Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 81281 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81281 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
I drop my bag and set up the push sled. It will be the last station of five on this circuit workout I’d posted on the team event board, and I hope I have at least one player show up. I intend to use the battle ropes anchored at the south wall, agility ladders unrolled along the east side, the push sleds already in position on their dedicated track, a pull-up rig at the far end, and a medicine ball station to finish. The turf is the team’s forest green with the Cascade Mountains crest painted in the center. The slate and graphite of the facility wall rises on one side, the rest open sky, and on a morning like this, it feels like the best office in the building.
I set up the last cone and straighten, letting myself have thirty seconds of not thinking about anything work related.
We’ve been back from LA for three days now and I’ve got men rotating in and out of my office. That’s not as slutty as it sounds. Rather, I’ve got players signing up for and believing in what I can do for them. I’m hoping these occasional circuit training sessions will get more guys to give me a chance because I’m feeling the absolute need to really prove myself in this role.
I know that has everything to do with my guilt for crossing the line with Locke. I haven’t even seen him since we’ve been back, which you’d think would alleviate some of it, but it hasn’t. He’s not avoiding me but between a home game against Atlanta and two evening commitments I’ve had, there hasn’t been any time to connect with him.
I am a professional with advanced degrees in human performance, and I keep telling myself that I can absolutely keep those things in separate boxes. I almost believe it.
Outside the moral dilemma I can’t seem to shake is the inherent problem of uncertainty. Yes, we slept together. Locke called it just having fun. But he stayed the night. Held me while we slept. Banged my brains out the next morning and then ran with me to keep me safe from Grant.
Those details repeatedly assail me because Locke is a man who has built his entire life around not attaching himself to temporary things, and yet he chose to stay in that hotel room with me. Hell, he chose to walk me up to my room to ensure I was okay, and that didn’t have a damn thing to do with sex. And then when we woke up the next morning, he reached for me like it was the most natural thing in the world. I don’t know what to do with that information and I can only hope it clarifies itself.
The door bangs open.
“Tell me this is outside because the weather is actually nice and not because you’re trying to kill us and avoid a bloody mess?” Arch asks, sauntering over with that easy and charming confidence of his.
“It’s both,” I say with a grin.
He laughs and drops his bag against the wall. “I respect the honesty.”
Boss Calloway comes through right behind him, Rome at his shoulder.
“Sleds,” Boss groans with apprehension.
“Don’t panic yet,” I assure him.
“Too late. I hate sleds.”
“Stop crying like a baby,” Arch says with a playful punch to his shoulder. Then his eyes light on the agility ladders. “Ah, shit. I hate those things.”
“Suck it up,” I quip.
Rome surveys the circuit with a quieter assessment, and we’re soon joined by Crosby. I haven’t gotten to know him as well as I’d like to, especially since most of my information about him comes from Juno. After our ladies’ wine night, I probably know things about this man that he’d prefer his colleagues didn’t know, but I manage that the way I’ve decided to manage Locke.
Compartmentalized.
I’m getting a lot of mileage out of that word lately.
And to my surprise, Locke comes through the door. He scans the area, eyes locking on me for a full five seconds before looking away.
I redirect my attention to my clipboard.
“All right,” I say, moving to the center of the turf. “Here’s how this works. Five stations, ninety seconds each, thirty seconds to rest and rotate. Full effort at every station. I will be watching and I will absolutely call you out.” I look around the group. “Any questions?”
“What’s the prize?” Boss asks.
“Not dying of cardiovascular failure in the third period,” I reply.
“So, nothing good,” he says.
“Go to your starting stations.”
They disperse and I move through the circuit calling time and corrections and watching the work. Arch starts on battle ropes and he’s got a decent rhythm. When he catches me watching, he gives me a charming grin.
“Good?” he calls over the noise of the ropes.
“Elbows,” I call back.
He adjusts and winks and I make a note on my clipboard.