Page 120 of Steeling Her
“You’ll know what I mean when you find her.” But I already do. I know what he means, and the thought of that scares me a little.Am I too young to know?Reggie is the same age, yet he knows. He has the one. He’s with his future. “Don’t freak out Jackson, I know you are right now.” He laughs trying to calm my racing pulse down.
Is she the one for me?
“Hey man, chill, most people don’t know right away. It’s fine. For some people, it takes a little while longer to find them or for them to open their eyes to see what they’ve already got.” He points to the door as TJ walks inside with fine lines of worry etched on his face. He scurries over to us and starts to unpack. “Well, how’d it go, Romeo?” Reggie teases TJ.
“F-fine,” he nervously responds, throwing his bag down on the bench where his jersey hangs. He’s fidgeting, and I know he’s not focused on practice right now. Reggie laughs and pulls his top over his head. I do the same. “I’m going to tell her tonight,” TJ says after a few moments of silence.
“You’re going to tell her she’s your girlfriend? Dude, not the right way of going about it. You’ve got to ask, not demand it. If she’s anything like Cassie, she’d end your life in a heartbeat,” Reggie advises him. He’s serious too. I’m mentally taking notes.
Woah, chill. Just hold it there. One date, Nick, one date. Don’t scare her off.
“No, I’m going to tell her I love her.” The room goes silent. None of us thought we’d see the day that TJ would say those words. Ever. Especially me. “Then I’ll ask her to be my girlfriend,” he tells us like it’s so obvious. Towels get whipped over at TJ with the boys hollering at what he just said.
“WHIPPED!” is said over and over again as the boys wring up their towels and crack it at TJ’s direction. We’re all laughing until our coach comes in with a face like he got smacked on his ass by his mom.
“You’re all late! Get out there now!” We all rush around to get our clothes on and make a break out the door that he’s holding open for us. One by one, he glares at us as we go out. Once I get my turn, he grabs me by the collar and pushes me back. “Lead your team to state, Jackson. None of this locker room crap until you’ve finished practice. Keep you and your players focused!” I nod back, trying to get away from him. He’s pissed, for whatever reason. I run out the tunnel that I’ve done countless times to get to Bulldog.
Once I reach him, he shakes his head and points over to our coach, who is standing over with the rest of the team with his hands on his hips waiting for me. That’s strange, I don’t usually train with him. It’s always been Bulldog with me.
“Not today, kid, Coach wants you to himself.” I groan, knowing I won’t listen to him. I hate his methods. I don’t respond to them well. The other guys do, but I prefer Bulldog.
“Shit,” I curse as the guys all laugh at me making my way over.
“Jackson and Averman!” He points at me and Ryan. This can’t be good. “You’re with me today and for the rest of the week.” We both grunt back at him. I look at TJ, who is sending me an uneasy look.
Shit will hit the fan between us, it’s guaranteed.
I know Ryan is itching to throw some digs at me, especially about the date last night. “The rest of you boys, you’re with Bulldog for the meantime. Let’s go!” He claps his hands twice, signaling it’s time to get a move on. I clench my jaw as the boys run by me and Ryan, leaving us alone.
“Alright, let’s run some drills. Two laps to warm up and come back to me.” He directs us to the end zone closest to us and we start to jog. We run side by side, neither one of us saying anything to each other. That’ll all change. One of us will crack first.
One lap down and another to go. I’m breathing in and out, and so is Ryan. Coach is going to work us hard today. I can feel it. I’m going to be sore tomorrow and for the rest of the week. Practice is going to be brutal for me and Ryan.
Once both of us have completed the warm-up, coach orders us to stretch. Ryan falls to the ground while I wind up my arms to shake them out. For the next fifteen minutes, we warm our muscles up to get some of the stiffness out. If we don’t do it properly, tomorrow will be a bitch for us both. Still, there is silence between us. Neither one of us is looking at each other. It’s tense, to say the least. One word from either of us and it could all blow up. We both know this, that’s why we’re silent. Neither one of us wants to be benched for the next game.
“Alright, boys, let’s go. Jackson, get some balls. Averman, prepare to run when I say so.” We both nod at Coach. I hate doing these drills in front of him. He reminds me of my dad when I train with him. That’s why I avoid him and go straight to Bulldog. But I guess this is what’s on offer for me and Ryan today. I love my dad, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes he thinks he knows what’s best for me and I hate that. I know my game better than anyone else does but he likes to think otherwise.
Those drills were the ones we did for an hour straight, and I can tell even Ryan is sick of it too. Coach has no idea on how to coach, that’s why we all prefer Bulldog. He knows his shit, he knows his players. Coach just wants the title of being the head coach. He’s not coaching us, he’s taking the credit away from our real coach, Bulldog. “Again!” He snaps me out of my daydream.
“We’ve done this for an hour, Coach, can we at least take a break?” Ryan asks out of breath. To be fair, he’s only missed three of my throws in the last hour. Mainly by me throwing it away from him for a little fun, but coach smacked the focus back into me really quick and I didn’t do it again.
“No, again.” We groan and our heads drop back to look up towards the blue sky. The guys beside us look like they’re enjoying training with Bulldog. I know some of them never had him before and are really enjoying it. I can tell from the yells and laughs as they congregate on the other side of the field.
“Fuck this shit . . .” Ryan mumbles under his breath when he stands next to me.
“What was that, Averman?” Coach sizes him up and gets ready for another throw.
“Nothing, Coach,” he mumbles again.
“What? Speak up, boy!” Coach yells at him, cupping his ear and really pissing him off.
“Nothing, Coach!” Ryan yells back at him.
“Lose that goddamn tone, Averman!” I snicker and get another smack on the back of my head. Ryan then smirks and I glare at him. “Now, both of you focus! I want ten clean passes and then you can take a break!”
He is brutal today. It’s taking everything in Ryan and me not to tackle our own coach. We’re not benefiting from this drill. Sure, it’s fine for passes, but I need to be put under pressure or it’s no good. I need someone to run at me so I can be ultra-focused, but today, I’m not even bothered.
Everyone down south always highlights manners. Respect your elders and watch your language around ladies. That’s what my parents drilled into us as young kids. It’s still in me to this day. As much as I want to curse Coach, I know better than to poke the lion when it’s outside its cage.I wonder what it’s like in the NFL? I wonder what Rodger Steel is like as a coach?I know he’s the best for a reason, but I wonder how good?
