Body Contact (Hands On #2) by Cathryn Fox

campus, they walked through the halls, but saving his knee, they took the elevator to the second floor. Once at her classroom, she unlocked the door and stepped inside, Jack following behind her. Cheers could be heard outside the window, and Jack walked over to see the football field below.
    His stomach clenched, and his knee took that moment to throb. A soft hand on his shoulder grabbed his attention, and he turned to Danielle, working to wipe the worry from his face. She pointed at the man surrounded by a group of high school teens.
    “That’s Liam. He’s the football coach here.”
    “Looks like fun.”
    “You love the game, don’t you?” When he nodded, she said, “You’re good at it.”
    “I was,” he said.
    “You will be again.”
    He turned from the window and sat in one of the chairs. Danielle lowered herself into the seat across from him. His thoughts raced. “What if I’m not?” he blurted out. “What if the league doesn’t renew my contract?”
    “That would be devastating.”
    He nodded, and she remained quiet. “Yeah.” Pressing one foot into the floor, he tipped his chair back on two legs. “But at least then I wouldn’t have to put up with the bullshit.”
    “Tell me about that.”
    “So much crap goes on behind the scenes. What the public sees is the game, and it’s the game I love. Not the other stuff.”
    “The other stuff being, if you’re injured, you’re done.”
    How astute. “Exactly.”
    “The game is the only thing you can control, Jack.”
    “I know.”
    She folded her hands in her lap, her eyes moving over his face. “Do you even enjoy that anymore?”
    “Yes. But it’s hard to play and enjoy it when you know one injury can ruin your life.”
    She lifted her chin, a challenging gleam in her eyes. “Your life, or your job?”
    A noise sounded outside and he looked toward the window again. “Football is my life.”
    “What would you miss?”
    “The game.”
    She leaned into him, her eyes serious. “What about the fame, the money, all the women throwing themselves at you? Would you miss that? Or would you just miss playing?”
    “I have enough money, and no, I wouldn’t miss those other things.”
    “Jack,” she said, putting her hand on his knees. “If playing is what’s important, you don’t have to be in the NFL for that.” When he remained silent, she added, “Tell me why you wouldn’t miss those other things.”
    He scoffed. “You wouldn’t understand.”
    “Try me.”
    “Those women don’t want me. Not the real me, anyway. They want me because I’m famous and can buy them things.”
    “So what would make you happy, Jack?”
    You.
    Shit.
    He stayed quiet for too long, so she pressed, “What would it take to make you feel fulfilled?”
    Clearly not money or fame. And he did miss being around his family. Someday, he’d like to settle down, have what his parents had. The only problem was that no woman saw him for who he was. Besides, being on the road was hell on a relationship. He’s seen it happen to his buddies, seen the strain and the heartache when it didn’t work out.
    So what did he want?
    “I just want football to be a part of my life,” he finally responded, sure as shit he couldn’t have it all.
    She opened her mouth to say something, but a knock on the door stopped her. She got up from her chair and walked across the room to greet one of the campus’s professors. After a quick introduction and exchange of pleasantries, Jack left her to work, and made his way back to his bike, going over their conversation. It actually felt good to talk to someone who was interested, to open up to her. He’d pretty much kept everything inside. Outside of his family, no one wanted to hear about the negative things going on in his life. He couldn’t imagine any woman ever sitting down with him and letting him share. Then again, Danielle was a therapist who wanted to specialize in family counseling. So he guessed that listening to people was part