Chapter Twelve
CHARLIE
April 2017
“Hey Coach D?”
I turn at the sound of my name, poised with a clipboard and pen. I know I look ridiculous in my striped referee shirt and a whistle wrapped around my neck, but I can’t help that these kids made me want to learn about basketball.
That’s right… the kids made me want to learn about basketball. It wasn’t Jeremy.
Definitely not.
“Yes, Jaime. What can I do for you?”
While Jaime launches into a detailed backstory before asking his question, I let my eyes drift over across the court to where Jeremy is working with a group of kids on free throws.
God, he looks delicious in those little shorts. I don’t know where guys got the idea that women appreciate really baggy clothing, because I can guarantee it isn’t true. Who wants to see some guy with a droopy ass? No. Keep those shorts short, baby.
Jeremy doesn’t subscribe to the mentality that the typical male college students do. His outfit fits him just right. His basketball shorts look fit but comfortable, are an appropriate length, not showing off 10 inches of underwear or hanging down to his ankles. His LA Galaxy tank is also just loose enough to give his body some breathing room without being grotesque in how much muscle is showing. But you better believe it does that too. And I can’t keep my eyes off him, even though I should be focusing on keeping the kids moving through their drills rotation.
It’s been about a month since his little declaration over burgers, and I’ve had to work very hard not to let myself get bowled over by him.
Because, damn, the man is doing everything in his power to win me over. And what’s worse? I don’t think he even realizes that what he’s doing is starting to win me over.
Because he isn’t doing anything blatant. He isn’t asking me on dates. He isn’t declaring his love for me. He isn’t trying to prove to me that he’s changed his playboy ways.
He’s just… changing.
I haven’t seen him parked outside of our house asleep. He shows up to every practice with that positive energy that was missing after everything that happened with RJ. He takes me for dinner after every practice and we just talk, our conversations staying light and fun. And on the one night I had to miss practice because I couldn’t swap shifts, he drove over to my hospital and dropped off dinner for me. The little note inside the bag said Because we couldn’t have dinner together tonight, I’m dropping off a sandwich for you. I’m eating one too – feel free to give me a call if you want to chat on your break.
My break that night was at 2am, so I’d shot him a text to let him know. Much to my surprise, I got a call from him at 2:01. His sleepy voice was so sexy over the phone and yanked me back down memory lane, to the one and only morning I woke up in his bed.
“Does that sound okay?”
Jaime’s question snaps me back to the present and I glance down at him. I say down like the 12-year-old isn’t barely an inch shorter than me, which is ridiculous. I’m fucking tall.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Can my brother Andre join the team?”
“Isn’t your brother, like, in the third grade?”
He shrugs.
“Jaime, there are definitely chances for him to get involved. There’s a team for his age group. If you want, I can make sure the guy in charge gives your parents a call?”
He shakes his head. “But the kids his age pick on him. I want him to be here so he can know he’s safe, you know?”
I wrap my arm around Jaime and give him a squeeze, so touched at his desire to protect his younger brother. “Sweetie, I know that must be hard on you. And it would be really easy to blow it under the rug and say they’re just teasing and it’s just what happens in elementary school. But sometimes getting picked on makes going to school and stuff the worst.”
Jaime nods.
“But think about myself and Coach J, okay? Do you think we would stand for that if someone was getting picked on at practice here?”
He shakes his head.
“Exactly. And there’s a team of two in charge of the team that will be the right age group for Andre. Wanna know what else? There are kids from all of the school districts on this team. You and Cruz have been getting along great, right?
He nods again in reference to a kid that Jaime seems to play around with alot.
“And doesn’t Cruz go to a different school than you? Wouldn’t it be so awesome for Andre to join a team and then make new friends his own age? People that also want to play basketball and have fun together?”
“I guess,” he says on a shrug, not looking entirely convinced.
I laugh and press a hand to my chest. “Don’t sound so excited. You’re gonna bowl me over with your enthusiasm, mister!”
He smiles.
“There’s the smile I was looking for. Okay, now I’ll have Patrick call your parents this week to see if we can get Andre on the team for his age, alright? Just keep things positive and encouraging for him.”
“Thanks, Coach D.”
And with that, Jaime runs off and joins up with Jeremy again.
I never thought I would actually enjoy the practices. I hate athleticism in general when it comes to my own self. My body just doesn’t work that way. I have pretty much zero muscles on this frame of mine. The whole jogging-as-a-new-years-resolution thing petered out about a week after it started, turning into more of a morning stroll once or twice a week, if I’m not too tired.
But the practices have actually, surprisingly, been fantastic. Once I started studying up on basketball, I didn’t feel so lost. Not only did it make the kids take me a little more seriously, but it also seriously helped when I made my March Madness bracket with my friends. To say Jeremy was surprised by the fact that I picked so many of the correct teams is an understatement. He said it was beginners luck. I say it’s because my brain is fucking amazing.
“Alright everyone, lets huddle up!”
Jeremy’s whistle calls the end of practice and everyone jogs over to center court. As we circle around him, he crouches low and starts talking about what went well in practice, taking time to add in the light material assigned by his boss to touch on topics relevant to the at-risk component of this league.
And as he stands there, reiterating what he said last week about teamwork and family, I wonder if maybe I wrote him off too quickly when he said he wanted me to give him another chance. I mean, people can change, right?
“Okay, so our first game is this weekend,” he says. “Just a reminder to be here at 10am on Saturday morning. I’ll have your jerseys and some snacks too. And make sure to get some rest tomorrow. No barhopping the night before a game, okay?”
The kids all laugh at that, and Jeremy flashes his trademark grin at their amusement.
“Alright, Lions on three!”
* * * * *
“How was practice?”
I drop my bag and kick off my shoes at the door, then wander into the living room, where I find RJ sprawled out on the couch with the TV on and a book and notebook on her lap.
“Pretty good today, actually. I think I kind of bonded with one of the kids. Which is great. It makes me feel good to know that they’re getting another adult in their lives that reminds them they matter.”
She smiles, picking up her phone. “Awesome. I was about to order some Chinese food. You want in?”
I shake my head, sinking into the couch next to her. “Jeremy took me to get tacos on the way home from practice.”
She nods, slowly, and I can tell there’s something she wants to say. It’s like her words are sitting on the tip of her tongue and she can’t seem to just spit them out at me.
“Whatever you want to say, just say it.”
“It just seems,” she says immediately, like she was waiting for me to give her the green light, “like you and Jeremy are spending an awful lot of time together. Is all. You know. That I wanted to say. That’s it.”
I laugh.
“Jeremy and I are trying to be friends, now. I already told you this.”
She rolls her eyes. “Well that’s stupid. You both acknowledge that me telling Jeremy not to date you is why he broke things off freshman year. And I’ve told you – repeatedly over the past few months it seems like – that I overreacted freshman year because I was just so protective of our new friendship. Now that we’ve all gotten over the bygones from yesteryear, you should just start dating. Like, I don’t get the problem.”
I sigh.
“RJ, we didn’t not date because of you. There were… a bunch of reasons things wouldn’t have worked out back then. Not just the fact that you share the same DNA.”
I stick my feet out on the coffee table and sink further into the couch, hoping she’ll let it go.
“But come on!” she says, raising her arms above her head like a child who doesn’t understand why they cant have their Christmas present right now, just because she wants it, even though it’s April. “You guys would be so cute together.”
I laugh. “Well… while that may be true, I think your brother is going through something and needs to focus on himself. And I have…” I gesture out at nothing, “… my own stuff going on.”
“Oh really? Your own stuff?”
I nod, tucking myself into the corner of the couch and resting my head against the arm.
“Wasn’t it not so long ago that a certain someone was pushing me to step outside of my comfort zone and pursue a relationship? Hmmmm?”
I smile at her. RJ has turned into a hopeless romantic ever since things got sorted out with her man. They do adorable things like cook together and set the kitchen table to have living room dates. And now I’m seeing that lightheartedness that can only come from feeling content pouring from her.
“RJ, I love you, and I will happily let you wax poetic about something romantic happening between myself and your oh-so-sexy brother,” – she makes a slight gagging noise – “but we just aren’t there, okay? I have to focus on the last few weeks of college, as do you.” She narrows her eyes and huffs. “And Jeremy? He has to, like, learn to be an adult or something.”
RJ laughs, a fully belly laugh much larger than she is erupting out of her tiny frame.
“Learn to be an adult? Are you kidding me?” She laughs again. “Jeremy is always the adult, even when he’s being a stupidface.”
I wince inwardly. RJ still doesn’t know about Jeremy’s DUI. She doesn’t know that he’s battling with himself about his responsibility to her, about the fault that he believes lies with him over the abuse she experienced growing up.
He’s keeping it all bottled up, which any good self-help book will tell you is the worst way to deal with something. It’s like he thinks if he shares how he’s struggling with RJ, something bad will happen. Maybe he just doesn’t want to burden her with anything else after everything she dealt with. I don’t know, but I want to try and help him work through it.
It’s a dangerous little thing we are doing, and subconsciously – maybe even consciously – I know that my involvement with him now, while I say it’s platonic, is anything but.