Chapter 16
“Are you sure?” Carly asked as Mrs. Taylor stood up from her desk and walked to the window.
“Yes. My daughter’s about to have another baby, and I’m looking forward to becoming a full-time grandma. I should have retired at the end of last year, but I wasn’t ready.” Mrs. Taylor turned away from the window, the edges of her mouth turned down and the dull light from the overcast sky outside doing little to mask the tired lines on her face. Walking over, she took Carly’s hands. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Just make sure you don’t let Dr. Crawford get to you. You have every right to date whomever you want, and as long as you and that gorgeous man behave yourselves around the students, she shouldn’t have the right to say anything.”
“Thanks. I won’t,” Carly replied as she stood up, glad she had confided in Mrs. Taylor and squeezed her hand. “I’ll be sad to see you go, but I know you’re going to have so much fun with those grandbabies.”
“Yes, I am,” Mrs. Taylor quietly laughed as Carly walked out the door, confident the kind woman would stay silent about her budding relationship with Gage.
***
Juggling her purse and an umbrella while sidestepping several large puddles of water, Carly made her way across the wet asphalt and to the front of the sporting goods store just as another deluge of rain began to fall. Standing underneath the portico of the building, she waved to Rachel and Sophie already inside and shook off the excess water from the umbrella. Satisfied it was no longer dripping, Carly closed the umbrella then walked through the doors to join her friends.
“Ugh, I can’t believe you're making me do this.” Rachel pouted as Carly came to her side.
“Aww, come on. It’s going to be fun. Besides, maybe the cute English teacher you’ve been eyeing will be there.” Sophie replied as she hooked her arm through Rachel’s.
Carly stifled her laughter as Sophie led the way to the women’s section.
“Thanks for doing this,” Carly said as they rifled through a rack of workout tops.
“You’re welcome. I’m just so happy for you.” Sophie grinned as she held up a lime-green tank-top.
“Eww, no. Put that back. Here, this will look so much better with your hair,” Rachel said handing over one in a swirling pattern of bright greens and blues to Sophie while turning to Carly. “Did Gage really come up with this idea just because of something you mentioned?
Carly grinned, remembering what Gage had said after handing her the flyer yesterday. “Yeah. He said he and Mr. Andrews have been trying to decide what to do with the old equipment left over from the renovations completed last year. When I mentioned wanting to find a place to work out, he got the idea for a staff workout space. There’s a small gym not being used in the older part of the athletic building he’s going to set up with the equipment. As the flyer said, everything should be ready for the orientation tomorrow. I’m just glad I don’t have to try to find a gym.”
A little while later as they stood in line to pay, Carly turned around to Rachel. “You don’t have to do this.”
“I know. I was teasing earlier. I need to get in shape, too. And who knows, maybe Mr. Compton will be there. He is rather hot for an English teacher,” Rachel laughed and fanned herself.
“Thanks, and you, too,” she added, smiling over at Sophie.
“You’re welcome. We’re just happy you’re happy,” Sophie said as she pushed Carly forward to the waiting cashier.
As she placed her tops and shorts on the counter, Carly silently agreed. She was happy she’d found someone like Gage. He was so down-to-earth and not at all like she thought a big sports celebrity would be. While she was glad he was sticking to his promise of taking things slow, she was also starting to get a little frustrated. She knew it was probably wise to not jump into bed together so soon, but darn it, the few kisses they’d shared and the innuendo he voiced after the tour of his house had her body in turmoil. At this point she wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to stick to her promise to herself to get to know him better first.
***
Carly stood to the back of the group, stunned. She couldn’t focus on what Gage was saying due to the easy, familiar way he had his arm draped around the cute and spunky Coach Evans, the girls’ volleyball and track coach. As they bantered back and forth, laughing and playfully swatting at each other while they demonstrated some of the equipment, Carly’s stomach turned over and the protein bar she’d eaten on the way over threatened to make its way up her throat. She’d believed after all his sweet talk and his promises to take things slow that Gage wasn’t a player like the media had made him out to be, but the scene playing out before her eyes showed her it had all been lies.
Finally, just as she thought she might have to find a restroom to calm her upset stomach, Gage announced he had to get back out on the field. Although it was Friday night and the varsity football team had a bye week, he was going out to help the junior varsity coach run his team through some drills in preparation for their game tomorrow afternoon. Barely able to watch as he walked to the door, but not wanting to cause a scene, Carly managed to pull her lips up in a fake smile in answer to his raised eyebrow as he went out the door.
Unable to stomach the thought of being around the young coach with her bouncy, blond ponytail and cute figure, Carly turned to Rachel. “Can we skip today? I’m not feeling well.”
“Sure. Let me grab Sophie, and we’ll get out of here,” Rachel replied, her brows bunched up in concern.
As they walked to her car in silence, their sneakers crunching on the asphalt of the parking lot, Carly took a deep breath, grateful they’d decided to carpool this morning. Reaching into her bag, she took out her keys and handed them to Sophie. “Will you drive, please?”
With a nod, Sophie took the keys and hit the button to unlock the doors. Without saying a word, she opened the backdoor. Carly crawled inside, put on her seatbelt then wrapped her arms tight around her middle, forcing the tears threatening to go away. She couldn’t decide if she was more hurt or angry.
As Sophie backed out, Rachel turned around from the front passenger seat. “Maybe it wasn’t what it looked like. He’s always friendly with everyone.”
Looking up through blurry eyes, Carly shook her head. “Maybe, but I’ve never seen him touch anyone else the way he was her. I’m going to call him tomorrow and tell him I can’t see him anymore. Even if you’re right and it was all innocent, I can’t be with someone I’m always going to wonder about around another woman. I’ve tried to put all those pictures of him out of my mind, but they keep coming back.”
Reaching down to pat Max on the head as they walked into the house, Carly gave her friends a small smile. “You two go ahead and go to the movie. I don’t feel like going anymore.”
“We don’t have to go either,” Sophie offered as she slung her work out bag over her shoulder and put a foot on the bottom stair.
“No, I’d rather be alone for a while. I’m not going to be good company anyway. I think I’ll soak in the tub then go to bed. Have fun,” Carly said softly then called for Max to follow as she turned to go down the hall to her bedroom.
“Okay, if you’re sure. Call if you need us to come home,” Rachel replied as she headed up the stairs behind Sophie.