Wildflowers and Wide Receivers

24. Jonah

Chapter 24

Jonah

B eing back at the training facility feels a little bit like going back to work. Don’t get me wrong, I love playing football, and if I could it for the rest of my life, I would, but this feeling has more to do with just rolling off an amazing vacation and trying to get into the swing of things.

Last week, my body was thanking me for the reprieve. Today, it’s cursing me for the drills I’m putting it through. We’ve been at it for only two hours, and I’m exhausted.

Vivi and I had planned on coming home today, but when Bryan texted that a bunch of the guys were getting together to prepare for the upcoming minicamp, I couldn't say no. Well, I could, but I didn’t want to. Full team practice starts in a month, and I need to make sure I’m as ready as I can be. Vivi was okay heading out a day early, so we packed up yesterday and came home. She’s spending some time at Camille’s this morning while I’m here, on a Sunday, sweating my ass off.

“You’re looking mighty tan there,” Sully says as we convene around the water station. A water station in our new practice facility. The organization went all out on this one with three natural-grass practice fields, a ten-thousand-square-foot new weight room, three hydrotherapy pools, a turf outdoor field, a new outdoor cooling trailer that is set at twenty degrees to quickly lower core body temperature, and more.

His tone has me pausing the green Gatorade bottle I’ve just lifted, and my eyes shoot to his. He’s smirking, and it doesn’t take a genius to know what he’s talking about. I glance around at our group. Sully, Tyler, Reid, Bryan, and Camden are all watching me.

All of them knew I was taking Vivi away for the week, but only one person knew that Sophie would be joining us. My gaze swings to Reid, and he gives me a half-apologetic shrug.

“Really?” I ask, shaking my head, sweat dripping down next to my ear.

“You know nothing stays a secret around here,” he says.

“Well, maybe this could have. I’m still processing.” I swallow some water, toss the bottle, and then grab an unused towel off the bench to run over my face. Now that I’m thinking about it, if they all knew, then I’m surprised they waited two hours to ask me.

“Process through talking to your favorite people,” Camden says, grinning from ear to ear. Camden is the quietest of our group and also the fastest. While he’s really good at football, he’s also wicked smart. It doesn’t surprise me that he used the word “process” since he processes everything. Somewhere along the way, he earned the nickname Superman because he’s all buttoned up with his glasses on during the day, but then when duty calls and he steps into his uniform, beware.

“You’re definitely not my favorite people,” I say as I look at each of them. One whole wall of the new facility is windows, so the light streaming in is natural and bright.

“Lies,” Tyler chimes in from where he’s standing to my left. “Football is family, and family is football,” he says all innocently, and I want to remind him that some families hate each other.

I feel circled. They’ve each taken a spot around me, placing me in the middle, and I want to laugh. This is what wolves do with their prey. Maybe they’re playing for the wrong team and should be heading to Washington.

I look each one of them in the eye, toss the towel, pull off my gloves, and throw them to the ground. I tilt my head from side to side to crack my neck and then look at Reid first.

“You ready?” There’s no humor in my tone, only seriousness.

“For what?” he asks, suddenly skeptical of me.

“To fight,” I tell him point-blank, pushing my hair back off my forehead so I can see.

His brows shoot up, and his jaw drops. “What are you talking about?”

I turn in a circle and hold my hands out, looking at each one of them.

“You’ve got me surrounded, and while you might think it’s fun to gossip like girls, I’d prefer to throw down like men.” I lace my fingers and then stretch my arms out in front of me so they can crack.

“Well, this is going to be fun,” Sully says. Bro has at least fifty pounds on me, and while they don’t know I’m messing around with them, the thought that Sully would actually fight me is terrifying. I might be quick, but tackling guys is literally his job.

“Don’t you have somewhere else you need to be? Go harass your own people.” By people, I mean the defensive line.

“Nope, I think I’ll stay right here and enjoy the show.” He laughs.

“Bro, for real?” Tyler asks, eyeing me like I’ve suddenly become unhinged and shifting his weight.

I lock eyes with him and pause for dramatic effect.

“Nah, I’m just kidding.” I ease out of my stance and crack a grin. “Had you going there, didn’t I?” I smile victoriously, and all five of them groan as the tenseness releases.

“You’re an idiot,” Reid says.

“Me? Y’all literally surrounded me to ask me about a girl. Don’t you have other things to talk about?”

Collectively, they all say, “No.”

“What about him? After all, he’s the one about to have a baby.” I point at Reid.

“We talked to him all week. We’re caught up. Baby is measuring six pounds and is the size of a head of lettuce,” Tyler says.

“Really? Lettuce?” I glance at Reid and think about that for a second. What would it be like to walk around with a head of lettuce in my stomach? Weird, that’s for sure.

“Listen,” he says, pulling my attention back to him. “We’re just all happy for you and want to know how it went.”

“Well, she didn’t leave. She stayed the weekend. So that’s something.”

“Did you have a good time? What did you do? Was it awkward or were sparks flying?” Sully asks.

I think of all of us in this group. Sully is always the one most curious about the relationships his friends have. He cheers us all on and will lend an ear if we need one, but when it comes to him, I’ve never known him to date anyone. He’d make someone so happy too. He’s the type of guy who’s present and thoughtful. Well, lightning will strike one day, and I look forward to it.

“First off, Vivi was with us. So no sparks.” At least none that I’m going to tell them about. “And second, we did beach things. We hung out, built sandcastles, ate food, that kind of stuff.”

“Beach things. Is that why your fingernails are painted pink?” Camden asks, and the guys chuckle.

I hold out my hand and look to see that yep, they’re still painted. I completely forgot about that.

“Why don’t you stop by sometime? I’m sure you won’t walk away unscathed either once Vivi gets her hands on you.”

“Don’t you remember that time she put little ponytails all over Tyler’s head with the colorful rubber bands?” Sully chimes in. “You’ve got plenty of hair for that.”

Camden frowns.

“Well, I think a beach trip sounds awesome,” Bryan says. “I can’t remember the last time Lexi and I went to the beach.”

“Yeah, but you just took that trip to Napa where you ate and drank in luxury down the California coast. You can’t really complain,” Reid says.

“I’m not complaining. I’m just saying it sounds nice. Me. Her in a tiny bikini.” His eyes glaze over.

“Doesn’t your brother-in-law now live in Key West?” Camden asks, and Bryan nods. “You could visit him there. I hear there are some beautiful coral reefs to explore.”

“Key West is home to North America’s only living coral barrier reef. We studied them in my ecology of marine environments class, and then I snorkeled them. Top-ten experience right there,” Tyler tells us.

Camden nods, agreeing with him when Sully claps his hands.

“You’re getting off track. Focus.” He turns to me. “So are you in love?” he asks in a teasing voice.

My expression drops to one of a blank stare. “It was three days.”

“Three days seems like it’s not really accurate, given the situation between the two of you. Besides, does it matter? My best friend told his now wife that he loved her after six days,” Tyler says.

I’ve heard him talk a lot about Lance over the years, although I’ve yet to meet him. Good dude from everything he’s said.

“Six days?” Camden chimes in, his face one of disgust. “How is that even possible?”

“When you know, you know.” Tyler shrugs.

“Well, I don’t know.” Actually, I do. There’s definitely love there for her. Has been since the night we met. Whether or not it’s endearing love or a forever kind of love is yet to be seen. “Y’all forget, I just had one night with her before, and there wasn’t a lot of talking going on. When Vivi had her appointment, that’s when I learned her last name is Black, and she’s a freaking surgeon. At the beach, she talked about her dad and how she’s from Minnesota and allergic to shrimp. I literally know nothing about this girl, and she knows nothing about me.”

“But you had a good time?” Reid studies me.

“I did.”

One of the best weekends of my life.

“What did my girl think about her being there?” Tyler asks. I love that he’s always thinking about Vivi.

“Oh, she was on cloud nine. Sophie was another person to play with, and they did all the girly things.”

“Except paint nails, apparently,” Camden blurts out, his gaze falling to my hands.

“Well, that has to be a bonus that they get along so well,” Reid says.

“But what happens if we don’t work out? I can’t help the ball of anxiousness that sits in the pit of my stomach at the possibility of her losing someone else she cares about.”

“You might not have known Sophie for two years, but I have. She’s chill and not going anywhere. Even if y’all don’t work out, she’ll still be coming to our house, and Vivi will see her. She’s nice, and knowing what she knows, she would never leave her hanging,” he tells me.

“Right, and she works with kids, so you know she loves them,” Sully volunteers.

I do know this, but here’s the thing. Other than building sandcastles, I had all the time in the world to think about this, her, us, and I know what’s best for Vivi, and even me, is not to play games. As great as it would be to have a little fun with Sophie, Lord knows she brings me to my knees. I’m not looking for someone who wants a friends-with-benefits situation. That gets messy, and inevitably, feelings get hurt. And no matter what, those feelings can not be Vivi’s.

“I’m seeing her again tonight. Reid, can Vivi hang for a bit?”

“Of course,” he says. Vivi is really easy. She talks to Camille, plays with Izzy, and watches movies or colors. She’s even become a bit of a bookworm and will sit on the couch and read. Unless she’s somehow miraculously in their way, you wouldn’t even know she was visiting.

“I’ll take her tonight,” Tyler says.

“You sure?”

“Absolutely. Just let me know when you want her home.”

I nod and clap him on the shoulder. “Thanks.”

“Big night out on the town?” Sully asks.

“Nope. I’m bringing her back to my place. I thought about it, but I need her to see my life, our life. That way she can form her own decisions about whether this/we are something she wants.”

“All or nothing, huh? I didn’t see that coming,” Tyler says.

I shrug my shoulders.

I didn’t either. After all, I’ve done nothing but fantasize about this girl for years. But now that she’s finally here, and reality is setting in, given the cards Vivi has already been dealt in life, I’m not sure there’s another way. They say parenting is about making tough choices for our kids, and they weren’t wrong.