But all of that was about to change. There wouldn't be any unfairness or taking bribes on my watch. I was here to set everything straight and make sure everything went by the book.
I walked out onto the court and blasted a short, shrill note through my whistle, putting an end to the girls' warm-up and beckoning them all over to me.
“All right, ladies,” I shouted, “practice officially begins now! Gather round. Today, we're going to start off with some exercises, so put the balls away for the moment. These are not for the faint of heart.
“Most are going to focus on getting your core as strong as it can be because if you're driving that ball from your core – and I mean really driving it from your core – you're going to have the power you need to blast it like a missile when the time comes to spike it. And, of course, having a strong core is also needed for moving around, changing direction fast, diving, and blocking. So, pretty much every aspect of this game.
“I hope you're all properly warmed up – and ready for some pain! Because you know what they say? No pain…”
“No gain!” they all replied in unison.
Good. They seemed well-trained enough, and that was all most likely thanks to the previous weeks they'd had with Coach Hatting.
We began working through the various core exercises I'd planned for the afternoon, and while many of them started off strong, a lot began to falter as time went by. They were fit, but not fit enough to win a championship – not yet, anyway.
One or two of them, however, powered through the strenuous workouts without a word of complaint. And one of these was Eryn. She seemed to have a seriously intense level of fitness, and whatever I threw at her, she did while barely breaking a sweat. While the other girls were collapsing with exhaustion and pain all around her, she just kept on going.
If I hadn’t already been impressed by her, I was now. And even though I didn’t want it, the more I learned about her, the more attracted I found myself to her.
No, no, no. I could not think about stuff like this. I was the coach; she was one of my players! I'd gone off the rails enough in California. I'd come here with the aim of getting back on the straight and narrow path and playing strictly by the rules, which was how I'd always done things.
Before California, at least…
But I didn't want to think about that now, and I certainly didn't want to think about the gorgeous girl in front of me in any capacity other than professionally. Especially since the more I stared at her, the more my thoughts began to wander into, well, inappropriate places.
Eventually, we were done with the core strengthening routine, and groans and sighs of relief sounded from all around. I sorted the girls into two teams and finished up the practice with a game, a game in which Eryn, once again, managed to amaze me.
I took some notes as I watched the game progress, recording the various players' strengths and weaknesses and writing up possible combinations of players for the final team. The first inter-varsity match of the season was coming up, and I wanted to make sure we started off with a bang.
The scrimmage game came to a close and I checked my watch; it was close enough to the end of practice for the day.
“All right, ladies, well done! You all put in some very solid effort today, and I appreciate that! I know that this fitness stuff I'm hitting you with is pretty hardcore, but trust me, you'll thank me later when this team is kicking some serious ass!
“All right, get yourselves off the court and into the showers. It's Friday, and I'm sure you've all got hot dates later. You don't wanna be smelling like you currently do to impress those boys, right?”
They all laughed.
“Go on, go on, get out of here,” I said with a grin. “Have a great weekend, and I'll see you girls on Monday.”
I walked on down to my office where I could put my notes together over a mug of coffee, draw up some potential strategies on my whiteboard, and then take off. It had been quite a week, and I was looking forward to a cold beer with John later. I mean, I'd come here to live a quiet life and leave all the craziness of the West Coast behind, but that didn't mean I couldn't have a little fun on the side.
After around half an hour, as I was just wrapping things up, I heard a knock on my door. “Come in, it's not locked,” I said.
The door opened slowly, and in stepped Tammy, the Hollywood wannabe from the team. “Ah, Tammy,” I said, “what can I do for you?”
I was immediately suspicious. I had my reservations about why she was here the moment I saw her. She was dressed in a tiny miniskirt that barely covered her crotch and a tight, flimsy, white T-shirt with nothing underneath – which was very obvious. Very, very obvious.
I did my best to keep my eyes away from her chest and her pert, round breasts with their very noticeable, kinda happy nipples. No, no, no! I did not want to look there!
“Hi, Wade,” she purred slowly, grinning cheekily.
I knew why she was here, and I wasn't going to let this go any further. “I prefer Coach Vinson, Tammy,” I replied, keeping my tone as cool and professional as I could. “Is there something I can help you with? I'm just packing up, and I'm actually in a real hurry to get going.”
“Oh, are you?” she asked, batting her eyelids and looking sad. “I was really hoping we could have a talk. A quiet talk, just you and me. Maybe I could close the door? Then we'd have some…privacy in here.”
“No, no,” I said hastily, “let's keep the door open. Seriously, I have to get out of here. I have an, er, appointment that I'm already late for.”
“Aw, Wade… I just wanted to talk to you.”