Hard & Deep: A Football Romance

“I've felt the same way. It's taken every bit of energy I have just to focus enough to get through practice.” Ollie cradled her chin in his hand as he looked at her. “I'm so glad you're here right now. I thought I'd never see you again.”

He leaned in and kissed her. Their lips touched, immediately soothing any anxiety she'd been feeling ever since he left. The surrounding crowd cheered and clapped as they embraced. Elsie didn't mind. It made no difference that there were a few hundred people watching. She could have been surrounded by a few thousand and it wouldn't have mattered. The only person who really existed in her world, at least in that moment, was Oliver.

When they finally stopped kissing, Elsie looked around to see that The Bandit's fans had already gotten bored with watching the public display of affection. Most of them were staring down at their cell phones, mindlessly scanning through social media.

Out on the field, Coach began blowing his whistle. Oliver looked over his shoulder and then back to Elsie.

“I guess the break is over already,” he said, his hand still touching her cheek. “I've got another half an hour of practice. Will you wait for me?”

Elsie nodded. “Of course I'll wait for you. I didn't fly all the way out here for just one kiss.”

Oliver grinned. “How about we go out on a nice date tonight? Something special?”

“That would be amazing,” she agreed before forcing her face into a frown. “But there's one problem.”

Ollie's smile faded. “What's that?”

“Johnny's tractor is back in Iowa. What are you going to pick me up in?” Elsie giggled as she asked the question.

“Well shoot, little lady,” Ollie replied, in his fake cowboy accent. “I reckon I'll have to pick you up in my four-wheeled driving machine, that some refer to as a 'car'.”

“I reckon that'll do just fine,” Elsie said, patting his chest pads.

The coach continued to blow the whistle impatiently in the background.

“You better go, before Coach gets even more mad.” Elsie stood on her tip toes and kissed Oliver one more time, just a quick peck on the lips.

“Okay, I'll meet you right here after practice,” Ollie said, as he turned around and began jogging down the stairs. He looked back when he got to the bottom. “Promise you'll wait.”

“I promise!” Elsie called back.

As Oliver ran onto the field to meet his teammates, something caught Elsie's eye. A woman, standing on the grass near the edge of the field. Her blonde hair was nearly fluorescent as the bright sun reflected on it. It contrasted her black suit skirt. How she hadn't noticed her before, she couldn't be sure.

Maybe the woman had just arrived or maybe it the scowl she wore on her face that finally garnered Elsie's attention. But there, standing with her arms crossed and looking straight up at Elsie, was Nikki. As soon as their eyes met, Nikki turned away. She didn't wave, or smile, or anything. She just turned away, obviously pissed.

Uh oh, Elsie thought. I'm guessing that kiss with Oliver just now didn't go over so well with her.

She hadn't even considered the fact that Nikki would likely be there at training. It wasn't that Elsie had done anything wrong by kissing Ollie, but she was well aware of the fact that he and Nikki did have some kind of history. But, she believed Ollie when he said it was long over and that Nikki and he only had a professional relationship.

Still, though, she had traveled hundreds of miles to see the man who had her heart. She couldn't allow a jealous ex-girlfriend of his to make her feel uncomfortable about things.

I just hope that she's not as crazy as Ollie has led me to believe, she thought. The last thing I need is to get caught up in some kind of public drama.

After buying her neighboring stranger another hot dog to replace the one she'd ruined, Elsie took her seat. It was a few plays before Nikki caught her attention again. With a walk that should have dislocated her hips, Nikki sashayed over to where Ollie was standing getting some water.

Nikki said something to him that Elsie couldn't hear. Ollie tipped his head back and laughed, a full body laugh that made his eyes sparkle. Nikki grinned and touched his arm, standing intimately close to him. She grabbed a towel from the bench and wiped some grass from his cheek. The gesture was incredibly friendly, almost romantic, but Ollie didn't react at all.

Elsie tried not to worry. Ollie had told her that they'd had a thing in the past, but he swore it was in the past. Even though that little cheek-wipe didn't look very past-ish. She thought of all the images she'd seen when she looked him up that one time. He always had a beautiful lady on his arm. It had always been someone with beauty like Nikki, not like her.

&n

bsp; Her lip was between her teeth before Elsie realized it, as she chewed on it nervously. Was Ollie really happy to see her? Or was he back to his old ways and his old girl now that he was back home? Would he decide that their attraction was just because she was the only female he'd seen for three months?

Elsie suddenly wasn't so sure that this was the best idea. Maybe she should have just left things where they were in her memory: happy and perfect. Being here, there was now a chance that those beautiful memories would turn into something much more painful.

Oliver looked over at her and waved and she did her best to smile and wave back.

“Don't doubt him,” she said to herself. “He's a good guy and he really is into you.”