Chapter 2 #2
What was with this guy and his short answers?
Did he not know how a conversation was meant to work?
Maybe he wasn’t someone who liked to talk while he worked out.
That thought hadn’t even occurred to me until just that very minute.
I was probably making a terrible impression on this guy, and that would negatively affect the team.
I slowed down my treadmill to a stop and hopped off.
“I’m going to go hit the weights for a bit,” I supplied, just in case he cared.
Except halfway there, I changed my mind, hopped on an exercise bike, and tried to keep myself from looking at Rowan Rangecroft.
A few hours later, I was sitting with my teammates in the training center’s auditorium.
The room was a low din of noise, with fifty-some-odd men talking and cutting up.
I was half paying attention to what my best friends, Johan “Jonesy” Jones and Liam Lowe, were talking about.
The rest of my attention was trained on the door.
Rowan had left the gym that morning before I had, and I hadn’t seen him when I left our building for practice.
I didn’t know if Coach Cal had given him any special instructions or if he was running late.
What if he’d gotten lost on the way to the facility?
What if he’d been jet lagged and decided to take a nap and overslept?
I should have knocked on his door and offered him a ride.
Except I didn’t remember which door he’d pointed out as his the day before.
Had he even pointed out the door? I should really be better at paying attention to little details like that.
Everyone always said so.
I should probably start by paying better attention to what Jonesy and Liam were talking about, but I was really worrying that Rowan wasn’t going to show up on time. It would make a terrible first impression on all the coaches and our teammates if he didn’t make it.
My eyes did not leave the door until Liam nudged me. “Is there something particularly interesting over there?”
“No,” I answered, forcing myself to look away for a moment before my eyes were drawn right back to the door. “I’m just—the new guy, Rowan, is supposed to be here, and he’s not.” I sighed. “What if he overslept?”
“It’s almost three in the afternoon. Isn’t he from the east coast?” Liam questioned. “Meaning for him, it’s six. He probably didn’t oversleep.”
“Unless he took a nap because he woke up early.” I didn’t need to look at Liam to know the incredulous look he was giving me.
I could feel it, and I’d known him long enough to have seen it a thousand times over.
“I should’ve knocked on his door and offered him a ride.
Because even if he didn’t oversleep, he might have gotten lost.”
“First, why do you know where he lives? Second, he’s an adult. I’m sure he knows how to order a ride.”
I dragged my eyes away from the door and over to Liam. Jonesy was sitting beside him, looking for all the world like he was trying not to crack up. Knowing him, he probably was struggling to keep it together while his boyfriend pointed out the holes in my logic.
Well, I couldn’t very well have that. Or have either of them thinking that I was stalking the new guy. “He lives in my building. I saw him at the gym this morning—”
“So, you know he didn’t oversleep,” Jonesy pointed out with a shit-eating grin.
That look didn’t falter when I glared at him. Asshole. “Unless he took a nap,” I pointed out again.
“Okay, so he—”
“Oh, he’s here!” I interrupted with an excited whisper as Rowan walked in with Coach Cal.
I watched as he made his way down the aisle and found an empty seat near the front.
He stood out, not just because he was a new face, but because of how tall he was.
He towered over everyone sitting around him, and his bright red hair was a beacon in the auditorium.
I was vaguely aware of Liam and Jonesy talking next to me, but my eyes were trained on Rowan.
He’d chosen a seat near some other defensive players.
I wondered if that had been Coach Cal’s idea.
I kept watching Rowan until Coach Cal and our coordinators, Coaches Jones, North, and Lohan, filed into the front of the room. Coach Cal clapped his hands twice and the entire room fell silent.
The next few hours were spent listening to our coaches go over film of our preseason opponent, plays they wanted to try out, and our plans of attack for the week. It was pretty standard stuff, and if it weren’t for Jonesy poking me every ten minutes, I probably would’ve zoned out completely.
Once we started physical practices the next day, I was able to stop stealing glances at Rowan every few minutes.
The only times I had to interact with him were in team drills when defense and offense went against one another to practice some of the plays our coordinators dreamed up.
Most of the time, I was paired up with Drew Jeffries while Rowan was paired up with our tight end, Wendell West.
I was kind of jealous about it. I wanted to see what the new guy was working with.
I’d watched a few of his tackles, and he had speed.
He moved like poetry in motion, and I noticed that his eyes moved a lot before he jumped.
Jonesy had pointed out a few other things about his play style, and every word he said made me want to experience it for myself.
I finally got my chance in the last practice of the week. Coach Cal called for one-on-ones, and we all filed over to the sidelines. He called out names, and I heard mine called out with Rangecroft. I was practically bouncing when we ran over to do our drills.
We lined up facing each other, and I got a real moment to study him.
I got to see what our opponents would see when they lined up across from him.
His hazel eyes were hard as they stared me down, his brow furrowed.
His big body gave off the impression of a tightly coiled spring.
A shiver of anticipation raced down my spine as Coach Cal blew the whistle for the first round.
I took off, spinning around Rowan just as he went for the tackle. Once I made it past him, I broke away and ran a few yards before turning around and running back. The next round, he tried a different move, and I managed to escape again. He didn’t even manage to touch me on rounds three or four.
He was just too slow.