Nets and Lies(6)

When Brandi didn’t say anything, I smacked my lips, which shimmered with newly applied gloss. “So why don’t you mind your own business, and I’ll mind mine?”

She flounced back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. “Whatever.” Thankfully, we then pulled up at the school. “Nothing like making an entrance,” Tara giggled.

I peered at the clock. “Yeah, I guess the Varsity girls’ game is almost over.” At the mention of the girls’ game, my body tingled. He wouldn’t notice me as long as he coached. But as soon as the buzzer sounded, he’d be free.

We opened the doors, and silence echoed throughout the gym. I craned my neck to see Golden Goddess, aka Melanie Reeves, at the foul line. A quick peek at the scoreboard showed we were down by one point. If Miss Thing could make her two shots, then we’d win.

I’d known Melanie the last four years of high school. We weren’t exactly what you’d call “friends”. She had her A-Crowd Group while my friends and I were out on the fringes of the popular set. How she ever got Will Thompson I’ll never know. Brandi was warranted a good crush on him since he was a babe. But he was too goody-two shoes for me, just like Miss Thing.

My gaze flicked over to Coach T or Mark Thompson or my Mark. He knelt at the edge of the court, one hand over his heart. He flinched as the first shot banged against the rim before finally going in. “YES!” he shouted, pumping his fist and grinning at Melanie.

Motionless, I stood analyzing his every move. I tried to imagine what it would be like to be Melanie right now. To have that kind of pressure bearing down on you—it made me shudder. The crowd quieted down as Melanie bounced the ball twice before she aimed. It soared through the air and crisply swooshed through the net.

The crowd rose to their feet, and Coach T rushed the court. As he gathered Melanie into his arms and rained praise down on her, I’d never wanted to be someone else so much, especially not Melanie Reeves, the goody two-shoes everyone adored. A tingle rang through me as I remembered what those arms and hands felt like. Course, Miss Thing had never felt them quite like I had.

If you’d told me six months ago I’d be having an affair with a married teacher, especially Coach T, I would have said you were screwed up in the head. But that was before I was sentenced to a month of Saturday School detention torture with Coach T as the teacher. Yeah, nothing blows like school from eight to noon on one of your days off.

When no one showed up for the second session, Coach T and I spent four hours alone in the In School Suspension room. Instead of making me work on missing assignments, we just talked and laughed. The next Saturday, we passed notes while the others worked. And then after my last detention, he came to eat at Fiorenza’s. We had our first make-out session that day in one of the storage rooms. And then it wasn’t too long before we were sleeping together.

Tara nudged me. “Dude, Jo, you are so out of it tonight!”

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

“I must’ve called your name like five times.” She pulled me along after I saw Coach T head for the locker-room. We bumped and jostled our way through the crowd. When someone touched my ass, I whirled around.

Andy Poletti grinned down at me. “Hey Jordan, looking good.”

“Touch my ass again, and I’ll kick you in the balls!” I growled.

“Ooh, that’s sounds hot.”

I rolled my eyes and started to walk off. “Come on. When are you gonna go out with me again?” he asked.

“Never.”

“But we had such a good time,” he replied, with a wink.

“Ugh, I’d hardly call ten minutes in the back of your car a good time.”

“You seemed to enjoy it then.”

“Fuck off, Andy.”

I stalked away and caught up with Tara. She threw me a questioning glance. “Don’t ask,” I snapped.

By the time we found a seat in the sea of people, the boys’ team was about to take the court. “Will you watch my purse for a second?” I asked.

“Where are you going?” Tara asked.

“I’ll be back,” I called over my shoulder. I headed the opposite way down the stairs to the girl’s locker-room. Coach T stood outside the door, reading his stat book with his assistant coach.

“Hey,” I said, with a grin.

“Hey yourself,” he replied.

“Great game.”

“Yeah, Mel really pulled through for us, didn’t she?”

I nodded. “Those last two shots were tight.”

Coach T handed the stat book to Coach Rossen. “Thanks Dave. You can take this with you.”

“Sure. See you Monday.”

As soon as Coach Rossen walked off, Coach T’s demeanor changed. He gave me a wink before his eyes roamed over my body. “That was total bullshit you know.”

“What?”

He grinned. “Saying you enjoyed the game. I’ll bet ten bucks you didn’t get here until the very end.”

I laughed. “Well, you know me too well, don’t you?”

He glanced around before he responded. “I’ve missed you,” he replied in a hoarse whisper.

My heart fluttered, and I wanted to gasp, “You have?”, but instead, I kept my cool. “Then you’ve been a naughty boy thinking about me.”