Page 25 of Always, Axel

I finished helping one of our offensive linemen tape his ankles and started to follow him out of the room, but then Axel showed up, peering down at me before nodding at one of the vacant tables as if expecting me to follow. Begrudgingly, I did, since it was my job, and he wasn’t any different from any other athlete on the team. He had on a Falcons T-shirt and athletic shorts and sat down on the edge of the table with his phone in his hand, looking at it as if I wasn’t there.

Since the last time he’d asked for my number, several weeks ago, we’d never really had a chance to talk again. I’d sometimes spot him, and he’d smile at me or wink on the field. However, Axel smiled at everyone. That was simply his demeanor. Sometimes, when I was working with another player, he’d walk by and say something to his teammate to the effect of,“Watch yourself with her, or I’ll have to kick your ass.”His delivery was always light, in a teasing way, so I really couldn’t get a feel for whether he was being serious or not.

However, as he sat before me, I was nervous. His nearness always made my stomach flutter. I cleared my throat, and he glanced up at me. “What do you need?” My voice sounded an octave higher than normal.

The side of his mouth curled up. “Mmhmmm,” he drawled slowly. “Still waiting on that number.”

“Why?”

“Calm down, Nat. I’m not asking for a booty call. Did it ever occur to you, being a trainer, that I might need treatment outside of practice? That’s what Dave does for me.”

It wasn’t unusual for athletes to have specific trainers they worked with. And I knew lately one of the trainers named Dave was the one who always seemed to hover around Axel, so why wasn’t he the one prepping him for the game? “Then why don’t you call Dave? Where is he, by the way?”

“His wife went into labor this morning, and he’s on paternity leave for the next month and a half.”

“Oh. I didn’t know.”

“Yeah. They had a nine-pound baby boy. I just received the text.” He showed me the picture of Dave and his wife holding their baby.

“Oh, he’s adorable.” He looked like a little angel. When I finally looked up, Axel was staring at me strangely, and his nostrils flared slightly.

He turned away and scooted back on the table. “My hamstrings are tight. I need you to massage them.” He rolled over on his stomach and stretched out, resting his chin on his crossed forearms.

“Maybe I should get someone else.” It wasn’t unusual to massage athletes, so why was I nervous about this? It was part of my job, but…

“No. I want you to do it.”

I stood there for several moments, staring dumbly at him. I’d watched him from afar many times during practice and admired his body. Who wouldn’t? He was gorgeous. Lately, he’d also unwantedly crept into my fantasies, but I would never admit it to anyone. But touching him like this?

He peered over his shoulder with brows raised in impatience. “You want to hurry up? I don’t have all day.”

“Fine.”

“Chop chop, Hardcore,” he said and rested his chin on his forearms, staring at the wall in front of him.

Closing my eyes, I inhaled calmly. I could do this.Just do this and get it over with. I tentatively touched him and felt his muscle twitch. His skin was warm, but his muscles were tight. I ran my hand up the back of his thigh and heard him hiss.

“Does it hurt?” I paused.

“No,” he responded gruffly.

“Just relax, okay? I’ll try to work out some of this tightness, and then we need to make sure you stretch it out thoroughly before the game.” I moved my hand up his leg, kneading the muscle.

He only grunted in reply as I continued to work on his left leg. Then I proceeded to do the same with his right leg. He was quiet, only giving a few barely audible groans, while I kneaded until I felt his muscle loosening up. When I finished, I tapped his leg. “There you go. You want me to tape you up?”

“No.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Natalie, just go,” his voice was terse, and he was staring at the ground beneath him, still lying on his stomach.

Was he angry? Did I do a poor job? I was confused. One minute, he was teasing, acting like we were friends, and the next, he seemed annoyed by me.

Without saying anything else, I backed away and stepped out of the room.

Thirty minutes later, guys were on the field, doing pregame warm-ups. I watched as Axel sat across the field, stretching. His face was set in stone. He was always focused before the games or he wouldn’t be dominating like he had been every game, but today, he looked like he wanted to do someone bodily harm.

“Hey, Natalie.” Tank Williams, one of our defensive ends, passed by.

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