Flagrant Foul (gxg)

Chapter 42

I wasn't able to go home right away. I had to have the x-rays, which were thankfully negative, and talk to the coach about what the repercussions of Tegan's actions were. She had been assessed a Flagrant 2 foul, which carries an automatic ejection, but it had come so late in the game that the NCAA was extending the suspension to an extra game.

That was nice, but it didn't help me get better. The recovery took longer than expected. My whole back was bruised from the fall, and the headaches and light sensitivity cost me over two weeks of games. That meant missing six whole games, though thankfully they were against teams that the team didn't need me for, and they won them all. I was glad none of them were against teams that had the same skills as us, because I would have been even angrier if we lost thanks to Tegan's actions. The team was also very motivated too, assuring me prior to each game that they'd win for me, and then holding up their end of the promise.

One of the weird parts of the recovery was my blurry vision for the first few days. At first, we thought that it was a side effect of the concussion. But then Skye noticed that I wasn't wearing my contacts. I had been during the game, so they must have popped out when I hit the ground. I hadn't even thought about them not being in!

"Well, that sucks," I complained. "I don't like my goggles! They look like crap!" I'd had them for years, and while they worked well, they looked like crap.

Skye thought about that for a minute. "Let me take care of that!" She gave me a soft kiss. "You trust me, right?"

"Of course, I trust you, beautiful. How could I now trust my lovely fiancé? I guess you have a plan?"

"I do!" She started typing on her phone with a grin.

"I'm going to hate this recovery," I complained. "And then you're going to get sick of me cuz I'll be so whiny!"

Skye finished her texting, then lay down with me, making sure to not put pressure on my sore back and neck. "I'll never get sick of you. I like taking care of you when you're not feeling well. If I was sick, would you get sick of taking care of me?"

"Of course not!" It wasn't that at all, but it seemed like she just helped me get through the NCAA mess, and now I was injured already. I didn't want her to feel like she was bailing me out of things all the time. "I just don't want to feel like I'm being a burden again."

"Again?" she asked. "There is not any 'again'! Reign, you've never been a burden! Any time we've had a problem to overcome, it has always brought us closer together. I have little doubt this will do the same, okay? I love you, and if you're hurt, I'm hurt. I'm not making a list here to see which of us has to do more in a relationship or anything. This is you and I overcoming whatever life throws at us, together. So far that has all been Tegan, but that bitch is nothing but a speed bump on our road of life, okay? I wouldn't have asked you to marry me if I didn't want to take care of you when you were down and have faith that you would do the same for me. You're the one for me, no matter what."

It hurt to cry, the damned head fog I was in still gave me headaches and the tears I was shedding after Skye's impassioned little speech made it worse, and yet so much better. "Damnit, stop being so sweet and cheesy! You're fucking amazing, you know that?"

"Wait till you're better and I'll show you how amazing I am," she said with a smirk. "I'll get your heart racing again!"

"No chance! After this, I'm taking care of each and every need you have for a week!" She may not think I owed her, but I did, and I wanted to remind her of the many things that she seemed to love about me.

Of course, less than 72 hours later, her earlier texting had secured me an NIL deal with SportsRX.com for another $15k and a few pairs of prescription goggles in a stark white that matched my iWatch and hair. Yeah, she had been texting Rosie, and Rosie worked her agent magic and put the word out about me needing goggles after the injury, and it worked like a charm. The incident had been big news, and I was getting more press by the day, even if not for the reasons I'd like. Damn, I owed Skye so much, and I had a lifetime to show her how much I valued everything she did for me. Hell, I owed Rosie too, she was kicking ass as an agent, and then I'd owe Imani, Zara, Leah, and Gee for visiting me daily to keep my spirits up. Hell, they even brought take out a few days a week, so we didn't have to cook too much. Fuck! I owe everyone!