Page 80 of Best Year Ever
“Yes.” He nods, eyes locked on me.
“I need a little more time, if that’s okay. Like for my brain to catch up,” I continue. “But I don’t want you to think that’s because of you or us. It’s me being new at this, and knowing the next few weeks are going to be hard to be together. But after your training camp and the U.S. Open…”
My voice trails off, but the suggestion is obvious. We sit and smile at each other, his hand still squeezing mine.
After a beat, Landon reaches over and takes my sunglasses off. He then places his hand on my cheek.
“Who knew that New Year’s would lead tothis. Best year ever,” he says, keeping his hand on my cheek. I turn a little to kiss his wrist and then repeat his words.
“Best year ever.”
CHAPTER 28
Landon
MID-JULY, FRIDAY BEFORE TRAINING CAMP STARTS
LANDON: Good morning, beautiful. What time will you get here tonight?
RORI (NEW): Morning. Missed sleeping in that enormous football player bed last night.
RORI (NEW): 6:45ish. Getting to know the route by heart
LANDON: Missed you in my bed. After three nights in a row, I was spoiled.
RORI (NEW): Yeah, thankfully I’ll be able to come every night now until you go to camp.
LANDON: That’s what I like to hear.
RORI (NEW): Dad was at last night’s birthday dinner for Julie. The way he looked at her…I swear, I’m not making this all up.
LANDON: A lot of secret sneaking around happening for the Reilly’s
RORI (NEW): Touche…
“Just got off the phone with Aiden,” my PR rep Jim says over the phone. I have him on speaker, as I’m driving to the Waves facility for the day. “He’s not getting any push back from sponsors on theHot Stuffarticle about you and Rori. There are a couple online fan chats keeping the rumors alive, and otherwise nothing new to report.”
Like Taylor had suggested, I’d clued Aiden and Jim in on my situation with Rori and the decision not to comment on theHot Stuffarticle. It’d been published a few days ago, but we all stayed silent, and no one else in the media seems to be biting. Rori wouldn’t love that the rumors are still circulating, but if they stay in fan spaces, the impact should be small.
Of course, the guys on the team hadn’t missed the chance to give me shit when the article first came out. One of the veterans had cut out the article—complete with an absolutely smoking picture of Rori and me from the photo shoot—and taped it to my locker.
“Ha ha,” I’d said loudly, and the whole locker room laughed.
But other than that, it looks like our relationship is staying secret for now, as planned.
Not a secret? It’s time to get serious about the new season. After I arrive at the Waves facility, I head to one of our last defensive team meetings before training camp. The room is packed with fifty or so guys hoping to make the defensive roster.
Within five minutes, the intensity ramps up.
“No, no, no, no,” Bruce, our defensive coordinator, says as he bangs against the podium.
“No.”
Bruce is playing back last year’s Washington game on the projector, punctuating each mistake with a “no.”
“Not what’s happening this year,” he says as the film starts over again. “D-line, look at the hole you left open. Craven, you need to pivot better to shut down that seam. And Battle, what thehell was that? You let the quarterback juke you? The fucking quarterback?”
Yeah, not my best moment last year. But that game was when my ankle injury was at its worst. And never mind the fact that Tristan Mason is the most athletic quarterback in the league. The guy runs a 4.3 second 40 yard dash as QB1, which is rare air.
