******
In October Max was off to the States to work the add campaigns for Gatorade and Nike, both of which had convinced her of what she was demanding and had come up with acceptable marketing plans. Even though her adds would be running in the UK and other parts of Europe but not the US or Canada, they still did filming there because that was where corporate headquarters was for both companies. When she came back two weeks later she was still required to do a great deal of promo, although most of it was in London, so she didn't need to go too far.
She had spent whatever time she was in London with Bells, Bridget, and Christopher, seeing Danny only occasionally and not seeing the other three at all. Danny and Vicky had both had dinner with Bells on separate occasions, which Danny had really enjoyed. He forgot how nice it had been to have someone like a younger sister. She looked up to him and one time even asked for a small amount of advice. He was more than happy to give it and hoped beyond hope that everything would work out for her. She had apparently met some guy at university and was trying to decide if he was really worth her time. She had been on dates with him but was very tentative about relationships. Danny thought this must be from one of two things. The first was obviously that she was subconsciously worried because of the bad example she had in her parents as a child. The second was that Max had her paranoid. He really hoped it was the first because it would be easier to remedy.
Danny had also been able to spend some time with Christopher while Bridget was gone. He knew it seemed weird, but the kid had just been thrust into a life where his dad was around a lot less and his favourite person, Max, was suddenly gone often. He and Dougie had taken Chris the day Bridget had done one of her magazine articles and on another occasion when she was filming an ad campaign. She had lucked out and her's were filming in London, not the States like Max's were.
*****
At the beginning of the third week of October when Max was back in the country and McFly had a three day break from their tour, Max and Danny finally managed to get together for a game of football with some of Danny's friends. Bridget joined them while Chris and Bells sat on the sidelines watching and cheering. Some of the guys had originally taken offense to women playing with them, but Max and Bridget executed a couple perfect plays, embarrassing the guys and making them realize it was important to take them seriously. They all ended up having fun and at the end of the game, Danny asked the girls over for a drink. Bridget had to take Chris home for bed and Bells had an early class the next day and also declined.
"I have to go the gym tomorrow morning," Max told Danny. "I haven't been in two weeks and it's killing me."
"Isn't it closer to my house anyway?" Danny asked.
"Well, yeah, but what does that matter?" She was confused by his question.
"Just crash at my place tonight after we have a drink," he said shrugging. "It wouldn't be a big deal."
"I don't have any of my gear," she obviously wasn't sure what to make of his invitation.
"Well, I'll take you and Bells home, you can grab your stuff and come over," he didn't want to have her make an uncomfortable decision, but at the same time, wanted her to know that they could be like they used to be, just lounging at the other's place and it not be a big deal or an attraction thing. It would just be two friends hanging out and not bothering to find a way home at night. He did it with the guys all the time and he sort of felt as though she wasn't any different.
"Sure, I guess," she seemed unable to come up with a good reason as to why it would be a bad idea.
"Great," Danny herded them toward his car, "come on."
He dropped them both off and waited downstairs. Max was back down in record time a duffle bag slung over her shoulder. She climbed back into his car, it still amazed him how effortless she made even movement seem.
"I feel like we're kids again," she was smiling at him when she said this and he noticed how her eyes seemed to change to a lighter shade of gray when her teeth were showing. It was odd, but it seemed to soften her features ever so slightly.
"I know," he replied smiling goofily back at her. "You used to crash at my place all the time when…" he trailed off not wanting to bring up negative stuff when they had been having so much fun.
"When your mum was afraid to send us home because she was worried about what would happen to us," she finished for him, her smile didn't falter. "It's not a bad memory Dan," she was now turned fully toward him to show she was fine. "It reminds me that even though my parents weren't able to take care of me, someone out there loved me enough to make sure I were safe. I felt more loved on nights like that than I ever have in my entire life, don't ever feel bad about bringing it up." She reached her hand over to where his rested on the gear shifter and squeezed his fingers gently before letting go.
He felt his smile widen. When he was younger he had trouble understanding why Max seemed to be ok with the fact that her parents didn't seem to care about her or Bells at all. When they grew up, and after her dad was gone, she was more open about it and he began to get it a bit more. He was now realizing that he had underestimated her strength and ability to cope even then. And he had underestimated the importance his mum had on her. In Max's mind Mrs. Jones was the closest thing she had ever had to a mother, even though she technically did have her own mum.
What he was now putting together from that simple statement was that Max had never really felt loved when she was young, with the obvious exception of Isabella. It was true that her parents hadn't really loved her, but it still really sucked to think about. Max still held her father accountable for the bad things that had happened when they were younger, he had been violent and abusive and she had to bear the brunt of it, so he kind of felt that she was justified. On the other hand, she had never been able to blame her mother for the way she ignored them as children. Max firmly believed that she had turned out the way she had as a product of someone along the way letting her believe she wasn't good enough, which pushed her into a marriage where her husband didn't respect her and treated her terribly, which led her to drinking. He was quite certain this was part of the reason she constantly encouraged women's independence and acceptance of themselves before they got themselves into relationships where both of those things would be pushed down. The Cosmo article was perfect evidence of that.
The remainder of the short drive was completed in comfortable silence.
"Do you want me to take that?" Danny indicated Max's duffle. They had parked and were walking toward his flat.
Max raised an eyebrow to look at him in disbelief. "Thanks, I can handle it."
"Sorry," he laughed, realizing who he was talking to. "It's just common gentlemanly courtesy isn't it?"
"I suppose," Max was shaking her head. "But as I am just as strong, if not more so, than you are, I really don't mind carrying my own stuff. But I do appreciate the offer."
"You know," he grinned at her as he unlocked the door, "you could just allow guys to do nice stuff for you and they probably wouldn't find you to be so intimidating."
"I realize that," she nodded her appreciation of his view, "but why allow them to think I'm someone I'm not, only to have them find out later and be disappointed. I'm a person who likes to carry their own stuff, if I relinquish that early on I'll be expected to do it all the time, which would involve being untrue to myself."
"You've really given this a lot of thought, haven't you?" he was not surprised even though his question indicated as such.
"I think about stuff like this when I'm running every morning," she admitted, not looking at all ashamed at being so straightforward. "It's just the way my mind processes I guess."
"Do you want anything to drink?" They had both stripped off their shoes and she had dropped her bag by the floor.
"A large glass of ice water would be awesome," and she crashed onto the sofa.
"Wow," Danny laughed, sarcasm seeping into his voice "don't get to wild on me."
"Sorry, I'm not a lot of fun. It's been bred into me because of football."
"Not a problem," he entered the living room carrying two large glasses of ice water and settled into a chair nearby. "Sometimes 'boring' is a welcome relief."
"Really, I would have thought you loved the drinking scene and partying with loads of beautiful women."
"Oh, I do," he would always be honest about that, why hide it? "But sometimes it gets old. When I get sick of it I usually hang out with Tom and Gi for the night, although I think I annoy them because their idea of quiet, down time is different than mine."
They spoke into the evening. Casual conversation still came easy to both of them because their immediate closeness right after that charity match plus the large amount of time they had spent apart recently. Running out of topics seemed impossible, which was a welcome change to both of them. The girls Danny often brought back were either too nervous around him to say anything or too thick to carry an interesting conversation and Max was used to people being intimidated by her and therefore keeping quiet out of nerves. Football was a particularly steady topic, but they didn't focus on Max's team or success. They spoke about it like they had when they were young; what players were their favourites, which teams they expected to succeed, and what games they would kill to go to. The irony that they were both finding was that they were both now able to afford going to as many games as they wanted, a major problem when they were young, but now had limited time to do so.
******
I crashed on Danny's sofa last night and woke early when my watch went off so I could get to the gym to meet with my trainer. I pulled a breakfast style energy bar from my bag and filled my water bottle. I changed in the open knowing there was no way Danny would be up anytime soon. I whipped out the door, made sure it was locked, threw my bag over my shoulder, and ran the fairly short distance to the gym at a brisk pace. It was my warm up so I didn't go too fast but it was pretty clear to me that I wasn't really up to par right now. I had a lot of work to do to get my body back up where it needed to be for any kind of competition.
Usually when I get to the gym I take out any frustration on a bag before I talk to anyone so that I don't do anything stupid, and I did that today, but didn't really feel any anger in it, which is not necessarily a good or bad thing. My trainer, Paul, caught up to me after about thirty minutes into my exercises. We worked through my punches with my left arm, because it is still a bit weaker than my right, and concentrated heavily on footwork. I'm quick and already move well but it's my favourite thing to focus on because it comes in really handy on the pitch.
Because I had been gone for over two weeks, Paul wouldn't let me in the ring with anyone else because being out of practice can cause accidents and when it is of the greatest importance that I never get hurt beyond bruising, he's not going to risk it. I was a bit bummed but totally understood where he was coming from. After a couple of rounds with the speed bag to rebuild some shoulder muscle, I stretched and did a slow run back to my flat. I took a long shower and relaxed. I hadn't had time off in a while and I didn't really know what to do with myself, but was enjoying it all the same. I called Bridget later on and she, Chris, and I went to the park, even though it was starting to get cold.
I slept early that night again because McFly had a gig just outside London and tomorrow was the day I had arranged to meet their physio guy. Danny was going to pick me up and while the guys did their sound checks and whatnot I was going to be studied by this guy, Austin I think his name was, before he began working on them for the day.
*****
Danny swung his car around in front of my flat and, ducking under his coat to attempt to avoid the rain, ran up to my door and rang through the speaker. I answered, letting him know I was on my way down and moments later was bolting out the door to his car so I wouldn't be soaked right away. The ride there was very much like the night before, easy conversation and little silence.
"So what is Austin going to do to you?" Danny asked with curiosity.
"He's not going to do anything to me," I answered resting my head against the back of the seat. "He's basically going to do a physical inventory of my body. I know it sounds weird but it's really not as long as the guy knows what he's doing. Which I'm guessing he does if you lot have let him poke at you for the past several years."
"I guess," Danny was still a bit confused. "But isn't it weird having a stranger study you that way."
"I used to think so," I told him honestly, "but I got used to it with all the professors at the university."
He still seemed like he would be uncomfortable with the whole process. In fact, if he hadn't known the guy for a long time, he would probably be even more uneasy about it. I couldn't figure out what was bothering him so much, he didn't have to do anything, I did.
We arrived at the theatre a bit early and Danny showed me around to the backstage areas where the guys would be before the show. I never realized that they practically hang out all day at a place where they're performing because they have to sound check, eat, and get rubbed down by Austin before hand. Their lounge had been set up right next to the physio room so we chilled there until the other guys showed up, Austin not far behind them. Normally, he doesn't come until a bit later because he wont see the guys until after they've done their sound check, but like I said, we made an appointment for this a long time ago and by the look on his face he's pretty excited about it. I put him at ease by telling he could start the pre-review right away. Basically, he gets to ask a bunch of questions before doing the body study so he knows where anomalies can take place and stuff like that. The guys were still in the room, which is not usually the way interviews take place, but I really didn't care.
"What types of physical activity do you engage in?" He asked. I was immediately happy with my decision to do this because I could tell he was really prepared and going to be professional about the whole thing. Plus, I haven't been studied since the tournament and it's always a good idea for someone like me because they can sometimes discover stuff about potential injuries that I never could.
"That's a stupid question Austin," Harry looked at him incredulous. "You already know what she does."
Austin looked at me and I smiled and nodded to him to let him know he was doing fine. He was comfortable around the guys so didn't mind making Harry feel slightly embarrassed by explaining, "It's important to conduct studies like this as though I have no idea who the subject is, particularly if it's the first medical encounter. If I'd questioned her before this wouldn't be necessary."
All the guys looked at him like they had no idea what he just said.
"Basically," I stepped in, "he's being really professional. Which is excellent because it makes me more comfortable too." I directed this toward Austin, "So please continue."
We went through a list of running, boxing, football, and other types of training I have taken part in. He asked about the number of hours I spend doing each activity per day, previous injuries, when my last exam like this was done, and other stuff like that. The guys left towards the beginning of the interview to get on stage to sound check. Questions started getting more personal after that, but I've done this before and I really didn't mind, it's just part of the process.
"What types of medications have you taken and have you ever used any illegal or performance enhancing drugs?" Austin looked uncomfortable at the line of questions. As though he were afraid that I would think he was suggesting I would do something like this.
"I avoid meds at all costs, if I have a really bad headache or something I'll take a painkiller, but I haven't done that since before the tournament and I have never taken anything else, illegal or otherwise."
"Have you…ummm…" Austin looked down at his list of questions and stopped speaking. Predicting what the next question would concern, I leaned forward to take his clipboard from his lap. I was right, it was a question concerning sexual activity. I smiled and he blushed, although I'm betting he was more embarrassed by the fact he couldn't ask the question than the question itself. As someone loosely based in the medical field he should be comfortable with stuff like that but clearly he isn't.
I passed his clipboard back. "Let's just say it's been a while. But I'm not letting you do an internal exam anyway, so it doesn't matter." He looked incredibly relieved by this. It's important to realize that as a national athlete I've been through every type of testing imaginable, so I was used to questions and examinations relating to this particular subject, but there was no way I was letting this guy in on that type of exam. I'm comfortable with people using me as an external subject, but that's it.
"All right, that takes care of all my questions," Austin regained his confidence and began showing his excitement. It may seem dorky for a guy to interested in studying a female subject like myself and maybe even a bit perverted, but I swear it's not like that. This is going to sound overly confident, but it is not often that a guy who does physio for a pop/rock band of young guys gets to study the same test subjects, in this case me, that are used at prestigious universities like Oxford. So it's not weird.
"Cool," I said, standing up. "Are we using your little massage room next door?"
"It's not a massage room," Austin was immediately offended, but seeing my grin he settled down realizing I was kidding. "Yeah, we'll use the physio room. The guys will be at least an hour on the stage working out all the kinks in the equipment."
"Great, lead the way." I was wearing baggy jeans and a hoodie but when we entered the room I offered to strip down to the black spandex and sports bra I was wearing underneath in anticipation of this. He agreed with a very professional manner and turned to give me privacy, which is really pointless because he was going to be poking at me while in the scant outfit anyway, but at least he was being polite.
After checking to ensure I was ready, Austin began his examination. It's actually kind of fun to go through one of these because you get to run through a series of motions with each joint and you get massaged, in a matter of speaking, throughout the entirety of the exam. Austin made extensive notes through out the entire process, which made me happy because I wanted a copy for my records. He also seemed to be really enjoying himself, which made me wonder if he really was in the right profession, dealing with the boys. I think he would be really happy working in a lab.
Austin was checking my abdomen when the guys came in. They all froze in the doorway when the saw the image before them. I guess seeing their trainer with his arms around my bare waist with his fingers outlining the grooves of my abs would be a slightly uncomfortable sight for them.
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Hollis2020 – Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! My guy friends do that with Cosmo too. I've always found it so funny. I think they enjoy reading it more than I do sometimes.