She sighed and stood up from the couch.
“I do,” she replied. A fake smile filled her face. “I guess I'll head back to the airport. I'll tell Coach that you'll be there next week.”
Ollie was suddenly hesitant of Nikki's willingness to comply. Something was up with her and he could sense it. He knew her well enough.
“Are you sure you're okay with things?” Oliver asked, keeping his distance.
“Yes, I said I was,” Nikki replied. She didn't stop as she approached Oliver and pulled him in for a hug. This time, he hugged her back. She smelled like hairspray and fancy perfume.
“Alright, well I'm glad you understand. There aren't any hard fee
lings.” He pulled back from the hug. “I just can't have a personal relationship with you again. Business only.”
She pulled away and faked a smile, clearly trying to keep from crying. “I just really care about you. I've been worrying about you, living out here in the sticks.”
Oliver chuckled. “I'm totally fine. Safe and sound.”
“Good.” Nikki sighed, obviously stalling. “I wish you were coming back with me, but I guess I'll see you next week.”
“Yep, I'll be there,” he said, going to the front door and holding it open. “Tell Coach he can count on it.”
“He'll be happy to hear that.” Nikki slowly walked out the front door. She paused before making it to the steps of the deck. Then she glanced over her shoulder. “You sure you won't come with me? The hotel is ready for us.”
“Bye, Nikki,” Oliver replied, motioning to her car.
She pouted. “Take care of yourself, Ollie.”
“Bye, Nikki,” he said, closing the door.
Oliver listened as she started her car and backed down the driveway. The strongest feeling of relief swept over him now that she had gone.
It's funny, he thought. It wasn't all that long ago when I never wanted that girl to leave. Today, her leaving was the only thing I could think about.
As the sound of her car faded into the distance, Oliver let out a sigh. Nikki had flown all the way out there to try to rekindle things with him. But she'd failed miserably. Her visit had only really made him realize just how much he liked Elsie. She was the one for him, but with only seven days left in Iowa, he feared that he wouldn't get the chance to express that to her.
Chapter 13
Elsie
“Okay, Oliver, I want you to walk across the room. When you get to the wall, run back toward me.”
“Sure thing,” Ollie said, with a grin for her.
Elsie stood in Oliver's gym, holding her clipboard. She needed to evaluate him to see how far along his progress was. He looked like he was healing pretty well overall, but there were things she needed to see him do in order to drop her physical training sessions down to one visit per week. She watched as Oliver walked across the room. His stride looked fairly normal. In fact, to the untrained eye, it would have appeared that he'd never had an injury in his life. But Elsie saw something.
“You're still favoring your good leg, Ollie,” she said, jotting it down in her notes. “I can tell.”
He made it to the other side of the room and turned around. “You can see that?”
“I can see everything,” she said, with a smirk. “Now run back to me.”
Oliver drew in a breath and brought one foot forward, getting ready to sprint the length of the room. He looked at Elsie and then took off, running quickly toward her. In about ten steps he was there and slid to a stop just inches from her feet.
“How was that?” he asked.
“It was fine, but I'm not convinced that you're ready for once-per-week sessions,” she said. “I think we need to keep up the training until you can run and walk without favoring your good knee at all. I can see it in your step. You put more weight on your other leg. It's not a huge deal, but if you're wanting to play at a professional level, then we need to make sure that the strength in both limbs are equal.”
Ollie ran his fingers through his blonde hair, keeping his gaze locked with Elsie. She wasn't lying to him. She really did see him favoring one of his legs while walking and running. But there was a part of her that wondered if her real intention of wanting him do more sessions was so that she could continue seeing him.