Kairosclerosis (Jimmy Garoppolo x OC)

Chapter Two

Some of the guys come up to us as they spot us. The first two getting to us are Raheem Mostert and Richard Sherman. I just can't tell how excited I am in this moment. George takes his arm of my shoulder to greet the two and then turns around to me. Raheem, "Sherm, this is Lillian. Claires little sister. "And well, Lilly, I guess you know them, am I right?" I nod with a big smile on my face. "Hi guys. I'm so happy to meet you. I literally waited for this moment since the day I moved here." I emphasize with an accusing glance to George who just laughs about it. Sherman reaches out his hand to me smiling in a very kind way. "It's nice to meet you too, Lillian." I take his hand and smile at him. I don't know what else to say so I turn to Mostert wanting to shake his hand too, but he pulls me into a hug. "Sorry, felt too formal and didn't look good on you two." he explains the hug while he pulls away again. I nod conformingly. "Yeah, you're right. Way too formal." So, I turn back to Sherman who laughs about Mosterts comment as well and hug him too. "Way better." He smiles down at me laughing. "Come on little one. You've got a whole lot of people to meet." George interrupts leading me past the two. I wave at them knowing that I can get to know them throughout the training. "Oh, George, can you please introduce me to Jason Verrett? You know I just love him." I beg as were out of earshot of Mostert and Sherman. Georgie laughs. "Don't worry. You're going to meet them all." I smile satisfied by his affirmation. Now we reach the big group of guys, where some of them already wait for us. I meet Kendrick Bourne and Jordan Reed, Trent Williams, Kyle Juszczyk and Dee Ford. All of them are very greedy and welcome me with much kindness. "Hey guys, where's Jason?" he asks loudly. Jimmie Ward whos standing right in front of us shrugs his shoulders. "Come on guys he's got a fan to meet." Oh god he didnt. "George! Thats so embarrassing." I hiss nudging him with my elbow. He ignores my comment as Williams answers his question. "Jasons over there talking to Coach and Jimmy." he says pointing a little down the field. "Thanks. Sorry Jimmie just wait for another minute." George tells as he takes my hand and pulls me towards the three at the 40 Yard line. "There you go." he says as we are only a few yards apart from them. "Im going to say hi to Jimmy. You got this by yourself?" he asks already heading towards his buddy. I nod to myself and take the last few steps towards Jason Verrett. George already interrupted their conversation by jumping on James' back and hugging him from behind. The two others greet George and then look at me. I smile sweetly and slightly shy as Kyle reaches out his hand to me. "Hi, you have to be Lillian. George already announced you were going to watch training today. Its nice to meet you." glad that I didnt have to speak first I take his hand. "Yes right, I'm Lilly. Its nice to meet you too. I'm so excited that I'm allowed be here. Thank you very much for that!" "No problem. You're always welcome, as long as the players can keep their attention on the ball." he jokes with a kind smile. I smile back at him not knowing how to react. "I'll need to talk to Reed for a moment. Have a nice day." Kyle signs off and leaves for the group of guys few yards behind me. I turn to Verrett completely nervous. Hes my favorite player. He can maintain the overview in every situation and hes just so unnaturally fast. Its just not understandable for me how you can build up such a speed. I decide to speak up as I realize that I havent said anything in quite a while. "Oh gosh, Hi I'm Lilly. I know this might be strange but Im pretty sure that I'm just the biggest fan of yours." I tell him a little too excited. He laughs at my introduction. Before he can say anything, I keep talking. "I'm so sorry. I'm just so freaking nervous. Usually, I'm not that strange." I add as I think I might seem to be a stalker. He just keeps laughing. This time I dont keep him from speaking. "Hey, don't excuse for that. It's always nice to be honored for what you're doing. In addition, your brother-in-law already warned me about that." He answers with a wink to me. I look to the ground kind of embarrassed by the situation. "Come on what's up? That's pretty much of a new situation to me. Im usually not that interesting for fans." "Why that?! You're my absolute favorite player in the whole NFL. You're so amazing!" I say with disbelief in my voice. "Wow, wow, wow." George interrupts from the side. "What the hell, little one. I definitely am your favorite player. Of all time. Like, definitely!" he states getting louder at the end with his voice breaking a little bit saying 'definitely'. Jason and I laugh at his comment. "Don't worry Georgie. You'll always be my Star." I poke him while Im giving him a side hug. "Lilly!" he pushes me away and frowns at me. "Oh Georgie! You'll always be my Star too!" James says dreamingly, hooking into our conversation. He nudges George with his elbow and grins at me. "Oh, come on Jimmy G." I emphasize his nickname. "You can't be serious joking about a nickname like Georgie." I try to defend George because I feel guilty for calling him Georgie though I promised I wouldnt. "Thanks, little one." George says pinching my cheek "But you shouldn't mess with the one and only Jimmy G." he adds jokingly. James nods. "Your boy's right." James agrees to what George said. "You shouldnt mess with me." He smirks. "Well why not? It's not like a you're, you know, a linebacker. All you can do is throw a ball." I state challenging him. Jason and George gasp. James furiously flashes his eyes at me. "All I can do? You can't be serious!" he argues. I narrow my eyes in suspicion. "You doubt that? What else can you do? You can't run and you can't tackle." James is about to shoot something back, but Jason interrupts our beef. "Hey guys, calm down. George, go with Jimmy. I wanna talk to Lilly." he imposes. Georgie grabs James' arm and takes him down the field. "So, what was this all about?" Jason asks as the two are out of hearing range. "Uh I don't know. I just think he's kind of a jerk. You know? His attitude and his Interviews. He's so overrated." I talk myself into range. I don't really think that he's overrated. He's a very good Quarterback. I just always had this aversion against him. Since the day he was signed. I don't even know where it comes from. "You don't mean that. I know he's not as good as I am. For sure. We both know." He says with a wink causing me to laugh. "But for a Quarterback, you know, he's really amazing." he adds. I nod admitting that he might be right. "Then go. Tell him. I beg you. He's pretty much of a Drama queen. He will complain about that all the time." I roll my eyes but nod in acceptance. I watch over the field to find him and see him still talking to Georgie. "See you later, but don't think that I'm done talking to you. You're the main reason I wanted to come here." I order pointing on him while Im walking away. He nods laughing. I turn around walking straight towards James and George. "Did you calm down Tiger?" George greets me grinning at me. "Get lost Georgie. I have to talk to James". George pulls out his tongue in response but walks down the field towards his other teammates. I shake my head over his childish behavior and turn around to James. He crosses his arms and gazes down at me. "So?" "So... I wanted to apologize. I know that you're a good Quarterback." I slowly say. "Yeah, right." he says arrogantly. I roll my eyes. "Still, you can do nothing but throw." I quietly add. Obviously, I didnt talk quiet enough for him not to hear me. "What did you just say?" he grumbles. "Well, nothing." I murmur. "You really think that? You really think throwing is everything a Quarterback can do?" I shrug my shoulders in response. "Okay, then what is your qualification to judge that?" He asks wary. "I was cheerleader captain in High-school and now I'm in the cheering squad at the USF." I tell him prideful. He laughs boastful. "That's your qualification? Jumping around shaking your ass? Theres a reason you are cheering for us and not the other way around." I cant believe what he just said. I open my mouth to retort something but just close it again. James smiles satisfied by my speechlessness. "Nothing to say?" he asks teasing me. "I'm more of an athlete than you are, for sure. Perhaps excepting your throwing skills." I tease back. "Again. You really think that?" he asks with a disdainful laugh just getting me angrier. "For sure." "Fine. Meet me after training on the field and we'll find out." he proposes challenging me. "I'll be there." I shoot back and then turn around leaving him alone on the field. I walk to the other players who are currently sitting on the team benches taking a break. I look out for George and find him standing next to someone I didn't meet yet. "Hey George, nice best friend you got there." I tell him shortly before standing next to him. He turns to look at me. "I guess he didn't start that. Did he?" he reminds me of my unfounded attack at him. "Well, perhaps not. But you don't wanna know what he just said. He said cheerleading was all about jumping around shaking my ass." While George starts to answer I hear the other guy next to George giggling. I don't listen to George and aim the other guy. "You think thats funny? Watch out. Im in the mood for arguing." I warn him. He raises his hands in innocence. "Hey, hey, I'm not the bad guy here. At least not the one you're looking for." he says still with a small laughter. "Yeah okay. You're right." I accept. "I'm Lilly. The little sister of his wife." I introduce myself and point at George. "Well, theres no introduction needed as much as this guy talks about you. You are 'the only girl who really appreciates football' he knows." he imitates George. I look up to Georgie who in fact seems a little embarrassed. "Aww, thats so sweet." I say giving him a small kiss on his cheek. "Come on Lilly. You know that you're the only one I know who talks about football 24/7. Could you imagine your sister trying to talk about football with us?" he says as if it was the most obvious thing ever. I start to giggle thinking of Claire trying to talk about football with us. Shes an impressive athlete for sure. But she has no clue about football. "Yes, you're right. Claire would even mess up by telling the different positions apart." I agree to what George said. "Okay come on guys I can't join in on that topic lets talk about something else." The guy who still didn't introduce himself demands. I nod. "Yeah fine, so who are you? I haven't seen you play for the Niners." I ask. "Well, I am Brandon. And you don't know me because I was drafted like one or two weeks ago." As he says that, I remember him from the introduction videos on Instagram. "Oh yes, I remember the wide receiver rookie. Aiyuk, isn't it?" I ask excited. He nods smiling widely at me. "Yes, right. Hopefully people wont have to ask who I am for long." he jokes. "Oh, I'm pretty sure, as soon as you made one game for the niners you can't walk down the street in peace without girls worshiping you." I say winking at him. He laughs while George takes the chance to participate in our conversation. "Well, I can tell shes' right. There are some advantages to being famous." he states suggestively winking at Brandon. I nudge him with my elbow. "Be cautious, Tiger. Don't forget that you're with my sister." I say suggesting that I'll keep an eye on him by pointing with two fingers on my eyes and then on him. He pinches my side. "You don't really think I would find another girl wanting me, do you?" he asks mocking himself. I look at him for a moment trying to put on critical face. I look him up and down. "With hair like these? Nah." I state already taking a few steps back. For one moment he looks at me standing there open-mouthed. I take another two or three steps back. That's when George starts up and chases me down the field. It's like all the times I played football with him in his garden, just without the football. I run as fast as I can knowing that he's faster than me. I can hear him pretty close to me yelling "Here we go, little one." Only a few inches from catching me I can dodge him and keep on running. I won a few yards because of his failed attack but soon recognize him back behind me. I now reached the ten-yard line already looking out where I can run for not being caught, cause there is no further space behind the endzone. But it isn't worth thinking of because in the next second I can feel his arms grab me and tackle me to the ground. He pulls me up and throws me above his shoulder, tickling me with one hand. I yell at him to stop til I look down to the ground, realizing that I did reach the endzone. "Touchdown!" I yell all over the field so that everyone can hear. George stops tickling me putting me back to the ground. "What the hell did just happen? You never beat me! Oh god, I'm officially old and frail now." he complains. I give him a big smile and then happily walk back to the guys. George follows me slowly and obviously upset. "Heads up George. I'ts not a shame losing against me. I'm small and agile." I try to make him feel better. His facial expression changes within a second to his typical jokingly laugh. "Oh, come on Lilly. You dont really think I'm ashamed losing against you. You're fast as hell." he tells while hes back next to me. His compliment gives me an even better feeling than beating him. I smile up to him and he pushes me jokingly to the side. Back to the guys some of them start clapping their hands so I do a small curtsy. "That's the reason you dont play in the defense boy." Fred Warner mocks George who walks to him immediately. Alone again, I look out for Jason or Brandon for I wanted to talk to both of them til the trainings over. I spot Brandon still on the same place George and I left him alone, so I walk towards him. As I walk past James who is talking to some other players I say, "Just a small preview to later." I notice him turning around and watch me walk away. I reach Brandon and he claps his hand with a respectful expression on his face. I smile proudly and thank him for his appreciation. "So how the hell are you THAT fast?" He asks surprised. "Well, I'm in the cheerleader squad since I was, I guess, five or six years old. With training on nearly a daily basis I definitely gained some speed." I explain to him. "Oh wow. That's impressive. Did you think about applying to the Gold Rush? Im pretty sure they'd find a use for you." I blush lightly due to his comment. "That's so sweet. I'll definitely think about that but for the next few years I will have to focus on college. George would kill me if I had to quit and go back to Iowa." I tell him and he nods. "Yeah. Can imagine it. So, what do you study?" Brandon asks. "Uh, Psychology but with a focus on the business parts. You know like marketing management or human resources." "Oh that's so cool. How is it going?" he wants to know. "Well pretty good, I guess. I wrote my last exam today and now finally have spring break." I tell him excited. "Ah nice. You should come over tonight. I'm having a few people over and you can initiate the party season." he proposes. There will be a big party tonight for all students of the USF but I'm not really willing to go there. "I'd love to. It will be more fun to hang out with you guys than with the drunk and stoned college guys." I accept his offer. "We'll be drunk too but we'll be more fun than college guys for sure." he agrees laughing. "So, if you give me your phone I can key in my number and can text you the address." he adds reaching out his hand. I unlock my phone and give it to him. A few seconds later he hands it back to me. "Write me some message so I've got your number too." he demands. I nod and put my phone back into my pocket. "Let's go guys. Enough relaxed for today! It's time to go back to the field." Kyle yells so all the players can hear him. Brandon starts to move with some of the others. He turns around saying "See you later Lilly!" and then he's gone and I'm alone on the side of the field. I sit down on one of the benches and watch the players while they start to warm up. I think of asking the coach if I may join in, but I haven't got fitness clothes on and I think I might disturb the training, so I decide to just sit there and watch them. As the team is done warming up and split into groups for each position, I get a companion. He walks straight towards me coming from where the coach stands. As I take a closer look at him, I realize that Nick Bosa is going to join me. I'm not quite sure what to think about him, because of those Tweets he wrote. I know that he apologized but I just dont think that he was being honest. Well, it's not my task to judge this but I don't think that I really want contact to a guy like him. Therefore, I decide to avoid him and go to talk to Kyle Shanahan for a while. As Bosa and I are on the same height, I pointedly watch onto the field to prevent eye contact. Because I do so, I can see the pass James just threw to Georgie. It's not easy to admit but he is a freaking good Quarterback. As I notice that James looks at me, I turn away and continue my way to the coach. "Ah, Lillian. How do you like the team? Did all of them treat you nice? Or does anybody have to take some extra laps?" Kyle asks jokingly as I place myself next to him. "Well, I don't want to be a telltale but there is a certain Quarterback who desperately needs some better manners." I complain about James. "But don't let him run. Otherwise, he will have an excuse for getting beat by me later." I add. Shanahan looks at me not understanding what I said. "Oh, he challenged me because he thinks I'm only a cheerleader." I explain. Now he nods understanding. "Well, I wish you good luck. But he's a very strong athlete so don't grieve if you don't win." "Yeah, I know. But I've got some practice too. Let's wait and see." I tell him defending my own skills. He nods smiling. "So now that we talked about the team, how do you like my training?" the coach asks changing the topic. "I think it's pretty hard, but I guess that's the way you NFL coaches do it. While we're on this subject, would you mind if I would join the warmup next time? Some of those exercises are in my routine too." I request hoping, that he'll say yes. He looks at me somehow surprised. "You would like to? Don't understand me wrong. I don't see a problem in it, but if I would offer anyone in the team to skip the warm-up, they would be so grateful. I just can't imagine someone doing that voluntary." he laughs. "Oh yes, I would be really happy. The Cheerleading training is on spring break, so I have no urgency to practice but I miss it already." I complain. Shanahan shrugs his shoulder "Feel free to join the team whenever you like." he gives me the permission. I smile at him in response. "Thank you. I guess then I'll just have to persuade George." Talking of George, I gaze out over the field looking for him. I spot him and Dwelley, Woerner and Reed on the anterior left corner of the field. They are talking to one of the coaches. I guess they are reviewing the exercise they did before. Some moments later they separate and split into two pairs. They start practicing some running routes first without later with catching the ball. After I watched them for a few minutes, I take a look at the rest of the field. A few yards behind the Tight Ends, there are the Cornerbacks practicing, then I watch the Linebackers with their practice opponents and the Runningbacks doing some sprints. Looking to the right side of the field James catches my eyes. I don't want to stare, but due to his practice suit I can basically see every single muscle underneath his shirt, even though he is in over 20 Yards distance to me. He catches a ball out of the throwing machine, takes a few steps back and then throws into a moving net. It's pretty impressive though I've already seen him doing this on TV. After he has done it two or three times he turns around and walks towards the bench where his water bottle is placed. I keep my eyes on him as he does. I have to admit that hes a very handsome man. But that's just part of my problem with him. He knows that hes looking good and acts accordingly. After he took a sip of water, he splashes some of it into his face to freshen up. He turns and looks over the filed. His eyes wander and get stuck on me staring at him. As soon as I realize, I take my eyes off him but still see how theres a smirk crawling up on his face. I cant help but blush due to embarrassment. "If you don't mind, I'd go to throw some balls." I tell Shanahan to quit the situation. He nods over to George. "Have fun. And good luck beating Jimmy later" he says slightly laughing. "I'll try." I promise while Im walking away. George greets me by throwing me a ball. I catch it and pass it on to Reed who was running a route and waits for the ball.

After throwing some balls to George and running some routes too, I sit down on the field to go back to observing again. I know that this training is the preparation for their games, so I don't want to disturb it. As the closing training session, they do a practice match, starring James and Nick Mullens as Quarterbacks who are now choosing their teammates. Of course, Georgie plays with James and I won't lie they are a really good team. They beat the other team with a 20-point lead.

George runs up to me as I still sit on the sideline. "I was amazing, wasn't I?" he asks proudly. "Best man on the field." I agree with a small laugh. "Don't say it like that." he pouts. "Will you wait in the Lobby for me?" He asks. "Uh, no. I'll go home by bus or taxi. I have to prove Jamess opinion on cheerleaders wrong." I state crossing my arms. "Come on, little one. He didn't mean it. He really respects what cheerleaders do. He only wanted to provoke you." George defends James. "Guess what. He succeeded." George shrugs his shoulders but shakes his head slightly due to my reaction. "Do what you have to." he says. "Please drive safely. If you dont know how to go home give me a call and I'll get you." he adds before leaving for their dressing room. "Hey, you don't want to stay here, do you?" Someone asks and steps in front of me. I look up cause I'm still sitting on the ground. Brandon smiles down to me reaching out his hand to help me up. I take his hand and walk with him to the platform where I decide to wait for James. "I'll stay here. Got something to check up." I tell. Brandon nods. "Okay, see you later. Right?" he asks, and I nod in respond. "Yup, I'll text you." I say waving him goodbye. I sit down on a seat to wait for James.