Cassie should have known that her and Adrian’s schedule would be something of a nightmare to manage. Between his practice schedule and recruitment schedule, and both soccer and volleyball hitting their stride, they had only seen each other professionally during the week. It should have been easy to handle because this had been the schedule chaos all season, but Cassie found it achingly difficult. Apparently she had developed a hard and fast addiction to Adrian, and felt a little like a petulant child who couldn't have what she wanted.
She was ecstatic when he decided to make a play for Griggs. If they could get him on board before their game against the Cougars, not only would they be able to capitalize on whatever insider knowledge he had on their team, but the Wolves would have at least a few days to get him out there with special teams.
A: I'm getting closer to making a move on Griggs. Things are falling into place, but you already knew that. Thanks for pushing me in the right direction.
C: I’m going to assume you are telling me this off the record, so I will keep it quiet. I expect you to remember that when it comes time to decide who gets to scoop the story. 
Grinning to herself as she sent him the text, her butt shook in a little happy dance at the news. Griggs would be a good grab. He was about ten years their senior, but still young enough that he had a lot of energy and was open to new things.
Cassie traveled the Friday before the game, and she and Kenny settled into their individual rooms. The team hadn't been in the hotel when they arrived, and Cassie assumed they were at a practice field somewhere. Once unpacked, she went live from her hotel room to talk about predictions for the game the next night.
“Happy Friday, Wolf Pack! I thought I would just hop on here for a little impromptu chat. Tomorrow night promises to be a good one as the Timberwolves have continued to pick up momentum from week to week. Even the loss two weeks ago was a statistical gold mine.”
As she was talking, she kept an eye on her live chat, occasionally responding to someone's question or comment.
GinnyLovesSports221: Hey, Cassie! Are the Wolves looking at a bowl game this year?
“Hey, Ginny! Good to see you online. Are the Wolves bowl eligible? They could be, depending on the outcome of tomorrow's game. If they win, yes, they would be bowl eligible for the first time in five years. Just to remind everyone, though, that being bowl eligible does not guarantee an invitation to a bowl game. The Committee takes the entire football landscape into consideration.” Pausing, she took a drink of water as her eyes scanned the chat.
“Of course, if anyone can beat the odds and get there, it would be Coach Stafford and his team. The mojo has definitely found their locker room.” Grinning, she shifted her position as she adjusted her cell phone. Then the messages started coming through, and her face faltered briefly before she pasted on a neutral expression.
CassHubbCuming4U: I like watching you in bed. Can't wait to tie you down in mine. Make you beg.
CassHubbCuming4U: That mouth of yours is going to feel so good.
“All right. I'm going to hop off here and get some rest. See you all on the sidelines tomorrow!”
Ending the live, Cassie scrunched her face up in disgust. Her creeper had been posting less frequently over the last month, but when he did, it was becoming more graphic. The messages he sent to her private messages were much worse than what he put on the public spaces. Reporting and blocking him, she got ready for bed, refusing to get back online.
*
They had the disadvantage of being the visiting team, but other than that one thing, Cassie liked the odds of tonight’s matchup. Both teams were rebuilding, both teams had grit and heart, and both teams had something to prove. She had no doubt that it would be a close game, but if she had to make a scientific hypothesis on who would take the win, she wouldn’t have been able to select one team over the other. Her heart was with the Timberwolves, but stats and logic sometimes warred with what she wanted to happen and what she expected to happen. This game was truly either team’s for the taking.
During her half-time report, she asked Adrian a question about his message to the team to get them to settle down on the field. The game was messy, but it was equally messy on both sides of the ball. She could tell the exhaustion of the season was beginning to wear down the young men on the team, but it lifted her spirits to see the continued fight and grit. There was no giving up this year, and that excited her as a fan more than any stat they could possibly pull out of their sleeve.
The intensity of the last few seconds of the game was so thick in the stadium. Kenny had taken his camera off the tripod and had it ready to go mobile the moment the game ended. Cassie’s eyes were scrutinizing the field, her microphone clutched in her hand as the ball went high. Holding her breath, she waited with the rest of the stadium to see if the pass would connect with its target, effectively finishing the game. Cassie laughed at the interception, a stark contrast to the near quiet that pierced the stadium before the smaller crowd that had traveled to support the team erupted into cheers.
She and Kenny looked at each other before she searched the sidelines for Meg. The two women found each other, and Meg was jumping and down clapping. They sent each other a high five motion through the air as a way to celebrate. Cassie jerked her head in the direction of Adrian and Kenny was on her heels as they slid their way through the ecstatic players.
Cassie caught the very end of his speech to the players, his voice sounding hoarse against the loud crowd. When he finished and got the nod from the law enforcement officer standing by Adrian, she walked over to him. This had become business as usual, but after last weekend, it felt much more difficult to keep herself neutral. Right now, she wanted to hug him and squeeze him so tightly he felt every ounce of pride she had for the hard work he’d put into this team. Though they hadn’t had an opportunity to really sit down and talk about what this thing between them was, they had texted enough to know that they were both on the same page about keeping it under wraps. The couple of times they had been near each other for interviews, they’d both conducted themselves as professionals.
“Coach, I know you’re incredibly proud of this team tonight. Can you share a little bit about what was going through your head when defense made that magical play at the last second?”
*
The post-game conference felt lighter than they had over the last week, and even David had a hard time finding a snarky question to ask. Several reporters asked about the bowl game eligibility, and several more asked about the upcoming game against the Cougars. When the conference ended, Cassie could’t return to the hotel quickly enough, though she knew it would take Adrian longer to get back.
Pulling out her laptop, she got to work updating her news feed on the website and checked the videos that the station posted. Her private messages were quickly increasing at a dizzying rate, and most of them were excited declarations of the game results. Groaning, she saw the screen name pop up. At this point, she refused to click on them and usually just reported it. The first part of the message was visible as she went for the little three buttons.
CassHubbSoon: Hours are ticking down before I f*ck you so hard you…
Her stomach tightened, and realized it was becoming increasingly more difficult to ignore the messages. They seemed to be escalating, and she made a note to talk with her producer when she was back in the office on Monday. It had been easier to dismiss them as the ravings of an internet troll, but his messages lately were carrying a threatening tone. Words that made her concerned about potential action.
Cassie became distracted as the sounds of men hooting and cheering echoed through the hall, signaling the return of the team. After closing her laptop, and mostly to kill time while she was waiting for her opportunity, Cassie had showered and changed into a pair of wide lounge pants and a loose fitting t-shirt, her hair now falling in damp, wavy tendrils down her back. She waited another hour, knowing that they were all under curfew, before she grabbed her empty ice bucket and darted from her room.
If she truly wanted ice, she had closer options, but instead, she made her way up two more floors. The coach’s hotel room budget was definitely different from a regional reporter’s budget. When she reached Adrian’s door, she knocked on it gently, her eyes darting up and down the hallway as if she were trying not to get caught doing something illicit. The sound of the door opening pulled her attention back to the space in front of her, and she quickly pushed herself inside, a grin spreading over her face at the sight of him. Setting the ice bucket down on the counter, she closed the door behind him before wrapping her arms around his neck and practically jumping on him.
“I am so proud of you!” Squeezing him, Cassie gave him the hug she’d been craving to give him earlier. “Ridiculously proud. I would have been proud either way, but that last play was magical.” Pulling back just enough to look at him, her eyes were lit up with excitement as she met his eyes, the passionate athlete on display. “You lit this team on fire.”
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