicamp this week. Three full days this week with players showing what they’re made of, and with me being present for every fucking second.
It was both exhilarating and exhausting.
Jack invited me out for a few drinks to celebrate the week and recap, but I declined. We recapped a bit this morning at the office, and we can recap more Monday. It was a long week, and I need a night away before I gear up to take my girl’s best friend to a charity ball tomorrow.
So imagine my surprise when a text comes through a little after six and I happen to be home.
Lorraine: Just dropped J off at my parents’ for a double sleepover. Maybe we can have one too?
I chuckle as I read her text.
We haven’t had a sleepover since the night she picked up Jonah from his dad’s house and I snuck over to spend the night with her in my arms.
It’s been far too long, that’s for damn sure.
