“I’m all ears.” I motioned toward the bench, and he followed. “What is it?”
“Feelings.” He put his head in his hands and looked helplessly at me. “I might have caught them. I don’t know though.”
I chuckled. “Logan, do you hear yourself? You’re ridiculous. We have a play-off game determining if we get to go to the bowl this weekend, and you’re worried about feelings?”
“Yes,” he shouted, shaking his head. “This girl wants nothing to do with me. Nothing. I can’t handle the rejection.”
“Are you interested in her?” I probed, positive the chase interested him more.
“I think so. She’s cute. I like hanging around her, but she won’t return my texts or acknowledge my existence.” He looked at me with wild eyes. “This has never happened to me before.”
“This is a learning experience for you, bud.” I laughed. “The chase is exciting. Work harder.”
“I don’t have the energy with playoffs.”
“Yeah, it has been a different world this past week. It’s crazy to think it all comes down to one game. You handling it okay?” I asked, grateful for the distraction he provided.
“Yes, but Coach turns into a monster during league championship games. We haven’t had a winning season in two years, and the man is hungry. He’s been here a decade without a title. A lot is on the line this weekend.”
“I get it. I’m fighting my own emotions about this potentially being my last week here,” I admitted. I’d yet to talk to anyone else about it. I was going to miss the hell out of this place, and I didn’t just mean Brock. “We better make it to the Rose Bowl because I’m not ready to say goodbye yet.”
“Shit, Grace.” He put his arm around me, squeezing. “You’ve grown on me. You graduate in December, right?”
“Yeah.” I squeezed him back, his easy friendship one of the perks of interning here. “Then, it’s deciding what the hell to do.”
“What are you leaning toward?” All his attention was on me. “You going to try and find a job here?”
“I’ve thought about it, but it doesn’t seem like the team needs two full-time trainers. I don’t want to be part-time, I want the full shebang.” I had been looking the past two weeks for all jobs related to athletics in the area. There wasn’t anything posted where I could apply.
“That makes sense. There are what, two community colleges right? Have you looked there? I’m sure Brock would give you a hell of a recommendation. I can be a personal reference if you need one.”
“Aw, thanks, Logan. Did Brock tell you we’ve been volunteering for a recreational football league together?”
“No shit! That’s awesome!”
“Yeah, I’m really liking it. I’m thinking of looking into teaching sports medicine. It’s a career course, so I wouldn’t need all the teaching classes. I could also be the athletic trainer for a high school.”
“You would be a hot high school teacher. Is that wrong to say?” he asked, grinning ear to ear. “I’m not hitting on you, by the way.”
“Wow, subtle Logan.” I hit his shoulder. “You don’t think it’s crazy? I was going to maybe ask Brock what he thinks about it, but I don’t know. This is a huge decision, and I can be a bit of a commitment-phobe.”
“Look who you’re talking to, Grace. I’m the walking definition of a commitment-phobe. Do what makes you happy or something you think will inspire you down the road. That’s why I coach. I love the sport. I breathe it, but I didn’t want to play it after college. The challenges of coaching are always changing with new talent and new seasons. Teaching would be like that. It’s similar to coaching, actually. You get new players with the same material. Each year is different but also the same. Does working with the youth of our generation and inspiring them with your awesome story sound like something you could commit to?”
I took in his words, and a slow warmth filled my stomach. “Yeah. I think I could.”
“Then do it, girl. Plus, you could always leave to come back to this. Maybe work somewhere during the summers to fix the itch if you get it. I don’t know. I think this is the right path for you after seeing how you work with the players. But, what do I know?”
“Thanks, Logan. I needed this talk today.” I tapped my fingers on the bench and relaxed—my feelings about Brock might be a mess, but I’d made my decision, and that felt pretty damn good. “It’ll be hard to find a job but—Shit!”
“What?” he said. “What is it?”
“My professor has a connection in the area teaching sports medicine. Ah! I need to email him right now.” I stood, grabbing my phone from my pocket. “Help me type this out.”
Logan and I typed out a professional, hopefully not desperate email, to my professor who had a sister who taught sports medicine. He reread it after I did, and I sent it. I leaned back, stretching with a buzz of excitement going through my stomach. “I need to head back, but let me know what happens, okay?”
“Will do. Thank you, Logan.” I stood, giving him a huge, bear hug.
He chuckled and patted me on the head. “You give the best hugs, Grace.”
