Page 44 of Waiting for Her

“You’re still in love with him?” I’m sure my eyes look as big as saucers. He simply chuckles. “Thought so. I’ve been around for a while, you know that. It took me a little bit for it to click, but I remember you. He was in a bad way, Bri. Lost and the only place he was a semblance of himself was here on this field. It took a while, but he came back to himself. But you being back? He’s even more himself than he was. Grady… he means a lot to me. I don’t understand why, but I’m trusting that you’re not going anywhere this time.”

I lean back in my seat, rocked by his words and for the first time admit out loud what I just recently realized myself. “No, I’m not.”

Ifigured Gradyneeded a little bit of time before we attempted another one-on-one interview again. Considering last time I ended up straddling and damn near dry humping the crap out of him, only to admit shocking news a few hours later.

“Ms. Jameson?” the sound of a deep voice jerks me out of my daze. I turn and see Izaak standing next to me, his hair a mess, practice uniform dirty, lines of sweat dripping down his temples.

The sun is still beating down, summer nowhere close to releasing its hold quite yet. I’m standing here in a maxi dress and sandals and I’m hot. I can only imagine what it feels like wearing a full uniform.

Before I heard I was going to be working this interview, I already knew the team stats by heart, which has made the last week even more fun. Watching the practices and knowing the potential of each individual player.

But this one standing next to me? His potential is limitless. An All-American linebacker and team captain, he reminds me so much of Grady.

“What can I help you with, Izaak?”

“Um, you said you needed to interview me today,” he kindly reminds me with a grin.

“Oh! Yes, that’s right. Whenever you’re ready.” How could I have forgotten? It’s only thereasonI’m here.

“Coach said to come talk with you now, if that’s okay.”

“Sure thing. Go hydrate first.”

“On it.” He jogs off and I settle into one of the green padded folding chairs set up behind the benches.

He returns quickly, leaning down to place his helmet on the ground, still balancing two paper cups in his hand. He hands me a cup of water. “Coach said you should hydrate, too,” he tells me, and I glance over in the direction of the large orange water jug, Grady standing next to it with Drew and a few other players by his side. His eyes don’t shift to me, he’s completely focused on the job.

The fact that he cared enough to have his player bring me a water makes me tingly. It might seem like a small thing, and maybe it’s nothing, but to me it’s significant. Try as I might, my heart still beats a little harder knowing he thought of me.

I clear my throat and take a sip, feeling my cheeks flush and wanting to dismiss the feelings building up.

“How was practice?” I ask, beginning my line of questions with something easy. Most of the players have been a little nervous and I’ve found that if I start with something easy, they realize I’m not going to dive deep intotheirlives.

“Good. Hard.” He finishes the last of his water, but keeps the empty cup in his hand, twisting it around. He absentmindedly nods his head a couple times and looks to the field. “Should be a good season,” he murmurs.

“I agree. I see major potential for the team, and I’m not just saying that.”

“Thanks, Ms. Jameson. It’s nice to hear that, especially coming from you since you know so much about college football.” I must look confused because he rushes to continue, “Coach told us you’ve been a huge Warriors fan since you were a kid and basically know everything about it.”

“Ahh. Yeah, guilty of that. You’re welcome, by the way, but please, call me Bri, okay?”

“I think Coach would kick my ass if I called you by your first name. He reminds us before every practice that we’re supposed to treat you with nothing but respect.”

His words warm me more than the sun overhead. I glance to the bright blue sky, feeling a smile ghosting across my face. I clear my throat and sip my water. The water Grady was thoughtful enough to send along with his player, so I wouldn’t get dehydrated. Yeah, it’s more than warmth that’s settling in.

“So, what do you think so far under Coach Ryan’s leadership?”

“He’s awesome. He uh… you know, he was with us before, and it was good and Bales, he’s great. He was the one who brought me here, but can I tell you something not on the record?”

I smile. “Of course.”

“When schools started coming around, watching me at games and even a few practices, it was a bit overwhelming. I don’t want this to come out cocky, but I knew I was good. I knew I was built—I worked my ass off and had like no social life in high school because I was focused on my goal. My parents, well, life wasn’t easy for our family, and we didn’t really have a lot of money. They sacrificed everything so I could focus on school and football. We depended on me getting a scholarship. It wasn’t like I was necessarily surprised that scouts were looking at me, but it was still overwhelming. I was just me, you know? Nothing special. I happened to be good at the sport I loved, and people started recognizing that. It would have been easy to get full of myself. But, I had a good mentor.”

“That’s good. I know that’s really important. Having someone to look up to.”

He looks slightly embarrassed when he admits, “I may or may not have stalked Coach Ryan.”

I turn my head and scrunch my eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

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