Hard & Deep: A Football Romance

by Krista Lakes

  A few moments later, his phone began to blow up with texts from his buddies who were inside the club. They were wondering where he went and making sure that he was still up for celebrating. It had been so long since he'd seen them, that he knew he couldn't just go home as much as he wanted to. Part of being on a team, meant spending time with the boys outside of training. So, with a sigh, Oliver walked back to the front of the building and into the club.

  I guess I can fake a smile for a couple of hours, he thought, as the swarm of people sucked him in. There are worse things to fake.

  Chapter 18

  Elsie

  Elsie laid the last padded mat onto the floor. She took a step back, admiring the new workout room that she'd created for her clients. The equipment that Oliver had given her barely fit into the small space, but she had managed to make it work. It had changed her business from run-of-the-mill to a high-end operation. She couldn't wait to start using it for some of her current clients and already had begun thinking about how she could let the community use it as a gym.

  Of course, every piece of that equipment was nostalgic to her. The leg press, brought memories of Oliver, and the “torture” she'd inflicted on him in order to get him back into shape. The treadmill, which was a bit worn from the miles and miles that she'd made him walk during his three-month stint in her care. And of course, there was the massage table. She'd put that in the far corner of the room, where she wouldn't see it as often. Every time she noticed it, it reminded her of the first time she saw Ollie with his shirt off. That was the last thing she needed to be thinking about, though, while treating her other patients.

  “I guess that's that,” she said, taking a final glance around.

  Time to get myself back on the schedule, she thought. Time to get back to real life.

  Elsie went to the front desk and sat down, peering out the glass window in front. She chuckled, as she remembered the date with Oliver where he picked her up out there on the John Deere tractor. It was something she knew she'd never forget and would probably think of every time she looked out.

  “Okay, where was I?” she whispered to herself, as she dusted off her laptop and turned on the scheduling program.

  The sound of a car pulling up distracted her. She looked up to see her Uncle Frank's beat up brown Oldsmobile parked next to the curb. Elsie set her computer to the side and went out to greet him.

  “Uncle!” she squealed, as he eased himself out of the driver's seat.

  He looked more feeble than he used to, but still had enough strength to pull her in for a powerful bear hug.

  “Hey, kiddo,” he said, all smiles. “How've you been?”

  Elsie shrugged. “I've been alright, I guess. Just getting things back to normal around here, now that that private patient of mine is fully recovered.”

  “He went back home then?” Frank asked.

  “Yep, he's back home,” she said, trying to hide the sadness in her voice. “I have a surprise for you, Uncle.”

  “I'm too old for surprises, you know that,” Frank said, with a chuckle and a wink.

  “This is a good one, though,” Elsie assured him. She opened the front door for him and followed him into the clinic. “How are you feeling? I haven't talked to you in a while. Is your surgery still scheduled for next week?”

  Frank sighed, as he leaned against the front desk. “Yeah, it's still next week and I'm still wondering if I should do it. The prognosis isn't great, no matter which way I go.”

  “I think you should go through with it,” Elsie said quietly. “At least you're giving yourself the best possible chance.”

  “I suppose you're right,” he said with a sigh.

  Elsie could see the worry behind her uncle's eyes. The compassion she felt for his situation was overwhelming, but she knew that the best thing she could do was to assure him that things would be okay.

  “I'm here for you if you want to talk,” she said. “I'm always here.”

  Uncle Frank placed her hand onto Elsie's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. “Don't look so blue, kid. Everything is fine. And look, if it makes you feel any better, I'm pretty sure I'm going to go through with the surgery. I'm just not quite ready to admit that fact to myself yet. The whole idea of going under the knife makes me nervous, but I realize it's probably the best move. Besides, I'm not ready to throw in the towel quite yet.”

  Elsie's eyes lit up. “That's great news, Uncle Frank. I know things will be fine.”

  “I'm sure they will,” Frank agreed. “Now, where's this little surprise you were telling me about? I think I'm ready, but I hope it's nothing too crazy. The last thing this old man needs is a heart attack on top of everything else.”

  Elsie chuckled. “Come on, it's in here,” she said, leading him toward the back room where all of the new equipment was.

  “What in tarnation?” he whispered, as he stepped into the exercise and recovery room. “Elsie, where did you get all of this? This is incredible.”

  Elsie proudly walked through the room, showing off all of the new things. “Isn't it amazing, Uncle?”

  “This must have cost a fortune.” Frank walked around the room, touching every piece of equipment as though he'd found the holy grail. Physical therapy was his life's work as much as hers.

  “Didn't cost a penny,” Elsie said, unable to hide her excitement. “That last patient of mine gave it all to me. Every bit of it.”

  Uncle Frank brought his gaze toward her, wide eyed with bewilderment. “He gave this all to you?”

  “Yes.” Elsie nodded. “He said that he owed so much to me for helping in his recovery. He said it was the least he could do.”

  She felt her smile fading as she talked about Ollie. Bringing him up forced her to remember the fact that she would never see him again. She turned away from her Uncle.

  I can't let him see me cry, she thought, choking back the tears. He's already got too much to worry about.

  But Elsie's uncle knew her better than she knew herself. He stepped beside her, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulder.

  “What's wrong, kiddo?” he asked. His voice was low and comforting, just like when she was a little girl. “Something is on your mind.”

  “No, I'm fine,” she said, with a sniffle. “Just, uh, I don't know. Maybe a little stressed or something.”

  Frank gazed around the room. “Elsie, you just had a million dollars of equipment that landed in your lap. Patients will be coming from all over the state once they hear how state-of-the-art this place is. Financial worries will be a thing of the past. I'm having a hard time understanding what you're stressed about. I think it's something else.”

  He looked at her with discerning eyes. It was a look Elsie had seen from him a million times in her life. He could see right through her and she knew that there was no getting around that.

  “I just miss him,” she said, surprised at how the words felt as they tumbled out of her mouth. “I miss Oliver.”

  “The patient?” Frank asked.

  Elsie nodded. “He and I became pretty close over the past few months. I knew he'd have to leave at some point, but it seemed so sudden when that time finally came.”

  Her uncle was silent as he listened, stroking the white beard stubble on his chin.

  “I know what you're thinking, Uncle Frank.” Elsie took a seat on one of the weight benches as she spoke. “It was wrong for me to become close to a patient. But I promise that it didn't happen until after I'd released him from my care.”

  “Elsie, I may be a crotchety old man, but that doesn't make me some kind of prude,” he said, sitting next to her on the bench. “You don't need to justify anything to me, and you certainly don't need to fear getting into trouble for dating one of your patients. I know you did everything above board.”

  “I just don't know what to do,” she said, turning to face him. “I've never met anyone like him. He's different. He's kind and sweet. We get along so well. Maybe I'm just overreacting, but I miss him so much r
ight now.”

  Frank brought an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, giving her a firm squeeze. “Elsie, I've noticed that you haven't been yourself over the past few days. You've seemed distant and distracted. There's a sadness in your eyes that I've never seen before. I had a feeling it had something to do with that patient of yours, but I never realized just how close you two were.”

  “What should I do?” Elsie asked, leaning her head against her uncle's shoulder. “I feel like I've been walking in circles ever since he left. I can't get organized, my thoughts are scattered. He's the only thing I can think about. I feel so uneasy without him here in town.”

  “You really want my advice?” Frank asked.

  Elsie pulled away and looked him in the eyes. “Yes. You know how much your advice means to me.”

  It was true, too. She'd always looked up to her uncle in helping to make life decisions. This was the first time she'd ever sought out advice about a guy she liked, but she knew that her uncle's wisdom could apply to just about anything. He'd seen it all. He'd been to war as a young man, lost friends along the way and eventually lost his wife. Frank had lived and had lived deeply. The scars of his experiences showed up as wrinkles around his eyes.

  “I'm eighty-two years old, Elsie,” he said, after clearing his throat. “No matter what happens with my health because of this cancer, I only have so much time. I've lived a long life, though, and I've learned a very important lesson over the years. It's a lesson that I wish someone had taught me when I was younger. If you want something, you have to go after it. You have to, Elsie, because nothing in life that's worth having will fall into your lap. Your heart knows what you want, and you need to listen to it. If you ignore it, you'll survive. Sure. You'll live a long life and maybe even find some degree of happiness. But when you look back one day, I promise you, you will have wished that you followed your heart every step of the way. Because it always knows what is right for you and it never lies. Don't ignore it, just follow it.”

  Goosebumps popped up on Elsie's arms as she listened. She hadn't ever heard him speak about something so deep and it resonated with her. Her heart had been trying to tell her this whole time. From the moment she met Oliver, her heart had been knocking on the door of her mind, trying to tell her that he was the one. And for three months, she'd done her best to ignore the message. But now she couldn't any more. She couldn't let Ollie go, at least not without giving a legitimate effort first.

  “What should I do?” she asked, wiping her tears from her cheek. “My heart tells me that I should be with Oliver, but he's hundreds of miles away and I'm here. My life is here.”

  “Your life is where you want it.” Frank pushed his little round glasses further up on the bridge of his nose. “Go get him.”

  “Just... leave?” Elsie said, shaking her head. “You mean fly to California?”

  He shrugged. “I mean you're welcome to walk, but I think flying might end up being a little faster.”

  “What about the clinic?” Elsie looked around the room. “My patients? Our patients?”

  “You see, Elsie, that's your mind that's talking right now,” he said, with a smile. “Your heart doesn't need to worry about the business. Let me handle that part. I know someone who can cover everything here. Besides, running this clinic was never your dream anyway. That was my dream and I had foisted it on you.”

  “But...Uncle...” she began to say.

  Frank gently grabbed her hands. “Look, Elsie, this is a beautiful moment in your life. Please, just grab it. Run. Follow your heart. If you don't, you'll live out your years here and be miserable. I don't want that for you.”

  “What if I go out there and Oliver wants nothing to do with me?” Elsie asked, putting voice to her fears. “What if it's all for nothing?”

  “What if it's not?” Frank asked. “Besides, you know this old place isn't going anywhere and either am I. It's not like you couldn't come back, if push came to shove. You do have an in with the owner.”

  For the first time since Ollie had left, Elsie's lips curled up into a smile. A real smile. One that wasn't forced or fake, but a genuine beam of happiness written all across her face.

  “You're serious, aren't you?” she said, squeezing his hands. “You know someone who can handle things around here for a while?”

  Uncle Frank nodded. “I do. I'll give him a call and arrange everything.”

  Elsie dropped his hands and then wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him so hard that she squeezed the air out of his lungs. “Thank you, Uncle Frank. Thank you so much.”

  He patted her back and when she finally released him, she noticed that a tear had streamed down his cheek. “Why are you crying, Uncle?”

  “Because it's nice to finally see you happy again,” he said. “Now go. The clock is running. Buy a plane ticket and get on that flight to California. Call me when you get there.”

  “Okay. Yes, okay. I'll call you.” Elsie nodded eagerly. “Oh, my gosh, I'm really doing this. Thank you, Uncle.”

  She gave him one more hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. Her uncle's talk was exactly what she needed. It had given her the confidence to get out there and pursue the only thing that could possibly ease her anxieties; Ollie.

  “I'll call you as soon as I land to let you know that I got there safely,” she promised. She stood up and started organizing things in a last minute need to put everything away before she left. “If you need anything at all, just pick up the phone, okay?”

  “I will,” Frank said, watching her with a wry smile. “But I don't expect that to happen. Everything will be fine around here. You know that nothing too dramatic ever happens in this town and I highly doubt that anything will while you're gone.”

  Elsie gave Uncle Frank one more hug. He laughed as he patted her back.

  “Now get going,” he chastised. “Go pack!”

  She went straight upstairs to her apartment, where she quickly threw some clothes into an old dusty suitcase that she hadn't used since college. With no idea how long she'd be gone, she ended up packing another suitcase in addition to that one, just in case. Then she hopped on the computer and ordered a plane ticket for that very afternoon.

  I can't believe I'm actually doing this, she thought. But Uncle Frank is right. If I stay here, I'll just be moping around forever. I have no idea if Oliver even wants to see me again, but at least if I go out there, then I'll know for sure. At least then, I can rest. Because I tried.

  Chapter 19

  Elsie

  After driving around San Francisco in her rental car for nearly an hour, Elsie finally pulled into the parking lot of The Bandit's training stadium. She wasn't used to spending time in such a big city and it had taken her forever to find it. Luckily, the three gas stations she'd stopped at had very helpful people working there who were happy to point her in the right direction even when her GPS said otherwise.

  Elsie's plane had landed the evening before and she'd spent most of the night pacing her hotel room. She'd considered calling Oliver at least a hundred times, but talked herself out of it each time. Finally, she'd gone to sleep, with the decision that she'd just show up at his practice the following day and see his reaction. Now, as she walked across the parking lot, she wondered if that was the right choice. Her palms were sweaty and anxiety burned in her chest.

  Calm down, Elsie, she told herself. It'll be fine, no matter what happens.

  It didn't cost anything to get in, since pre-season training was free to watch. Elsie stepped into the stadium. The sound of the small crowd talking and clapping filled the halls, as she made her way toward the seating area. There were a surprising amount of people in the stands, all wearing orange and red to support the team. She spotted an empty seat a few rows back from the front, and squeezed her way over everyone's feet until she made it there. As soon as she sat down, she looked straight ahead.

  Covering the perfectly trimmed grass were at least forty football players, many of them wearing full gear and
helmets. Scattered among them were the coaches, dressed in orange polo shirts. They were blowing their whistles and calling out plays for the men to run. Elsie scanned the field, looking for Oliver. It didn't take long to find him. He wasn't wearing a helmet and his blonde hair reflected the sun.

  She exhaled as a wave of excitement filled her. It had only been a few days since she'd seen him, but laying eyes on Oliver again made her tingle all over. It was a sign that she'd made the right decision in coming there.

  “Lance, I was to see you throw that slant route again.” One of the coaches jogged up to Oliver. “This time, send the ball to Smith as soon as he's open. Even if Harris looks like he's not being defended, don't break the play. Run the route.”

  “Sure thing, Coach,” Lance replied.

  Where Elsie sat, she could hear everything. It was much different than it would have been during a real game, with tens of thousands of people all shouting and screaming at the top of their lungs. For the most part, the crowd was quiet, with just the occasional clapping and chatter. It allowed for Elsie to hear everything that was said on the field.

  She relaxed into her chair, watching as Oliver signaled for the center to snap the ball. He took a few steps back, waiting for his receiver to get open. As soon as he had the shot, Ollie threw the ball. It whipped out of his hand, spiraling perfectly toward the open man. It made a slapping sound as it landed in the receiver's hands.

  “Yes, like that,” the coach said, patting Ollie on the back. “Good job. That's the kind of route we need to run if our opponent keeps blitzing us. It'll throw them off every time.”

  Oliver nodded, pushing his blonde hair across his forehead. He was sweaty and looked sexier than ever. Elsie thought he looked even better in his football uniform than he had in his cowboy outfit on the night of their first date. It suited him in a way the country clothing didn't.