The Fumble Of A Quarterback

Chapter 1: More Fun Than The Street Fair

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!"