Page 34 of Not that Impressed
Ellie
I believed him.
Will
Grayson Hollis did this. I’ll take care of it.
Ellie
I’m going to talk to my dad.
Maybe he can get Grayson to shut up. Or at least Libby.
Will
Now who’s throwing their weight around because of who they are.
I regret the text as soon as I send it. Ellie and I have such tenuous footing, and the lack of tone in texts could easily make me sound like a jerk when she already believes I’m one.
Ellie
Will. I absolutely own that I’m Ellie Bennet and throw my weight around whenever I please.
The fierce tone I can picture her using makes my heart speed up. Why am I so attracted to this woman who loves nothing more than to knock me down a notch or two whenever she sees me?
Because every time she knocks me down, I learn something. I get better.
I try to come up with several responses to her text, one of which was actuallywell you have more weight to throw around. Until I read that back and realize it doesn’t sound like I’m talking about the fact that she’s a lot more famous than me. I go for straightforward, as usual. Even though chances are it will get me into just as much trouble.
Will
I’ll let Anna know what Hollis is up to.
Ellie
If she wants to bury him, I’ve got shovels.
And plenty of people to see us digging.
Because I’m Ellie Bennet.
And becauseI’mbrilliant, I send a thumbs up.
I want to talk with her more. Say something to spark a conversation. Think of a reason to call her.
My brain has gone completely blank.
Back in high school and college, being the silent guy worked for me. I didn’t talk much. Football was my life. Girls went out with me when I asked because I was on the football team. Or, more often than not, they asked me. The few girlfriends I’ve had in my life took the time to get to know me and understand me, to pursue me.
Ellie’s so much different. When she pointed out to me how I was curating my story too, like her, it wasn’t exactly about getting to know me, but she showed me that she does see more than the football player who worked his way to the top. She showed me she knows there’s more, and it makes me feel like I have a chance to help her see more of who I am. I’ve never been the one who wanted more in the relationship and had to work for it. I know how arrogant that sounds, but it’s more about not putting myself out there for people, letting them come to me because it’s easier.
I pause the film I was studying—well, that’s been playing in the background while I ruminate—and do what I’ve been wanting to do all evening: research women in football who aren’t getting enough recognition.
There has to be something I can do. Something like the way my parents moved our family to make sure all my hard work got me to where I wanted to be. Ellie’s right that it gave me a leg up, Maybe me paying that back looks like me giving someone else a leg up.
An hour later I have a page-long list of women in the football world—coaches, trainers, analysts, commentators, whatever—to investigate more. I check my phone to see if Ellie’s texted me and then spend ten minutes trying to come up with something to say to her and start the conversation again.
I give up and go back to watching film. Interpreting the Arizona offense is a lot easier than figuring out how to talk to Ellie Bennet.
