Page 11 of Waiting for Her

Never did I imagine she would be assigned my story.

Or that she’d be the one following me around for six weeks.

I left the meeting and immediately came home. Changed my clothes and spent the next four hours working out my pissed-off energy.

How dare she accept this story?

Why?

Did she think she’d use what we once had to fluff up her feature?

I could have told them no.

To find someone else.

But I’m a masochist.

Part of me wants to see how she’ll handle it.

And, honestly, I want to show her what I’ve made of my life.

I only hope I can ignore the fact that despite myself, I still find her the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

Despite myself…

I still love her.

Grady

“Iknow ithurts! Push through it, you pansies!”

I hear snickers at my use of the word, but it doesn’t deter me.

Our training program is intense, to say the least.

It’s Friday of our first week of practice. The boys are breathing heavy but the difference I see in our team already is promising.

“Five more minutes, guys! Don’t piss it away or make us stay late.”

Groans and gagging are heard from across the field, but my assistant coach smirks and checks his stop watch as the team continues doing burpees.

He blows the whistle, and I watch as 250-pound college athletes crumble to the ground.

“Don’t think you’re getting out of cool downs!”

They climb to their feet and follow the program we taught them on the first day.

My assistant coach, Drew, walks my way and nods his head to the field. “How does it feel?”

“Incredible.”

“You made it through your first week,” he says with a smile. When I got the job, I wondered if Drew would harbor bad feelings toward me for not getting the head coach position. But he’s never once shown it. In fact, he’s been my biggest supporter, aside from my family.

I don’t know why he felt the way he did, and I never pushed it or asked again. I was simply grateful he felt as confident in me and my abilities.

He was Coach Bales’s assistant for years, and by default, my coach before my injury. He also played an instrumental part in changing my decision to change career paths following graduation. He saw my leadership abilities on the field, encouraged me to think about coaching and well… here I am.

“Plans for the weekend?” Drew asks.

---