December 31st
Game Day.
Damon
“Good morning,” I say to Ainsley when I call her. “Did you sleep well?”
“I most certainly did. This hotel bed is so comfortable.”
“How do your feet look this morning?”
“Back to normal,” she says.
“That’s good news.”
“It is. Now that we’ve gotten through that, it’s GAME DAY!” she says loudly.
“It most certainly is. Are you excited?”
“I am. I can’t wait. Now, walk me through your day. I want to know everything you’ll be doing.”
“Like a play-by-play?” I tease.
“Exactly,” she says.
“Let me grab my schedule. I’ll take a picture of it and text it to you later, but here we go. Team breakfast starts in a half hour. We have forty-five minutes to eat. Then we meet in the ballroom to watch some film and go over our game plan.”
“What do you mean by game plan?”
“Typically, teams have what we call an opening script, which is a set of plays designed to be run at the very beginning of each game.”
“And why do you do that?” she wonders. “If you do the same plays at the start of every game, won’t the opposition know exactly what you’re going to do?”
“We don’t use the same plays each game. But the reason we script them is, sometimes, players get nervous or distracted before a game.
Especially for this one. It’s a big game.
A big stage. Knowing exactly which plays we’re going to run means we don’t have to think as much.
It helps minimize mistakes. Which adds to our consistency.
The plays are also important because they allow us to see how our opponent reacts to different formations. Test them.”
“Test them how?”
“When we study film, we’re looking for the other team’s weaknesses.
Like maybe a starter is injured, not playing in the game, so we want to see just how good the backup is.
That kind of thing. Rehearsed plays are also super beneficial for Chase.
He even helps choose the ones he’s most comfortable with.
Which allows him to get off to a strong start. ”
“That makes sense,” Ainsley says. “Then what?”
“Around ten, we’ll do a walk-through of those plays with just our helmets on.”
“Ooh-wee! Can I come watch that? I’d love to see you practice in nothing but your helmet.”
To that, I let out a laugh. “I could probably arrange for you to see me in nothing but my helmet if you’d like, but I’m afraid we aren’t naked for this practice. It just means the helmet is the only official uniform piece we will be wearing.”
She giggles. “Still, the visuals I just got from that are really fun.”
“You’re silly,” I tell her. “Let me see what’s next. Okay, so we have some free time after that. Which means I’ll be stretching and probably watching film with Chase. At one thirty, we’ll have our pregame meal.”
“And what will you eat? Like, we’ve talked a lot about what you eat, typically. But I’ve never asked what you eat on game day.”
“Pretty much the same as always. Grilled chicken, rice, veggies. Lots of water. I do usually add in some pasta as well.”
“Okay, then once you’re all fed?”
“We’ll have our position meetings.”
“Sounds sexy,” she says.
“You’re in rare form,” I tell her with a laugh. “Do you want to hear about the day, or do you want to talk about other things?”
“Although I wish those other things were here in bed with me, keep going. I do want to know.”
“Since my position is receiver, I’ll be meeting up with our position coach and the other receivers to discuss our strategies.
We’ll watch film of the defenders we’ll be up against. Continue to look for weaknesses.
After that, we’ll get dressed.” She giggles again, but I keep going.
“Typically, on game days, we wear matching team sweatsuits, but Coach wanted us to look more serious, businesslike when we arrive, so we’ll all be in suits. ”
“Um, yum,” she says. “I’m now remembering how handsome you looked at your sister’s wedding.”
“Well, I won’t be in a tuxedo.”
“Still,” she says.
“Then we’ll have a police escort for our drive to the stadium.”
“Too bad you don’t get to helicopter there like we do,” she says.
“Did you know that I got to ride a helicopter out to a yacht with Tripp my last spring break?”
“I did not know that. Did you know that I got to take one yesterday to see the hotel I’d worked on in Fort Worth?”
“Ainsley! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about that last night.”
“I was tired. Really tired.”
“So, how was it?”
“Oh, Damon. I cried. It’s crazy to see something I drew up on paper in front of me in real life. It was like a dream. I’m so proud to have been part of that project, and I can’t wait to see it when it’s fully completed.”
“That’s awesome. Did you take any pictures?”
“I didn’t, but Sammy did. I’ll ask him to send them to you.”
“No need. I just texted him.”
“Okay, so you get to the stadium, then it’s like any other pregame routine?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I was serious when I said I’m going to meet you down on the field when you win.”
“That means you think we’re going to win.”
“I know you’re going to win, Damon. And I can’t wait to watch it. If you can manage it, I’d love to see a blowout. Like, you score so many touchdowns that we actually start to get a little bored.”
I laugh. “I’ll see what I can do. I have to get going. In case you didn’t know it, you also have a pass to get on the field before the game. I’m going to need a kiss for luck.”
“That I can do,” she says. “But know that I’m also holding out hope for a kiss at midnight tonight. Bye, Champ!”
“Bye, Ainsley.”
You love love.
Ainsley
We’re all meeting up for brunch again this morning, but so far, it’s just me, Sammy, and Apollo.
They are starting the day off with mimosas while I opt for orange juice mixed with sparkling water in a flute to make me feel like I’m indulging too.
The nice thing about it is that the hotel offers an expansive buffet, so we can go grab food whenever we feel like it.
I get an omelet with spinach and cheese, breakfast potatoes, bacon, and an assortment of fruit to start.
When I sit back down, I say to the boys, “So, tell me about last night! Was it so much fun at the pep rally? And how was Daine’s band?”
“So much fun,” Sammy says. “And if I didn’t already think that Haley and Daine were in love before, I’d say they are now.”
“You love love, don’t you?” Apollo asks Sammy.
“Who doesn’t?” he asks, looking confused. “Love makes the world go round and all that.”
Apollo turns to me, his eyes squinted. “He falls fast, doesn’t he?”
I can’t help but grin because Apollo is most definitely correct in that regard. But the more I think about it …
“In a sense, yes,” I say, looking at Sammy. “But the truth is—”
Sammy goes, “You two realize I’m sitting right here.”
“Of course we do,” Apollo says. “I was just wondering about her thoughts on the subject. You know, since you’re best friends and all.”
“Which is fine, but I’m wondering why you’re asking. And if it has anything to do with my feelings for you,” Sammy says bluntly.
And I kinda wanna say, Go, Sammy.
Apollo smiles at him and then turns to me. “You can finish your thought now.”
“I was going to say that he hasn’t really found it yet. Like that real, raw, deep love. The kind of love we all dream about.”
“But what about Roman?” Apollo says, speaking to Sammy now.
“He was a good liar,” Sammy says simply.
“Yes, I loved him, but for love to work, it has to be reciprocated. There has to be respect and trust. And I do love love. I love to see great relationships in action.” He points to me.
“It’s funny how other people can see what you can’t sometimes.
And how the universe helps things along. ”
“Like with you and Damon.” He smiles at me. “Don’t forget, I wished that for you. It’s totally because of me you are together.”
“How so?” Apollo asks.
“When she left to go to the resort’s reopening, I put it out to the universe that she was going to meet her future husband there. I mean, I was also just hoping she’d get laid. It had been months.”
I smack Sammy in the arm.
He shrugs and says, “We all go through droughts.”
“And you met Damon there,” Apollo says.
“I most certainly did.”
“Funny enough, she returned the favor, although we’ll have to see if it all pans out,” Sammy says.
“What do you mean?” Apollo asks.
“He means that when he came down to stay with me at the Lodge this summer, I owed him a universe wish.”
“Which is when we met,” Apollo states, looking thoughtful.
“Yes,” Sammy says simply. “I should also add that the first time Ainsley told me about Damon and was freaking out about his age, I told her that the universe had listened. And I was right.”
“Yes, thankfully, you were. I’m very happy,” I say with a grin as my uncles Tripp and Van join us, along with Damon’s mom.
I notice she has a little stack of cards in her hand.
“Whatcha got there?” I ask her.
“Printed schedules for our day. Thought it would be helpful for everyone to be on the same page about what happens when.”
“That’s smart. When I talked to Damon this morning, he mentioned me coming down for a kiss before the game, but I’m not sure how all that works.”
She hands me a schedule. I take a moment to read it.
4:30: Meet in hotel lobby
4:35: Transportation to heliport
4:45: Heliport departure
5:00: Arrival at the stadium heliport
5:05: Transfer to Event Level Entrance
5:10: Arrival at Event Level Entrance
I look up and say, “Event Level Entrance. That sounds like where everyone would go, but I thought we were going to get to see—”
“The VIP entrance,” Tripp says.
“Yeah,” I reply.