Page 33 of Totally Geeked

“Well, your debut was a success, but now the real work begins. The teams you’re joining helped create this game and they won’t stand for slacking off, so training starts now, and every weekday until the season kicks off, understand?”

“You got it,” I say as the others in the room agree and nod, too.

“Right, FM to the left, AC to the right, let’s see what you remember from last year. Game one choreography. Let’s do this.”

We move to one of the conference rooms and run through the moves as a videographer takes shots from different angles to splice together into a promo online. All of us are rusty, and it takes way too many attempts before we’ve even got it halfway in time with each other.

“Tomorrow is on the field, we’ll have warm-ups, training, then rehearsals with the other teams, and some more promo. Get some rest fellas, this is only the start,” Dennis says, shakinghis head and leaving the room. I collapse onto the ground exhausted and sweaty.

Gordon kicks my leg.

“Did you do nothing during the break? How are you this wrecked?”

“I did…cardio.” I laugh as he grabs my arm and helps me to stand.

“Dude, you’re no spring chicken anymore. Come to my place in the mornings so we can work out together.”

“I’ll pass.”

“Afraid you can’t keep up?”

I lift my arms and flex. “I’m pretty sure it would be you struggling to keep up with me. Have you even lifted a single weight recently with all the party planning you’ve been doing?”

“That gear is heavy. Okay, tonight, after poker, we have a lift-off.”

“Who’s jerking who off?” Alan asks, walking over.

“Not a jerk-off, a lift-off. Get your mind out of the gutter.” I laugh.

“Please, your mind lives there. Ready to lose tonight?” Alan asks, and I shake my head.

“You’ll be the one losing, then what will Tommy say when you come home broke…again?”

“Tommy doesn’t control what I spend my money on…anymore.”

“So he knows you’re coming to Gordon’s for poker tonight?”

“Hell no. We broke up.”

“Sorry. Are you okay?” I ask. Fuck, I'm a total dick. Sure, none of us particularly liked Tommy. He was super possessive and controlling, but Alan liked him and that was what mattered most.

“I’m good. Or I will be. I’m staying with my sister until I find a place of my own.”

“Kelly, right?”

“Yeah, she was more than happy to take me in. In fact, she showed up with a trailer an hour after I told her we had broken up. She had me moved out in a day. I should have seen the red flags earlier with Tommy, but I guess you overlook them when you think you’re in love.”

“Why do you think I stayed single all those years?”

His eyebrows rise as his lips pick up in a cheeky smirk.

“Do you mean you’re not single now?”

Shit. “Umm, no. I mean, like all the years up to and including now.”

“Sure,” he says, patting me on the shoulder and heading back to the locker room.

I follow him in, and we shower and change, and if I wasn’t so excited to see Arlo, I would have totally skipped out on poker. The session really did a number on me, and my knees are killing.

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