Hard & Deep: A Football Romance

“Your brother's in medicine, huh?” Elsie asked, trying to keep him talking. He had a very pleasant voice. “He must be smart.”

“Crazy smart,” Ollie said, pride filling his voice as he smiled.

“Does he play sports like you?”

“No,” he replied, shaking his head. “Sports aren't really his thing.”

“So he got the brains?” she asked.

Ollie grinned. “You saying I didn't?”

“I, uh... I mean, uh...” Elsie felt the blush coming back to her cheeks.

“I'm just teasing you. But, yes, he got all the brains,” Ollie said with a laugh. He groaned as Elsie pushed deep into the tissue of his knee. “What about you? Any family?”

“I have two sisters,” she said, easing up the pressure of the massage a little. “They both married farmers, which is kind of the thing to do around here. Farmers are what Iowa is known for.”

“And being the political starting point for elections,” Ollie added.

“Who's the smart one now?” she said, with a wink.

The two of them laughed. It felt good and natural. Ollie was easy to talk to. Any nervousness that Elsie had felt about the situation walking in, was now completely gone. She was actually looking forward to the weeks ahead.

“Okay, that's the end of our session today,” she said, as she re-wrapped his knee in the cloth bandage and began to put his brace back on.

“That's it?” he asked, surprised.

“Yep.” She grinned at him.

“I was expecting a lot more sweat and tears, to be honest,” he said, slowly stepping off of the examination table. “That wasn't bad at all.”

“That's because this was your first one,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “I'm always gentle at first.”

“Me too, Doc,” Ollie said, with an over-exaggerated wink.

Elsie rolled her eyes but chuckled. “I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, I want you to take it easy. You just had a major surgery and your body needs time to heal. I promise you, though, when your body is ready, we'll push it to the limit.”

“Is that so?” he asked, winking again and making her words sound dirty.

This time, his comment made her blush.

This guy is trouble, she thought. He is a total flirt.

“You're going to start feeling like you can do more over the next couple of weeks,” she said, picking up her clipboard and scribbling down a few notes and ignoring his comment. “But your symptoms do not necessarily reflect your ability to perform activities.”

“Please, Doc, tell me what kind of activities I can do,” he said, with a suggestive smile. How was he able to twist everything she was saying into some sort of innuendo?

Elsie shook her head and tried not to encourage him. “You may sit and watch TV. How about that? Watch recordings of football games. Sports people do that sort of thing, right?”

Ollie chuckled, obviously enjoying the game.

“You're alright, Doc,” he said, as he grabbed his crutches and used them to hold himself steady. “I think my knee feels a little better already.”

“Take it easy and I'll see you Wednesday,” Elsie said, standing up herself.

With her clipboard in hand, she turned and left the farm house, grabbing her purse on the way out. A smile was on her face as she drove home. She felt like she already had an easy friendship with Oliver, which was always a good sign. She was surprised by how much she enjoyed his company, and got the sense that he was going to be both a compliant, and a fun, patient.

I think this is going to work out just fine, she thought. I'm already looking forward do the next session.