51

The alarm clock jolted Joe and Elle out of their lovely deep sleep the next morning, but neither could be in a bad mood when the first thing they saw was each other.

"Good morning" Elle pressed a kiss to Joe's lips before swatting the covers away and slipping out of bed. "You go back to sleep. I have to get to work" she smiled at him as she ran to her closet to find some clothes.

She quickly pulled out a tshirt and sweatpants and left the room, not wanting to keep Joe from sleeping any longer. After getting ready in the bathroom, she stood in the kitchen and turned on the coffee maker while biting hungrily into her apple.

"Good morning" Joe, wearing only boxers, shuffled into the kitchen and yawned first. Elle, however, had to be careful not to drool from her mouth at the adoration of his raspy morning voice and the sight of his lightly clad body.

Quickly clearing her throat, she grabbed her coffee, which was finished by now. "I...I told you, you can go back to sleep" she stammered while trying not to stare at Joe's body the whole time.

Grinning, Joe came up to her and pressed a kiss to her hair. " Ugh, come on. I don't want to sleep through our first morning together. Besides, I also have to get home, change, and pack my stuff for later. I also have to be at the facility by eight."

He opened Elle's fridge and pulled out a smoothie. "Can I have that?" he asked, looking at Elle who nodded quickly and took a quick bite of her apple while her gaze was already back on Joe's body.

"Hey, my eyes are up here" grinning, Joe pushed Elle's head up by the chin, winked at her and downed the entire smoothie in one go.

Elle didn't really regain her composure until Joe finally got dressed and therefore she didn't have to stare the whole time at his attractive, trained body, next to which she had slept all night.

She packed her bag, brushed her teeth and said goodbye to Joe with a long kiss before they both got into their cars and drove off.

Elle almost didn't recognize herself when she spotted the sight of her in the side mirror and had to be careful not to be distracted from the traffic with positive shock.

She smiled, not that she didn't usually, but she couldn't remember the last time she had looked in a mirror and smiled already. Her cheeks had a slight, healthy-looking blush and her face color looked really fresh, too.

In her eyes she discovered the shine that she had last seen a long time ago. The corners of her mouth didn't even seem to know how to stop smiling and also her hair looked just perfect today.

Waking up next to Joe triggered something in her that just made everything better. She could have dumped her coffee over her shirt today and seen something positive about it, too.

Suddenly it didn't seem impossible to tell everyone complete bullshit so Joe and she wouldn't be exposed. Suddenly, a relationship with Joe didn't feel so scary. Suddenly everything, really everything, just felt great.

She absolutely had to talk to Celine on the phone, tell her about this progress, and she absolutely had to see Joe, couldn't wait to meet him again. An indescribable feeling of warmth and lightness replaced the emptiness and darkness that yesterday's panic attack had brought.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, could ruin her mood today. She voluntarily took over the unlikable tasks, laughed louder than anyone else at Paul's jokes, and at short notice bought a round of donuts during her lunch break.

"You're like the sun today. When you come in, the room suddenly glows" Nick remarked with a grin as Elle burst into his office to bring him his donut. Elle just giggled.

"Something happened to make you glow like that? News to you know what?" he winked at her as he took a bite of his donut with a grin.

Elle just shrugged. "It was just a great morning today" she grinned, wished Nick another good noon and left.

In a good mood, she turned in her chair in the office while the PC shut down. She was done for the day and would just have to make a few appointments to check on complaints from players who had called in during the day before her evening off was on.

She was packing her backpack when suddenly there was a knock at the door. "just in" Elle called as she looked excitedly at the door and beamed when she spotted Joe coming into the room smiling.

"hey, you" he greeted her "hey, you. What are you doing here?" she asked smiling. "I just wanted to see you and I have something else for you" he pulled the hand he had been hiding behind his back until now forward.

"if I had known I was going to see you last night, you would have gotten it yesterday" Joe smiled as Elle looked surprise at the football in his hand.

"Is this one of the game balls?" she asked in amazement as she picked it up. Joe nodded. "Zac always hands out the balls to those who made a good play or who just stood out in a positive way. I asked him if I could get a game ball for you because..." Joe thought for a moment about how best to phrase it.

"...I wanted to thank you for taking over my practice when Nick got sick and for setting me up before my first game and just...being there. A little recognition for you for your excellent work as AT" he explained, spinning the ball in Elle's hands.

"For Elle and her excellent work with the Bengals" was written on tape taped to the ball along with the date and score of the game.

Elle had to grin before she stood up and hugged Joe. "Thank you so much for the ball. You don't know how much this means to me!" she smiled as she twirled the ball in her hands.

"I'm going to put this on the dresser over which I want to hang the signed jersey from our game" she winked at Joe who gave her a dirty look. "How long will I have to listen to you say you won against me?" he asked with a grin.

"Forever, for all time" Elle shrugged. "Alright then. I've got to get going, too, then." Joe gave Elle an apologetic look.

"Where do you have to go in such a hurry? Quaterback session?" Elle asked with interest. "actually I still have to bring Nick his ball and tell him he's the best athetics coach I've ever had" Joe smirked as Elle gave him an indignant look.

"oh, so you tell all the ATs the same thing? and I thought I was special. But no, you hand out balls like they're breadcrumbs for birds in the park" she crossed her arms in front of her chest, pouting.

Joe laughed. "You're something special. Nick doesn't get a ball, well not this time" he grinned at Elle. "And yeah, quarterback session and then I have a phone date after that..." Elle looked at him in surprise.

"...With my mom!" Joe quickly added. "I...have to tell her about you. Because...well, since I stormed out of the house yesterday, she wants to know who the girl is that I'm dropping everything for."

Elle had to smile. "Unless you don't want me to tell my mom about you yet, then I can give her an excuse" Joe suggested an alternative. Elle shrugged her shoulders. "As it feels right for you" she smiled at Joe.

"see you after then?" Joe asked and tilted his head, smiling sweetly at Elle. "Sure. I have a few more appointments and I want to go to the gym after. Do you want me to meet you around 8:30?" she asked him. Joe nodded. "Sounds good."

"Ok, I'll see you later" she bid him goodbye before Joe smiled at her one last time and walked out of the room.

Im so excited to tell you that we made it to the top of two categories!!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I never expected that!

Question: what did you do/ are you doing this weekend?

My answer: I just enjoyed listening to music and watch a few shows on Saturday and today I went to a soccer game of my brother. Now I'm watching another soccer match of a professional team.

Comment your answer and leave a like!

WHO-DEY🧡