Hi all!!! 

Here I am, writing a new story! It's been a long time since I wrote a straight romance, so I thought why not. Anyhow, for anyone that has read my stories before, you should know by now that I pick songs for every chapter. Look out for the <> where you should listen to the song. 

Anyhow, stay safe and healthy!

Darla H

The definition of fumble is an act of using the hands clumsily while handling something. But in slang, it meant to make a mess of, destroy, or ruin. Even though my father is the head coach for the Ohio State University Football team, I still had to look it up just to be sure.

The word felt heavy in my mouth, weighing me down. I had never been one to fumble on anything. I always knew what I wanted, I always had sure hands, but when he came into my life, everything changed. I never thought I would fumble on anything, but I was mistaken.

I did everything wrong, so here I was, alone, walking down a country road in the middle of an Ohio blizzard, wishing I did everything right. The events that led me here still rang fresh in my mind making my stomach queasy.

It all started with an unofficial internship Dad offered me.

"Nojo, we're going to be late!" Dad called to me from the bottom of the stairs.

"Hold on, I'll be there in a minute," I shouted back at him as I put my hair up into a tight ponytail, convinced it looked sportier that way.

I shook my head. Who was I kidding? These players would see right past me. They knew a true sport fan when they saw one. I was not one of them. I wouldn't be caught dead paying actual money to watch people run around on a field wearing goofy outfits.

What. A. waste.

But sports were my parents' passion. My dad had coached university football all his life. It was his life. He knew exactly what he wanted as soon as he graduated from high school. He was just lucky to find a wife that loved football as much as he did.

For as long as I could remember, we hopped around different universities, chasing football jobs of bigger and better schools. His only goal though was to coach for The Ohio State University. He was from Ohio, grew up in a small town about 30 miles east of Columbus. He spoke about Ohio State University as this was the best place in the world.

I wouldn't say it was the best place, but it was pretty great. Sure, there weren't any major sights in Ohio. But it had friendly people that would talk to you in the supermarket, or wave as you passed them on the street. It didn't matter where I was, I knew I could make an instant friend if they were Ohioan. I never realized how much I needed the instant friends until my sister moved out and joined the air force.

"Nora, we gotta make like a leaf and leave," Dad warned in his typical cheery way. But I knew that if I didn't move, he would leave without me.

I opened the door to look at my thin mustached father. "I'm ready."

He smiled with joy in his eyes.

He had this unbridled hope in me that made me uncomfortable. He wanted me to like football like the family. But I don't think that was possible when I saw how the players walked around campus like they owned the place.

I swallowed the nervous lump in my throat. I didn't want to mess up this moment, but I wasn't as excited as he was for this.

"Let's get going. I'll give you a tour before everyone arrives. Oh boy oh boy, this is going to be the best internship of your life!"

Or the worst internship. Only time would tell. I nodded with a small smile, trying to convince myself it wouldn't be as bad as I thought.

I'm sure you're wondering why I signed up for this internship if I hated football so much. Well, it has to do with resume padding. The OSU football was like religion here in Ohio, so the fact I could intern for the head coach was like interning for God himself. And how hard could it be interning for god? I couldn't pass up the opportunity when Dad offered. This was solely to pad my resume.

"Ok, Kathryn, we're off, we'll see you later," Dad called out to Mom.

"Talk to you later!" she called out to him from somewhere in the house. No doubt doing something nearly as important as volunteering at children's hospital cancer center or saving dying kittens from crowded animal shelters.

I followed Dad out the front door were his black SUV glittered in the rising sun. He must have washed it.

As we drove down the neighborhood road lined with green trees, he was silent. I'm sure he was thinking about what his plan for the day would be. He always had a plan.

"So, what's my official title?" I asked finally, hoping he would share some information on why he asked me to be his intern.

He frowned for a quick second, as if not knowing himself. I was sure he didn't expect me to agree to the internship. "By golly, you're right. There's no title. I was thinking of just 'intern' but now that sounds as flat as Ohio's countryside." He tapped on the steering wheel in thought.

We passed expensive but old homes as we drove to the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. There was something so pristine about the way these homes were kept. It didn't matter if they were old, they were still beautiful.

"Ok, how about this, lead intern assistant?"

I gave him a pointed look. "Aren't I your only intern?"

"And my first! But only you, me and the wall needs to know that." He beamed.

I chuckled as I shook my head at my dad's enthusiasm. "At least that sounds official."

"At least that." It was silent again. We were almost to the complex now, one perk to living close to the university. "So, you got your classes set for the semester, right?"

He already knew the answer, but Dad never was one for silence. "Yeah, I'm set."

My sophomore year was ahead of me, and I couldn't be more excited for it.

"Any one class that tickles you pink?"

"International business," I replied without thinking much about it. With those core classes, people were ready to learn. They came prepared, like myself.

"That's dandy," Dad said as he turned down Lane Avenue.

We passed a handful of people running down the side of the road paying little attention to the passing cars. Since it was summer semester, there were very few people on campus, which made it feel like a ghost town.

Dad turned down Olentangy River road and before I knew it, we were parking in a small, nearly empty parking lot in front of a brick building that had a wall of windows. "This is going to be as fun as the street fair on a summer day!" He smiled at me, then got out of the car.

Fingers crossed it would be fun. On top of padding my resume, I actually wanted to be of use. I didn't want to stand there looking clueless, or even worse, like a fool. This was an internship and I planned to take it seriously.

"Oh, they're going to be ticketed," Dad said as he pointed towards a small silver car that was parked right beside the sidewalk. "CampusParc is ruthless."

CampusParc enforced campus parking, and they were ruthless. I should know. I got ticketed over the winter break because I parked in a spot covered in snow. They claimed it wasn't a spot, but we all knew it was. I wanted to fight it, but Dad told me just to pay the fee.

He walked up to the front doors and put his thumb over a finger scanner. "You did your finger printing, right?"

"Yeah. Last week."

"Mmmm.. I'm not sure if you would be in the system so quickly, but we can at least try." He stepped aside, allowing me to go in front of the small black scanner. "Just your thumb," he said as he held up his thumb and wiggled it.

I placed my thumb over the scanner but instead of turning green like it did for Dad, it turned red.

"Ah shoot. Looks like they're slower than molasses. But I didn't expect anything else."

"When do you think I'll be in the system?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Beats me. Might be tomorrow, or when we play against Michigan."

That game was months away. "Great," I mumbled.

"Cheer up champ! We'll get you in with me until your prints go through." He then scanned his thumb again, making the outline of the scanner turn green and the door click, signaling it was unlocked. He opened the door and held out his hand, gesturing me in. "After you, my lady."

I rolled my eyes as I walked into the building which smelt clean, like soap and lavender.

"The carpets must have been cleaned recently. You know they deep clean this place once a month, at least." Dad held his head held high, passing me, knowing exactly what he was ready for.

"Ok, let's get this tour started. You haven't really spent any time here, right?"

I shook my head. I had gone to the stadium for game days a handful of times, but I never had a reason to go to the athletic center. Come to think about it, I think this was my first time standing inside the front doors.

"You may not know a thing about football, but after today, you'll at least know this building."

"Sounds thrilling," I said with less excitement than I wanted to share.

"Then after this, you'll meet the team," he said as he took out his phone to check the time. "Actually, we're late. We'll have to do the tour later. We're going straight to the locker rooms before anyone comes."

__________________________

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly to calm my nerves as I looked around the empty locker room. Standing here really made it feel real. This was my internship. And I felt like a fish out of water. Gasping. Flailing. The silence of the space was messing with me. Standing still, this room felt like something holy. People worshiped football, and here I was a gentile in the inner sanctum.

"Nora, get on in here, I want to quickly show you, my athletic center office!" Dad called out to me, breaking me from my thoughts.

I did not waste any time walking out of the locker room and into his office.

Dad's office was lined with wooden shelves full of small collectables he picked up from coaching over the years. Out of all the years he had been at OSU, I had never been in his office. There was never really a point, but now I was here, I realized how official it was.

My dad was the coach of THE Ohio State Football team. The most important team in all of college football. And I was his intern.

"These plays need to be memorized by the players. There is a list of things I expected them to do over their break," he explained as he sat behind this massive oak desk. He smoothed out the papers stacked on it.

Looking at him, it was as if was someone different. I didn't coach Orban. But I wanted to.

"Let me tell you, this place is bigger than our first apartment, boy that was a teeny tiny space. Barely enough to move around," he spoke up, reminding me that my dad was still in there.

I chuckled as I took a seat in a chair in front of his desk. "Now look at you. With a massive office and house to match."

"None of that's important though."

My eyes caught hold of the photos of my sister, Vera and I, hanging behind him.

"I see you spotted the actual stars." He turned to face the photos of the family behind him. "You guys are the MVPs on my team."

My cheeks turned hot, welcoming the completement.

"It's the truth. Honestly, I'm as truthful as a person in confession." He held up his hands. "Speaking of honesty. I want to be up front with you on this internship. I'm sure you have questions. I need you to help running errands and let me know when you see something off, so on so forth. I'm sure your job responsibilities will change the more you settle in."

"The reason I never asked your sister to do this was because she's too dang attracted to these football players. Seriously, it's like bees to honey. I couldn't have that." He shook his head "But you're different. You don't care about the players and your hatred for the sport makes you the perfect candidate."

I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness. I was worried he just wanted to convert me to the sport, like the Mormon missionaries wanted to convert us to Mormonism. But this eased my fears. "Got it."

He winked. "But please don't tell that to Vera. We all know how she gets with those puppy dog eyes. Tears me apart every time," he said and shuddered.

"Your secret's safe with me."

Breaking us from our moment was a tap on the door frame. "Coach, are you ready?" a middle-aged man asked as he walked into the room. His long strides told me he had walked into this room far too many times before.

Dad stood up with a smile as he stroked his mustache. No matter how hard I tried to convince him to shave that thing off, he kept it. He said it was part of his 'look'. If you ask me, I thought it was ridiculous. "I'm as ready as a sprinter at a race. Here's to the first day of a great year!"

I stood up from the chair, ready to follow him into the unknown.

"Oh, Tyler, I mentioned this before, but my daughter will be doing an internship for us this year."

I quickly shook Tyler's hand. "Hi, I'm Nora."

He chuckled. "I know. We've met at least three different times. Your mother throws those Christmas Charity dinners every year and you always introduce yourself."

My hands grew sweaty, and my cheeks grew hot. Dang it. Quickly, I made a mental note of his name and bald head so I wouldn't forget it again. "Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for. You don't see me often. I'm sure I'm easy to forget." He shrugged, then turned to my dad and asked, "So, are you ready to greet the boys?"

"Let's get the ball rolling then," Dad said as he walked out of the office. "And no fumbles so far, right?"

Tyler shook his head. "No fumbles yet."

That seemed like code for something. Maybe one day I would understand it.

My pace quickened to keep up with the two in front of me. It was times like this when I wished I was taller than 5' 5". "Please let me know if I've met these people before. Give me some kind of sign."

He smiled as he walked into the locker room with a bunch of guys wearing OSU red t-shirts. "The thing is, you've met all the people here."

My heart sped up. I wiped my clammy hands on my pants as my eyes darted around the room. A lump formed in my throat as I tried to stand up straighter to see better. None of these faces looked familiar. If I paid more attention at the Christmas parties, I would have been better prepared for this.

"Alright team. Thanks for coming. It's always exciting to meet you guys at the start of the year. Before I dive into the details of why I brought you all here before fall camp. I want to introduce the newest member of the team. Most of you already know her by name but if not, Nora, my daughter will be my intern this year," Dad said as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

I was breathless as attempted to give a halfhearted wave. I don't think I even knew anyone's name. I was so ill prepared for this. Already making such a great impression.

"Well, let's give Nora a great big welcome," Dad said as he clapped.

The team followed his lead and soon everyone was clapping for me. Could I just melt away now? Being a puddle would be better than this. I felt sick to my stomach. I shot Dad a warning look, wanting nothing more than for him to stop.

Instantly he stopped, and the room was overtaken by a wave of silence.

Dad cleared his throat and spoke again, not missing a beat. "I'm sure by now, the freshmen have already talked to their 'big brother' on the team, but I want you all to talk to everyone, not just your 'brother'. We are family and I want you to feel that.

Today we'll be doing small team building activities. There's no pressure except for you all to make friends. Look around, you'll be playing together. Build a connection with each other. Remember, we all want the same thing, and you can't spell team with an I so I need you to trust one another."

"What's the activity, coach?" one round player who looked double the size of me, asked in the back.

"I'm so glad you asked, Shelly. The first activity will be an obstacle course. Tyler and the other assistant coaches worked hard to build. It's out on the indoor practice field, so no need to get worried about this humid Ohio heat. Let's get a move on." He gestured for the crew to follow him as he walked out of the locker room.

I scurried after him. As confident as I wished I looked, I felt more like a mouse running from a cat.

Minutes later we were walking out onto the perfectly kept practice field. I tried to look unphased by how professional the space looked. It still smelt like fresh paint and sanitizer. None of my classrooms looked as polished and clean as this field. A light breeze hit my skin. Even the A/C was working perfectly. I wished my classrooms were at the same level, but instead, I knew I would be sweating threw my clothes the first few weeks of the semester.

"What's a big brother?" I asked Dad under my breath as the players passed us.

"Ah, it's a mentorship program a past coach put together a few years back. The goal is to help the freshmen feel at home with someone long standing on the team. We give out assignments at the preseason dinner."

"And that was the dinner you invited me to, but I didn't go to, right?" Now I wished I went instead of watching TV with Mom.

"Yup."

Already I was falling short. I was not ready for this internship. In fear of looking like a major fool I thought about walking out at this moment. Might as well quit before I failed too much.

"So, I want you to blow the whistle if someone steps out of line or breaks the rules," Dad said as he handed me a whistle.

The cold metal whistle felt heavy in my sticky hot hands. I was breathless.

I thought I would be on the sidelines, but as I glanced at the whistle, I noticed my name on it. Dad expected me to use this. He had no intention of sticking me on the sidelines. Fear froze me in place. This wasn't what I expected to do.

"Why can't you do it?" I asked, begging for him to take the lead.

He placed his hand on my shoulder. "No can-do champ. I want you to do it because you are non-bias. You can't have favorites when you don't know any of them. Just call it as you see it."

"Ha ha, very funny."

"I don't see anything funny with it," he stated as he turned to the team. "Ok, guys, the first step is to pair up in groups of five. Then afterwards Tyler will run through the rules and course for you."

The men talked to one another, quickly forming teams as I turned to Dad again. "Please don't make me do this." Please, make me do anything else. I'll take out the trash, scrub the office clean. Anything but place me in front of the players.

"It's already done. We need you. It's very important as my intern."

My hands felt as if they were dripping sweat. Hopefully I didn't have to shake any more hands.

"Ok, Tyler, why don't you explain the rules," Dad spoke up.

Tyle dove into details on how to go through the course and the rules. Then he showed how each task was completed before returning to the group. Even with the A/C running, he wiped the glossy sheen from his face as he placed his hands on his knees. I think I was in better shape than he was, and that wasn't saying much.

"And Nora will be watching every single one of you to make sure you all follow the rules," Dad said, pulling me out from behind him. "Why don't you get out there, Nora. Stand in the middle like a star or something."

The lump in my throat only grew, choking away my voice. A star. He had to be kidding. The last thing I wanted to do was stand out there for all of them to see. This internship kept getting worse.

"She could be like the sun," one boy spoke up.

"The sun isn't a star," one voiced.

"Are you dumb? Yes, it is," he replied. "And we can be the planets."

"Great analogy!" Dad cheered him on.

I wanted to melt away, be nothing but the turf on the ground.

With a glare to Dad, I moved to the middle of the course.

Dad blew his whistle as the first team of five lined up. "Ok, team... what's your name?"

"Mars," one stout looking man said.

He smiled. "I like the planet theme we're going with. Ok, Mars, on a count of three... one, two, three." He blew his whistle, and the first person went through the task. He circled back and touched the hand of his teammate, which went through the task with ease.

Before we knew it, we were on the third team which called themselves Planet X. The first boy, who was lean and tall completed the first task but as he circled back to touch his teammates' hand, he failed to do so before his teammate started running.

I blew the whistle, causing them to stop. "Planet X, do it again. You didn't touch hands," I commanded them.

"Piss off. You're shitting me. I did touch his hand," the lean, tall boy said as he stomped his foot on the ground.

I shook my head, not moving from my call. I knew what I saw. He wasn't playing by the rules, and he needed to do it again.

"Everett, you got to put a dollar in the jar. You know how I feel about swearing," Dad warned.

Everett glared at Dad then at me before going back to the line to start the task all over again.

Over the course of the next few teams, I blew the whistle only a few more times until the game was over and Planet X won.

As the morning wore on, more games were played, and I was the lucky duck to judge every single one of them. As I watched the players interact with one another, my hatred for them only grew. They were loud, picked on each other, and just had this confidence that felt unreal.

______________________________

"Well, this was all fun and games but rest up because next week fall camp starts and that's the real stuff begins," Dad said as the morning rolled into the afternoon. He spoke with such enthusiasm.

Soon the team dispersed as Tyler and the other assistant coaches stayed behind to talk to Dad. "That was a great idea Paul," one person said. "And Nora, you did a fantastic job with calling out the rules breakers. Even got Everett to stop and repeat that one task."

"Everett. He's the one that thew a mild fit, right?" I asked. It was hard not to forget that.

He nodded with a sigh. "He's the starting quarterback."

After his fit, I kept an eye on him. No one else carried on like he did. In fact, many players kept their distance from him. "He sounds like a nightmare."

"He's not that bad," Dad pipped in. "Any who, thanks for the help, Nora. We needed it."

"No problem," I responded as I placed the whistle in my pocket for safekeeping.

"Well, look at the time, we better be getting off." Dad said as he pulled out his phone to check the time. "Coaches, it's been great. We'll see you tomorrow for the staff meetings."

As we walked off the field Dad said, "you don't need to go to those meetings. They'll be a total snooze."

"Alright." It's not like I was dying to go to them anyhow.