Craving Her Curves by Nora Stone Page A

to. My internal filter fails me sometimes.  It’s just... He’s still a bit down about it all, too: that’s all I meant to say,” she said.  I sighed again.
    “This is a bad idea,” I said as I walked through the doors with Amy on one side of me and Isobel on the other.
    The team was out on the field, running plays just like they had been last time.  Coach turned at the sound of the door slamming shut behind us and smiled.
    “Hot damn, it’s Miss Charlotte,” he bellowed.  I smiled outwardly, but inside I winced.  I hadn’t really wanted to be announced.
    “Hey, Coach!” I said, forcing myself to act like a big girl.  I waved and trotted over to where he stood on the sidelines.
    “Did you come all the way out here to see me?” he asked with a grin. I laughed.
    “I saw you on TV while I was still in the hospital, and it meant a lot to me that you went on TV to say that you cared.  From what I understand, you don’t particularly care for the media,” I said.  Coach laughed.
    “That is a gross understatement.  But they came up here bothering my boys about it, and we needed to release a statement.  I figured it ought to be one that we’d all care about,” he said with a curt nod.
    “Well, don’t worry, I promise I’m fine,” I said.  Someone jogged up beside me, blocking the sun from warming my skin as he removed his helmet and my breath stopped.
    “Hey, Charlotte,” Joey said softly.  I couldn’t respond.  Isobel elbowed me lightly.  Right.
    “Hi, Joey,” I said, gently, just itching to reach out and touch him. My heart felt like it was trying to leap out of my chest.
    “How have you been?  I saw it on the news that you were released, but nothing else since then,” I made myself look at him.
    “Jade has worked really hard to keep other media out of it since I got released, so there’s not really going to be anything.  But, I’m okay,” I said with a nod.  Joey smiled and I melted.
    “That’s good.  I was worried.  No trauma?” he asked.  What the hell, there was no point in not telling him.
    “Not that anyone could see, other than a bit more apprehension after dark.  The doctor wants me to go see a psychiatrist for a month to make sure, though,” 
    I said.  Joey nodded and glanced down at his helmet in his hands.
    “Sounds like a good idea to me,” he said.  I nodded and smiled.
    “Right.”  That was about all I had right then.
    “Hey, Isobel,” Joey said softly.  Izzy smiled.
    “Hey, Joey.  How are you?” she asked. Joey glanced back at me, then back to Izzy.
    “Alone,” he said.  Then he turned and jogged off.  I sighed and fought the urge to cry.  Izzy sighed beside me and slipped her hand into mine.  That was the moment I finally noticed my surroundings: the fact that the entire team had stopped when he’d jogged over.  That they were all watching him now, even Coach.  That I probably looked like I felt, which was more or less like my heart was breaking.
    “It’s okay,” Isobel whispered.
    “I’m so sorry about that, Char,” Amy said softly.  I sighed.
    “It’s okay.  I probably deserved that,” I said. 
    “No, you didn’t.  There is nothing wrong with being concerned about your safety,” Amy said.
    “She’s right,” Coach interjected.  I looked up at him and blinked back what little tears had fought their way past my will not to cry in public.
    “Is she?” I asked.  Coach nodded.
    “Someone as popular as Joey is, he’s always going to have more than his fair share of attention.  Some of that attention isn’t going to be healthy.  It’s something that has to be dealt with, not just by him, but by Amy as his manager, by me as his coach, by the team as his teammates and by any woman he chooses to bring into his life.  We all know the life, and we assume that most of us have a stalker or two that we need to be careful about.  You were blindsided with it and that wasn’t fair,” he said,