Page 30 of Nailing Heat
He nods. “Are you looking to piss them off already?” A wide smile crosses his face; he knows as well as I do that they won’t like that.
I shrug as a I reach him. “I know, but it needs to be done.”
Jase nods. He’s decked out in his Blaze apparel, a light blue top with some grey shorts, both bearing the logo of the team. I look down at my own choice of outfit; I am not wearing anything Blaze. My shirt is navy blue, and my shorts are khaki. I make a mental note that even though it’s sort of close to Blaze colors, I should wear something that bears the logo at all times. I’m pretty sure my outfit won’t earn me any goodwill when I watch them practice and when we are doing health checks.
“The health checks will make them madder than my presence at practice,” I tell him.
“Boys, how are you this morning?” August comes breezing by dressed in a suit.
“What are you so snazzy for this morning?” Jase asks him.
“I have meetings this afternoon, sponsorship prospects for the Blaze. You know we’re in our inaugural season, so businesses wanted to see what we could do before spending the big bucks.”
This is “business August.” I’ve seen this before when he was at Brown. His senior year, he was getting ready to join the Cromwell empire. That meant less partying for him and time to get serious.
“Alright, that’s great, man. I hope all goes well,” I tell him, slapping him on the back.
“What are you doing here so early?” August turns his attention to me. “This bloke,” he waves his hand in Jase’s direction, “is always here early so I know why he is here.”
“Your training room is fucking mess, man,” I tell him.
He nods quickly. “I know, I know. But that’s why you are here, man.”
I grin at him. “I know, man, you fucking needed me.”
“Always did,” he says, clapping me on the back before walking away.
I smile appreciatively as he disappears around the corner. I catch Jase staring at me. I think it’s on the tip of his tongue to ask me, so I speak before he can. “I know he puts off this front that he’s a big ol’ whore, but August is a good one. He’s finding his footing and coming out from under his father’s shadow.” Jase nods slowly. “Don’t worry about August, ‘party August’ isn’t the only side he has.”
I’ve noticed that’s a perception that some of them have of August. Sure, it’s one he puts on display, selling himself short. But IknowAugust, and there’s more to him.
“I know, man, I know,” Jase says. “I believe in August. I think Danny does too. The girls like to give him shit. But we know he’s more than that.” I nod slowly. “It’s nice that you stick up for him, though.”
“Been doing that for a long time. It’s kind of a habit. People are always underestimating him. But he’s going to make this something,” I circle my finger in the air, gesturing at all the Blaze colors surrounding us. “I know he will.”
Jase smiles. “I gotta get shit ready for practice. I will see you on the pitch.”
“What the fuck is the pitch?” I ask him.
He chuckles. “You really haven’t been around soccer much, have you?”
I shake my head. “Even when I played sports, it was football.”
“Ah, you Americans and that unwatchable form of football. The pitch is the field, mate.”
I nod, feeling stupid. “Thanks. I didn’t know that.”
“Obviously.” Jase chuckles before turning and heading towards the field.
I shake my head laughing. “Idiot,” I say to no one.
Sitting in the warm Tampa sun to watch practice is nice. A lot warmer down here then it would be up in New England. I will miss the beautiful views I had while the leaves changed color. My eyes find Amelia on the field every time. I watch the way her strong legs carry her through the drills and sprints. And when I linger too long, I try to look away, but it never fails - I always find her. Coach Watt really puts them through the paces. I don’t know much about a soccer practice, but I can see they are doing some ball work, he’s putting them in game situations and there’s running. So much running. I think about what I can offer as a stretching program.
“Girls, now that we are done practicing for the day, I need you all to head into the training room for evaluation,” Coach Watts is telling them. I hear the groans from the girls. “Youneedto do this. Dexter Langley is our new trainer, and he needs to evaluate all of you. We have a dedicated trainer for the Blaze, so please take advantage of this benefit.”
“Ladies,” I say clapping my hands once to draw their attention over to me, the same way I saw Watts do earlier. “I know it’s not what you want to be doing,butLucas and I are going to do our best to get you out of here quickly. And I would like you to come through us by position. Backs are with me, mids with Lucas, forwards are with me and goalies, you’ll be with Lucas too.”
Lucas steps forward and helps me out, “We’re doing this from back of the field forward. So please line up accordingly.”
