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Trent clasped his hands and rested them on the table. He and Veronica didn’t have great history thanks to her promoting the day Reese gave Trent the finger. And just as he handled her back then, he did again. “As you know, the game of footballisintense. Emotions run high, especially between rival teams. What happened today was just that… intense rivalry. No more, no less. Next question…” He pointed at another reporter.
“Charlie, what did you think about the opposing team becoming physical with you?”
“Oh, did they? I barely felt anything.” Soft chuckles filled the room, bringing that gorgeous smile to her face. “I’m fine, and my guess is that today won’t be the last time that happens. Despite my stature, I’m tough. I can take it.” She winked at the guy, and the young reporter may have just fallen in love with her.
A couple more geared their questions to Trent about the season and Reese for any roster changes, and then Reese pointed to Marcus from the local news channel. “We’ll take one more question.”
“Hi. Marcus from WYLM. I don’t have a question but more of a statement. Charlie, as a fan of the Thunder, I’m happy Reese brought you on as a kicker. I can’t say I wasn’t skeptical, because I was, but it’s good to have you here.”
“Thank you, Marcus. I appreciate your kind words. I’ll let you in on a secret… I was very skeptical too. But thanks to my fantastic coaches, teammates, and mentor, I, too, am happy that I’m here.” Charlie rolled her shoulders back. “I’m quite aware that having a woman on the field isn’t the norm. I would never expect anyone to treat me differently because of that… rival or not. Nor would I expect any concessions because of my gender. That being said, I look forward to seeing what the rest of the season will bring, and I thank you for the support.”
Charlie, Reese, and Trent all pushed back from the table and stood as the screen turned to the Thunder’s logo.
“She did well,” Lucas said, coming to stand beside me.
“I’m impressed,” Jackson added from behind me. Turning, he shrugged on his shirt. “Alexa called her a badass.”
We all laughed, but I knew it to be true. Charlie might be the smartest person I knew and the most beautiful. Adding badass to that made me want to get out of this locker room and take her home to show her how much I appreciated her.
“Tell your wife she’s right. Charlie’s much tougher than she looks. Believe me, she’s put me in my place more than once.”
“Are you two together?”
Before I could say anything, Trent walked into the locker room and announced it was clear for Charlie to come in. He gave us a few words of encouragement and said his goodbyes.
Charlie beamed as she made her way toward us.
“You did great, rookie,” Jackson said, extending his hand for a high five, but keeping it low enough for her to reach it.
She smacked his palm with hers. “Thanks. I appreciate that. And thanks for what you did on the field.”
“I’m sure you would do the same for me.”
A brilliant sparkle filled her eyes. “Yes, I would.”
“Right,” Anton touted.
“Are we going to have a problem?” Jackson asked our quarterback.
“Problem? Nah. No problem.” He snatched his duffel off the bench, and his shoulder brushed against mine before walking out of the locker room.
“What the hell is his deal?” I barked.
“No limelight today,” Jackson replied. “God forbid the guy isn’t front and center. Not sure what happened to the kid. His humility has taken a back seat to his cockiness. Shame, really. He’s the leader of this team, or at least is supposed to be.” He looked at Charlie. “Don’t let him get to you.”
“I won’t.”
“Ready to go?”
She looked at me and nodded. “Yeah.”
We said our goodbyes, and the entire ride home, Charlie’s previous enthusiasm radiated from her. She went on and on about what a great day she had—despite Anton’s comments. To say I was thankful that she wasn’t ticked off at me for standing up for her would be an understatement. Everything about this woman had me happy that we were pulling into my driveway and not the parking lot of the Tavern, where everyone else had headed.
Once inside, she turned toward me. “Are you hungry?”
“Famished.”
“What would you like?”
