Instead, Leah’s opinion is the only one that matters.
I want her to be proud of me. I know she’s not really a huge football fan exactly, just a sports medicine geek in general. I still want her to think I’m incredible.
It’s a scary feeling. But also an exciting one.
The game ends, the time slowly dragging past. We rely on the running game to eat up the clock while our defense plays great, holding the Dallas Cowboys to only a single field goal, nowhere near enough to catch up. We walk away from the game with our first win of the season.
My first win as a professional coach.* * *“Congratulations, motherfuckers!”
Felix pops the cork from the champagne bottle and it sprays all over the guys. They laugh as he takes a long chug and passes it along.
More bottles pop open. I’m shaking hands, grinning madly. There are reporters in here somewhere, and a few cameras still running, but I can barely see any of it.
“Well done today, Coach,” Robby says to me.
I shrug. “Team effort. You know that.”
He grins. “Sure. Team effort.”
“Although I guess I am the team.”
He grins even wider. “You and you alone.”
I laugh and decline a bottle one of the third string tackles offers me.
“How are our chances for the rest of the season?” I ask Robby quietly. “We have a few tough road games coming up.”
“Yes, we do,” he agrees. “But after today, I think we’re looking okay. If we can win next weekend, I think we’ll have a sixty percent chance of making the playoffs.”
I let out a breath. “I’m not sure about that.”
“Nothing’s sure, Coach. Just math and probabilities.”
“Well, I think we’ll probably break even.”
“You’re not wrong.”
I grin at my assistant. “Go have some fun, okay?”
“I’ll try.” He walks off, joining some of the other position coaches huddled to the side of the room.
I drift away from the celebration. Some of the reporters ask me questions but I brush them off. “Press conference,” I tell them. I head down the long hallway, back toward my office.
It’s quieter back here. I’ve never been the kind of man to celebrate my victories too much.
They’re fleeting. A win is a win, but it only matters if that win is followed by another. I celebrate the big victories, the championships, the new records. I celebrate the future.
Let the players have their fun, though. I know they need it. They need to relax a little, get their mind off the game. They’ll have some time tonight, and a little extra time in the morning.
But after that, it’s back to work. Every week, work and more work. Little victories turn into big ones, but only if we stay on it.
I take a breath and let it out. It’s okay to celebrate a little. But it’s always time to work again.
I go to head into my office when someone steps out of a nearby training room. I half turn, my heart leaping.
Leah steps toward me. She smiles, cocks her head. We’re alone.
“Good win today,” she says.
“I thought so.”
“Good job.” She walks over and stops nearby, looking up at me. “Your players are all beat up, though.”
I grin a little. “Get used to it.”
“I will. I just hope they can keep it together.”
“They can. This is what football’s all about. We push and push until either we break or we win.”
“Sounds dangerous.”
“There’s no other way.”
She crosses her arms. “How come you’re not out there with the guys?”
“I’d rather start planning for next week. Every second counts.”
She cocks her head. “I guess I’m not surprised. You’re always so serious.”
I grin at her, step closer. “I’m not that serious.”
“Sure you are. Yelling at the guys, walking around like something’s wrong all the time.”
“I have to exude confidence.”
“You exude annoyance.”
I laugh softly. “I’m not annoyed with you.”
She hesitates. “No, I guess not.”
“And I don’t think I’m too serious with you, either.”
“Maybe,” she allows again. “But that’s a special case.”
“Why?” I ask her softly, coming closer. I know this is dangerous. There are reporters just in the other room. I know we’re not doing anything inappropriate but if one of them got a whiff of blood, they’d never, ever let it go.
“That’s because you want to fuck me.”
I laugh softly. I love hearing that kind of talk come from her pretty little mouth. “You seem too innocent to say something like that.”
“What, fuck?” She grins. “Fuck, fuck, fuck. You want me to suck your dick. You want your big fat dick deep in my pussy.”
I feel my heart beating harder. I know she’s joking around but my cock’s getting half hard. “Careful now,” I say.
“Oh, yeah?” She cocks an eyebrow. “What are you gonna do?”
“I might pull you into this office and show you just how innocent you really are.”
She laughs, tossing her hair to one side. “Go ahead.”