Page 19 of Catch
She returned my genuine smile with one of her own. “That’s so wonderful to hear. I always admired him. He was cool and supportive. Did he ever write his novel?”
“Funny you should bring that up. He’s finishing it right now.” He was also working on a book about me, but nobody needed to know that. Half the proceeds would go to my charity. For the first time since she walked into my office, I was able to keep eye contact with her in a way that didn’t feel like a challenge.
“And your charity is getting books in front of children. I guess I didn’t realize you liked to read.”
I threw my hands up in mock disbelief. “Max said the exact same thing. I love to read. I just have zero time for anything but football.” I crossed my arms. “I’m listening to a true crime novel in my car right now. I get to hear forty minutes of it a day. Twenty minutes on my way in and twenty minutes on my way home.”
“Huh. I guess I never knew that about you,” she said.
“Honestly, I’m not surprised. It’s all about football. I can have fun after I’ve proven myself.” I didn’t know when that would be.
“But you still make some time for yourself, right? More than forty minutes of audiobooks a day, I mean. What about vacations? Have you been anywhere exciting?” she asked.
I realized she was invested in the conversation. This didn’t feel like a reach out because Grayson was told to be friendly toward me. This was a door opening. Slowly and carefully. “I went to Portugal about four years ago.”
“With Lexi? That’s your girlfriend’s name. right?”
“No. Well, yes, Lexi.” I nodded. “She’s my girlfriend now, but I didn’t go with her. We’ve only been dating for about two years. I went with my dad. He needed to get away from everything for a bit, so he picked Portugal and we hung out there for two weeks. It’s now one of my favorite places on Earth.”
“We’ve been to Spain, Mexico, Canada, and we usually head to Disney World with my parents after the season ends.”
My lips twisted when she mentioned her parents. I’d tamped down my feelings for them for so long that hearing her say “parents” took me by surprise. I couldn’t hide my reaction quick enough.
Parker frowned. “My parents are still the same. I’d like to say they’ve gotten better with age, but I’d be lying. Only two things give them happiness. Their church and their granddaughters.”
This fledgling relationship was too tender for bad memories. “I’m sure it’s great for your daughters. I remember how much fun I had with my grandparents when I was little,” I said.
It was surreal to see Parker, a grown-up with a family, sitting in front of me. She was calm, like always, and looked amazing, like always. We settled into a nice conversation about her daughters, football, and Crowbar, who was sprawled in his bed oblivious to the anxiety in the room. We were keeping it light. I think she was just as scared of dipping below the surface as I was.
We were startled when Brandon knocked on my open door. “Meeting starts in five, Sutton. Hi, Parker. Nice to see you again.”
“Hi, Brandon,” Parker said. She stood and grabbed her purse. “Thanks for letting me crash your lunch, Sutton. It was good to see you again. Give me a call if you free up any time for something other than football.” She smiled playfully.
I nodded at her and held up the cup of coffee. “Thanks for stopping by.” I was surprised it was already time for the meeting.It had been fifteen years, but we had easily fallen back into conversation. It felt like no time had passed.
I waited until she left my office before I followed Brandon to the team meeting room. We were reviewing this morning’s full scrimmage. Our first game was this Sunday, and we were playing the Cleveland Browns. Their defense was average, and they relied on zone offense. We’d have to start off conservatively, much to everyone’s chagrin. The players wanted to go out and wow the NFL, but us coaches were hoping we would safely get through the game without getting hurt.
We had lost all three of our pre-season games. Pre-season didn’t matter. We needed to finalize the team and several players were fighting for spots. Now that we had firmed up our roster, we had to strategize about our first game. There was an energy in the room. The players were itching to show the world their worth and I was nervous, knowing so much was riding on me.
“Sunday will be here sooner than you all think. I expect you all to act like professionals on and off the field. Don’t do anything reckless. All eyes are going to be on us on Sunday, and I want to bring home the win. Now let’s go over the film and try to figure out how we can give Grayson more time to fire the ball,” Bill said.
“Should I cancel my skydiving trip this weekend?” somebody yelled playfully. It was enough to make everyone laugh and relax a bit.
“Okay, okay, settle down,” Bill said. He was smiling though and that meant everything in the moment.
We focused on the pocket and pointed out things the offensive linemen could do to give Grayson that extra second or two he needed to get rid of the ball. The defensive coordinator, Marcus Atkins, laid into the defense about hitting hard and getting through the line.
By the time we broke apart for the afternoon, we were all mentally exhausted. The offensives coaches had stayed until eleven the night before. I didn’t think there was anything else we could cover before the game on Sunday. We decided to head home early knowing tomorrow we probably wouldn’t leave the stadium until after the game on Sunday. I dreaded telling that to Lexi. The nightbefore, she’d ignored me when I got home so Crowbar and I spent the night in the guest room. The transition from work life to home life was shitty. I was happier at work.
I started bringing Crowbar to work because I missed him and I doubted he was getting the love and nurturing he deserved at home. He managed to make an entire NFL franchise coo like babies when they saw him. Terry loved him the most. He was forever sneaking him treats even though I explained that we were watching his weight. He waved me off and gave Crowbar another treat right in front of me every time I said something.
“Ready to go, boy?”
Crowbar lifted his head from the couch and plopped back down. I didn’t blame him. I didn’t want to go either. Another night of Lexi shutting me out didn’t sound fun. And the new couch I had delivered to my office was extremely comfortable. I grabbed my bag and patted my leg for him to follow. He begrudgingly slid off the couch and slowly worked his way over to me. I turned off the lights and shut the door.
“Good night, Coach.” I waved to Bill on my way out. The players had left hours ago.
I opened the back door of the BMW and Crowbar took his sweet time crawling in. He was the most chill dog on Earth. Hayley and I found him on the beach three years ago. He didn’t have a collar or a chip. After a month of passing out flyers with no results, I decided he belonged with me, knowing full well I didn’t have the lifestyle for a dog. The vet thought he was about two years old when we found him so he was about five even though he lumbered through life as though he was already a senior dog. Unless a squirrel was in the picture.
