Catching the Pass (Football Fantasies) Read Free Page B

breath, trying to calm his nerves and gain some control.  His heart beat wildly in his chest.  He turned and watched her walking down, the sight of her socking him in the gut a second time.  Was he even going to be able to train with her so close?
    Maybe she wasn’t the right woman for the job, no matter how highly regarded she was.  If he couldn’t focus, what help would she be?
    Maggie smiled at him as she entered the living room, her clipboard and pen in hand.  “I’ve gone through your medical records—”
    “And how did you get those?” he asked, snapping more than he wanted to.
    “Your sister sent them over,” she said defensively, a slight frown working over her features.  “As I was saying, I’ve worked with patients who’ve gone through this type of surgery, and I’m confident we can work together to get you where you want to go.  And where is that, Jennings?”
    “The NFL.”
    “At your age?” she asked.
    Her speaking the doubt he often heard in his own head gave him pause.  Did she think his dream was as stupid as he often wondered it was?  “If I only get a couple of years of play, it will be enough for me.”
    Maggie looked at him closely.  “That’s another thing.  Center.  You’re small for a center.”
    “The extra pounds were too much for me to carry with the knee injury,” he said.  “But I can start bulking up.”
    “No,” she said as she looked him over.  “Added weight to your knee still isn’t a good idea.  Have you ever played wide receiver?”
    Jennings laughed.  “When I was eleven.”
    “You’re extremely tall.  You’re lithe like a swimmer.  And if we can make you run like the wind, then you’d be unstoppable.  That is, if you can catch worth a damn.”
    “I played center from late middle school through college.  It’s my spot—protecting the QB.”  Was she daft?
    “And I’m here to tell you that if you truly want that dream of yours, you need to shift it.  Your knee can’t take the added weight and having it pushed to the level of activity you plan to push it to.  Life delivers a curve ball and you either roll with it or strike out,” she said, scribbling something on her clipboard.
    No, not daft.  Crazy.  “You want me to not only prepare for professional play, but also learn a whole new position to boot?”
    “It’s not new.  You’ve played it before.  When you were eleven, right?”
    Jennings laughed manically, staring at the crazy woman sitting in his living room.  “You’re insane.”
    “I’ve got a lot of pro-athletes who thought the same when they started working with me and they can now attest that I’m not,” she answered.  “All of them returned to the game they loved.  If you want a chance to make it into the NFL, it’s through me.  My methods are different.  I’m going to make you run your heart out.  Then we’ll work out twice a day, once for muscle building, the other for stretching.  You’ll do yoga, Pilates, and I’ll even make you do some meditation.  It’s all about muscle memory, and we’re going to hone your body into a finely tuned instrument.  As a wide receiver.”
    Yoga?  Pilates?  Meditation?  What the hell madness was this?  Jennings wasn’t sure if he should be angry with her or completely turned on by her cockiness.  His dick sure knew which one, though, as it raged in his shorts.  He saw her gaze drop, her eyes widen slightly, and then pop back up to his.  Embarrassment reddened his face a little, but he wasn’t going to let it bother him too much.  He was enjoying the flush on her face too much.  Her lips opened slightly, that cocky attitude lowered a peg by his attraction.
    “So which is it, Jennings?  By the way, what kind of name is Jennings?  I’ve never heard it before.”
    She’d spoken so quickly, he’d barely been able to catch what she’d said.   He chuckled inwardly, liking that she was apparently nervous.  “It’s my mother’s maiden