Chapter 34
Rori
THAT SUNDAY
Iwake up irritated with the world. Straight-up grumpy, with too many things nagging at me.
My annoyance at Dad is the most low-grade, but starting there—the house sale is now full-speed ahead. I’m still coming to terms with saying goodbye to the house, though the emotional pull is diminishing every day as reality sets in.
Also, Julie and him—still no clarity about what’s going on.
Sigh. In the meantime, Dad has gone ahead and started to move into a condo in Julie’s development.
Not suspicious at all, right? Buster and all his essential things are already over there, with Dad still going back to the house to pack up the other items.
The Dad-Julie stuff is like a negative buzzing in the back of mind. Not stirring up big emotions, but always present as an unresolved question.
My situation with Landon is much more grating on my nerves. Granted, I’m more annoyed at myself than him that we keep avoiding the topic of going public. Really, it’s on me to speak my truth—that I’m not ready. Those big girl panties are still firmly on the floor, though.
I can’t seem to get the words out. It’s not a great feeling that we want different things, and I have no idea what to do about it. In the past, no situation ever matured to a point where I cared if a guy and I were not on the same page.
But Landon’s different. I care. A lot. And I don’t want to hurt him.
Plus, once the article about Rawley broke, addressing it had to be his focus. While he’s already stressing about his brother, I’m not going to bring up my hesitations about our big announcement.
In some ways, the situation with Rawley almost proves my point. Everything and anything that we do will be scrutinized. I don’t want that attention, which scares me almost as much as hurting Landon. Especially if it screws me up heading into the Open.
And then there’s the fact that we didn’t get to see each other today because he had to go to New York. Also a source of frustration. Nothing we’re not used to with our times apart, but I selfishly wanted to have at least a few hours together before I fly to Toronto.
I’m also edgy because the fan chatter about Landon and me is still flaring up in pockets across social media from the Hot Stuff article.
Maggie sent me a screenshot of a Reddit page dedicated to us called r/Randon after the “ship name” they preferred.
Like what? Taylor seems unbothered by the prospect of the rumors becoming mainstream, but it scares me that we’re not completely in control of the gossip.
However, the worst aggravator of my mood right now? Tessa “Diva” Worthing.
Every couple of days over the last week and a half, some article or social media post has come out with her jabbing at me or another top player.
An Instagram post yesterday morning had particularly pissed me off. It was a picture of us playing at Wimbledon, her in the foreground, me in the background slightly out of focus.
The caption? “When class wins….”
In other words, she has class, and I don’t. What a b. My whole crew at Pinnacle had been in an uproar about the post. Maggie, livid, called Tessa a “clout chaser.”
It isn’t only me she’s targeted either. She’s had things to say about Hanna, Natalie, and others too.
Hanna, for one, has bitten back at Tessa in the press.
While dismissing Tessa’s underhanded insults towards herself, Hanna made sure to stand up for others, which surprised me.
For instance, she directly praised me: “Tessa can say what she wants, but Rori is an elite player who’s proven herself to be among the best, tournament after tournament, over the last year. ”
Hanna’s ‘ice queen’ nickname may be too harsh, after all.
Still, nothing has seemed to deter Tessa from chirping her nonsense in the media. Good times.
Stacking all of these irritants on top of each other, I’m grouchy this morning.
Unfortunately, I need to snap out of it, because tonight I leave for the Canada tournament. Laundry, packing, and overall life organizing are all on the agenda today.
A few hours pass by as I check off my list of tasks. Suddenly, it’s noon. Time for Rawley and Landon’s interview, which I do want to watch, in support.
The host Jalen is facing the screen when I turn on the TV, introducing the segment.
As he finishes, the show cuts to a shot of Landon and Rawley.
Landon looks calm, put together, filling out his blue button-down to perfection.
By comparison, Rawley looks nervous, but since I don’t know him, I could be wrong.
“Landon and Rawley, great to have you here today. Both of you have big seasons ahead of you, so we’re grateful that you made the time.”
Landon responds first, his tone genuine but relaxed. “We’re glad to be here. It’s nice to start sharing the big stage with my little brother.” He points to Rawley and grins.
Rawley gives a small smile, but stays quiet. He’s bouncing one of his legs, out of anxiousness I’d guess.
“Let’s hear from both of you, what are your big goals this season?” Jalen asks, looking at Landon, then Rawley.
“That’s easy,” Landon says, chuckling. “Waves winning the Super Bowl. The only goal.”
“I hear that,” Jalen responds, nodding. “Rawley, how about you?”
“Well,” Rawley says, clearing his throat. “Definitely, we want to go to the championship too. The collegiate one.”
His voice wavers a bit. Shoot, I know how important this interview is for Rawley, and now I’m feeling a little worried for him. I say a little prayer that he finds his confidence.
Landon jumps in. “What Rawley isn’t going to tell you is that he lives and breathes football. He works his butt off to help his team. Can I say butt on here?” Jalen and he laugh.
Jalen then turns back to Rawley.
“I heard you have been going to Florida to train with Landon during the off-season. What’s it like to have a brother in the NFL, and to be able to work with real pros?”
“Oh man,” Rawley says, sounding more natural. “It’s been awesome. I’ve been able to go to Johnson Samuel’s house and practice on his mock field. I could play all day on that.”
Landon jumps in. “The kid has made me throw it to him one hundred times when Johnson hasn’t been around to do it. Practice catching from every position.”
Jalen nods. “Probably a good thing for a wide receiver to love to do.”
Rawley seems to be getting his footing, as he speaks back up. “And yeah, Landon’s the best big brother. I’ve given him a headache or three, but he’s really paving the way, showing me what’s possible.”
They laugh at his headache joke and keep the interview moving along.
Rawley draws most of my attention only because I know what’s at stake for him.
He appears more relaxed now, even cracking a couple more football jokes.
Acting more like the fun-loving, outgoing personality that Landon has described.
Jalen suddenly switches to a more serious expression. “Now, Rawley, I hate to go here, but there have been unflattering accounts of your off-field behavior. A photograph published in First and Ten has invited some questions too. What do you want to say about all of that?”
Rawley’s face tightens, and his eyes dart around a little bit, like he’s trying to find his words. “Well, all I can say is I love football. I would never do anything to jeopardize playing or hurt my team. Being in the NFL is my lifelong dream.”
That answer isn’t terrible, but it also doesn’t address the off-field conduct question head-on. I know from my own media training that some people watching may pick up on that evasion and make it a thing.
I’m not surprised that Landon steps in to try and clean it up. “Rawley’s a great person, a great teammate. He does things the right way. I think whichever NFL team he ends up with is going to be thankful they have him in the locker room.”
Jalen lets the subject go then, asking about their predictions for the preseason games scheduled for the afternoon.
After the interview closes, I text Landon, saying that I watched and asking him how he felt about it. It would be nice to have at least one thing go right, my salty brain says to itself.
Sighing, I head to the dryer to take out my last load before my final packing. As I walk back, my phone dings.
It’s Julie.
JULIE: Hey, looking at the Toronto brackets. Wanted to make sure you saw that you’re in the same section as Tessa. You guys will face off in the round of 16 if you win.
JULIE: That might be why she’s playing her mind games this week.
Oh, it’s on. I can’t wait to show her what true class is.