Hard & Deep: A Football Romance

The driver gently took the envelop and tickets back from her. “Unfortunately, that wasn't part of the deal. Mr. Lance specifically said to only give you the plane tickets if you attend the game.”

That totally sounds like something he'd do, she thought with a huff.

Elsie felt torn. For two days, her mind had been set on leaving as quickly as possible and never looking back, but this little surprise from Oliver had reminded her of the side of him that she'd grown to love over their time together.

Maybe he cares about me more than I realized, she thought. I suppose I could at least watch the game. I don't have to talk to him at all. He'll be playing anyway. All I need to do is relax and watch a football game, root for the other team because I'm still mad at him, and then fly home in the comfort of first class.

“Fine,” Elsie said, snatching the tickets back from the driver. “I'll go to the game. Thanks for the ride.”

She grabbed her bags and stepped out of the car. Before she could close the door, the driver said, “Let me know if you need a ride to the airport afterward.”

“I think I'll be okay,” she said, with a forced smile. “I do appreciate it, but I'd rather find someone who doesn't work in secret for Oliver. By the way, you're not getting a tip.”

“Fair enough,” he said, with a chuckle. “You have a good day.”

“You too.” Elsie closed the door and then got in line.

As Elsie made her way toward the box seats, she expected a number of things. She expected to watch a football game, to see Oliver playing, to get mad about what Oliver had done to her and maybe have a few drinks because of it. She was also pretty certain that she'd leave immediately after the game was over and get on that plane and head back home, where she belonged.

But when she stepped in

to the club seating, everything that she had been expecting flew straight out of the window as fast as Oliver could throw a football. Elsie stopped in the doorway of the room that overlooked the field and felt her knees turn to jello.

“Mom? Dad? Uncle Frank? Sis?” she asked, using the door frame to hold herself up as she looked around the room to see familiar faces that she wasn't expecting. “What are you all doing here?”

They turned to look and her mom jumped up out of her seat in excitement.

“Elsie! There you are! We thought you were going to miss kick off,” her mom squealed, running over to get a hug. “Isn't this amazing? Check out how good of a view we have of the field!”

Elsie must have looked like she'd seen a ghost. As her mom pulled her in for a hug, Elsie glanced around the club seats, which were filled only with people she knew. In addition to her uncle and her parents, both of her sisters and all of her nieces and nephews were there. The kids ran over and hugged her legs.

“Aunt Elsie!” they squealed in unison.

“What is happening right now?” Elsie asked her mom. “I'm so confused.”

Her mother pulled away and looked her in the eyes, unable to contain her excitement. “Your boyfriend, Oliver, flew us out here. He paid for everything, including airfare and our hotel. We haven't officially met him yet, but we did talk on the phone. I'd say you found yourself a keeper, Elsie.”

Elsie took a few breaths, letting the surroundings soak in. “Oh.”

Ollie did this? She thought. For my family and me? Okay, this is a whole new level of kissing butt to get out of the dog house.

“Come on, honey,” her mom said, leading her toward the seats. “Everyone is here. Oliver said this was supposed to be a surprise for you. You have no idea how hard it was not to call you!”

Elsie approached her uncle, giving him a hug.

“Uncle Frank, how are you?” she asked, taking a seat next to him.

“I'm doing well, all things considered. My surgery is in a couple of days, but I'm feeling good about it now.” He cleared his throat. “I'm happy to be here, though. The weather is perfect. It'll be a nice little vacation before surgery. You okay?”

“I'm in shock right now,” she replied. “I had no idea Oliver was going to do this.”

“He's a very nice guy,” Frank said. “I see now why you like him so much.”

Elsie parted her lips to tell him that she didn't actually like Oliver any more and that she wasn't even dating him, but decided against it. Her family was around her and they were as happy as could be. There was no point in ruining the beautiful moment by telling them the news about their breakup. To say she was surprised would have been an understatement. It almost felt like she'd walked into an episode of the Twilight Zone.

Is it possible that Oliver is actually as good of a man as I thought he was initially? She asked herself. Was I the one in the wrong by not letting him explain himself and that picture of he and Nikki?

These kind of questions flooded her mind and were only interrupted when the stadium began to cheer. She got up and looked out of the Plexiglas to the perfect view of the field. The Bandit's players jogged out onto the grass and the crowd went insane. Leading the group, was Oliver. He had his helmet tucked under his arm and his blonde hair bounced over his forehead as he ran.