"Well, now that you've seen the place, how do you like it?!" Ellie inquired enthusiastically.
"It's nice... It's a very charming place" replied Nat. Truth be told, Levi's wasn't as impressive to her as her old stadium of Sofi had been, but there was certainly a special quality to it. Nat could tell there was a rich history buried in these red and gold walls and she could also tell everyone here was happy to be where they were. After Ellie had helped her get settled, Nat began to think that adjusting to this new environment wouldn't be as hard as she feared thanks to all the kindness everyone had shown her.
Of course, there was still one person Nat didn't have the best start with. But she was sure that would be remedied in time.
Ellie took a seat in one of the office chairs. "Yay! I'm glad you liked it. I can't remember the last time we had another girl 'round these parts. They usually don't make it very long."
Nat thought back to the story Mr. Stoll had told her and after her encounter with the presumptive Defensive Player of the Year, she could begin to understand why she hadn't seen more women working around the facility.
Nat took a seat across from Ellie and decided she should flex the few social skills she did have. "So, any advice you can give a newbie like me?"
"Wellllllll," Ellie started, "Don't put anything in the staff fridge. Someone's been stealing things for the past few weeks. I'm not sure who it is yet, but I have a couple of suspects in mind."
"Noted"
"And another thing- make sure you get here before 8:30am. I know it's way earlier than we need to be here, but parking fills up fast. If you want a good spot, that's the time I recommend."
"Is that when you show up?" Nat asked
"Nah, I shoot for 8:25" Ellie winked
Nat smirked at this, "These are great, keep 'em coming."
"Hmmm" Ellie hesitated. Nat could tell Ellie was thinking carefully about what she was going to say next.
"I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but it would probably be for the best if you didn't get involved with any of the players here" Ellie let out after a few seconds of thinking.
Oh. Nat couldn't say she was surprised to hear this. Workplace romances had a reputation for being messy, and in the NFA, workplace romances were like the kiss of death. She couldn't think of a single time a romance between players and trainers had worked out, not even-
"Sorry! I'm not trying to make assumptions about you or anything!" Ellie interjected. Nat's silence must've scared Ellie a bit because her light brown eyes seemed to be slightly bugging out of her head. "It's just these players can definitely be a lot to handle sometimes. I can't tell you how many girls come sniffing around here thinking they'll find their prince charming. I also can't tell you how many of them come back either crying or with some sort of amateur weapon. It's just a real messy situation"
Nat thought back to that big banner at the entrance of the stadium with the players' faces on it. The Pioneers were undoubtedly the best looking team in the NFA. Not even her dear Lightning could come close. Still, she found it hard to believe Ellie had seen so many messy situations. Nat could maybe count on one hand the amount of times she had seen scorned girls at the Lightning locker room, but never anything too out of hand.
"What kinds of situations have you seen?" Nat asked gingerly.
"Wellll..." Ellie turned back to make sure the office door had been closed. "Just with Deon alone, I can tell you there's been a steady parade of Insta models coming in and out."
That didn't surprise Nat. She had gotten the chance to speak with a few more of the players, but the only one who had shown an ounce of interest in her was Deon Hudson. Hearing about his "parade" certainly made the compliments lose some of their value.
"And Jeffy G, his fine ass, he actually has a girlfriend right now. But what most people don't know is that she was actually an intern with the social media department."
What? Now this piqued Nat's attention.
"Yeah! They haven't been dating too long, started a little after the preseason began. She had apparently done an interview with him and next thing you know, they were caught holding hands one day coming into the stadium together. Whew, the head coach was maaaaad about that lemme tell you. He doesn't like it when the players bring their girlfriends round here. Says it 'distracts from what's important' but really I just think he's jealous none of the girls are lining up to get his autograph if you catch my drift. Anyway, it got so bad they ended up letting the poor thing go. But I guess it's not all bad, she is dating the most handsome quarterback in the entire league" Ellie finished wistfully. "Sorry you had to find out like this"
Nat ignored that last part as she thought about what Ellie told her. She figured it was necessary to hear that. This was a job at the end of the day, not The Bachelorette. Knowing that getting involved with the players could end in her termination sent a shiver down her spine. Beyond that, she knew the stakes were even higher as love was not just a game to her. Especially with what she's been through.
To date, Nat had dated 3 guys. Her first boyfriend from high school was a good enough partner. He had done the typical things: took her to football games, brought her to prom, even given her an impressive assortment of balloons on Valentine's Day senior year. Besides his penchant for smoking with his boys, there wasn't much wrong with him. But he lacked a clear direction for his life and Nat was ready to move on to bigger and better things after high school.
Her second boyfriend in college was... not the greatest. Things started off well between them, but as time went on he became more and more possessive of her. When Nat started interning for the Los Angeles Lightning, he was an insecure mess. Every day he had convinced himself Nat was secretly hooking up with somebody on the team. One day, Nat caught him snooping at the stadium, asking around if there was anybody she spent too much time with, and that was the day Nat knew she had to drop him.
Ellie had noticed Nat's silence and she decided to speak up "Sweetie, don't get too heartbroken over this! We can still talk about how cute he looks when he gets all sweaty after practices. Believe me you'll get over it in no time."
Nat was starting to get annoyed with the assumptions that she had the hots for Jeff Giordano. She thought about saying something, but then realized it might be to her advantage if people thought she were eyeing the quarterback and not the defense. While she was too shy to bring up Nick Bosa to one of his teammates, she figured Ellie was a different story.
"Any tea on Nick Bosa?" Nat asked, trying to sound casual about the question.
"Bosa?" Ellie answered, puzzled. "I think he was seeing some girl not too long ago. I remember seeing her stop by a few games last season. But honestly I haven't seen her or really any other girl around him for the past few months. And from what I see on social media, I don't actually think they're still together. Bosa's hard to read to be honest. He mostly keeps to himself and any conversations we have had usually just do with football. Good luck getting that bear out of hibernation!" Ellie laughed, seemingly pleased with her own joke.
Nat was simultaneously relieved and worried. On the one hand, she couldn't deny feeling a little happy Bosa wasn't with anyone. But on the other hand, she wasn't sure she could keep her composure around him long enough to try and get more than a few words out. And you could get fired for trying anything Nat reminded herself. Or worse, you could make a fool of yourself Nataly.
Ellie checked her phone and gasped, "Rats! I didn't realize what time it is. I gotta get ready to bounce. We can talk about our boys more tomorrow. But if it absolutely can't wait, here's my card. I put my personal cell on the back just for you sweetie." Ellie flashed a quick smile as she handed Nat the card and true to her word she bounced away.
After a bit of decorating, Nat decided it was time to call it quits for the day as well. The next day would consist of her meeting with several players and getting to know them, so she figured it was alright if she hadn't yet finished the more technical aspects of her onboarding. She picked up her tote bag filled with Pioneers memorabilia that Mr. Stoll had given her earlier and she began to make her way out of the stadium. The bag was surprisingly heavy considering its contents, so as Nat walked she fidgeted with it, moving it from arm to arm trying to find a comfortable way to carry it. While struggling with the bag, she failed to notice she was quickly approaching the doors that would lead her back to the parking lot. Lucky for her, a familiar giant noticed and was holding the door open.
"Thank you!" Nat exclaimed, and once again, when she noticed who she had just encountered, her mouth went dry and she briefly froze in place.
Nick Bosa was standing there, arm outstretched, wearing a thin hoodie that did little to hide the bulging biceps underneath. Nick's entire muscular frame was obvious in fact. From his big, round shoulders, down to his impressive quads, Nick very much looked the part of a NFA defensive end. There wasn't a single part of his body that didn't look as hard as it had felt earlier when Nat bumped into him. She took a few more steps forward to clear the doorway and commented again "Thanks, uh, man!"
The defensive end looked back at her with a slight smirk and said "you should really watch where you're going" as he began to walk away.
If Nat wanted to say something, there was no way in hell she would be able to get it out. This man was indeed every bit as handsome in person as he looked in pictures. That slight smirk sent chills throughout her entire body and all she could think was Damn it Nataly, you have GOT to start paying attention. She stood in place and watched him walk away for a few more seconds before she began heading in a different direction looking for her car. But she made sure to make note of the area where the handsome defensive player had parked. 8:30... or maybe 8:25 after all.
...
Back at her apartment, Nat had settled on the couch with a nice plate of chicken alfredo and was scrolling through her phone. Nat had been subletting Raf's apartment while he was back in LA with his mom. The apartment itself was surprisingly nice. It was a one bedroom with a pretty spacious living room, a decently sized kitchen, and most surprising of all, a balcony. This apartment had been a good find and as Raf explained it, the landlord was a huge Pioneers fan, so he agreed to rent it at a steal of a price, so long as Raf provided him with some tickets and autographs.
After getting one particularly annoying audio stuck in her head, Nat switched to Instagram where she was greeted with a suggested follow. "L_O_Ellie" read the username. Nat checked her new friend's profile where she was surprised to see that Ellie had a boyfriend. That explains why she's so nonchalant about the players.
Nat clicked the follow button and briefly froze when she saw the other profiles that were suggested to her. Clear as day was the username "nbsmallerbear" and Nat couldn't help herself. She clicked on the profile and began scrolling. This wasn't the first time she had made her way to Bosa's profile, but this was the first time she spent any meaningful time here. Now that she was going to be working alongside him, scrolling through his posts definitely felt a little different. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, nor aware how deep down the rabbit hole she had fallen, when all of a sudden a phone call jogged her back to reality. "Raf" flashed the screen.
Oh shoot. Nat forgot to respond to his text from earlier in the day.
"Hey Raf! I'm so so sorry I forgot to text back. I had a pretty long day."
"I bet. I'm sure Ellie already talked your ear off huh?
Nat laughed. "Yeah, she's fun. Honestly I would've preferred hearing about her staff fridge mystery over the video Stoll showed me. You wouldn't believe how cheesy it was."
"Really? I thought you would've liked it. No one's cheesier than Nasty Nat"
Nat groaned. That stupid nickname cursed her like an ill-placed birthmark. Freshman year English class, the teacher asked each student to choose an adjective that started with the same letter as their name. Nat went first and she completely blanked and chose the first word that came to mind. No matter how many times she had tried to change it to "Noble Nat", her classmates did not relent. She was Nasty Nat whether she liked it or not.
"Alright Rowdy Raf, enough about me. How's your mom?
Raf sighed, "She's hanging in there. She's not as bad as I thought she would be, but she's not doing as well as I had hoped." Raf sighed again "Nat, thanks again for doing this for me. It means a lot."
Nat got a little teary eyed. Raf's mom had always been like a second mother to her. She remembered the days she would go over to Raf's fondly. His mom would never let her leave without eating something, no matter how small. She always said that teenagers needed to eat every hour if they wanted to grow up strong and healthy. Now, seeing that Nat was 5 '10, well above the height of the average woman, she couldn't help but think that it was Raf's mom who got her there. Now, knowing the same woman was "hanging in there"... Nat had wished she could be there with Raf helping out too.
But she decided to swallow her tears and be the rock Raf needed. "Raf it is absolutely no problem. I would do anything for you. As long as you agree to stop calling me Nasty Nat"
"Oof, well maybe you should come back to LA in that case"
Nat laughed, "Shut up. Don't worry about me, you do what you need to do and I'll hold it down for you here. We got this"
"Yeah, we got this. And before you know it, your time with the Pioneers will be over and we'll be enjoying my mom's famous enchiladas. But I'll let you go for now. Take it easy Nat, and if you touch my liquor cabinet, leave the tequila. Drink the gin, I don't even know why I bought it."
With that, Raf hung up the phone and Nat was brought back to Nick Bosa's Instagram page. She sighed. Only here for a year she reminded herself. Still, Nat figured a simple follow wouldn't hurt anyone. She scrolled back to the top and touched the bright blue button. And then she returned to her bowl of pasta.
...
Walking into her office for her first day of player meetings, Nat rolled her eyes when she saw the first name on the list. Deon Hudson. Considering he was not alphabetically the first player in the roster, Nat could only imagine what sort of strings he had pulled to arrange this. Still, she knew she would have to meet with him at some point, so she figured it was better to just get it out of the way.
As she prepared her office for the meeting, she got a text on her personal phone:
Ellie: Good luck today! Let me know if you're gonna be free for lunch. My treat :)
Nat smiled, but before she could respond there was a knock at her door.
"Come in"
In strode the heartthrob wide receiver himself, a few minutes before his scheduled time. Nat wasn't sure whether or not she was grateful for this.
"Good morning Nat. You look beautiful as ever"
Nat ignored the comment as she got straight to business. "All right Deon, the point of the meeting today is for me to catch up on your physical condition. I know we're a few weeks into the season, so please just give me a basic rundown of how you've been feeling and any potential concerns."
"Well I do have one concern. I'm just worried why you don't like me. Is there something wrong with my face?"
Nat furrowed her brow. "Deon, I already told you. I am here to work and only work. If you're that thirsty, I promise I have the perfect friend for you. She's shorter than me but her body is-"
Deon chuckled, "I'm just pulling your leg Nat. Can't blame a guy for trying"
Nat lightened up at this comment. She wasn't sure how to read Deon, but if he were just being a playful flirt, that was certainly better than the alternative. She tucked her hair behind her ears and was about to go back to the original question when Deon interjected:
"But if I'm not your type you can just tell me straight up. I won't take offense mama"
Nat shot him a stare. If looks could kill, this one would probably just push him to the ground. "Deon can we please focus?"
"I promise, if you just tell me whether or not you like me, I will shut up and answer every question you have for me."
Nat contemplated his deal for a second. While she wasn't sure if he were being honest, perhaps humbling him would at least make her feel a little less frustrated. As Deon's dark eyes kept staring at her, she decided finding out was worth the risk.
"Fine. Deon I'm sorry but I'm just not into football players"
"Now that can't be true. You're telling me you've never had feelings for any football player ever?"
Nat hesitated, "I wouldn't go that far, but I'm really not looking for some jock to keep me warm at night. I prefer a guy who cares about me and shares the same interests"
"And what kind of interests are those?"
"The ones that aren't your business. Now can we get back on track?"
Deon sighed, "Sure. I already knew I wasn't the player you were hoping to talk to today."
What? There's no way... "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh nothing... just that I saw you yesterday looking up and down that field. Don't think I didn't know what you were doing."
Nat began to spiral a bit. She didn't realize she was being that obvious. Almost every player was out on that field. All except for one of the most famous. If Deon were smart, and she was beginning to fear he was, he would be able to figure out who it was she was looking for out there.
"It's okay mama, I'll keep your little Italian secret safe with me" Deon said with a wink.
At that comment Nat's eyes went wide. Bosa was proud of his Italian heritage as the flag in his Instagram bio indicated. She couldn't believe she had been so careless that someone already figured out her secret crush. She thought about what she could possibly say, but she figured honesty was her best move in this situation.
"Look Deon... I admit I have a small crush, but I promise you I did not come here looking for a boyfriend. I'm not even planning on staying past the year. Please just pretend that never happened alright. I don't think you're unattractive for what it's worth."
"And there's what I wanted to hear. I'm glad you think I'm cute" Deon said with a slight chuckle. Even though that clearly wasn't what Nat had said, she figured she would just let him have it if it meant he would keep her secret safe.
"Anyways, what was that you wanted to know? Oh yeah how I've been feeling..."
And with that Deon shifted the conversation to the business Nat had hoped would be the sole focus of the meeting. He never brought up anything else regarding Bosa or her crush and the meeting actually went decently well all things considered. Once Deon left, Nat saw a few more players before going out to eat with Ellie.
The two trainers had a fun lunch discussing the job and Ellie explaining more about her theory of who was taking the food out of the staff fridge. While the conversation had Nat feeling more at home than anything else had up to this point, she decided to cut the meal short so that she could get back to work early and prepare for her next interview. She hadn't checked to see which player was next on her list so she wanted to try prepping a bit beforehand to ensure the meeting proceeded smoothly.
As Nat settled into her office chair, she was surprised to hear a knock on the door. Whoever it was had arrived way too early for her meeting. She thought maybe it was Ellie or Stoll.
"Come in"
And to Nat's surprise, superstar quarterback Jeff Giordano walked into her office. Jeff was quite a good looking man. He was tall, tanned, and handsome. His smile showed the dimples in his cheeks and his teeth were straight and white. His build was solid, though not nearly as muscular as Bosa's or even Deon's. Still, even without all those muscles, he was clearly a smokeshow.
Jeff awkwardly walked over to one of the chairs by the desk. "Hi. Nat, right?"
"Yes" Nat responded, "Is there a problem? I wasn't expecting you until a bit later."
"Right, it's just.." Jeff looked uncomfortable. "Listen I know we don't know each other, but I just wanted to clear the air"
Clear the air? I didn't realize it was dirty.
"I heard you had a bit of a crush on me. Listen, I'm flattered but it's important you know that I have a girlfriend. That doesn't mean we can't work together, but if it would be easier for you, I wouldn't mind being transferred over to Ellie or another trainer."
Nat was puzzled. She had no idea what Jeffy G was talking about.
"I don't want there to be any problems, so if you want to talk it out real quick I have time."
Nat tried to find any words she could to try and make sense of this. "Jeff... I don't know who told you that but I don't have a crush on you. I even have a rule against dating any of the players I work with. I'm sure you probably get hit on a lot but I promise I'm not trying to do anything to you or your girlfriend."
Hearing that, Jeff seemed to relax slightly, but he didn't seem convinced. "If that's how you really feel, then fine. Again I don't want things to be weird. It's just this isn't the first time a new hire has tried to come on to me, so I just wanted to make sure boundaries were drawn"
Nat began getting a little agitated. "I don't like you Jeff. And I'm not some kind of homewrecker either. I don't know where you're getting your information, but I'm starting to think it would be worth getting to the bottom of it. Who told you that?"
Jeff's eyes began to trail away as he started to blush faintly. "Uhhh, I just heard some people talk about the new girl who had a thing for Italians"
Nat was going to kill Deon Hudson.
"Jeff, that was just something taken out of context I promise. I have absolutely no plan to make a move on you. Believe me, my ex was a quarterback and the last thing I'm trying to do is relive that experience. I promise you will be in good, platonic hands with me." Nat tried to sound as firm as possible and show no hesitancy. She was not going to cause problems in her first week.
Jeff seemed to actually relax at hearing that. "Oh... well I'm glad to hear it. I'm really sorry about that misunderstanding. I just figured it was better safe than sorry before we had another unconscious body to drag out of here."
Nat stared blankly at him. Was that experience really that big of a deal?
"Don't worry Mr. Giordano. But since you're here early, we might as well get started with this meeting..."
...
After what felt like an eternity, Nat was down to her last meeting. Player after player had come in and out of her office, but overall everything had gone smoothly, besides the slight hiccup with Jeffy G. As Nat began winding down thinking about what her plans for dinner would be, she gasped as she checked the last name on her list.
Nick Bosa.
Immediately Nat began to feel butterflies in her stomach. After her less than ideal meetings with Deon and Jeff, Nat wasn't sure what to expect out of her meeting with the imposing defensive end. However, she knew she had to be strictly professional. Nat prided herself on being good at her job, and no matter how hard it would be, she was determined to push her feelings aside and focus on what she could do for Mr. Bosa.
And not what she wanted to do for him.
With a soft knock at the door, Nat exclaimed "Come in" a little more eager than she would've liked.
The door opened and the gorgeous hunk himself walked in. He gave Nat a small smile as he pulled up one of the chairs across her desk.
"It's good to finally meet you," Nat said with a smile. Maybe this won't be so hard
"Likewise" Nick returned.
"I'm Nataly Casillas, but you can call me Nat."
Nick gave a small nod and looked at Nat blankly. Jesus, he is so cute. Nick's eyes were a rich brown that seemed to envelop whoever looked at them. He had a neatly trimmed beard that gave him a bit of a rugged look. His light brown hair was cut short but Nat was impressed with how good it looked despite the fact it appeared he made no effort to style it. Despite how insanely attractive he was, she remembered her rule and decided to push forward with the meeting.
"So how has the season been for you?
"Fine"
"Great! How was the last game?
"Good"
"Alright. Have you been in any sort of pain or discomfort lately?
"No"
Nat was concerned. Up to this point, every other player had been kind and engaged in some sort of small talk with her. Bosa's quick one word answers definitely made her second guess herself.
"Why don't we try to get to know each other a bit? Where are you from?"
"Florida"
"Cool. How have you liked the bay? I'm sure it must remind you of home"
"A little"
This man was giving her absolutely nothing to work with. He wasn't being rude, but it almost seemed like he was uncomfortable. Nat tried to think of any reason why he would be so brief with her and she remembered that their past two interactions weren't exactly ideal.
"Hey... um I'm really sorry about yesterday. I know I need to be more aware of my surroundings. It's a bad habit of mine, I tend to get distracted easily. But I know it isn't fair to you so I just want you to know that if I made you uncomfortable or anything I really do apologize. I want you to know that I'm here to help."
"Hm" Bosa offered in response. He was nodding at Nat and looked like he was accepting her words, but still Nat couldn't shake the feeling that he was holding back for some reason.
Why is he being so weird?
Then Nat remembered the spicy rumor Deon Hudson had been spreading around the locker room earlier that day.
"Oh my god, hey if you heard what Hudson was saying earlier today... I just want you to know that it was a joke. He was trying to get me to admit that I had a crush on him or Giordano or something, I'm not sure why. I definitely don't want you thinking I'm going around here crushing on anyone."
This made the smaller bear shift in his chair. Nat thought she saw him frown a bit.
"I promise, I'm here to work first and foremost. I'm not looking for a relationship right now."
Bosa seemed to accept her words. "I get it. So, you don't actually have a crush on our quarterback?" The defensive end asked softly.
"I promise I don't. I don't like getting involved with players. I like to keep my work life separate from my personal life."
Nick smiled, "I feel that, I'm the same way"
Finally, some common ground.
"Glad to hear it Mr. Bosa"
"Call me Nick"
Nat couldn't help but smile a bit at the lack of formality. Now that she was beginning to break the ice, she wanted to make sure to leave a formal impression.
"I know we didn't get off to a smooth start, but I promise you I'm really good at my job. I can't tell you how many times people underestimate my knowledge or think I'm just trying to find a rich husband, but I really do have a passion for football and health. I have ever since I was little. If you give me the chance, I hope I can earn your trust and your respect as a trainer."
Nick seemed to light up at this. "Alright Casillas, I believe you. I can see that spark in you that I see in the other guys as well."
Nat would definitely circle back to this compliment later with one of her friends. Probably Stef, she loved hearing about the players.
"Alright Nick, how about a fresh start. If I promise not to bump into you again and pay more attention when I'm walking, do you promise to give me a chance?"
"Absolutely. I'm all yours"
The rest of the meeting went off without a hitch. Nick even thanked her at the end of it and said he looked forward to talking to her again. While Nat definitely still felt the butterflies in her stomach, she was pleased that she had handled that meeting like a true professional. She knew that however she conducted herself at work would not only reflect on her, but also on Raf, so she wanted to make sure she was a stellar athletic trainer. As she packed her things from the office and began heading out to the parking lot, she remembered her promise to Nick and made sure to look straight and walk with purpose. She made it all the way to her car without looking at her phone, despite the notification she had received on the way. Once she had gotten settled in, she pulled out her phone to check it and her jaw dropped. All that was on it was one simple Instagram notification.
"nbsmallerbear followed you back!"