Page 23 of Catch
“Fingers crossed for Abilene but wherever she goes, we’ll make it work.” We were in love and nothing was going to keep us apart. She had more options and more money than I did.
“But what if she goes somewhere else? What if her dipshit parents ship her to some remote Christian college in Canada or something?”
My heart slipped a bit at the thought of her being so far away but revved back up when I realized nothing could keep us apart. We were destined to be together. “I’ll just have to make sure I get a passport.”
Chapter Ten—The Coach and the Cheerleader
Present
My alarm went off at six, but my eyes were wide open. I was lying on my couch in my office. We had been up until midnight discussing plays and strategies for today’s opener. I hadn’t been this nervous in years. The sports world would have a lot to say about my debut as offensive coordinator, and a win would go a long way toward proving my worth. Fuck, I was tired. I was physically and emotionally drained and the day hadn’t even started.
“Come on, boy. Let’s get you outside.” Crowbar was on his bed by the couch.
I stretched and grabbed my toiletry kit and game day clothes and headed toward the women’s locker room. Crowbar lumbered behind me. I dropped my things off and unlocked the door to the practice field. There was a tiny area beside the building that Crowbar deemed his. Since the place was going to be crawling with people soon, I made him come back inside. I took a quick shower and slipped into a fresh Cheetahs polo and pressed khakis. I knew I would change at least one more time before the game. We had an interview with media at ten while the team warmed up.
Brandon was in the hallway when I left the locker room. “Good morning, Coach. You ready for your big day?” he asked. He surprised me by hugging me. It felt nice and relieved a lot of pressure. He was a pound hugger with the guys, but with me, he excluded the handshake.
“As ready as I’ll ever be. I can’t imagine shoving anything else in my brain,” I said,
“We’ll adjust as the game gets underway. I feel good about today.”
Brandon was the kind of guy who would stick by you no matter what. I knew we were going to be friends. Tina was very nice and it was refreshing to see somebody support their partner one hundred percent. I hadn’t talked to or texted Lexi since she informed me she met somebody and was moving out. How was that possible? We’d only moved here two months ago. My ego was bruised, but honestly, I was relieved. It was one less conversation I had to have with her. Besides, she never liked Crowbar. Since coming to the office with me, he had a bit more spunk. I had more important things happening than Lexi at this moment. I followed Brandon to our meeting room and looked at the excited and worried faces in front of me.
“Players and coaches, are we ready?” I wasn’t prepared for the whoops and hollers that answered me. The special teams coach joined us for the pep talk before we met with the media. When we broke to meet with the press, I seriously wondered where the time went.
“Coaches, follow me,” Bill yelled.
The five defensive coaches joined me, Brandon, Jim, and Jamal. We followed Bill to the press room. I did a quick scan of the reporters but didn’t see Duane Spitzer. The shit storm he’d tried to stir up had died down since the interview Grayson and I gave at the team charity night. Hopefully, no one else would try to revisit Duane’s line of questioning.
At the large table Bill sat in the middle. I was on his left, Marcus on his right, with the rest of the coaches standing behind us. I wasn’t going to say a thing unless I was addressed, and even then, I was going to keep my answers to a minimum.
“Welcome to the Cheetahs press room. This is a big day for us and for the NFL. We’re excited to show our team to the world.” Bill pointed to a reporter. “Maria, why don’t you start us off?”
“Coach Tatum, was it difficult switching up your offense after Myers’s accident? You built up your offense based on his abilities.”
“Grayson Moats is a veteran player. He stepped into the position with poise and confidence. There wasn’t a single hiccup when he took over,” Bill said.
Bill wasn’t wrong. Grayson fit in well and picked up the plays with ease. He even made a few suggestions on plays Jamal designed. He was going to surprise everyone watching today.
After minutes of answering questions, I looked at the clock and started bouncing my knee. We needed to get out on the field and ensure our players were stretching and practicing and getting mentally prepared for the game. I needed it as much as they did.
“Good luck, coaches.” Several reporters echoed Maria’s sentiment.
Bill nodded and we followed him out to the field. The gates were open and fans were filing into the stadium. People wanted to see the new NFL team in action. We tested our microphones with Grayson and with the other coaches. Marcus was calling the plays from upstairs and I would walk the sidelines with Bill.
“Let’s pump the guys up,” Bill said.
We’d practiced them running onto the field twice on Friday. We were making our much-anticipated debut, and nobody wanted to screw it up. Bill and I walked into the locker room. The guys looked at us for words of encouragement. They were brimming with excitement. I was, too.
“We’re here to play ball. We’re not here to showboat or do backflips in the end zone. Does everybody understand me? You have one job for the next four hours. This is what we’ve trained for. We’re all at the start of something great here. Let’s do our jobs and come back with a win.” Bill’s encouragement got the entire team pumped up. We were taking the field in five. I’d never felt energy like this before. “Put your helmets on and let’s get ready to show the Browns and all the fans who we are and what we want. Who are we?” He cupped his hand behind his ear and waited for the team to yell.
“Cheetahs!”
“What do we want?”
“A win!”
He repeated himself until the entire team worked themselves into a frenzy yelling and fist-bumping one another. It was like theend of a rave and I made sure to stay clear. I stood back and waited for them to charge out of the locker room. They lined up in the tunnel, waiting to be introduced to the football world.
