Page 54 of Gridlocked on the Gridiron

“Tell me one relationship you know that’s lasted, and not just out of convenience.”

Immediately, he said, “Rudy and Jenna. Chris and Elaine. Sam and Kelly.” Honestly, a lot of his teammates were in healthy, stable relationships. There’d only been a few who’d married women who may not have had the best of intentions.

“I guess time will tell, and maybe it works out for some people. But I was raised in a house with a single father whose heart had been broken by the woman he thought was the love of his life. A woman who couldn’t stand the sight of him, and who chose to walk out on him and her child. And you know what my dad did? He kept trying. Kept looking for love everywhere he went, convinced he was gonna find someone someday. All that ended up happening was him jumping from one unfulfilling relationship to the next, and he never has found that soulmate he’s been seeking.”

Colton searched Lucia’s face for a hint of what she was feeling. Sure, he’d lost his mother, but that had been due to illness. He couldn’t imagine having a parent leave him by choice, and it made him angry to think of anybody leaving what he could only picture as a perfect, clever, and happy little Lucia.

“I’m sorry, Luc.”

She shrugged again, this time meeting his eyes. “It is what it is. I’ve had a lot of time to deal with it and how it made us feel. I don’t remember her a ton, but I know we were better off without her. My dad loved me the best that he could while dealing with his own demons.”

Colton set his hand on her knee and squeezed gently. She gave him a small smile, grabbing the remote and clicking on a movie he’d never heard of while they ate the food they’d made together.

Chapter nineteen

Lucia

Three days later, Lucia was still reeling from the conversation she’d had at Colton’s house. She hadn’t meant to tell him so much about her relationship with Max, and she certainly hadn’t meant to explore her relationship with her parents any further, but something about the way he’d looked at her, like he’d wanted to know every little thing about her, had made her feel oddly seen.

She’d known his dad had messed him up pretty badly from past conversations with him and what she’d gathered at his family dinner. She’d known that he felt the only way people would love or care about him was if he kept winning because that’s what his dad had conditioned him to believe. What she hadn’t known was how hard he’d tried to fit himself into two different worlds that refused to let him in. Despite his best efforts to joke with her afterward, she could tell how heavily it weighed on him, and it hurt to know how poorly he’d been treated.

She wanted to show him that none of that mattered to her. While his culture and football were important parts of him, they weren’t all of him, and they didn’t define him. She wanted to make sure he knew that, no matter how their relationship ended.

Her eyes found him on the sidelines, sitting on a bench, head in his hands. Her heart hiccupped at the image, feeling an unusual need to go down onto the field and hug him. He’d played a pretty good game so far, helping the Sabers take an early three-score lead, but defense had started struggling during the second half, leaving them down by four points.

As defense got a stop and special teams ran out onto the field, Cooper walked up and patted Colton on the shoulder to tell him it was their turn to take the field. Colton stood, putting his helmet on and clapping his hands. They only had ten seconds left in the game, and they needed a Hail Mary if they wanted a serious shot at playoffs.

Lucia bit the tip of her pen cap anxiously, watching Colton get set up on the field. Any noise from the fans in the stands faded away, and she could hear her heart racing in her ears. For her, and Colton too, this was more than just the team winning. It was what they had been working toward all season. She knew he had it in him, had watched plenty of his film to know he could make it happen. It would be up to the o-line to keep him safe and up to his receivers to run their routes properly and get away from coverage.

Chris, the center, hiked the ball to Colton, and Lucia forgot how to breathe as he caught it and looked downfield. Cooper was struggling to get open with two defensive backs running alongside him, which left Devin, who wasn’t doing much better. Tennessee had pushed all their backs to the end zone, knowing what the Sabers would try.

The analyst room was silent as Colton slapped the ball once and then sent it up toward the end zone. He’d chosen Cooper, and Lucia’s heart stopped completely as the ball sailed toward the tight end.

She couldn’t see the field well enough from their box, turning her attention to the TV just as Cooper jumped higher than a safety, and the ball landed squarely in his hands. Lucia jumped up with the rest of the analysts, screaming along with them as cords and papers were knocked from the tables.

She watched Colton jump up in the air, pumping a fist before lying on his back and looking up at the sky. The tension she’d seen in him just one play earlier was gone, and the TV showed how wide his smile was. When he stood back up to shake hands with the other team, she thought he turned to look at her in her box.

When he waved, she knew he had.

She waved back, grin wide. Wrapped up in the moment, she blew him a kiss, promising herself it was only because people were watching. She ignored the voice in her head that told her she was lying to herself, too excited to care. Her heart was so swollen with pride, she felt it beating out the craziest of rhythms.

Post-game moved quickly, and before Lucia knew it, she was being shepherded out onto the tarmac and into the private plane. She hadn’t even had time to stop outside of the locker room but knew Colton probably wouldn’t have had time to talk to her before the press conference anyway.

Lucia heard the players and coaches get on the plane, but the privacy curtain was closed so she couldn’t see Colton. She settled into her seat, pulled out her tablet, and began going through the film she’d received from the game.

A few moments after they’d reached cruising altitude, her phone buzzed.

Colton

Come say hi.

She couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face as she responded.

Lucia

No <3

I don’t want to walk by the whole team.

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