Page 46 of (La)Crosse My Heart

“Okay, last question. How does STX help support your game on and off the field?”

This one takes him a moment to think about, but I couldn’t be more proud of his answer.

“When I’m in the game, I know I can rely on the stick to do what it needs to do. The fact that the stick is so reliable means I don’t have to do all the research to make sure it’s the one that will help me with my job. That gives me more time to train, to get my body to the point that the stick is an asset instead of a liability.”

I grin at him, so excited that he’s able to get through all that.

“Let’s take a few minutes break before we get to the next spot,” the director says. He walks over to me and puts a hand on my shoulder. “I’m not sure what you just did, but is there any chance you can help us with the next campaign?”

I chuckle. “Whatever helps us get through everything Clark needs to film by the time we’re scheduled to leave, I’m game.”

21

Clark

“Ican’t believe we made it through all that,” I say, breathing a sigh of relief as we walk out of the filming studio. It was dark when we got there, and it’s dark now, so I guess my exhaustion is valid.

“You did amazing,” Jessa says, all smiles.

Shaking my head, I say, “There’s no way we’d have gotten that done in one day if you weren’t there. And that improv section where you just asked me questions. Brilliant.”

She blushes and glances away. “Well, it’s a good thing it did. I was tempted to call your mom to talk some sense into you if it didn’t work. I knew everyone would be judging you if it got to that point, though.”

“To be honest, I would’ve been fine with the judging. I just wanted to get that all done and make sure I can pay the bills for the rest of the year.”

I lift my hand to hail a cab only to find a bunch of them are already occupied.

“I’m so hungry,” Jessa says.

The large table of food they had during the entire set was good at first, but by the end, I didn’t want any finger sandwiches or little melon balls.

“Me too. Should we go somewhere?” I ask, still trying to flag a car.

“What if we order it to us? Back to the hotel?”

I sigh and nod. “That sounds great. You can come to my room, and we’ll keep watching that show.”

“The paranormal one?” Jessa asks, her eyes going wide with excitement.

When I nod, she says, “That would be even better. I’m so glad you like it.”

We finally get into a cab and the driver weaves through the traffic for over fifteen minutes. We take that long to figure out what to order. Thank goodness for delivery, because I’m exhausted.

The hotel is fairly nice, with several amenities we haven’t had time to take advantage of. The hot tub would be nice, but I’m too tired to have to change into a swimsuit and then change again after it. What’s mind boggling is that standing all day as I read lines and try to open myself up for the camera is almost more exhausting than a full lacrosse game.

I won’t admit that to Burton, though.

“I’m going to change and then I’ll knock.” Jessa gives me a small smile before disappearing into her room. I’m next door, so I go in and take the fastest shower of my life, knowing I won’t want to do it later when we’ve watched a few episodes of the show.

The knock I hear first turns out to be the delivery guy from the Chinese food restaurant. Then Jessa knocks a few moments later.

“That smells good,” she says, leaning down and breathing it in.

“Let’s eat. How was your shower?” I ask. It takes a split second before I’m wishing I hadn’t said anything that calls up a visual of Jessa not fully clothed.

“Good after today.” She puts a large blanket on the bed before taking a plate from me.

We dish up the variety of foods from the boxes and sit on the floor to eat.