Chapter Thirty-Seven
Roman
Six in the fucking morning. Training camp started every day at half past six in the morning. I was used to getting up before then anyway, but something told me this was going to end up feeling like boot camp. I wasn't preparing for warfare again, but I wasn’t about to kid myself that this was about to be easy.
Ron had still been asleep when I had left. Since I had eaten breakfast at home, I could go straight into the gym to start lifting. I had been training here for a while already, so it wasn't hard getting into a rhythm, though it was different being at the facility when it was full.
I recognized some of the guys who were coming back. I had gone through the team's roster, checking out my new teammates. The newbies were pretty easy to spot, too, especially the guys who had never made the trip to the facility before today.
Right after that was practice. I had been waiting for this. It was the first day of training, so I wasn't sure how many people we'd have watching us. I'd make sure I told Ron, in case she wanted to come. That way I wouldn't feel so bad not seeing her practically the whole day. I was lacing up my cleats, sitting in front of my locker when I heard a couple guys walking in. They were talking. One of them came over to the locker next to mine.
"Hey," I heard him say. I looked up at him. He had taken his shirt off and all the skin on his back and arms was covered in tattoos.
"Hey," I said back.
"Where'd you trade in from?"
"I got picked after the Houston combine."
"Yeah? What position?"
"QB."
"So this is your first season?" he asked, laughing a little, "Buckle up."
"That bad?"
"No. Worse," said the other guy. He wasn't tall, but he was built like a house. Stocky and muscular. "After this month, you'll see why they make us sign before camp begins. I'm Jackson, by the way. That's Andre," he said. He reached his hand out for me to shake.
"It's too late to back out now," Andre said next to me. "Hey, if you came through the combine, what was your best test?"
"Leave him alone, Dre," Jackson said.
"No, he wants to know?" I said. "42 reps on bench press."
"No shit," he said, actually sounding a little impressed. "What school did you go to?" I told him as the locker room filled up. A good number of the guys it turned out had gotten drafted right out of college, especially the ones who had gone to the bigger schools. Not many – none, in fact – had gone through a year of active service right in the middle of their career.
Practice was about two hours, the first of the day, there was another practice session in the afternoon. A month of this and I'd probably end up having everyone's name down. Hanging out literally the whole day, day after day, I wouldn't have a choice. I was ready to leave when the sun started dropping in the sky, but then they said we still had more meetings to go to. It was two more hours before I was back in the car heading home, almost ten at night.
I called out to Ron when I walked in, locking the door. I heard her voice, distant, telling me she was in the bedroom. At least I got back before she was asleep. I walked through the apartment, dropping my bag on the ground when I got to the bedroom. The bed was rumpled like she had been sitting on it. The sliding glass door of the balcony was all the way open and Ron was standing there, arms on the railing looking out at the beach. The light from the moon was reflecting off the water and all the homes along the water were lit up bright. I came up behind, wrapping my arms around her.
"Hey," I said. She spun around, leaning up to kiss me.
"Hi. How was training?"
"Good. Got to meet the team today. What did you do all day?"
"Nothing," she said smiling, "and it was perfect."
"Did you go?" I asked, pointing out to the water.
"Not today. I want us to go together."
"When we have a day off I'll take you," I said. "Did you finish unpacking?"
"Mmhmm," she said, sighing. "I'm gonna need more bikinis."
"That's why I left my card behind, babe. Get whatever you want," I said.
"Don't tempt me, Roman. I could get used to this."
"That's what I want. This is home now."
"Give me a few more months. It'll grow on me," she said, smiling. She was taking this well, better than I could have hoped. We had landed last night and I hadn't been with her most of the day, but she seemed fine. I hoped it would continue like that. I didn't want her to regret coming here or feel homesick. I had to train, but it was my job to make sure that she was as comfortable and happy as possible.
"Maybe it'll be better once you start school?"
"Hm. Maybe. I'm going to visit the campus tomorrow. It looks like a cool place, but only one way to find out for sure."
"I wish I could come with you."
"I know you would if you could," she said, rubbing her hands over my biceps. "You're busy. I have to get used to that."
"It's not going to be like this all the time," I told her.
"I know what I signed up for. I get it," she said. I didn't want her to think that I had asked her to come here just so I could ignore her. I wanted her to be able to start school so she had something, too. So she wasn't just here for me and my job.
"Have you heard anything from them?"
"Just confirmation for the campus visit," she said. "I hope it works out."
"It will," I said, surer than I felt.
"Fingers crossed. I just got here. I'd like to be able to stay."
"I'd like that, too," I agreed, kissing her. I could get used to coming home to her. Even if she wasn't there when I did get home, it would be good knowing that she would be soon.
"Are you hungry?" she asked.
"Do you want to order something in?"
"No," she said smiling. "I cooked."
She was in the kitchen when I joined her ten minutes later. I had been up in the morning to get to the facility before she had gotten up, so I had just eaten a bowl of instant oatmeal standing by the sink before leaving. The dining table I had told Rachel I'd never use was all set up. Two place settings, a bowl full of salad, and dishes I was certain I hadn't seen in my life.
"Do you need help?" I called into the kitchen. She asked me to get the salmon out of the oven. We were eating it with baked potatoes and pasta salad.
"Are these new?" I asked when she walked into the dining room.
"Some of them. You didn't have anything that could go in the oven," she said. "Is this okay?"
"You know you don't have to cook, right?"
"I want to. Especially now before I start classes and might not be able to anymore." With her around, at some point, this place would start feeling like home. I poured us both some water as we sat down. I definitely wasn't complaining if what she wanted to do was cook dinner every night. I liked it. That was a good thing. It would probably save money on restaurant food anyway and her cooking was good. It would just take getting used to.
This was a change for both of us, even if it was a good change. I didn't want this to feel like work for her, like she was trapped. I had already had some time to get used to this place. Now it was her turn.
"Do you have any idea about your course load this semester?"
"Nope," she shook her head. "I might be looking at some course repeats because there's a chance not everything transfers, but I might be able to ask during the campus visit."
"Don't take too many," I said.
"Why? So I can be here every night before you to cook dinner?" she asked slyly.
"No. Because you're in a new city. Why would you spend all your time studying? I know you've always wanted to be near the water."
"I also want to get all this book learning done off top so I can take some time off," she said.
"You just spent all of the summer in school. You can take it easy this semester."
"We'll see," she said shrugging.
"Are you happy?"
"I'm excited. I never thought I'd be transferring out. Finishing my degree somewhere else."
"I am, too," I said, honestly.
That had to become my new priority. Making sure this was the right move for her, for us. I needed to make sure that whatever was happening, it was what she wanted and there was nowhere else she would have rather been. It was a tall task, but I was up for it. I already knew what it was like to be without her and nothing, nothing would get me to go back.