Love & Football

Chapter 3

:: JJ's POV ::

I had just walked out of the juice bar in downtown Houston when I saw her face. She was flawless, I couldn't remember the last time a girl had captivated me the way she managed to without even trying. Her lean legs I had the pleasure of seeing just last week were crossed, covered by her black leggings, her Nike clad right foot bobbing up and down as her eyes focused on her phone. Her hair was thrown up into ponytail, some of the small pieces that had freed themselves from the grasp of her hair tie cascading down her back.

"Emma?"

She looked up and I was instantly met by her eyes, "Hey."

The smile that crept across her face nearly rendered me speechless.

"You a juicer too?" She referred to the green concoction I held in my hand.

"Oddly... yeah." I chuckled.

"You wanna sit?" She gestured to the empty chair across from her.

"If you're in the middle of something I don't want to interrupt."

She laughed, "There's nothing to interrupt. Honest. I was just feeding my online shopping addiction. You'd be doing me a favor."

I nodded as I pulled out the chair, "Fair enough."

"So, what brings you to the juice bar?"

She looked at me from across the table and I took the site of her in.

"My trainer. Apparently I need to eat more fruits and vegetables." I mocked my trainer's words, yet I knew he was right.

Her giggle caused me to smile, "That'll do it."

"And you?"

"Well, I started the whole juicing thing ages ago. I always hated the mess and the hassle of making my own so... I started coming to these nifty little bars. Gives me a boost after my yoga class."

Yoga. That explained the leanness in her physique. Let's just say yoga definitely agrees with her.

"How's Noah?"

She nodded, "He's good. Really good. You're a nice guy Mr. Watt."

I chuckled to prevent myself from blushing. As kind as it was of her to say, I hated how formal it sounded.

"So what is it you do?" I wanted to know more.

"I own Belle Amie boutique."

"Wow." I was impressed. Young, beautiful and successful.

"Wow bad or wow good?"

"Good, definitely good. I think that's great. I admire that." She was incredible.

We carried on conversation for what seemed like hours. She was so easy to talk to. She really seemed to have her head on straight. I guess being forced to grow up and raise a child would do that to you, but she made it seem so simple. I gave her credit, not many people could've handled a tough situation with such grace.

The more and more I learned about her, the more she blew me away. We seemed to see eye to eye on most things, we valued a lot of the same things. If you had asked me to describe my perfect girl, from what I know so far, chances are Emma would fit the bill perfectly. Not only was she breath taking in the naturalness of her beauty, but she was dedicated to the people and things she loved and passionate about her goals, her business and her future. It was refreshing. She knew exactly where she wanted to go in life and she knew exactly what she was going to do or not do to get there.

The last time we had talked, I had left her on her front porch. We had talked about her ex being abusive at times and the way he was just an absent father in Noah's life. Naturally, the compassionate side of me felt bad for her. I hated that a guy ever made a woman feel the way her ex had made her feel and I hated even more that he abandoned his duties as a father. But at that time what I didn't know, was Emma. I didn't know her strength and determination. I felt blessed to know her, in a lot of ways she reminded me of my own mother, granted my father was and is beyond present in my life, but just the way that she put herself on the back burner in order to give Noah everything he needed. My mother was always putting herself last in order to help my brothers and I do what we love, football. My success in the NFL only helped me to show her a fraction of how much I appreciated her sacrifices.