Nets and Lies(11)

Coach T’s flattery made me uncomfortable and caused my heart to flutter uneasily. The room closed in around me, and I felt like I wasn’t getting any air. His presence loomed over me, and I didn’t like his closeness—the way his leg brushed against mine or the feel of his hand on my shoulder.

It wasn’t like I’d never been alone with him before. But there was something different about this time. My instincts told me something was wrong. And more than anything, I wanted to be out of there.

“Um, it’s late. I better get home now,” I said.

Before I could raise myself off the futon, Coach T’s mouth crushed against mine. I felt the moisture of his tongue as it pushed against my lips, forcing them open. When his tongue darted into my mouth, I jerked away like I’d been stunned by a taser. I trembled and tried to get my bearings.

“Coach T, you shouldn’t have done that!” I protested.

His arm snaked around me, nudging me against him. As his breath burned on my cheek, it was like there was no escaping him. “Oh, but I should have. You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do that. I’ve had my eye on you for so long, and I’ve waited patiently.”

As the magnitude of his words crashed over me, I shuddered. No, no, no! This couldn’t be happening. I had to be wrong. Coach T would never do this to me. He’d never kiss me when he shouldn’t or tell me he’d had his eye on me for a long time. No, it couldn’t be true. I’d been hit on the head and was hallucinating.

“It isn’t right!” You shouldn’t be arguing with him. You should be getting the hell out of here! my mind reasoned.

“What’s wrong with kissing a beautiful girl?”

I don’t feel beautiful right now. I feel cheap and dirty. “But I-I belong to Will!” I argued, as I swatted his hand away and tried to get up, but he eased me back down.

Coach T shook his head and smiled. “You don’t belong to anyone, Mel. You’re your own person.” His hand swept up my leg to rest on my thigh. “And I love you.”

“N-No…you can’t. You’re married.”

“So? It doesn’t mean I don’t love you.”

“But I love Will.”

He snorted. “Will’s just a boy. What does he know? You deserve a man to teach you about love not some fumbling kid.” I continued trying to push his hand away, as his breath hovered over my ear, “Better yet, you need me to teach you about love.”

I stared into his eyes. My voice became a small whisper. “Please, don’t say that.”

“Melanie, surely you realized how much I’ve wanted you?”

Slowly, I shook my head.

“What about at Christmas when I kissed you under the mistletoe?”

I cringed as I thought back to that night. Will had invited me to his house when his parents were having a party. We stayed upstairs most of the night, watching movies and talking, fooling around a little. When I’d gone downstairs to get something to drink, Coach T had pinned me against the kitchen door and kissed me under the mistletoe. His reeking breath told me how drunk he was, so I’d tried to brush it off as nothing. Somehow it had stayed in the back of my mind.

“But you were drunk,” I argued feebly.

“Maybe I was, but I wasn’t too drunk to want you.”

Like in a movie, the world crawled by in nightmarish slow motion. Coach T’s weight smothered me, pressing me down on the futon. A voice began screaming inside of me as I clawed against him. “NO! No, please. Please don’t do this!”

His breath scorched down my neck, hot with desire—the same desire that pushed against my thigh. “Just let me love you—let me love you like I’ve wanted to for so long, Melanie.”

I shook my head. Like a captured fish on a hook, I flailed beneath him. Then as bits and pieces of my clothing were stripped away, I slowly stopped fighting. Fear gripped me like I had never experienced before in my life.

It stunned and paralyzed me.

In just a matter of seconds, I became a quadriplegic. Even though my brain screamed at my arms and legs to fight, the only thing I could move was my eyelids. But I clamped them shut, deluding myself that if I couldn’t see what was going on, then it wasn’t really happening.

Then I detached. I floated above myself, spiriting away from the pain that ripped through me. I was no longer in the room with Coach T moving frantically inside me. Faintly, I could hear the roar of the crowd in my ears, and the rubber smell of the basketball filled my nostrils. Happiness engulfed me.

I was on the court, and I was a star. I made basket after basket. Even three pointers flew gracefully through the air to swoosh almost effortlessly through the goal. Elation filled me as points for my team racked up on the red glow of the scoreboard. As I sprinted up and down the court, I never grew tired, nor did I ever grow faint of breath. Gazing into the stands, I saw my parents as they clapped, screamed out my name, and waved their pom-poms. The crowd rose to their feet and applauded me while my teammates patted my back and hugged me.

But more than the adulation of the fans, the love of my family, and the support of my team, it was Heaven.

And I was safe.

But that moment was fleeting, and I was sucked back into reality. It was over, and Coach T was pulling away from me. I still didn’t open my eyes, even as the silent tears dripped off my cheeks.