Chapter 8 Nolan

Chapter 8

Nolan

Charlotte Thompson was infuriating.

I had promised myself that there would be no distractions this season. I would give every last piece of myself to this game before it was all over. How was I supposed to avoid what I was beginning to realize was the biggest distraction of all when her entire job was trying to help me win a Super Bowl?

She saw things about the way I was playing this season within a single drill that I had spent months trying to figure out through game film. She was smart, hardworking, and managed to know exactly how to push all my buttons while we worked together. She outsmarted me on every turn.

Worst of all was how I couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful she was.

But somehow, I still woke up every morning excited to go to the practice facility to work with Lottie. After the run, she would put me through different exercises to strengthen the muscles around my knee. She actively tried to frame the treatment like a workout in an effort to switch my way of thinking about therapy.

By the end of the first week of working together I was beginning to realize that maybe Charlotte Thompson wasn't all that bad, which made trying to dislike her all the more difficult.

The first day that Derek and Hawthorn walked into the training room to see me working with—and not avoiding—Lottie drew shocked looks. By the fourth day, I noticed them becoming looser around me. I was clearly a hard friend to have over the past two seasons.

By the time Friday rolled around, I had concluded that I needed to get my head out of my ass and start acting like the leader this team deserved. Lottie was right. This team deserved the version of myself that wasn't weighed down by negative thoughts and heavy expectations.

Which was exactly why I was trying to balance a dozen boxes of donuts to bring into the practice facility for everyone. It would take more than a box of donuts to make up for some of my selfish behavior these past two seasons, but it was a start.

"Do you need help?" Lottie's voice rang out from next to me. I risked a look in her direction and nearly lost all the boxes.

It was mid-afternoon and I hadn't seen her yet today. She had given me the day off before we traveled to New York tonight for the game on Sunday against the Gladiators.

Today Lottie was wearing a tight white tank top that showed off toned, muscular arms and a black silk skirt that hugged the curve of her hips. A slit ran up the side of the skirt that revealed equally toned legs. Her hair was slicked back into a bun, and she had on more makeup than she normally wore to the facility. My eyes raked over her. My breathing grew shallow and my chest tightened.

What the hell is this woman doing to me?

I must have been staring because I watched a brilliant red spread up Lottie's neck and into her cheeks. "I had a date today for lunch. You know, the whole bucket list thing? I came straight here and was going to change inside."

"How'd it go?" I pushed the words out through a clenched jaw.

Lottie sighed as she took a few of the donut boxes from me. "No spark. I should have known better than to get my hopes up about men on a dating app."

I grabbed the door for Lottie and tried to keep my eyes trained on her face.

"Maybe the next one?"

"Maybe." Lottie shrugged her shoulders absently. "I'm not betting on it, but I did want to put myself back out there again. You've got to play the game, as they say these days."

I didn't think anyone like Charlotte Thompson should have to "play the game". Men should be dying to get a chance to take her on a date.

"Anyone would be lucky to take you on a date," I told her. I sucked my lips into my mouth, shocked I let something like that slip.

"Can you tell them that?" she asked me as she helped me drop the donuts off in the cafeteria for everyone to snack on. "I didn't ask you, what's up with these donuts?"

"I thought it would be nice for everyone to celebrate the first travel day."

Lottie opened her mouth like she wanted to say something before she thought better of it. A small voice in my head wanted me to tell her the idea came to me because of her but I ignored it.

"I should go change. I'll see you at practice." She gave me a small smile before she gingerly grabbed a donut and disappeared toward her office. This time, I admired the long line of her legs as she walked away.

"Did you bring these in?" I heard Derek exclaim from behind me. I turned away from where Lottie had just been to see him holding a donut in each hand.

"Thought I'd start a tradition for travel days this year," I told him.

"Did you fall and hit your head on the way here today?" Derek asked me between bites. "Because judging by these donuts and the way you just unabashedly checked Lottie out, I would say you did."

"I was not checking her out!" The way my voice cracked may have said otherwise.

"And you told me to keep it in my pants." Derek wielded a donut at me.

"Everything is staying firmly in my pants." I scowled at my best friend. "Matter of fact let's not talk about anything in my pants when it comes to Lottie. We have a professional relationship."

"For now …" Derek cocked an eyebrow at me before he headed back toward the locker room with his second donut.

"Absolutely not." I grabbed a donut for myself and chased after my friend. "Don't you dare tell Hawthorn I was checking Lottie out. You're worse than a goddamn tabloid."

Derek took off running toward the locker room with both donuts clutched in his hands, maniacal laughter bouncing off the walls after him.

That night we loaded onto the plane that would be taking us to New York. Tomorrow we would have a walk-through practice before our game on Sunday. We didn't normally travel a day early, but New York was already significantly colder than Chicago and our coach wanted us to get acclimated.

Derek, Hawthorn, and I chose seats at the front of the plane and started to dig into the food that the team catered for us on flights. Lottie was one of the last to climb on and I watched her take in the plane as she tried to figure out where she was going to sit.

"I have an open seat next to me," I told her before she could walk by us. I heard Derek snicker from across the aisle. I almost threw my dinner roll at his head.

"Thanks," she whispered as she put her carry-on luggage in the compartment above us. I stood up and backed into the aisle to give her enough room to slide into the window seat.

One of the flight attendants handed her a bag of food once she sat down. She took the bag and stared at it for a moment.

"Not used to being wined and dined?" I teased. She looked at me with wide eyes.

"Not particularly."

"Welcome to the NFL."

The two of us sat in silence while we took off. I watched as Lottie logged onto the plane WIFI only to immediately get a notification from the dating app that she was on. I reminded myself why she started this whole thing in the first place. She felt like she was missing out on life. After becoming one of the youngest medical professionals in the NFL, Lottie hadn't looked around like she had finally gotten everything she wanted. Instead, she realized she didn't have everything she wanted. It was admirable.

Here I was, with two Super Bowls already under my belt. I had everything I wanted, but I was still being greedy to not let that be enough. I wanted more from the only thing I knew.

The two of us were almost complete opposites. We wanted two different things. Yet she was still doing everything in her power to help me achieve my dreams. It felt only right if I tried to help her achieve all the things she wanted because she was doing the same for me.

"I think I have a way to knock one of those things off your bucket list," I told her once we reached cruising altitude.

Lottie looked at me with those wide blue eyes again. "Really?"

"I need to make a call when we land, but meet me in the lobby at five tomorrow morning."

Understanding dawned across Lottie's face when she realized what item on her bucket list I was going for. After a moment of consideration, she nodded in agreement.

I didn't want to think about the way my chest released the anticipation I hadn't realized had gathered there while I waited for her answer.

Lottie closed her eyes and leaned her head against the window as she tried to catch a few hours of sleep before we landed.

"Psst."

I groaned when I heard Derek trying to grab my attention from two feet to my left.

"What?" I hissed, hoping Lottie could fall asleep quickly.

"You always take the window seat," Derek reminded me.

I just gave him a shrug. I hadn't even hesitated to give Lottie the window seat. Everyone loved the window seat and I thought it'd be rude to take that from her simply because that was the easiest way for me to sleep on flights.

I was thankful Hawthorn was already passed out with his headphones on next to Derek so he didn't join in with this line of questioning.

"Is your cold heart melting, Hill?" Derek's eyes gleamed with delight.

I subtly flipped him off before I tried to settle into my seat and get comfortable enough that I could fall asleep. Lottie stirred next to me and I prayed Derek hadn't woken her up or I'd throttle him when we landed.

The following morning, I waited in the lobby of our hotel. Only the early risers either going to the gym or getting a head start on the day were milling about. Even though we were in the city that never sleeps, the only noise outside now was the late fall chirp of birds before they headed south for the winter.

The ding of the elevators grabbed my attention. Every time I heard that sound, my head snapped over to see if it was her. I felt like a puppy waiting for their owner to get home. This time, Lottie walked out of the doors of one of the elevators dressed in a light brown sweater that was tucked into a pair of black jeans that tapered at her ankles, showcasing a pair of brown leather booties. Her blonde hair was bouncy and curled at the ends, and the pieces fell perfectly to frame her face.

"How do you look so put together this early in the morning?" I asked her once she got close enough.

"I think by now you would realize I'm a morning person." The soft smile she gave me brought out one of my own. I watched her eyes drop down to my lips for only a split second before she peered behind me.

"Where are we going?"

"You're just going to have to wait and see," I told her as the two of us emerged into the crisp, fall air of a New York City morning. The car I'd ordered the night before was waiting for us on the curb. Our driver opened the door and I motioned for Lottie to slide in first.

"This feels fancy," she whispered once we were both inside. "Please tell me you didn't spend a bunch of money on this."

"What's the point of having money if you can't spend it on the things that you want to?" I watched her study me carefully as if she were trying to figure out a way to make up for something that she didn't need to make up for. "You wanted to experience life outside of your job, so what better way to start than being driven to the Empire State Building to watch the sunrise."

Those blue eyes widened at the same time her mouth dropped open in shock. I found myself smiling that I'd managed to surprise Charlotte Thompson.

"This is the most I think I've ever seen you smile," she said before she went back to watching the skyline out the window. I should have been annoyed that she pointed out something like that. I hadn't cared these past two years whether people disliked my attitude or not. But for some reason, I found my mouth screwing into a frown at her words because I felt ashamed she even had to tell me that. I wanted to look at the world again with excitement, like Lottie was in that moment.

We left early enough to beat most of the traffic heading into downtown. One of the attendants of the Empire State Building was waiting for us when we pulled up. I watched as Lottie's head tilted back so she could look all the way up to the top of the building that was still lit up from the night before.

"The sunrise should start in about ten minutes," the attendant told us as they ushered us toward the elevator. We climbed a few flights of stairs after we got off the elevator before finally coming to our destination.

Lottie gasped when the attendant stepped out onto the small landing with a railing that circled the top spire. We could see for miles—nearly all the island. Lottie's eyes drank everything in as if she were trying to commit the view to memory. I couldn't blame her, this felt like a once in a lifetime kind of opportunity. The wind was fiercer up here and picked her hair up, sending it flying around her face. She laughed as she grabbed a piece that had fallen over her mouth and tucked it behind her ears.

"Look," I told her when I noticed the first splashes of color breaking across the horizon. I could hear her suck in a breath next to me as a splash of pink threw itself across the sky.

The two of us sat in silence as we watched the sun begin to enter a new day. It was one of those moments where you knew you were witnessing something that would become a lifelong memory in your mental scrapbook, and I was doing it with the perfect person. Neither of us felt the urge to fill the silence as we took in the beauty before us from our perch. It might not have been the place she had originally imagined when she made that bucket list item, but judging from the smile on her face, I wasn't sure she cared.