Chapter 16
Ledger
Imust admit, Kaisa’s got gumption.
I had to let the stadium security know she was coming, and even then, I had to go vouch for her. Our security team is the best, but they’re not about to let some woman claiming to be my dance partner just waltz right through the doors.
Or rumba through the doors, as is the case with us.
Still, I’m at practice. I don’t know how she expects me to be able to dance right now.
She’s in the stands, wearing a jacket, sunglasses and a frown in the afternoon sun.
When we have a break from running some routes with my O-line, she comes rushing over to the railing, raising her hand in greeting. Security immediately steps in closer.
I wave them off.
“This is a closed practice, so—” I tell her.
Her eyebrows go sky high. She knows I’m using her own words from our first meeting. Still, even though I genuinely like her…far more than I should…I’m in football mode, not dance mode.
She smiles and waves, and Coach goes past me and back in through the tunnel with a shout up at her. “I’ll meet you up there in a minute!”
“Okay,” she shouts back, leaning over the railing. She straightens, grins at me brightly. Waves.
Nope. There was a reason Coach asked me to come back, and I have to cram in as much football as I can. My time can’t be diluted with ballroom dance. Except, he sure seems okay with it.
What is happening right now?
I suck the water out of my water bottle, a satisfying slurp sound reminding me where I am. I’m here, in the Wolves’ Den, and even though she’s also here, I need to focus on football.
“How’s it going down there, Farm Boy?” she asks. She’s wearing her red lipstick again, highlighting how perfectly kissable those lips are.
I know exactly how good of a kisser she is and, despite myself, I dream again of engaging in those sorts of behaviors with her.
A couple of the other guys standing around snicker at her “Farm Boy” comment. I’m never going to live this down, am I?
“It’s going well,” I say back. I’d rather not have an audience of about fifty of my closest friends and teammates as I try to talk with the woman I’m interested in.
Still, I have to be in football mode right now. I have to do what needs to be done to save my reputation and the reputation of my employer.
Thankfully Coach reaches her, gives all the players a look that reads, get back to work, and turns to shake her hand.
I start heading to the middle of the field with the other guys but I’m a little annoyed that I can’t hear what’s going on. They’re probably going to discuss how desperate times call for desperate measures and she had no choice but to crash our team practice.
I try to block them out by passing and throwing with one of the wide receivers. Focusing on the feel of the ball in my hands, laces out, the stiff plumpness of the pebbled leather as I grip, I refocus.
After a few minutes, Coach returns to the field and we resume practice. She’s watching, which makes me a little nervous.
Practice stretches across the afternoon, and each time we take a little break, I glance up. Every time, she waves, like she’s honed in on me.
“Bishop!” Coach waves me over and I trot to him, out of breath.
“You’re dismissed from practice.” He’s still looking at his iPad and won’t meet my gaze.
“What? Why?” We still have a half hour left. I would have thought he’d want me to stay even later so I could catch up on what I’ve missed.
He raises his head, looks at Kaisa, and nods.
Oh, I get it. He thinks I’m going to go practice with her.
I fold my arms. “I think I should stay.”
“I saw your routes. You’re fine to go.”
“If this is about the dance performance, I hardly think something like that warrants me missing—”
“It’s not just about the performance.” Finally, Coach meets my gaze. “It’s about getting out of it what you need.”
I blow out a breath, and with the back of my hand, wipe the sweat from off my forehead. “If you’re trying to humble me, it’s worked, so we can just—”
“That’s only part of it, Ledger.”
He doesn’t call me by my first name very often. It feels strange to hear it from him now.
He glowers at me. “Now get going. Kaisa tells me she has a local rehearsal studio that’s willing to let you come and use one of their rooms.”
I open my mouth, and he sighs, sets his iPad down on a bench, and crosses his arms over his chest. His eyes blaze. I’ve seen that look before and I know not to press him right now. I turn to gather my stuff, then leave for the tunnel.
“And shower first!” Coach adds, with a chuckle.
Does he think I don’t know that? Of course I’m going to shower before I’m around a woman.
Especially Kaisa.
I head into the locker room and do my post-practice routine, although I admit I rush through the process because she’s waiting for me.
“Why are you leaving early?” My teammate, Taysom Reed, asks, slinging a duffle bag down on the bench.
“I could ask you the same thing.”
“Still nursing my knee. The doc says to leave practice early. The less time I’m on it, the better.”
I frown. “That sucks, man.”
“It’s getting there. I just have to be cautious.” He eyes me carefully. “And what about you?” A smile twists his lips. “She’s gorgeous.”
Something primal and territorial wells up inside of me. “She’s my dance partner. Show some respect, okay?”
“I wasn’t disrespecting.” Taysom sobers. “I’m sorry.” He adjusts the ice wrap on his knee. “It’s just that, if it were me, I’d have a hard time dancing with a woman like that without becoming…interested in her, you know?”
“Again, we’re dance partners. That’s it.”
Taysom’s one of my closest friends, but my feelings for Kaisa are new…and not up for discussion right now.
He clicks his tongue. “Still, I don’t know if I could spend so much time with her and keep my mind on football, you know?”
I stand from my bench. We are not doing this. “It’s not like that.” I reach the locker room door and start to open it. “This isn’t a big deal.”
Taysom whistles. “It could be. It’d be good for you to date a little.”
I get what Taysom’s doing. We joined the team the same year and have been friends ever since. While he’s dated here and there since turning pro, I haven’t. But as time goes on, more and more of my teammates are settling down and getting married. Even having kids.
I shake my head. “No. It’s football season, man.” I shrug. “I’m not letting anything get in the way of that.”
“And yet, you’re leaving practice early, so…” Taysom teases.
The locker room door falls closed behind me, and I shake my head.
I am leaving practice early, and there are a lot of reasons why I need to do this. I just hope I can keep my wits about me during the rehearsal.