CHAPTER 5
Tessa felt her whole-body freeze when she stepped onto the field.
She and Tristan had just finished dinner - their first real date.
She was smiling so much that her cheeks hurt, and she knew for sure that she had never laughed as hard in the past few hours than she had her entire life.
Their conversation flowed perfectly, and Tristan’s easy going and joyful energy had immediately put Tessa at ease when she had started the date a bit nervous.
And after dinner Tristan had insisted on taking Tessa on a short walk over to the football stadium. She didn’t know what to expect but was completely in awe once she followed him onto the field.
“It’s okay Tess,” he said with an amused smile, pulling on her hand.
“It’s huge,” she said quietly as she took a few tentative steps onto the turf.
The stadium lights were on, but it was completely empty and unnervingly quiet.
The last time she was here it was filled with tens of thousands of cheering students and the noise was overwhelming.
Now she was standing in the eerie, echoing silence of the empty stadium, looking at the intimidating length of the field.
“How do you do this?” She asked, “Look how big this field is, and the stadium, I feel like a tiny ant standing here. How do you not die of nerves doing this?”
He chuckled and squeezed her hand, taking in the awed expression in her blue eyes.
“Honestly, we almost do die of nerves. The adrenaline is the most insane but also addicting thing I’ve ever experienced.”
“And you want to do this in the NFL? With even bigger stadiums and it being broadcast on TV? You’re crazy!”
He laughed out loud and continued to walk with her down the field.
“Yeah, I don’t know. It’s just who I am. From the second I started watching games with Jordan and my dad when we were little, it’s all I’ve thought about. If I didn’t have football, I don’t know what I’d be doing with my life.”
They stopped in the middle of the field and looked around.
She really did look so tiny standing here, and she was breathtakingly beautiful.
Her hair was straight and long, framing her pink cheeks that perfectly complimented her bright blue eyes.
She wore a casual floral dress that was flowy and hit just above her knee with a wedge sandal that gave her a few extra inches on top of her already tall frame.
He hadn’t kissed her again yet but felt the need to pull her body into his warm arms, which she happily accepted and sank into the solid heat of his broad chest. She wrapped her arms around him and unashamedly buried her face into his shirt, inhaling his scent and noticing how comfortable she felt against him like this.
“I’ve got a few recruiters coming to the game this weekend,” Tristan said into her hair, “I’m so anxious about where I’ll end up, if I’m lucky enough to even get drafted of course.”
“Do you not get to choose?” Tessa asked, looking up into his eyes.
He gave her a small smile, loving the fact that she knew nothing about how any of this worked, but also knew how difficult it would be to explain to her that he could end up across the country from her, and that no matter how far away the offer was, he was going to have to take it.
“No,” he replied gently, “Whoever selects me first in the draft gets me. Although I will probably have a decent idea of who it will be in the months leading up to the it, I still won’t know for sure until I get the actual phone call.
That’s what Jordan is going through right now.
This is his last year at Vanderbilt before he gets drafted. ”
“And he doesn’t know what team he’ll end up with?”
“Nope. He has an idea based on which scouts have come out to see him multiple times and which ones have interviewed him more than others, but for the most part, it will be a surprise until the actual day.”
“Wow. Is everything about football so high pressure?”
He laughed and gave a gentle kiss to the top of her head, “Yeah. But for whatever fucked up reason, we like it, we thrive in the chaos.”
She nodded her head and rested her face back against his chest. Although she very much liked having almost every detail of her life planned out and loved thinking ahead, she also was someone who did well under pressure and chaos, so a part of her did understand it.
She just didn’t understand how they could do it on such a large scale.
“Speaking of Jordan, his birthday is on Saturday. I want you to come to the game and then come with us out to his favorite bar to celebrate.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to crash his party or anything.”
“Trust me you won’t,” Tristan said with an amused smile, “He likes you and he is the friendliest guy I know. He’d love for you to tag along. You’ll also get to meet his girlfriend, Katie. She’s from Pennsylvania too, I think you guys would like each other.”
“Yeah, I’d love to meet her,” Tessa said, her eyes shining with eagerness. She always loved making new girlfriends, especially girls she had things in common with.
“Good. Now I’m gonna teach you how to catch a football.”
Tessa stood in stunned silence, watching as Tristan jogged onto the sideline of the field and grabbed a football. Her mouth hung open in shock and apprehension as he jogged back over to her, tossing the ball back and forth between his large hands as if it was a small baseball.
“I’ve never caught a ball in my life,” she said with a scoff.
“So, I get to be your first? I like the sound of that,” he said with a smile, making her cheeks blush. His statement had thrown her for a loop, and she was so deep in thought she didn’t hear him trying to talk to her.
“Tessa? You okay?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah sorry. There’s no way I can catch that thing.”
“Hands out like this,” he said, his voice patient and kind, “and don’t look at me or your hands, just look at the ball okay?”
“Ugh, okay,” she said, laughing nervously to herself as he took a few steps back from her.
He tossed the football perfectly towards her, and despite her heart hammering in her chest, she was able to catch it and couldn’t help but squeal in delight and jump up and down with excitement.
“Lets go!” Tristan laughed, pumping his hands in the air. “Okay now throw it to me.”
“Are you out of your damn mind?” she asked, putting a hand on her hip.
“Throw it,” was his only reply as he positioned himself ready for the ball.
She took a deep breath and gave an awkward toss. It was a short throw, and he had to lunge forward for it, but it was a decent throw that would have landed perfectly if it had gone a little farther.
“Hey that wasn’t bad,” he said with a smile, “We just got to put a bit more power behind it and you’ll be our star quarter back!”
“Do you see my arms?” She said, holding them out and throwing them around awkwardly to show off their length. “They’re so skinny I can barely even pick up my schoolbooks. I’m like a weird, awkward baby giraffe.”
He laughed and took a few steps towards her before he leaned in and gave a soft kiss to her lips.
“You’re not any of those things,” he said in a deep whisper, his eyes locking intensely on hers, “You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen and you’re insanely smart.
And you’ve taught me about English and Literature so now I get to teach you about football. Go long!”
She stood in place looking at him like he was crazy as he took a few jogging steps backwards.
“What does that even mean?!”
“That means run and catch the ball.”
“I’m in heels, Tristan.”
“You better get going Tess, I’m about to launch this thing!”
She rolled her eyes in amusement and took a few lazy steps in her wedges, wincing and bracing for impact as he threw the ball in the air towards her timid and outstretched arms. She squealed and closed her eyes tightly, anticipating the ball to hit her in the face, but luckily it landed perfectly in her arms.
“Woohooo!! Touchdown!”
She opened her eyes and laughed out loud at the ridiculousness of the situation.
She had no idea how she got here. Just over 2 months ago she was knee deep in schoolwork and perfecting her assignments, literally not doing anything but writing research papers for the school newspaper and playing music, and suddenly she was here – on a football field playing catch with the most handsome guy she had ever encountered.
“I thought that was going to hit my face and break my nose,” Tessa said with a laugh. Tristan jogged over to her and took the ball back into his hands.
“I would never let that happen baby,” he said as he draped his arm over her shoulder, and she happily sank into his side.
“You wanna see the locker room?”
Tessa walked around the locker room mostly in silence, looking at all the plaques and banners on the walls and taking in the amount of awards that adorned the shelves.
“You guys are like, really good.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle at her. He loved that she knew nothing about this and nothing about who he was on the team and loved even more that he could be the one to introduce it all to her.
“We do alright,” he said with a shrug and a smile.
She stopped in front of Tristan’ locker.
It had his last name plastered to the top as well as numerous plaques and framed articles hanging from the wall right next to his locker.
He had won multiple MVP awards, teammate of the year awards, as well as one national college tight end award.
She also took a few moments to read articles from various local as well as national newspapers about all of his accomplishments in the two short years he had been at the university.
She also noticed a few from his high school days as well.
“This is really impressive, Trist,” she said in a whisper, her eyes shining with wonder and admiration as she continued to read over the accolades on the wall.