Nets and Lies(2)

Knowing that Will was expecting me to watch his game, I turned off the shower and then wrapped a towel around me. After blow drying my hair, I started combing through it in long strokes. “So what are you and JT doing after the game?”

Lauren waggled her auburn eyebrows. “The lake.”

I rolled my eyes. “Isn’t it a little cold for the lake?”

“Oh, no, we keep each other hot.”

“You’re terrible,” I replied, packing up my bag.

“And you and Big Willy?” she asked as she brushed her strawberry blonde hair.

“Dinner and then maybe a movie back at my house.”

Lauren fluttered her eyelashes. “Ah, so sweet. Do you think you’ll have a milkshake at the diner, or maybe hold hands over the popcorn?”

I smacked her arm playfully. “Just because I’m having a G-rated evening compared to your R-rated one doesn’t mean it’s bad!”

As I started out of the locker room, Lauren nudged me. Jordan Solano stood before us in a cle**age baring top and low rise jeans. Her glossy pink lips curled into a wide smile as she talked to Coach T. “Dude, could she be more obvious?” Lauren muttered.

We started past them, and I met Coach T’s eye. Over the top of Jordan’s head, he winked at me. Once again, I couldn’t keep from blushing. Somewhere in the last few months between basketball and Will, Coach T had become a lot more attentive towards me—enough to cause some of the other girls to be jealous. It was more than mortifying to me, and even though I wanted to say something to him about how uncomfortable it made me, I couldn’t.

Lauren pushed me forward and out of my thoughts. “Why the hell does she waste her time and energy flirting with him?” she asked as we waded through the crowd.

“I don’t know. I mean, Coach T isn’t bad looking.”

Lauren snorted. “Bad looking? Jeez, Melanie, the man could've been Brad Pitt back in his day. You think Will got his looks just from his mom?”

I shook my head.

“Plus, it doesn’t hurt that he’s still relatively young…he can’t be forty,” Lauren said.

“Thirty-eight. He was still playing college ball when Will was born,” I answered.

“Right.”

“So if he’s young and good-looking, what’s your point?” I asked.

Lauren scrunched her face up. “It’s just he’s a ball-busting ass**le most of the time. And that’s to us. He has no tolerance for prima donnas like Jordan.”

“Yeah, but that’s just on the court and in practice. He’s different in the classroom. I mean, Coach T is everybody’s favorite teacher.”

“True. But dude, who wants to crush and flirt with a teacher? Ew.”

I bobbed my head enthusiastically in agreement. Loaded down with our athletic bags, Lauren and I made our way up into the bleachers. We climbed into the packed student section a little into the first quarter.

The guys’ game was tight. Will took his dad’s comments to heart because he played harder than I’d seen him in a long time. Several times during the game, I’d glance over at Coach T and his wife who were sitting a couple of rows up from us. By his beaming look of pride, I could tell Coach T was enjoying Will’s performance as well.

The buzzer rang, signaling the end to another Newton High victory. Will received the same treatment by his teammates as I had. He grinned at me and pumped his fist as they swept him off the court in a wave of excitement.

We stood around talking to a few people before Lauren’s boyfriend, JT, motioned to her from down on the court.

She grinned. “Guess I’m being summoned by Mr. ‘Why should I take a shower when I’m just gonna get all sweaty again in a few minutes?’”

I laughed. “Whatever. I’ll talk to you tomorrow then.”

“Mkay!” she called over her shoulder. She hustled down the steps to jump into JT’s arms. He smacked her on the butt before they headed to the door. I eased back down on the bleacher and started sorting through my texts.

It wasn’t long before someone tapped me on the shoulder, and I whirled around.

It was Will.

“Hey beautiful,” he said, with a grin.

“You’re not showering?” I asked.

“Nope, I just wanna be with you.”

“Okay,” I replied as I began to gather up my athletic bag and purse.

“Do you mind me all stinky and sweaty?”

I grinned. “Of course not.”

Will grabbed my bag and threw it over his other shoulder. “Um, that’s awfully chivalrous of you, but I think I can manage,” I mused.

“Whatever, whatever.”

As we headed out into the parking lot, I turned to Will. “So where are we going to eat?”

“Anywhere you want to.” Then with a sheepish grin, he said, “Uh, well, anywhere that’s cheap. I haven’t been getting in any work hours with practice and all.”

“McDonalds sound good?”

“Awesome.”

After we pulled into the McDonalds down the road from the school, Will asked, “Are you sure you don’t mind eating here?”

“Of course I don’t. Maybe you could think about letting me pay every once in awhile?”