Epilogue
Butch
She stood in his arms and kissed him before she grabbed her bag and walked to the locker room.
He wasn’t sure how he felt as he watched her walk away from him.
It was opening day and his first game as a coach instead of a player.
Sure, he was proud of her, she’d kick ass as always, but he had to admit he was a little jealous.
The ache in his knee reminded him why he’d retired.
When she disappeared through the door, he turned to go to the coach’s offices. He’d been surprised when Coach Albertson had offered him an assistant defensive coach position. Him a coach? After discussing it with Rocky, he’d accepted.
That first practice had been brutal. The players didn’t respect him as a coach.
He was their buddy. After some advice from the other coaches who’d started out as players he’d settled in to job.
He been surprised at how much he enjoyed being a coach.
As a player he’d thought the coaches had cushy jobs but now he knew differently.
Now he knew how much stress they were under to win every week.
Now he understood why the defensive coach had always been on his ass.
As a player, he’d pushed boundaries and flaunted the rules, showing up to practice hung over or late. Now he understood. Luckily none of his players were as bad as he’d been. They’d worked hard and they were ready for the opening game.
“Coach Sutton.,” Trey said as he came up to him. “Ready for your first game?”
“Yeah, I think so.” He was surprised at how nervous he felt. “I just hope I don’t do something stupid.”
“You’ll be fine. I’ve watched you at practice and you seem to have it figured out.”
He ran his hand through his hair. “But today I’ll be doing it in front of thousands of Legends fans.”
“You’ve got this,” Trey replied. “I’ve got to get changed. See you on the field, Coach.”
Three hours later he watched the ball sail through the uprights, his yell of celebration lost in the roar of the crowd. How had it taken him so long to see just how good she was? The grace and power of her kicks were something special, she was sure to break some long-standing records.
As the special teams unit trotted off the field, he saw his wife grin at him. A huge smile on his face, he wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms for a kiss but it wasn’t permitted during a game, it would have to wait until later.
Rocky
At the end of the game, the team headed for the showers. Rocky stopped when she felt a hand on her arm.
“I can’t believe they let a girl kick in this league.”
With a smile, she turned and replied, “Hey, asshole,” she said as she stepped into his arms.
His lips found hers and everything else dropped away. Neither one of them cared about the whistles and catcalls, they only existed for each other.
“Get a room!”
“You sucking up to the coach?” A laugh and then, “No, just sucking face.”
“My turn next!”
She heard Butch growl at that one, “No fucking way.”
She put her face in his chest and laughed. “Good to know.”
“I’ve been waiting hours for that,” Butch said when she looked up at him.
“Me, too.”
She stepped away and waved her fingers at him. “See you in a few.”
He was the luckiest asshole in the world.