I must first apologize for the errors that troubled the first two chapters and hope some could get past them. At some point I will go back and revise them. I am happy to report that this chapter will hopefully meet expectations and not wound anyone's eyes.
Many thanks are in order to a one and only Estragon, who has stepped up and really helped this girl out in clearing more than a few nasty things and provided amazing amounts of insight to better this story. Thank you times a million for taking this bad boy on and for all of your cuts/edits--you have no idea! Well, you totally do
It has been a slow build, but...fingers crossed...this one hits the spot.
As always, thoughts/suggestions/feedback is always welcomed!
****
Pendicon Field was already beginning to fill up with fans an hour before kickoff. The open stadium had been cause for a major debate when the NFL had introduced another team to Illinois. Fans were devoted to the Bears and the idea of having an additional team seemed unbearable. That was until, as the radio announcers called them, 'the dream team' had moved in and recruited enough winning power to start the Super Bowl hype. In the nearby parking lots, people from as far as Cincinnati had started to come out and start the festivities. With a beer and lawn chair in tow, the fans were in heaven even if heaven began in a Ford. Game days were usually hectic for everyone who worked for the club. From the front office staff to the players, there was always something going on. Like many of the players and other coaches, Gabe had specific routines for game days. When he was a player, he always laced up his cleats from the left side and tapped the toes of them four times before leaving the locker room. Ask any of his old teammates, and they'd say he was someone they chose to avoid before game time. As a coach he ate gummy worms on the field and still remained quiet for the most part until he was barking out orders to the players. He was a hard ass with them only because they had to stay focused otherwise the opposing team could read through their plays. It was a sign of weakness that he refused to allow.
In recent interviews with a local news reporter, several of the staff had been questioned on their intentions for the season. He hated giving interviews, hated having to face the media. Gabe knew it was part of the job, but always felt like he was walking the gauntlet every time he saw a microphone in front of him. The reporter had asked him what his game day routines were, and without thinking he answered automatically, forgetting that he ate the candy of a twelve year old. People around laughed and he merely shrugged them off, telling them he'd rather chew the gummies than grind his teeth. After he left the interview he was glad he was impulsive and could answer on the fly; inside his answer was completely different.
When he had been in the hospital after the first surgery on his knee, his sister had come to visit with her youngest son. Gabe's nephew had been five then. Just as his sister had left his bedside in search of coffee, his nephew Aiden jumped on the bed. In his hands was a large bag of gummy worms. Gabe could remember his words as if they were said yesterday and thinking of them just then, made him wish he were alone. Aiden had taken a single worm and offered it to Gabe, and with eyes as earnest as the sun he looked up and told Gabe words that would stick with him to the grave.
I can wrap this thing around my finger and it still doesn't break. It's like you Uncle Gabe, you wrapped around a ball and you're not broken.
The words were simple and meaningless to anyone else. Maybe he heard something else entirely in them. He had given his life to the game and he was still alive, still had the same passion since the first time he held a ball. He wasn't broken, he never would be.
Standing outside of the tunnel leading onto the field, Gabe held onto the clipboard with his notes and sheets of plays to run through and strangely found himself thinking about Samantha. For the first time in over twelve years in the league he'd never thought of anything except football on a game day, not even about his ex-wife when they were married. But as he stood against the cement post he found himself thinking about a woman who had turned him on. Everything about her made his pulse race, from the sexy curves of her hips to the wicked tilt of her eyes that dared him to make a move. And did he ever want to make a move on her, but he wanted to go slow. He knew she wasn't like the rest of the women he had dated before, but he was still cautious. They had talked the night before, and he would have loved nothing more than to have stopped by to see her, in between sessions with a few of the players, but time was limited right before a game.
On his drive home after their date a smile had been permanently fixed on his face, and his arousal hummed the entire distance. They had gotten along so well and fallen into comfortable conversations throughout the night, that he had an urge to follow Samantha inside her home and stay with her for the night. Just to be close to her.
Gabe leaned his head back against the cool cement, took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He needed to get his head back into the game, needed to get focused. He needed to, but it was getting increasingly difficult as flashing images of Samantha appeared in his head. Images of her half lidded eyes after they broke apart from a kiss and the scent of her hair seemed to be all around him just then. All of the noise from the stadium disappeared and all he could hear was the soft infectious sound of Samantha's laugh. As he thought about the sound of her laughter, his bundled nerves started to calm. One minute turned to two and soon enough the players were shuffling out of the locker room getting ready to take the field.
"You got your sugar gums Russ?" Ernie called out from down the tunnel. Gabe kept his eyes closed but nodded at the man, remaining silent.
"What's up man? You okay?"
"Fine." Gabe shook his head and followed Ernie as they made their way out onto the field after the players. "We got this."
As he stood behind the benches, he jammed the headset tightly on his head and twisted his neck. The bag of gummy worms that had been on his clipboard was tossed onto the bench at the very end where it was empty. Gabe grabbed a string of the sugar gums and shoved them into his mouth, chewing slowly as he narrowed his eyes and got back into the zone.
****
If anyone would have asked Samantha what she would be doing on a Saturday afternoon, she never would have said watching a football game. But that was exactly what she was doing, and found herself uncomfortably perched on Liz and Dave's couch with a glass of water and a piece of gum in her mouth.
She had gone to her classroom earlier in the morning and finished the final touches to the walls. With her students starting school the following week she would be ready for them. A few of the other teachers had been at the school trying to tidy up their own rooms. As Samantha dashed out by two without a word of goodbye, she knew she wasn't quite herself. And she liked it.
If she was going to be losing her mind over a man, she at least wanted someone around to toss some cold water on her face if she got out of hand. The people who would toss the water could only be Liz and Dave. On her way home she had called Liz to see if they wanted to watch the football game, knowing they would be home. Liz had told her to come straight over and they could make something for a late lunch and then watch the game together.
"So which one is he, Sam?" Dave asked from his chair near the sliding glass door of their toy cluttered front room.
"They haven't shown him yet." Samantha had her eyes glued to the television screen trying to spot Gabe but turned the second Liz and Dave started laughing at her.
"It's a game Sam, they'll show him more than once as soon as it starts." Liz was bouncing Trent on the floor in front of the couch. The baby squealed with delight as she dipped him backward.
"This is so weird; I'm looking at a television trying to spot a man I went out with." She shuddered at the way that sounded.
"It's not weird, it's crazy." Liz laughed at her husband who immediately corrected himself. "Crazy good, Sam."
"It's weird Dave, don't deny it."
"It's a little weird, but exciting as H-E-L-L." Liz couldn't help herself and chimed in; she was more than excited for Sam and knew she deserved a little crazy in her life."Did you call him before the game to wish him luck or anything?"
"No."
Samantha had thought about it but didn't want to bother him. They had talked Friday night and he seemed strapped for time but was hesitant to hang up with her. He told her that today he would be all over the place from the pre-game prep to probably having a late night meeting with the coaching staff to go over plays that worked and those that didn't. She got the impression that he was the type of person that didn't want to be bothered when he got focused on something by the way he talked about going from one meeting to the next practice session.
"Oh! There he is!" Samantha's eyes were riveted to the screen for the seconds it showed Gabe, he looked fierce with his headset and was already red in the neck from yelling. Samantha wondered if something had gotten lost in translation, from football to time off. Standing on the sidelines, he was a completely different person than the man she had dined with the other night. Looking at him just then she wondered where his on and off switch was, but even through his fierceness she found him more attractive than ever.
