AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We sat at the kitchen table, and I pulled out my iPad that I’d brought with me these last few days so I could record and take notes at the same time. It helped me from staring at the guy the whole time, at least.
“So, I’m going to ask you the one that’s off the record first, just so you don’t try to weasel out of it by the end.”
“Fine. If it ends up outside of this room, I’ll cancel the interview indefinitely.”
“I’m a professional. You don’t need to threaten me. Have I told anyone anything thus far?”
“I don’t know. I guess I’ll have to see what Brandy knows tonight,” he said, but his smile was playful.
The man was impossible to read.
“Okay. I was weighing my choices, but I’m going to go with this one because it’s always bothered me.”
“I can’t wait to hear it,” he grumped.
“Why did you have such an over-the-top reaction when I walked into the bathroom that day?” I could still remember it so vividly. The way he’d looked at me like I’d done something terrible to him. He was so angry, and I didn’t understand why it was such a big deal. I didn’t catch the guy with his pants down. And he’d made it clear that it wouldn’t matter if I did.
He pushed to his feet and walked to the counter to tear off two paper towels for us. We already had napkins, which sat beside our plates that were loaded up with fruit, but he was clearly thinking over his answer. He dropped a paper towel down in front of me and then sat back down. His green gaze locked with mine, and he just sat there for the longest moment before he finally spoke.
“A year ago, my mother started chemo. She’d been diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer. And the day you walked into the bathroom was the day we got the results that it hadn’t spread, and the chemo had worked. I just needed a fucking minute to process it. I’d thought of every awful thing that she might say when she called, and when it was good news, I was relieved and emotional, and I don’t know… I guess I overreacted.”
My heart sank. I’d thought of a million reasons why he’d freaked out that day, and none had ever been anything close to this.
A lump formed in my throat, and I tried to find my words, but it took me longer than it normally did.
I wasn’t that girl. I didn’t get weepy during commercials and fall apart over relationships.
I was usually pretty rock solid. Strong. Determined.
But something about what he’d shared had me off kilter.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, shaking my head a few times in hopes of pushing away the building tears that threatened. “My dad had cancer a few years ago. He’s okay now, but it was really scary. It’s the reason I moved back to San Francisco after I graduated. So, I understand all those feelings. And I should have respected your privacy.”
“Well, don’t be nice now. That’s not how this works,” he hissed, and then we both laughed at how ridiculous he was being.
“Howdoesthis work, Captain?” I asked.
“Turn the recorder back on and ask your next question.”
I nodded and pulled myself together. I enjoyed this part of our day together because I got to ask what I wanted to ask. But working out with him showed me a different side of him. The man was committed more than anyone that I’d ever met or shadowed or written about.
He woke up every single day and put in the work.
He ate well. He didn’t drink a whole lot, and he had shared that during the season, he didn’t drink at all. He was the epitome of a superior athlete.
“Tell me how you build chemistry with your teammates,” I asked. I’d always wondered why some people just worked together and others didn’t. I’d seen some of the best QBs play with top-notch receivers, and they couldn’t put a play together. I’d never understood it.
“It’s kind of like life, you know?” he asked, tilting his head to the side as he thought about it. His dark blond hair was cut perfectly on the sides and a little longer on top. His eyes were unique in color, and I’d caught myself staring a few times when he wasn’t paying attention. A gold rim surrounded his sage green gaze, and pops of caramel showed in the sunlight. “Sometimes you click with people, and sometimes you don’t. There’s no rhyme or reason most of the time. I’ve been lucky that I’ve clicked with a lot of amazing players who show up every day and work hard. So, we work at it, right? We keep trying until we get there. Not everyone wants to put in the work. Not everyone needs to, I guess.”
I nodded. “I get that. Have you always put in the work?”
It was a wasted question, but I wanted to hear what he’d say. Had this man always been this driven? This determined to be the best?
“Always.” He cleared his throat, and my gaze zoned in at the way his Adam’s apple bobbed there. “Things never came easy to me, but I was always willing to give it everything I had to get better. That shit pays off when you keep at it.”
“There are a lot of kids out there that probably like hearing that. So, you weren’t a superstar as a kid?”
“I didn’t say that.” He smirked. “But I worked at being a superstar. How about that?”
