Page 114 of Just for the Cameras
I unlock my place and walk up the stairs as I pull my phone from my pocket. It’s a text from Maple.
I lean against the wall as I open it up and see a picture of her in a robe, with some sort of green cream on her face. I chuckle and read the text.
Maple:Just a little insight into my nighttime routine, you know, in case an interviewer ever asks. You know it gets wild here.
I make my way into my bedroom, where I strip down to my boxers, brush my teeth, and get ready for bed. I already took a shower after practice, so I don’t bother with another before I slip into bed.
I take a picture of myself and send it to her.
Graydon:Here’s mine. Then again, you’ve seen this before.
Maple:You know, it’s not fair that you can just go to bed like that.
Graydon:And here I was jealous that you look like you crawled out of a swamp, like the Loch Ness Monster’s distant cousin.
Maple:*GASP* How dare you.
Graydon:Tell me I’m wrong.
Maple:Not all of us can look picture-perfect, flashing our abs for the camera every night.
I smile to myself and text her back.
Graydon:Picture-perfect, huh?
Maple:Oh please, you know what you’re doing with those thirst traps.
Graydon:Would you classify those as thirst traps? Should I ask Martha Stewart, the flamingo?
Maple:OMG you remembered?
Graydon:Don’t make it weird.
Maple:LOL. Fine, no need to ask her. I can tell you, they’re the definition of a thirst trap.
Graydon:Nah, just a simple picture.
Maple:Graydon, if I know one thing for sure, not a single thing about you is simple.
CHAPTER 22
MAPLE
“Perfect, just like that,” Gretchensays as I stand in front of Graydon in my football gear while he towers over me in his. “Got it.”
She finishes taking the picture and then nods for us to follow her. We’re between sessions at training camp, after a grueling morning of more freaking cones. If I never see another cone after this, I’ll be the happiest woman alive.
We follow her to the side of the field and take off our helmets.
French braiding my hair on training camp days is the best way to go, because it keeps my hair from getting crazy under the helmet and prevents any sort of tangle situation. But God, does it hurt, even if my wrist is getting stronger.
“The popularity of Flock and Tackle has surged. All major sports media are picking it up and sharing it all over their socials. Everyone is talking about it. The team has seen an uptick in ticket sales and especially merch. They’re thrilled. And since we’re closing out our second week of training camp with a fundraiser tonight for the zoo, we thought it would be a great opportunity to possibly…allude to more than just a friendship between the two of you. I don’t want to fully hard-launch a relationship, but I think giving the media just a little more intrigue will be good.”
Graydon tenses behind me. “What exactly does that entail?”
“Well, we’ve pretty much edged everyone about the relationship between the two of you, and we thought it would be a great chance foryou to be seen holding hands at the event, giving everyone a little more than what we’ve been showing them.”
I mean, that shouldn’t be too hard. He held my hand last week when we went to get tacos.
