Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Butch
Brandon Sutton sped into the parking lot, pulled into a spot and stopped with a squeal of tires.
If he was late for practice again Coach was going to nail his balls to the wall.
Last night’s beer with the guys had turned into an almost all-night booze fest and he was feeling it this morning with a hangover that felt like it would kill him.
He prayed the aspirin he’d taken as he ran out the door of his apartment would kick in soon and tamp down the headache to a tolerable level.
Rubbing his temple, he hurried past the news vans parked near the press entrance.
Why were they making such a big deal about the Legends getting a new kicker?
Slipping into the team meeting room and taking a seat in the back, he hoped Coach hadn't noticed his late arrival.
Nicknamed “The Butcher” by the media after a particularly brutal tackle in his rookie year the name stuck and now everyone just called him Butch, even his family.
“Glad you decided to join us, Butch,” the coach said without missing a beat.
“As I was saying, Mark will be out the rest of the season, so the team did an open call. Our new kicker, Rocky Masterson, will be joining practice after the press conference. Let’s help them get ready for the game against Chicago this Saturday. ”
Butch wondered why they were making such a big deal about replacing their kicker. His teammates whispered among themselves, smiling. Maybe they knew who this guy was. He hadn’t heard of any kickers named Masterson.
The locker room buzzed with speculation as they geared up for practice. Trey Conners, a receiver and Butch’s best friend, slammed his locker closed and picked up his helmet. “Any idea who this Rocky guy is?”
Butch shrugged. “Never heard of him.”
“You’re not curious?” Trey asked as they walked toward the door.
“I’m paid to block for whoever it is. Makes no difference to me. I just hope he can keep it between the uprights.”
Butch shielded his eyes from the sun and looked out over the practice field, searching for an unfamiliar face. Despite all the chatter in the locker room, he still had no idea who Rocky Masterson was, he’d never heard of him. Maybe he’d played on a foreign league?
“Butch, you gonna join us?” Coach yelled from the sideline.
“Yeah, Coach,” he yelled back, grateful the aspirin had dulled his headache a bit.
He noticed a woman walking toward him from the tunnel with a workout bag slung over her shoulder. She was gorgeous, with a beautiful face, a body with the kind of curves he liked, and honey-blonde hair.
“You looking for the cheerleader practice?” he asked with a smirk, she obviously hoped to meet some of the players.
“What?”
“The cheerleaders are practicing in the auditorium today, beautiful. If you turn left inside the doors…”
“I’m not a cheerleader,” she said indignantly as she crossed her arms and glared at him.
“Oh, media then? That’s even better, there’s no rule against dating the media. They’re probably setting up in the media center.”
“I’m not with the media, I’m…”
“You busy tonight?” he asked, interrupting her.
She rolled her eyes at him. Man, she was even more gorgeous when she was irritated.
“Rocky! I was beginning to think you changed your mind,” Coach said as he walked up to them.
“You’re Rocky?” Butch asked. Confused he looked at the coach.
She smiled at him. “Yeah. I’m Rocky, your new kicker.”
“You’re what?”
“Good thing you’re cute, brains aren’t your strong suit are they?” she said as she turned toward Coach. “Yes, girls can play football.” She followed the coach toward the tunnel, not bothering to look back at Butch.
He stared after her. She was the new kicker?
No way, she was too pretty to be a kicker, surely this was a practical joke.
And she’d insulted him, insinuating he wasn’t smart.
He looked over at his teammates expecting to see some of them laughing their asses off at their joke.
None of them were even looking in his direction, they were all watching as the girl-kicker followed Coach into the tunnel.
How could they let a girl on the team? If she wanted to play football let her start a girls’ team.
No way would he block for a girl kicker.
He stomped over to his teammates. “You see this shit? A girl kicker? The whole league will be laughing at us.”
“Yeah, well, it's not up to us,” Trey remarked as the others made their way to where the assistant coach was setting up for warm-ups.
Butch crossed his arms and grouched, “Can’t make me block for her. I'm sure there's something in my contract that will get me out of it.”
Trey looked at him. “Weren’t you just saying how you’d block for anyone? That it didn’t matter who they were?”
Butch shrugged. “I was talking about normal kickers, not a girl.”
Coach Thomas blew two long blasts on his whistle, the signal to get over there to begin warm-ups.
Butch stood there defiantly, hoping some of his teammates would follow his lead. He was dismayed when he was the only one. Not even Trey had stayed by his side.
“Butch, you waiting for an engraved invitation or what?” Coach Thomas yelled.
He stood his ground, frowning when the coach stomped toward him.
“You got a problem today, Butch?” Coach asked.
“Well, yeah, I do. I won’t block for a girl kicker. Girls don’t belong in football.”
“You don’t get paid to decide who you will block for. Get over there and start your warmup.” He blew a sharp blast on his whistle. “Now!”
Grumbling under his breath Butch sauntered over and took his place next to Trey for warm ups. Half-heartedly going through the motions of warming up he stopped when he heard Coach Albertson call his name.
The other players all watched as he walked toward the coach.
“Back to work!” Coach yelled before he turned to face Butch. “I hear you have an issue with our new kicker.”
“You can’t make me block for a girl kicker. I won’t do it.”
“You will or you will be in breach of your contract. Neither one of us wants that.”
Butch stared at the turf and rubbed the back of his neck. “But…”
“No buts. You’ve got a couple good years left, don’t ruin it over this.”
“Okay, Coach.” After Coach motioned for him to join his teammates, he trotted over to the sidelines to find out what play they would be practicing.
Rocky
Rocky stood just outside the door to the media center and took a deep breath to calm herself.
Being mistaken for a cheerleader was nothing new but it still made her temper flare.
Egotistical ass thought she would want to date him?
Never! He was good looking for an older guy but his attitude sure needed some work.
As if she’d date someone with such old-fashioned ideas about women.
He probably thought she should be at home in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant or something.
“You ready for this, Rocky?” Coach Albertson asked as he walked up to her.
“Yes, Coach,” she replied, putting on her game face as she followed him into the media center.
Coach took his place behind the podium and waited as the reporters settled down.
“Thank you for being here today. As you are all aware Mark Bastion, The Legends place kicker, was injured during our game against Portland. He will be out for the rest of the season.” Coach waited as the reporters shouted questions at him.
“We held an open call for a kicker early last week. Today, I am pleased to announce that The Legends have signed Rochelle Masterson as their kicker for the rest of this season. We are excited to have the first female player in the Gridiron Warriors Football League on our team.”
The reporters shouted questions at the coach.
“How does the rest of the team feel about having a female player?”
“We’re excited to have Rocky on our team. There will be a period of adjustment just as if with any new player coming on mid-season.”
“Why did you hire a female kicker? Was it for the publicity?”
Coach smiled as he answered. “Rocky out-kicked the competition and won her place on the team. I’m sure you’ll agree when you see her kick during our game this weekend against the Chicago Engines.”
“How does it feel to be the first female player in the Warrior Sports League?”
Rocky stepped forward and adjusted the microphone. “I’m excited to be part of the Legends and I’m looking forward to practicing with my team.”
“What makes you think you can compete in the male-dominated league?”
“I’m glad you asked.” She cleared her throat and continued, “I’ve spent the last four years competing at the college level and I’ll put my kicking up against any of the kickers currently in the league.”
“Why football?”
“I’ve loved football for as long as I can remember.
I grew up watching games on Sunday with my dad and playing football in the yard with the neighborhood kids.
They didn’t care that I was girl. I eventually turned to soccer because there weren’t any girls’ football teams. I was good at soccer but football was always my first love.
” She took a drink of water as she waited for the next question.
“What led you to being a kicker?”
“When I was a freshman in high school, our teams needed a kicker. The coach knew I could kick as he helped coach the girls’ soccer team.
He asked me if I wanted to try out and I jumped at the chance.
I became the first female high school kicker in Indiana.
I was one of two female kickers in college. ”
Coach stepped up and the reporters shouted new questions. “You’ll have the opportunity to do interviews with Rocky and all the Legends players over the next couple of weeks. Now, we need Rocky to get comfortable with the team before the game this Sunday.”
Rocky sighed in relief, she was okay doing interviews and press conferences but she’d rather be practicing. She had less than a week to practice with the holder. She followed Coach out of the room and down the hall to the tunnel.