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Chapter 10
Izzie
As I observe Brady maintaining high energy and lifting up his teammates during this extended practice, I get to see a glimpse of his good side. He’s a selfish shithead outside the game, but he’s also really team-oriented and has spent just as much time praising his teammates as he has been playing football.
I don’t stand too close. I’m off to the side of the field, doing my best not to be in the way as Coach McGoy paces the end zone.
As all of them come rushing, I see the ball soar through the goal. Coach tosses a fist in the air and exclaims his praise to the team.
They all break their formation and walk in staggered groups back to the locker room to get dressed. I nonchalantly scan the group for Brady; I can’t help it.
When my eyes finally land on him, I see that he’s talking to Coach McGoy. I decide I’m not going to interrupt. I was only going to tell him he really inspired his teammates today.
No big deal.
Rather than stick around, I decide to go ahead and get out of there. I’ve already given everyone their diet adjustments for the week, so it might be weird if I hung around anyway.
Brady’s a very handsome man, and I don’t want anyone to have a reason to think anything’s going on when there isn’t.
I walk through the building to my little office and grab my bag. I dig through it. God, I swear I’m always losing these keys.
As I paw through my stuff, moving around pieces of unnecessary shit, I lift my head to my desk. On it, I finally see my large, obnoxious key ring, with my car key sticking out.
Of course.
I take a deep breath, run my fingers through my hair, and finger-comb it away from my face. I snatch my keys and aggressively flip down the light switch.
God, why am I so flustered? It’s just your keys, Izzie. Get a fucking grip here.
I walk quickly to my car when I realize what time it is. Shit. I need to get Liam from school.
The poor kid’s probably going to be the last one picked up. Again.
I book it to the school, windows down and music up, trying to relax and shake off my frustration. As I pull up to the pick-up area, I don’t see Liam right away, but there are plenty of other kids around.
Phew. I’m notthatlate.
I park my car and close my eyes behind my sunglasses, just resting for a moment while I wait for Liam. He’s probably in the bathroom or something.
I drift off for just a moment as I wait, visions of work playing through my head. Brady’s there, as unfortunate as that may be. I just can’t shake how uplifting he was today as a player.
It’s just not a side of him I had ever expected to see.
As Liam unlatches the door and climbs into the back seat, I jolt.
“Hey, buddy! How was your day?” I ask.
“It was good. I learned about the solar system!” he returns, ecstatic.
“Oh, awesome!” I say as I put the car into gear. When he latches his seat belt, I pull off, heading home for the evening. “Which planet is this?”
“We live on planet Earth!” he answers quickly.
I nod and smile at him, acknowledging him in the rearview mirror.
The rest of our drive home’s fairly quiet. It’s odd; Liam’s on the chatty side most days. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something on his mind.
“You doin’ okay, buddy?” I prod. “Somethin’ on your mind?”
