path of heal - j.b.

3

When Elle came down the stairs, ready to go, Ja'Marr was already sitting on the couch. She probably hadn't heard the doorbell ring due to blow drying her hair. After Joe and she finished showering, Joe had disappeared from the bathroom rather quickly while Elle put on her makeup and got dressed.

Ja'Marr gave a whistle when he spotted Elle standing in front of the couch grinning and spinning once in a circle for the boys. "looking good, Elle. Are you trying to replace Joe?" Ja'Marr asked, amused.

Joe just rolled his eyes while Elle laughed. "Want me to send you the address of the bar so you can try to shoot your shot?" she winked at him, while Ja'Marr immediately turned to Joe in disgust.

"You hear that, she doesn't even make it subtle that she's trying to cheat on you with me? I would do something" he slapped Joe on the upper arm. "Weren't you the one who sent me a message two weeks ago to get back to training as soon as possible because you don't know how much longer you can withstand Elle's flirting?" Joe looked at him with a raised eyebrow, while Elle laughed and grabbed her keys and put them in her pocket.

"Are you saying now that you see ME as the problem?" Ja'Marr asked in a huff. Joe just sighed in annoyance as he handed Ja'Marr a controller and turned to Elle, who had just moved behind the couch.

"Have a good evening" she grinned before leaning over to Joe and pressing a kiss to his lips. "I love you" she whispered to him. "I love you too" Joe whispered back and pressed another kiss to her lips, making Elle smile.

"Well, maybe you'll still be awake when I get back" she waved at them both. "Remember you have work tomorrow. So don't overdo it" Joe warned her. "Yes, dad" Elle replied laughing before opening the door.

"Hey, where's my goodbye kiss?" Ja'Marr called after her as she pulled the door closed behind her. Elle's laughter could be heard through the door as Joe just sighed. "You're impossible" he shook his head. "And you have a hot girlfriend, so what's new?" Ja'Marr replied with a grin.

"Seems like she's doing better though, huh?" he added as Joe ignored him. Joe nodded and sighed with relief. "Thankfully, yes. The last few weeks have been stressful, you know how training camp is for everyone and then she had me and my fucking appendix to worry about too" he mumbled.

"hey, you can't help it that the unnecessary thing wanted to escape your body just at that time" Ja'Marr tried to cheer him up. "I know. Still, I'm glad Dr. Sullivan is there for her. It was the right decision to put her back in therapy. I don't want her to suffer from any shit" he admitted.

• • •

"Hey girl" squealing Chelsea pulled Elle into a hug as they met outside the Secret Saloon and you'd almost think the two women hadn't seen each other in years, the way they pulled each other into their arms even though it had only been a few hours.

Chelsea Romero was the only female member of the Rams' staff as of this season and was doing an exceptionally good job as the strength and conditioning coach. Elle liked to tell herself that she had helped with Chelsea's hiring through the future is female, but whether that was true, she didn't know.

The Rams' boys loved Chelsea and it felt like they were trying even harder around her, at least that's how it came across when Elle had joined Chelsea and a few other staff members for a work out session of the O-liners.

Chelsea and Elle had hit it off from the start and it already felt like they had known each other forever. Even though it would only be four days until the Rams would head back to LA, of course after they played the final preseason game against the Bengals, Elle felt she had made a friend in the big business of the NFL who finally wasn't working for the same organization she was.

The two women sat down at a table, not, of course, without looking at the large banner that had been hanging over the bar for several months now. It showed a picture of Elle in Bengal's shirt on the sidelines of the Super Bowl. In big orange letters it read "Regular bar of Elle Simmons, athletic trainer of Super Bowl participants, Bengals 2021."

"Seems like you're quite the celebrity around here" Chelsea nodded to the banner before grabbing the menu and studying the cocktails. "And you even got a cocktail, huh?" she noted with a grin.

"Totally over the top, right?" Elle whispered to her. She still wasn't quite comfortable with how big her face was showing here. "What, no, not at all. I think it's totally cool. I mean, after all, you're using it to draw attention to your campaign and that's never wrong" Chelsea replied.

"Maybe you're right. Plus, all the proceeds through the Elle Simmons will be donated to the future is female" Elle added. "Well then, I guess I made my decision. It's tasty, isn't it?" Chelsea looked at her questioningly.

Elle nodded. "It's theoretically just a mojito with peaches because somehow we had to get the Bengals orange in it" she explained grinning. "That sounds great, let's order two Elle Simmons then" Chelsea flipped the menu closed and waved the waiter over.

When they had the two cocktails in front of them, Chelsea looked at her. "What's it like to actually date a player on the team you work for?" she asked curiously. Surprised, Elle looked at her. "Why? Do you have your eye on someone?"

"Me? No, oh god no" Chelsea laughed. "I just wanted to know if you could even get away from work there, since you take some home with you every night" Elle laughed out loud. "You can look at it that way of course" she grinned as she took a sip.

"But no, it's not like that at all. Sure, we talk from time to time about what happened and sometimes we have nothing to do with each other all day, so we have something to tell each other. But otherwise we try to keep our professional and private lives separate. The stress of work stays in the facility and the stress of home stays at home" Elle explained.

"That sounds like a pretty healthy relationship" Chelsea stated. "I think we have a pretty good balance there" Elle shrugged. "And the other players don't have any problems with that? You don't even have someone coming up and saying you prefer Joe or something?" Chelsea asked further.

"Not at all. I think we all have way too much of a family relationship for that. I mean, the guys have literally been waiting for Joe and I to tell them that we're a couple, and the players that have come in this season, well, they just got in there, they don't know any different. But sure, we do get the occasional stupid crack, but that's kind of part of it" Elle grinned.

"And we're also lucky, of course, that the owners and the board take it all so well. I think with any other organization, we might not have been allowed to date in the first place" she added.

"That's right. I love working at the Rams, no question about it. But to see how the whole team, players, staff and even the owners relate to each other here - it's so familiar, so good-natured, it makes you feel comfortable even as a stranger" Chelsea acknowledged.

Elle nodded in agreement. "That's true. I wouldn't rather be on any other team. All that's missing now is the ring" laughing, Elle raised her hand in the air. "Which one? The Super Bowl one or Joe's?" Chelsea winked at her. Elle laughed. "First the Super Bowl, the other one still has time" she replied.

OMG I totally forgot to mention that Joe got PAID, like damn waited all off season for that and then they announce it with the kick off of the Chiefs game (the chiefs lost🥳)?!

I mean he deserves it and I'm happy we will keep him for so long! And i bet you saw the signing pics, this man gets hotter with every passing minute and I'm here for it!

Hope you're having an amazing Sunday and tell me where and with whom you watch the game!

WHO DEY🧡