Explosions

The city of Houston was absolutely lit after the Texans beat the undefeated Bengals. Charlie returned to work on Tuesday, and everyone’s spirits had been lifted off the ground. Their losing season had suddenly been turned around.

Charlie missed her opportunity to have dinner with J.J. when she had decided to stay in Boston. He shrugged it off, but she could never tell what he was thinking these days.

She hadn’t heard from the Celtics yet, but she wasn’t worried. If she still hadn’t heard back by Monday, she would call them. She knew they were at a much busier time than the Texans were, so she pushed it to the back of her mind.

Sunday was here again, and Charlie woke up with a terrible gut feeling. She put on her Texans sweater and took a few deep breaths that morning before getting in her car to drive to the stadium. There had been no murmurs of Ryan in the city of Houston for a month now, but she knew the reporters would be out in full swing today.

And they were. As she pulled into her parking spot, she saw all the local news crews and national sports crews with their cameras and reporters. She grabbed her baseball cap from the backseat, slipped it onto her head, and slid her sunglasses on. It wasn’t the greatest disguise, but she was sure it would get her at least to the door. She walked behind a reporter speaking into a microphone at the camera in front of her, and she caught only a snippet of what he was saying.

“He’s been telling people all week that this is a pivotal game for him. Quote – it still stings. He clearly referenced football, but a big story he’s been avoiding is the early season drama when photos of him and J.J. Watt’s girlfriend surfaced.”

Charlie slowed her step unintentionally, and a reporter from Fox Sports noticed her. He pointed to his cameraman.

“Excuse me!” he shouted at her.

She felt all eyes turn to her, and she paused only a brief second before continuing toward the stadium.

“I think that’s her!” someone hissed.

“Miss Elliott!”

“Miss Elliott, no one has seen you and Watt out”-

“Were you involved with Fitzpatrick while he was”-

“Miss Elliott!”

Charlie felt an arm hook around her shoulders, and she looked up to see Coach O’Brien ushering her into the stadium. The noise behind them ceased as the doors to the stadium slammed shut behind them. She took her hat and sunglasses off, and he stepped away from her.

“Thank you, Coach,” she said.

“Vultures,” he said. “They’re all vultures out there, Miss Elliott. If you need someone to walk you out afterwards, let me know. I’ll be here.”

She nodded as he began walking toward his office. She turned and started walking to the staff suite.

J.J. was in the locker room before anyone else. His breathing was heavy as he flipped through the photos on his phone. He settled on the last one, and he propped his phone up in his locker. He studied Charlie’s face looking at Ryan in that elevator. Her eyes were so full of love, and the smile across her face was something he hadn’t seen in a long time. He stared at the photo, his eyes unwavering even as he pulled his sweatshirt off. He heard the door open behind him, and he turned to see DeAndre and Jadeveon enter the locker room.

“Hey, man,” said DeAndre.

“Hey,” replied J.J.

“You’re early today, Watt,” said Jadeveon. “Earlier than usual, that is.”

“It’s personal today,” J.J. said.

DeAndre scoffed and shook his head. “Don’t let it go to your brain, man. That’s how people fuck up.”

“There’s not going to be any fucking up today,” replied J.J.

He grabbed his phone and walked out to the field. Jadeveon and DeAndre exchanged glances, but they shrugged it off.

---

Charlie’s heart was pounding through the entire game. J.J. was all over the offense, so much so that he got a penalty for offsides. Neither team was doing exceptionally well until the end of the second quarter. The Texans were up 10 to 3, and the Jets were back out on offense. She watched Ryan hand the ball off to the running back, Stevan Ridley, and J.J. immediately tackled him. The next play, the Jets hiked the ball, and J.J. again was all over. He sacked Ryan, probably the harshest Charlie had ever seen him tackle before. He stood up, faced the suite she was sitting in, and he blew a pair of kisses. Charlie put her elbows on her knees and sat forward, shaking her head.

The second half of the game was almost too painful to watch. Ryan was sacked another two times by J.J., and each time, J.J. blew a kiss up to the box. Charlie put her hands in her hair and shook her head. She heard the commentators on the T.V. across the room, as much as she tried not to.

“You know, we haven’t seen J.J. Watt this motivated all season. We certainly haven’t seen him blow any kisses this season. Not until this game.”

“He used to do it all last year for his girlfriend. We know they had a little drama surrounding them, but was it ever a thought in anyone’s mind that these two former teammates”-

Ryan ran for a touchdown but at a cost. She saw a dark green helmet come flying out of the pile, and she stood up. A lineman hoisted Ryan up, still holding the ball, and Charlie could see then that it was definitely Ryan’s helmet that had come off. She watched the replay on the screen above. His helmet had come off, and his head had hit the ground, but it was a touchdown.

The Jets were only behind one touchdown when Ryan threw an interception. The Texans, back on offense, couldn’t complete a pass. The time was running out, and Charlie could feel the blood flowing through her body. The Jets were back on offense, and after a few drives down the field, they were looking like they would go into overtime. Ryan threw another interception, and the crowd erupted. Charlie hung her head, knowing this one was going to hurt him.

Charlie stood up before the game was even over. She turned and left the suite, feeling the eyes of her coworkers following her. She blended into the crowd for a while as she made her way to the ground level of the stadium, but she turned away toward the locker rooms instead of heading out the door.

A man stopped her as she approached the door.

“I need to see Fitzpatrick,” she said.

The man shook his head and said, "You don't have clearance to get be down here."

"Actually, I think I do," Charlie replied, holding up her pass.

The man inspected it a moment. He looked at Charlie, then back at the pass.

"Okay," he said. "Wait here."

Inside the locker room, Ryan was sitting on a chair. His head was throbbing, and he closed his eyes. He brought his hands up to rest on his face. There was a low buzz from all the guys talking, and Ryan couldn't focus. He took his jersey and shoulder pads off, and he threw them to the ground.

"Ryan!" shouted someone from the doorway.

Ryan looked up. It was Coach Gailey, standing next to a much shorter man that looked like stadium staff.

"Someone's out here to talk to you," he said.

"I'm not doing press," said Ryan.

"I don't think it's a reporter," Gailey said.

Ryan stood up and made his way to the door. He followed the shorter man outside the locker room. He looked over, and he saw a woman with dark hair standing against the wall. She stood straight when she saw him, and he rushed to her with his arms open.

"Charlie, oh my god," he said, holding her tightly.

Charlie put her hands on Ryan's face. He held her so tight he nearly picked her up off the ground. He planted a kiss on her cheek, and she smiled lightly. He let go of her and touched her hair gently.

"Ryan, I'm sorry," she said.

Ryan shrugged and said, "Would have been nice to win. Can't win ‘em all, huh?"

Charlie took his hand and noticed the bump on his temple. She reached up to touch it, but he stopped her.

"It's fine," he said. "I'll live. I've had worse."

"How has your season been going?" Charlie asked.

"Not bad," he replied. "I love this team, Charlie. Do you want to meet them?"

"Um, maybe another time," she said.

"Okay, well how have you been?" Ryan asked.

Charlie scratched her head and said, "Not great. J.J. and I are kind of in limbo right now."

“What does that mean?” he said.

“After those photos came out, he was pretty upset,” she explained. “He asked me if I was still in love with you, and I told him the truth. I’ve been living in a hotel for just over a month. We’re kind of on a break right now.”

“I’m so sorry, Charlie,” he said. “Is there anything I can do?”

She shook her head and said, “I just have to wait and see. He’s pretty mad. I can tell that from a mile away.”

“Believe me, you don’t want to tell from up close,” said Ryan, scratching his head.

Charlie cocked her head sympathetically.

“Oh, I should tell you,” she said. “I had an interview with the Boston Celtics last week.”

“Charlie! That’s great!” he said, taking her hands.

“It’s for an Assistant Director of Marketing position,” she said with a smile.

“See, didn’t I tell you you were going to get a promotion soon?” he chuckled.

“I haven’t gotten it yet, Ryan. Don’t get my hopes up.”

The door near them opened, and a tall man with a clean buzzed haircut poked his head out of the locker room.

“Hey, Fitz, you done with this – oh,” he stopped, seeing Charlie’s hands in Ryan’s. “Didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“It’s fine,” said Ryan, letting his hands fall to his sides.

“This must be Charlie,” the man said. He stepped out of the locker room and leaned against the doorframe casually.

“And you must be Brandon,” Charlie replied.

“Yeah, Charlie, this is Brandon Marshall,” said Ryan. “B, this is Charlie.”

“Well, I didn’t mean to interrupt your little reunion here,” said Brandon. “I was just wondering if you were done with this, uh, Gatorade”-

“B, I know Deck sent you out here to spy on me,” Ryan chuckled. “I’ll be back in soon.”

“Shoot, okay,” Brandon snorted. “I’ll be in here if anyone needs me. Ma’am, it was lovely meeting you.”

“Likewise,” Charlie said.

Ryan glanced over as Brandon hid behind the door. He pointed at Charlie and gave him the thumbs up. Ryan laughed and rolled his eyes, and he leaned over to shut the door.

“Sorry about that,” he said.

Charlie grinned and said, “You seem happier, Ryan.”

“I am,” said Ryan. “To an extent.”

There was a long pause between them, and she took a deep breath.

“I should get going, Charlie,” he said. “We’ve got a flight to catch.”

She wrapped her arms around him and put her cheek to his chest. He hugged her back, and he kissed her forehead.

“Don’t be a stranger, okay?” he said. “Let me know if you get the job.”

“I will,” she said.

She let go of him. He touched her cheek gently before turning and heading back into the locker room. She sighed and turned around. She took a couple steps forward and stopped. J.J. was standing across the hall, staring directly at her.