The Long Game

At Josie’s café, Adalyn confesses that she blackmailed Cameron into coaching. She also admits to bumping into him with her car, nearly killing his chicken, and briefly fainting afterward. Josie is amused by the confessions and offers Adalyn her support. Later, Cameron arrives and presents Adalyn with a town activity brochure, announcing he has signed her up for every community event until the end of fall. He explains that Diane, who is also the council secretary, was concerned about Adalyn’s lack of community involvement. Josie warns that Diane is a stickler for rules and detests no-shows.

Adalyn retaliates declares that Cameron will be joining her for all the activities. Josie enthusiastically endorses the idea, framing it as a “team bonding exercise” (102) for the new co-coaches. Just then, Diane enters the café, and Adalyn publicly challenges Cameron to participate. Realizing he’s been cornered, Cameron gives Adalyn a competitive smirk, and she understands she has just started a game with a man who plays to win.

The first scheduled activity is goat yoga at the Vasquez farm. Adalyn, who has since researched Cameron’s extensive pro soccer career, finds herself distracted by his physique in his tight workout clothes. Josie, who’s also the yoga instructor, has deliberately placed their mats next to each other. María Vasquez, a nine-year-old on the soccer team, leaves her blind and anxious goat, Brandy, with Adalyn for the session.

Adalyn struggles with the yoga poses, while Cameron proves to be very flexible. When Brandy the goat accidentally knocks Adalyn over, Cameron catches her. At Josie’s insistence, Cameron guides Adalyn through the poses. The close contact makes Adalyn feel flustered and intensely aroused, causing her to reflect on whether she has been neglecting her body’s needs in her previous relationships. The overwhelming sensations trigger a panic attack, and Cameron gently talks her through it until she calms down. Afterward, Adalyn realizes that Cameron is deeply afraid of the goats. When she points it out, he deflects, stating that everyone is afraid of something and vowing to discover what she is afraid of.

During the next practice, Cameron is annoyed to find Adalyn on the bleachers instead of the field. She gives him a binder full of research on their first opponent, the Grovesville Bears, and suggests they schedule a weekly strategy meeting. He dismisses her efforts, reminding her they are just coaching children. His annoyance softens when he notices the dark circles under her eyes and asks if she is sleeping well on the air mattress.

As they talk, Cameron notices that a button on Adalyn’s blouse is crooked. Later, he catches her when she trips on the bleachers in her high heels, and the button comes fully undone, which he finds very distracting. When she mocks his British accent, he lets out a genuine, hearty laugh. He admits she’s right about some of the stereotypes but reveals he prefers espresso over tea due to his Italian grandmother, whom he calls nonna. The interaction leaves him feeling flustered and disoriented.

At her shabby cabin, Adalyn feels frustrated that she’s failed to disassemble the large four-poster bed. While eating dinner on the porch, she receives a text from her friend Matthew with a link to a new energy drink ad. To her horror, the can features an illustration of her face from the viral mascot video with the slogan, “CHOOSE ENTERTAINMENT OVER DIGNITY” (124).

As she processes this new humiliation, Cameron’s chicken charges out of the bushes and eats her sandwich. Cameron appears soon after, clarifying the bird is not his pet. He sits with her, asking what she is trying to prove by staying in Green Oak. She deflects, insisting, “I have a life, if that’s what you’re asking […] I have a job and hobbies” (130). Cameron shares that his hobbies include hiking, camping, and meditating, and that he once tried knitting to quiet his mind. He tells her she needs to stop overthinking everything. As they talk, he gently reaches out and wipes a smudge of dirt from her cheek. The tender gesture leaves Adalyn momentarily speechless.

On Saturday, the Green Warriors face the Grovesville Bears for their first game. The team is wearing dated, pink hand-me-down uniforms, much to Adalyn’s dismay. The opposing coach is openly hostile. When Cameron tries to extend a good-luck greeting, she mouths, “You’re going down, bitch” (136). The game begins disastrously: The Bears score first when María, who is inexplicably at the net instead of keeper Juniper, lets the ball in, and then Chelsea steals the ball only to score an own goal for the Bears. The visiting crowd is large and loud, and Cameron grows anxious about being recognized.

When the opposing coach taunts Cameron, Adalyn springs to his defense, confronting the woman and the referee. The coach dismisses Adalyn, and Cameron quickly pulls Adalyn back before the situation escalates. Witnessing her fierce loyalty and the team’s chaotic performance, Cameron has a change of heart. He agrees to have a proper strategy meeting with her on Monday. Adalyn observes that he seems to have a mode other than “self-important and annoyed” (137), and he silently agrees that a switch has been flipped.

Adalyn and Cameron are assigned to work the beer stand at the town’s “Beer, Barbecue, and Boogie By the Lake” festival. Adalyn finds herself staring at Cameron’s tattooed forearms as he expertly works the beer tap. The “boogie” turns out to be a local band, and once their set begins, Adalyn slips away to a quiet spot by the lake with María’s goats, Brandy and Tilly.

Cameron soon finds her. He denies being afraid of the goats, but inches away from tiny Tilly as he sits beside her. He opens up about his late Italian nonna, explaining that his signet ring was a cherished family heirloom from her. Adalyn is moved by his story and tells him his grandmother would be proud of him. When she gets cold, he drapes his flannel jacket over her shoulders. A sudden loud noise from the band frightens Brandy, who begins to panic and defecate. In the ensuing chaos, Adalyn falls into the goat droppings but manages to save Cameron’s jacket. When she sees the terrified goat running toward the lake, she immediately abandons Cameron and plunges into the freezing water to rescue it.

By Thursday’s practice, Cameron is fully engaged in coaching but proves to be stubborn and argumentative about Adalyn’s plans for new uniforms. During their meeting, Adalyn texts her friend Matthew, who is a zealous soccer fan, a photo from the last game, forgetting Cameron is also pictured. Matthew’s excited replies about Cameron force her to quickly hide her phone.

While Cameron is on a call, María, her teenage brother, Tony, and their father, Robbie, arrive. When Adalyn learns that Tony is a Flames fan, she offers to get the family tickets to a game in Miami, revealing that her father is the team’s owner. Robbie’s demeanor immediately changes, noting that Adalyn’s last name is Reyes, not Underwood—and he coldly rejects the offer, saying they have already taken more charity than he is comfortable with. Cameron returns, and Tony is visibly starstruck by Cameron, but Adalyn jumps in and gets Tony to agree to protect Cameron’s anonymity. María’s fierce declaration that she wants to be a “boss-lady” like Adalyn leaves Adalyn deeply touched and emotionally drained. Cameron senses her exhaustion and gently leads her away.

On Friday night, Adalyn and Cameron attend a community pottery class. After her high heel snaps in the parking lot, Josie lends her pink overalls and sneakers. Josie then tasks the experienced Cameron with teaching Adalyn how to use the pottery wheel. He stands behind her, his body pressed against hers as he guides her hands on the spinning clay. The intimacy of the lesson is overwhelming for Adalyn, who becomes aroused and emotionally vulnerable. She admits aloud that it has been a long time since she held hands with anyone and she cannot remember something so simple ever feeling that way.

The confession breaks the spell, and Adalyn immediately remembers the things David told Paul about her—“She’s so frigid man. So…boring. I really dodged a bullet there. Too bad, because when the old man kicks the bucket she’ll probably inherit most of his money. But nah. I can only endure so much” (175). The memory induces another panic attack, and Cameron again calms her down. Later, she discovers her car has a flat tire. Cameron drives her home, and the ride is silent. At her cabin, she realizes she left her keys and phone at the farm. Cameron follows her to the door and, finding it unlocked, steps inside. He is appalled to see her living conditions. He demands to know why she didn’t ask for help. Furious at her stubborn pride, Cameron retrieves a toolbox from his truck, pulls out a hammer, and begins disassembling the bed frame for her.