The first to talk, was a tall, fair-haired man who looked to be in his late 40s. He was on his phone, and the clothes gave him away as either a manager or an agent.
He covered the mouthpiece of his phone and spoke in a hushed tone, “Sorry, just wait a minute,” he tilted his head toward a door at the back corner of the room, “she’s in the bathroom,” before resuming his frantic call.
The second man she came across was similar in age, dressed in sports gear, with a shaved head and designer stubble. Must be a coach of some sort. He was scrolling on his phone and didn’t look up.
A few minutes passed before the bathroom door opened, and Jade’s stomach plummeted to the floor while her heart raced in her chest.
Blonde ringlets pulled back into a messy bun, white fitted sport t-shirt hugging her strong frame, blue leggings that were nearly a perfect color match for those eyes that she’d dreamt about for the past two months.
April.
Their eyes met, and the mixture of emotions that swiftly made their way across April’s face in what felt like a single second was dizzying. Jade saw the shock of recognition, the happiness at them meeting again, the panic of her team in the room finding out, pleading not to be outed, and above all, the pain that had required Jade to be called in the first place.
Jade flickered her eyes toward the two men in the room, both still completely engrossed in their phones, then back to April whose face now resembled flat-outfearat either of the men suspecting anything. Jade’s heart broke a little for April, taking in her shallow breathing and glassy eyes, so she sent her a quick sympathetic smile with a nod before speaking.
Jade took a short step forward and halted as the look of fear that had been on April’s face as she looked between the two men in the room again, then back to her, morphed into absolute terror. Taking a slow and calming breath, hoping her eyes would convey the understanding she had of the situation to April, she lifted her hand slightly in greeting.
“Hi,” Jade began in her professional work voice for the benefit of the two men in the room with them, “I’m Jade Foster, and I’m one of the off-site physical therapists for the tournament. I got a call that I was needed in this room.”
It was fractional, but she noted April relax at Jade’s professionalism.
“Hi Jade, I’m April Walker. Thanks for coming,” she could hear the panic in her voice, but could see the twinkle in her eye, “I need your help with my shoulder.”
“Why don’t you tell me what happened, and I’ll see what we’re dealing with?”
Chapter 18
April
Jade made her way over toward April, encouraging her to sit at the end of the bed.
“It’s my playing arm,” April looked over to Jon who nodded at her before looking back at his phone. “I went to catch another player who tripped, and my shoulder’s been on fire ever since.”
“Ok, so doing a good deed backfired on you then, huh?” Jade asked with a small smile.
“Yeah, something like that,” April shook her head slightly. She couldn’t tell Jade the truth about what happened. At least, not while her dad was in the room, or Jon. He was already gunningfor Suzie after that stunt this afternoon, and her dad needed little excuse to go after Suzie’s Dad himself.
“Well, chances are if it was tugged in a downward motion then I’d say it’s your rotator cuff. But I can’t be sure until I work through some movements with you to see what all is affected.” Jade explained.
Their eyes lingered for a moment, before April turned to the two men in her room.
“Erm, can you give us the room please? I’ll let you both know when I’m done, ok?” April said.
“Ok,” her dad said before turning to Jade, “I want a full explanation of both the damage and treatment plan before you go.”
“Yes sir, I’ll wait until you get back before leaving,” Jade said.
As soon as the door closed, Jade slowly turned to April. “Hi,” she said her face lit up with the same radiant smile that April so vividly remembered.
“Hi,” April exhaled a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding in, smiling back. The relief and disbelief of Jade being here in her hotel room was going to take a minute to adjust to. It had been so long since April last saw her; she had started to wonder if she’d ever see her again.
“You know, if you had asked for my number all those months ago, I would have given it to you. You didn’t need to go to such lengths to see me again.” Jade winked. Damn, that wink did things to April far stronger in person than she’d remembered.
While her heart still raced in her chest from Jade arriving while her dad and Jon were in the room, it raced for a different reason altogether now. The way Jade spoke as smooth and cool as ever made the past two months feel like they passed in the blink of an eye.I had started to wonder if Jade would even remember who I was if we met again. The fire burning in Jade’seyes helped April feel her confidence return, and her flirting kicked in like it was second nature. But only around Jade.
“Well, what else was I supposed to do? You didn’t ask for mine, and I had to find you somehow.” April blushed and laughed, then grimaced as the pain in her shoulder reminded her why Jade had arrived.
“Easy,” Jade said, as she lowered her bag to the floor and reached forward, placing a hand on top of April’s right shoulder, taking April’s right hand in her other. “I’m going to see what movement you have and where it’s restricted, then we’ll have a better idea of any damage, ok?”
