Okay, this was starting to get annoying now. Yes, she was attractive in a generic, West-Coast-bimbo kind of way, and yes, I was a red-blooded man with desires and appetites and a very high sex drive – but not for her. I'd had enough of girls like her, and moreover, she was a player on my team. I was the coach, and there was no way in hell I was going to cross that boundary. I was here on the straight and narrow path, and that was that. There would be no two ways about it.
“It’s Coach Vinson. And, I'm sorry, Tammy,” I said curtly, standing up and hooking my gym bag over my shoulder, “but if this isn't something extremely urgent and important, I'm going to have to ask you to leave.”
“I, uh-”
Clearly, she hadn't counted on me resisting her sexual advances, and now she didn't know what to do. I pressed home my advantage, not giving her an inch of room in which to maneuver.
“So it's not an emergency? All right, well, have a good evening, and I'll see you on Monday,” I said as I pushed past her and stepped out into the hallway.
She stood, half in and half out of my office for a few moments, and then looked at me with a wounded expression before she turned and stormed off. I shook my head. Drama like this really was the last thing I wanted or needed here.
I reached into my pocket for my car keys, and with a stab of panic realized that they weren't there. “Shit,” I cursed under my breath.
I hurried back into my office and looked all around my desk, but there was no sign of them. This really was the last thing I needed. They had to be around here somewhere. I remembered having them in my hands on the volleyball court, so, thinking I may have left them there, I hurried that way.
When I stepped inside the gym, I was surprised to hear the sound of a volleyball pinging against the practice wall. I walked in slowly and then stopped in my tracks as I saw Eryn practicing her serves over and over again. I couldn't believe it; I'd put them through one hell of a grueling practice, yet here she was, training after hours.
I walked up to the stands, where I saw the glint of metal shining out from under a bench, and there, sure enough, were my car keys. I put them in my pocket and walked over to Eryn.
“Hey, Eryn,” I said as I reached the edge of the court. “You're really pushing yourself, huh?”
“Hi, Coach,” she replied, her tone cool and distant. “Yeah, I am. To get to the top, you have to work harder than anyone else, and that's what I'm doing. Now, if you don't mind, I still have a hundred serves to go.”
She turned away from me and served the ball, and then dashed across the court to grab another ball to serve. I really wanted to stay and talk to her, but it seemed pretty obvious that she didn't want to be disturbed.
“That's a good attitude, Eryn,” I said, my tone one of genuine admiration, “and I think you're going to get to the top. I really do. Keep up the hard work, and I'll see you on Monday.”
“See you then,” she replied quickly as she continued racing across the court.
I turned and walked off slowly, feeling strangely conflicted. A hot, 21-year-old blonde had practically thrown herself at me, almost begging for sex, and I'd easily been able to turn her down. Yet now, with this girl who obviously wanted nothing to do with me beyond a cold, professional relationship, I couldn't take my eyes off of her. I wondered what was going on in my head.
I turned and took one last look at her, marveling at how gracefully she moved and how sexy she looked, even as I was trying to force such thoughts from my mind. Then I headed out, doing my best to keep her from wandering back into my head, uninvited.
*****
I walked into the bar and quickly found John perched on a stool with a grin on his face. One thing hadn’t changed: when John was happy, everyone around him was happy, too. He had one of those infectiously cheery personalities.
“Hey, buddy!” I said as I pulled up a stool next to him at the bar. “How's the week been?”
“Great man, just great!” he replied. “I just finished a major project, one that I've been working on for like, seven weeks, and the client is super happy with it. I'm celebrating tonight! Celebrating! Let's get some shots.”
“Whoa, now hold up there, cowboy. We're not 21 anymore; we gotta pace ourselves.”
John rolled his eyes. “Come on, bro, don't be an old man. Let's cut loose! It's your first weekend back, and I'm celebrating th
e completion of this gigantic project. A few shots ain't gonna kill us.”
“All right, all right,” I said. “Let's do this.”
John ordered us two shots of tequila each, which we slammed in quick succession. It didn’t take long for me to feel it. It had been quite a while since I'd had shots, and already, it was bringing back bad memories from my West Coast life. I forced the thoughts out of my head and concentrated on the present. I was here now, this was my fresh start, my new life – and I wasn't going to let the past mar that.
“Okay, okay, we've done shots, you happy now?” I asked with a grin.
“For now, but I can't promise that there won't be more shots later!” John laughed loudly and boisterously, and I couldn't help joining in.
“Now for beers,” he said. “Come on, let's hit 'em!”
He ordered us some beers, and we moved off to a table to drink.