Reading the Defense Ch. 04

Round four. Are you ready for some football?

Red is my favorite color--I kid. Another huge round of thanks is in order to Estragon for looking over this chapter. Going two full pages without any edits, is cause for champagne! In all seriousness, you have been helping tremendously and I am very thankful.

Enough jabbering.

As always, comments/feedback/suggestions are always welcomed.

****

The alarm intruded on his sleep on a Sunday morning in November. Barely moving, Gabe reached over to turn it off and attempted to stretch but was having a hard time with the body curled up next to his side. Tilting his head on the pillow, he peered down to see a slumbering Samantha, who had her cheek resting against his chest. It was five in the morning and Gabe had to get ready for the game at Pendicon Field later in the day. He rubbed a free hand over his eyes and was hesitant to get out of bed. Feeling his movement, Samantha scrunched her nose and moved her head against his chest, her eyes blinking open before turning up to his face.

With a sleepy smile and a gravelly voice, she whispered to him, "Good morning."

Gabe sighed, this was his favorite part of the day. Every day that started with her waking up with him in bed. Which lately, had not been often enough. "It's early, you don't have to get up yet."

A yawn broke past her lips. As she nodded-through her fatigue, her mouth opened, releasing the yawn without her thinking of it.

"Will you wake me before you go?"

"Of course." Gabe melted at the sight of her but knew he needed to get out of bed before his body started to stir. Quickly shifting, he slid out and covered her with the sheets. Standing at the base of the bed, he watched as she turned into the spot he just vacated, curling her body into the sheets. Running a hand through his rumpled hair that stood out in tufts on one side, he made his way to the kitchen. The early morning routine always had to start with freshly brewed coffee.

Gabe and Samantha had gotten into the habit of being together before or after many of his evening meetings; spending a full night had become something of a luxury. From her early morning starts to his all night strategy sessions he liked to think that they were surviving the season better than expected. He also liked to believe something that Ernie had been saying for weeks, he was loosening up. As a coach the guys were opening up to him on and off of the field; on game days he wasn't the typical bastard he had normally been labeled. Jokes started to pass from him, he patted the players on their backs as they completed successful passes and he even started to smile when points got up on the boards. Gabe knew he was becoming a better man because of the woman who was currently sleeping in his bed.

By six o'clock he walked over to the bed and sat down next to Samantha. The sheet was pulled up high to her shoulders and her dark hair spilled out all over the pillow. Somewhere in the night the sheets had been pulled from the bed and one of her feet was extended. Gabe ran a finger lightly up her leg until she disappeared back into the sheets. He leaned next to her and pushed the strands of hair away from her face. Falling out of her sleep, Samantha stretched out in the bed and looked up at Gabe who was smiling down at her.

"I look like a mess."

He leaned down and kissed her soft lips, she reached with a hand and held it against the side of his face. "You look beautiful to me."

Smiling at him, she nodded toward the door of the bedroom. "I have some gummy worms in my bag for you. I think you forgot about them when we went to the store last night."

Gabe nodded; he had forgotten about the candy and warmed inside knowing she had been thinking about him, even before coming over for the night. "Thank you, I'll grab them on my way out."

Samantha smiled sweetly at him as she nodded back.

"It's going to be a cold one out there. I think they said in the single digits. Did you and Camille decide on where you two are sitting?"

"Oh god, I completely forgot to ask her yesterday." Sitting up, she pulled the sheets up to her chest. "I think she wants to sit outside, so I figured I'd stop at home first to grab a coat and see if she can pick me up there."

"Okay." Gabe leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips. "I've got to go. I'll see you out on the field."

Samantha nodded and rose up to her knees to kiss him one last time before he turned to leave. As she watched him go, she waited for a minute before climbing slowly out of his bed. Since that night back in September, sometime during the evening and in between sessions of them making love, something had shifted between them. Both Gabe and Samantha had silently found a balance in their relationship. They both understood that there was something building with them, something that they both craved, and they weren't going to give up without fighting for it.

They began spending as much time together as they could, but with her school schedule and his practices or meetings, it wasn't easy. Up until the season had officially kicked off, the Cougars' schedule was wild but manageable. Late night meetings had not begun until the first game in September. Gabe started to bring game film home with him to review there instead of the screening room whenever he could. They took advantage of the month by going out or staying in, getting to know each other better. Samantha and Liz even arranged a double date with Dave and Gabe right before Halloween. On the way to the restaurant, she had been comforted by the fact that Gabe was anxious in meeting her closest friend. She had always looked at him as a man who never failed to be anything but confident, and impressing Liz, who was basically her family in the area, had made the man sweat bullets.

In the months since they'd met, she could no longer think about what her life would be like without him. During their time together he started to fill her every need, while she also became the person he turned to. Gabe challenged her with his intelligence and made her laugh and smile at everything. But more importantly, he made her feel sexy and vibrant, as if she'd only half existed until they'd met. His voice turned her body to liquid and she had to bite her lip and think about other things, trying to avoid naming the feeling of what she knew deep down was brewing.

Samantha was still cautious with game days and had to keep reminding herself that Gabe had a certain way about how things got done. She respected his rigid routines, and even thought that they had come a good way since the first home game. Even so, she was still glad she had someone to sit with during the minutes of playtime and thanked god for Camille. The woman had been questioned to death as their relationship had gone from casual to serious in a record breaking two seconds.

As she grabbed her belongings and began making her way to the front door, she paused near the kitchen. The evening before, Gabe and Samantha had cooked together in the kitchen and she had noticed the addition to the island but had gotten caught up in conversation and Gabe's intoxicating kisses that she forgot to say anything about it. A reflection from the morning light off of a vase caught her attention; Samantha wandered over to the island in the center of the kitchen to see what it was. A giant smile cut across her face as she saw a bundle of hydrangeas on the granite counter top, a handwritten note rest perfectly under the squared glass vase.

Have fun with Camille. Wait for me after the game.

With the pad of her fingers, she touched the petals of the flowers. Fighting back the tightness in her chest and the forming moisture behind her eyes, Samantha gave a deep sigh of pleasure. With the note in hand, she nodded her head and walked to the front door to grab her purse. The first couple of games were definitely tough pills to swallow, but Gabe seemed to be adding her to his pre-game rituals. If the Cougars won, they would go to dinner with the Devlins. Had the team found themselves beaten, she would go home leaving him to his late night power sessions, knowing she would see him for a few minutes before his night really began. Snatching her keys from her purse that lay by the front door, she noticed that the gummy worms that had been packed for him in case of an emergency, or loss of memory, or anything else, were gone.

****

"Velesques got the go ahead from Dr. Simmonds. They're giving him a shot of cortisone and then going to tape him up. You want to play him or what?"

"I want to bench him for the first quarter to make sure he's okay, then we can see how it goes from there," Gabe said to Tony Soliano as the men made their way out of the locker room. The two men talked for a few minutes before Tony jetted off in the direction the equipment room. Zipping up the heavy red and grey coat, he stood inside of the tunnel savoring every second of the warmth but knew the minute he was out on the field, the rush of the adrenaline would keep his body heated.

Gabe twisted his neck and tapped the clipboard against his hip, the movement jarring the bag of gummy worms that were being held by the board's clip. A broad grin filled his face remembering Samantha earlier, reminding him to grab them before he left. Over the past couple of months, he had forgotten to buy a bag of the candies before heading out onto the field which seemed out of place from his rigid routine. The first time he forgot the candy, the Cougars had lost by nearly ten points. Ernie had turned to him and shook his head, a knowing expression in his face. Samantha was the only person he had ever told the story about his nephew to apart from his family, and after the first loss she knew his routine was off. That was when she had started to carry an extra bag in her overstuffed purse. Today was not the first time he had reached into her bag for that bag of candy either.

He loved spending as much time with her as he could, but with the season rapidly approaching the playoffs their time together was getting lessened every week. While they still talked on the phone every day, they weren't able to see each other quite as often as either would like.

Disruptive students and conferences with parents had been the major dent in her rather predictable schedule. Gabe laughed when she called him one night and left a voicemail, she sounded stressed out and so cute over an incident involving a couple of her students. He would have given anything to have been there for her but was stuck in a screening room with Tony locking in a few plays to test out on key players. He couldn't imagine her not laughing, and to hear her voice sounding almost vulnerable filled him with emotion. Something he had been trying to keep at bay now popped out at the most inopportune times.

A few of the players started to punch the air and were shouting encouragement to each other, Gabe grinned at them and patted a few of their backs as he made his way on the field. Walking to his customary spot behind the benches, he grabbed a gummy worm and thought about that first game he'd invited Samantha to come to. God, he'd been such an ass to her but he didn't know how to deal with it all. Gabe had wanted her here at the stadium, wanted her to see him doing the work he loved almost more than anything, but having her so close distracted him and broke his concentration. When Samantha and Camille had moved down to the seats near the benches, he didn't have to look up to know she was there. He felt her presence, and forced himself to focus on the game. Later, after the game ended and he was grabbing the footage, he was so caught up in figuring how he could get the film home to wondering if he could spend a few hours coaxing her into his bed, she called. The way he'd left her brought him shame and he told her to leave only because, for the first time in years, he was embarrassed to face someone. Face someone that he had let down. And she wasn't just someone.

As she attended and watched more games, he had started preparing himself to loosen up. Gabe remembered what Camille had said back at her cookout in August. Samantha calmed him, and he needed to use that for when she came to the games.

The players were jumping up and down, getting ready for the anthem to start. Gabe glanced down at his watch and then quickly over to the section where Samantha would be sitting, if she and Camille decided to be outside. The seats were filled, but not with Samantha or Camille. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the gummy worms from the clipboard and shoved a couple of strings into his mouth. Chewing with determination his eyes moved to the field and set as the game was about to begin.

Whispering to himself he closed his eyes. "We got this."

****

Samantha leaned against the glass of the viewing box overlooking the field. With the temperature dropping and the winds drifting in from the lake, Camille suggested they stay inside. For the game, she had layered a couple of loose sweaters together and belted them to add a little shape. With the wind chill, she knew leggings were a safe bet and counted on a black pair that fell into her faithful leather boots. As she had started to attend more of the Cougars' games, she realized that some of the women dressed up as if they were in aNieman'scatalogue and were out to impress. This was something that her credit card would not allow, nor could she be bothered. At first she had been intimidated by some of the group and had gone out of her way to make small friendships with a few. Some of the others, she could do without. As one glass of wine turned into four bottles between some of the spouses and girlfriends, Samantha tuned out the exaggerated conversations and flashy competition between them and focused on what was important. She enjoyed coming out to the games to watch Gabe do what he did best, and didn't care if she came out in sweats or decked out in a new outfit. At the end of the day, it was about football and the excitement. For a few hours she got to be part of something he loved, and she found herself starting to open up to it more. It was also about being herself.

"I am so glad we're sitting inside, with the holiday coming up I would rather call in sick for an extra day off instead of being stuck in bed with a stuffy nose."

"I know what you mean. I think it's even supposed to rain a little today. Do you see this—" Camille pointed to her straightened hair, "surviving any kind of rain?"

Samantha laughed at her, "I like your hair when it's curly. At least your curls don't make you look like a beach bum."

As the room's server came over and left their cups of wine, Camille couldn't hold back her laughter. "Beach bum--only you would say that. For the record, you do not look like a beach bum. Maybe a street straggler or a coach stalker, but, no, not a bum."

Nodding at the plastic cups both women insisted on while watching the games in the viewing boxes, Samantha raised her eyebrows and scoffed playfully. "Seriously?"

Camille raised her cup and nodded, "Please. Of course, seriously!"

Samantha grabbed her cup and raised it to tap Camille's. "To tailgating—with class."

Over the past few months, the two women had formed a tight friendship with each other and had even formed their own superstitions. They sat together during home games and talked with some of the other women, but also got together when the Cougars had away games. Camille kept things in perspective for Samantha and as her relationship with Gabe had started to get more intense, having someone to turn to who understood the ups and downs was comforting.

Knowing immediately that Liz would get along with the woman next to her, she had put together a night out for all of her friends and asked Camille to come along. By the end of the night, everyone had been swapping stories, laughing hysterically about absolutely nothing and eagerly waiting for their next outing.

Camille tossed a piece of popcorn at Samantha. "So, is it me or are you going to say what's going on?"

Samantha turned and blushed as Camille laughed at her innocent response. "What's going on?" She moved back from the glass and sat next to Camille in one of the chairs facing the field.

Camille crossed her legs in the chair and waited impatiently. "Spit it out girl."

Giving in to her rising excitement, she had to share. "Gabe surprises me every single day, I don't know what it is but he'll do something that comes out of left field."

"You mean the sidelines?" Camille joked.

"You're terrible."

Camille took a sip of her wine and set her cup down on the table. "Well, they must be good surprises by the look of you."

Samantha smiled over her shoulder at Camille as she watched a few friends of the other coaches enter the room, she smiled at them. "I hadn't seen him for a week until last night, when I went over to his house he had flowers in the kitchen." She remembered the hydrangeas on the island and couldn't suppress her joy in seeing them. "I don't know why, but I think he got them before I even thought about coming over for the night."

"What do you mean? He bought you flowers and kept them out?"

"No, I think he bought flowers for himself, for his kitchen. Don't you dare say anything to Ernie. I meant to say something to him but...got a little distracted." Both women started laughing before she continued.

"Anyways, he left a note for me this morning right under the vase knowing I'd see them. It was cute, I don't know, it wasn't something I ever expected of him."

"Why would he get flowers?"

"I can't figure it out. I mean, he knows I love them. A few times when I've stayed over, we stopped at the store to get groceries for dinner, I've picked up bundles and placed them someplace in his house. But still."

"Marking your territory?" A bubble of laughter burst through Camille's lips.

"Oh my god, no way. I don't leave anything at his house, ever. Except I'd pick up some flowers here and there....god I am such a girl." Samantha did take note that Gabe left little bits of his things around her house all of the time. A shirt here, pair of boxers there, and even shaving gel in one of the bathroom drawers.

"A cute girl. What type of flowers were they?"

Sighing deeply, Samantha looked out toward the fields with dreamy eyes speaking in a quiet voice as the game started. "Hydrangeas, they're my favorite."

Camille couldn't hold her own smile and looked out toward the glass, her thoughts drifting to the changes in Gabe Russell over the past couple of months. True, she had known him for four years and he had always been a happy guy, but come game days he was a force to be reckoned with and she, like many, avoided him. Since he had started dating Samantha he seemed more comfortable in his own skin, he laughed more but something she never thought she would see was that he laughed and talked more on game days. It was like Samantha was breaking through his carefully guarded wall that surrounded his football life and his body was telling him that was okay.

"You are lucky you got a note, Ernie shouts out from the bathroom for coffee and just as he leaves I have to kiss him twice on his cheek." Camille let out a breathless laugh.

"It's because I put out." Both Camille and Samantha laughed until tears filled their eyes.

"These men. I guess we can say it out loud right..." Camille trailed off as the game started.

Samantha's focus shifted to the field as well, but answered her before losing her attention altogether. "They're worth it."

****

The Cougars fell behind in the third and ended up losing by three points. The stadium fell silent as the fans exited. Because of the loss, Samantha thought that Gabe would meet up with her briefly before locking himself up to review what went wrong with the team's game plan. A sense of surprise hit her as he made his way out to find her, the cloud of frustration that loomed over him disappeared the minute he got close to her side.