Rush, page 8
I just wish the hallway would swallow me up whole.
What a shit first day.
Sixteen
RUSH
I train aggressively for the rest of the day in an effort to punish myself for my behavior. It’s a bad habit I picked up from back in my high school days. I’m pissed mostly at myself because I reacted poorly today and hurt two women who didn’t deserve it.
Miranda was completely embarrassed by my comments that she overhead and retreated back to her office as quickly as she appeared. I don’t foresee us ever speaking again, and once Mia finishes her paperwork, I doubt she’ll speak to her either.
I’ve been nervous from the start for Mia to take this job. She’s the only woman in the PT department of an NFL team. She’s single, statuesque, fit, and a gorgeous woman who men are undoubtedly going to hit on. What I didn’t count on were my evolving feelings for her getting the way too.
Something is changing and I feel like captain obvious just gave me a hard elbow in the chest when I saw her chatting it up with Samuels. He’s the last person on earth I need sniffing up under her ass. Just a second ago, he was fucking Proctor’s mother. He’s a self-indulgent, woman-obsessed asshole with no boundaries.
I don’t want to shit talk one of my teammates to Mia, especially because she has to work with him, but I need to find a way to calmly squash this thing before it gets out of hand and I hurt someone. I think I just need a night to sleep on it and calm down.
I’m not the most strategic thinker when I’m angry, but perhaps fate has other plans for me today, because Samuels is headed directly my way and there can only be one thing he wants to talk to me about.
“You were fast as hell out there today,” he says, blowing smoke completely up my ass.
“Yeah.”
“So I just wanted to clear the air about Mia.”
“What about her?”
My hackles rise.
“I realize she’s your homegirl from college so I want to be respectful.”
Fuck me.
“She’s real hot and seems like a nice girl. I want to ask her out for a date.”
“She’s been working here for five hours and you want to ask her out already? That’s working fast, even for you.”
“Early bird gets the worm, man. If I don’t ask her soon, somebody else is going to.”
I hear ringing in my ears. There’s a competition to get at Bird first? If this is what I have to look forward to for the rest of the season, I’m going to kill somebody and the most likely candidate today is Samuels.
“I rather you didn’t,” I tell him.
“Did you hit that in school or something?”
My blood is boiling.
“You’re asking if I slept with her?” Fuckhead. “No, Samuels. She’s… she’s just a friend from school.”
The half-truth I tell again tastes especially rancid, but I remember quickly why I’m saying it. It’s all for Mia.
It’s a shitty double standard, but the minute I act too protective over her, all kinds of incorrect assumptions are going to be made about our relationship. Many of them will assume we’ve slept together or that we are sleeping together. They will dismiss any of her accomplishments or credentials. The fact is that she needs to find her own place in the locker room without rumors or innuendo or she’ll never be taken seriously.
“That’s good news, but just so you know, my intentions are honorable. I’m just going to ask her out. No bullshit.”
I take a deep calming breath because I really want to karate chop this fucker’s windpipe.
“I’m asking you respectfully, Samuels, to wait on that. She barely got her foot in the door. It’s a big deal for a woman to work on the training staff of any NFL team. She needs to make a good impression with no distractions or rumors.”
“You make a good point, man. I should wait.”
Maybe he’s not a complete moronic, narcissistic jackass.
“You Hurricanes really stick together.”
“Yeah, we do.”
“But remember, I called first dibs.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“I didn’t mean it disrespectfully, Rush. I’m just saying I’m not going to ask her out today, but eventually I will, and I just want it on the record that I consulted you out of respect first since you know her and all.”
“You’re missing the point.”
“Nah, man. I get exactly what you’re saying. Before I ask her out, I need to chill for a second. Good things come to those who wait. I got you.”
After Samuels walks away, I take one of the practice balls and kick that shit down field. He doesn’t get what I’m saying at all, or he doesn’t want to get it. I’m realizing that there are so many reasons why Mia working for the NFL, especially on my team, was one of the dumbest ideas I’ve ever come up with. The shit isn’t going to be good for my health. I didn’t think this whole referring her for a job thing through, but I also had little choice in the matter.
Four years ago when Mia tore her ACL, a teammate told me during practice what happened and I almost hurled on the spot. I knew what an injury of that magnitude meant, and I knew that it would be the end of any sort of Olympic dream for Mia.
I remember that day like it was yesterday. I dropped everything to the ground and started running as fast as my legs would take me to my car. It was a second-hand Honda that my dad bought me my junior year of college, but it had just as much get up and go as I imagine it had the day it was built.
I practically flew on fumes to the hospital and when I arrived Mia was already heavily sedated and on her way to surgery. Because one of the nurses recognized who I was, she let me peek in on her before they took her to surgery.
“I’m here,” I told her.
“Rush?”
“I’m here, Bird.”
Tears cascaded down the sides of her face and into her ears.
“Finally, my good luck charm is here.”
While I knew her words were said through the haze of anesthesia, they cut me to the bone.
I was her good luck charm.
She truly believed that.
And I let her down.
I’ve been trying to redeem myself ever since.
When I heard about this opening with the Hawks for a PT, I knew it was meant to be.
Another chance to redeem myself.
To be her hero.
Her lucky charm.
Sure, some of my motivation stems from guilt. My path to the NFL seemed to be laid out so easily for me, and Mia’s journey has been a total ride on the struggle bus. We were both successful athletes in college, but now I’m the one with a 10,000 square foot house and a guaranteed multi-million dollar contract and she’s worried about paying her rent in that shit apartment next month.
It isn’t fair.
This isn’t how it was supposed to be.
But all I can do is stay by her side, be her friend, and do however much she allows me to do for her.
For now anyway, that will have to be enough.
Seventeen
RUSH
It’s been an average morning of training camp. I’m finally remembering all the rookies’ names and memorizing the season’s new plays, both of which have been hard tasks since I’ve been having trouble sleeping. Why? Because a little physical therapist I know has been haunting my dreams and making me wake in the middle of the night with a brick hard dick and no solution in sight.
That’s why I’ve been ducking her at work.
It’s a bitch move, but I feel like Mia would definitely see right through me if we spend any meaningful time in conversation. My eyes go straight for her tits and ass now. It’s like I can’t control the little fuckers. Eventually she’s going to figure out that something is different with me and I’m not ready to have that conversation. Hell, I don’t think she’s ready to hear it. I almost went there the night she cooked me dinner, and she was practically running from me in her own damn house.
At first I thought, maybe I’ll tell her. Maybe we could talk it through. Me dreaming that I’m banging the hell out of my best friend? Me wanting to actually act on some of those dreams? Then I came to my senses. That conversation would not go over well at all.
Mia has been working at her new job for three weeks now and she seems to have made a smooth adjustment into her role as a team physical therapist. The first week of her being a bright and shiny new object in the locker room has settled down now, and the guys are learning and accepting that she’s a skilled clinician who is simply here to do a job.
Let me rephrase that.
Everyone is accepting that but Samuels.
Which is another reason why I can’t sleep.
He thinks he’s so slick, but I’ve been watching him out the corner of my eye at every turn. He’s been sure not to cross any lines with Mia, but he’s always there like a fly on shit. Smiling when she walks by on her way to a training room. Putting on a show for her when she’s on the field and running fast like an Olympic sprinter. Conveniently eating when she’s having lunch. Asking her questions about muscles he doesn’t even know the names for.
I’m hip to his hustle.
He’s slowly trying to groom her with his charming personality and humorous jokes, and once he thinks he’s waited the appropriate amount of time, he’s going to go in for the kill. Just because I asked him to back off, it feels as if he’s going in even harder. He’s fucking with me as if this is some sort of game to him, but he’s going to learn very soon if he keeps it up, that I am not to be fucked with.
My mood improves once I notice Mia across the field. She’s dressed in a pair of fitted black sweatpants with a thick stripe down the side and a white v-neck t-shirt with the Nighthawk logo. Even in the official team sweats, Bird looks sexy as fuck.
She hops into a golf cart and drives in my direction.
“You all right?” I ask her, doing my best to keep my eyes on hers and not on how good her tits look in that white shirt.
“Are you going to ask me that every time I see you? It’s been a month, paw-paw.”
“It’s been three weeks.”
Three weeks and she still isn’t using her cane.
“Where’s your cane?”
“I don’t need it today.”
“You sure you aren’t pushing yourself too hard, Bird?”
“I’m sure. It’s like the spirits know I need to be on my A game and are looking out for me. I haven’t had any serious pain in weeks. She lifts both her knees with her hands on her hips to show me how limber she is.
“Remember when I used to dance all the time, Rush?”
“I remember.”
“I was a force of nature.”
“You can still dance.”
“Not like then,” she recalls wistfully. “Now I’m just happy to show you I can bend and lift my knees.”
My eyes drop to the ground. It saddens me that she’s not able to be that free spirited girl around the bonfire. I wish she would let me find her a surgeon and pay for it. It’s literally killing me that a possible fix is out there and it’s beyond her grasp because of money. Money I have.
“Do you want to get dinner with me on your break today?” she asks.
I notice Samuels staring at the two of us clear across the field. It’s like a chess match. He’s waiting to see which one of my pieces I’m going to play. Unfortunately, I’m out of moves today.
“Me and Carter, the one who jabbed me in the face during the melee in the locker room, have actually hit it off. I promised him that I’d help run a drill during break.”
“Your dinner break is for dinner. When are you going to eat?”
“I was going to wait and eat a big meal after camp. I’ve been snacking on stuff all day.”
Mia pouts and crosses her arms in front of her, lifting her breasts up front and center. Does she know her nipples are poking through that shirt? Fuck, if I see them then everyone sees them.
“We see each other every day but we have spent no time together. If I didn’t think it was such a crazy assumption, I’d say that you were avoiding me, Rush Bacchetti.”
Didn’t I tell you?
She calls me on my shit every single time.
“I’m just busy trying to get ready for the season. I told you it would be busy like this during camp.”
“All I’m asking for is dinner.”
Of course I’m not going to tell her no.
I never can.
“Okay, Mia. Grab some food for us from the cafeteria and meet me here at five. I’ll eat with you and work with Carter at the same time.”
“Perfect,” she happily sing-songs. “See you at five.”
****
“What are you laughing at, Proctor?”
Our star running back has been eavesdropping on the sideline.
“Sorry, man, I don’t mean to laugh but I’ve never seen you act like this in all the time I’ve known you.”
“Act like what?”
“I’m starting to think that Mia is more to you than just a college friend, and what was that name you were calling her? Was it bird?”
I lower my eyes from the truth of his comment. I’m sick of not telling people who Mia is and what she means to me. It was stupid of me to even hide it from the beginning. Anyone with half of a brain can see that I can’t keep my eyes off of her.
“I’ll admit she isn’t just someone I knew from school.”
“I knew it!” He exclaims.
“Don’t get it twisted,” I tell him. “Mia is my best friend and has been for years.”
Proctor’s face crinkles in confusion.
“Your best friend?”
“Yeah.”
“Why is that a secret?”
“I didn’t want the team to think I pulled some sort of special favor to get her the job.” Which I kind of did.
“I get it. You didn’t want the guys questioning her skills as a therapist.”
“Exactly.”
Finally, someone who gets it.
Proctor glares at me strangely, though.
“What?” I say to him.
“Does she know?”
“Know what?”
“That your feelings for her have changed.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Proctor.”
“Or maybe they’ve always been there all along, simmering quietly in the friend zone. Because if I see it, you best believe some other people are going to notice. The only one who may not realize it is the one person who should.”
“You’re way off base. She’s like my sister.”
“I actually have a sister and trust me when I tell you that I’ve never stared at her tits and ass the way you watch Mia’s.”
I want to shut him the fuck up. His words are only making the slow realization I’ve been coming to about Mia feel even more real. I’ve always told myself that I sometimes look at her body because she’s a beautiful woman and I’m only human, but now I’m thinking differently. I guess Proctor is right. If she was “really” my sister, I wouldn’t look at her in that way. In fact, I’d need to go on a therapist’s couch if I did.
“I need to go watch tape in the video room.” I’m ending this conversation. “I’ll get up with you later.”
He chuckles to himself then asks me the last question I need to hear.
“What are you going to do about that fucker Samuels?”
“What about him? I thought he was your problem.”
“You better watch him. I wasn’t lying about my mother. He slept with her and now he’s pursuing Mia hard. He’s got a way with the ladies that is almost pimp-like. ”
“Not my lady,” I counter.
“Ohhhh, okay,” he smiles. “So she’s your lady now?”
“You know what I mean.”
“I know exactly what you mean. Just make sure that she does too before it’s too late.”
I’m annoyed.
I don’t enjoy talking about my personal business with anyone, but Proctor brings up a valid point. What am I going to do about Samuels? I’ll break his fucking jaw if he puts a hand on Mia, but if Mia allows Samuels to get close to her, and dare I say becomes interested in him, how am I going to stop it?
How am I going to stop him?
Eighteen
MIA
One perk of being on the Nighthawk training campus is that they have one of the coolest cafeterias I’ve ever seen, if that’s what you want to call it. It’s a massive area that acts as the heart of the facility for players and staff. There’s a sitting area that can accommodate up to a hundred and fifty people, flat-screen TVs hanging on the walls and every corner, and an outdoor stone patio complete with a fireplace and brick oven.
The dining hall looks more like an upscale hotel restaurant than a cafeteria, and it’s run like a tight ship by a petite woman with chestnut brown skin and a short blonde pixie cut (Jada Pinkett styled) who is the team’s official dietician.
All I have to do is make a selection and request dinner for two to take on the field and they conveniently package up two scrumptious looking Mediterranean meals of grilled chicken and shrimp skewers, roasted veggies and hummus and pita bread on the side. It’s like I’ve died and gone to food porn heaven. All healthy meals and snacks that are scrumptious and made fresh every single day. What more could a girl ask for?
While I’m waiting for them to package everything up nicely, Tiger Samuels approaches me at the counter.
“Hey, Mia.”
My face brightens once I see it’s him. Samuels has been one of the nicest players I’ve met on the team so far and is always a lot of fun to chat with.
“Hi, Samuels. What’s up with you?”
“Mia, you should really call me Tiger.”
“Doesn’t everyone call you by your last name? I thought that was the protocol around here.”
“Tiger is the name my Mama gave me and I’d like it if one person in this building would use it.”
“Understood.” I smile. “Tiger it is.”
