“Good job, guys,” I yelled out as my players hustled off the field. “Great coverage on the defense—nice hustle out there, Brooks, nice job stopping the run.”
The first week of practice was in the record books. The squad was looking good—real good. I only had to scream at the guys a handful of times to get their butts in gear and their heads wrapped around the plays. Amongst chants and cheers, my team jogged off the field with their heads held high.
“Nice blocking out there, Connors. Proud of you.” I clamped a hand down on the sophomore’s shoulder. “Gibbons, nice speed on the reverse sweep, real nice.”
“Showing real promise for a great season, Wyatt,” my assistant coach, Brad Maxwell remarked.
“Yep,” I agreed. “What do we know about our first opponents?”
“Well, their front line is big, heavy and tall. They run some of the fastest counters I’ve seen in a long damn time.”
“Looks like we gotta drill this team on counters, there isn’t anything that I can do about our boys’ height.”
“You can change their weight,” he chuckled. “Make them eat steak for breakfast, lunch and dinner add on some rice and potatoes.”
“That’s a thought.” I laughed. “Are you going to the kick-off carnival?”
“Nah,” he answered, sliding his clipboard under his arm. “Going home to have dinner with Lainey. You?”
“Yeah, I got cake walk duty. Enjoy your dinner with Lainey.”
“Night, Coach.”
Hearing the thumping of music and cheers outside the gym only added to my good mood. As I trekked into the gymnasium the smell of popcorn and cotton candy filled the air.
The entire gymnasium was filled with people—parents, students and staff. How was I going to find Hannah in all this chaos?
“Ah, Coach Hamilton right this way,” Rita greeted me as I passed by the sign-in table. “The cake walk has been hopping all evening.”
“This is a popular game,” I remarked, noting the line was twenty people deep.
“Have fun.” She patted my arm and scurried away.
My eyes scanned the crowd for any signs of Hannah. I wondered if she would be here tonight.
“Hey, Coach,” Stephanie, the school art teacher called out to me. “Do you mind grabbing a few more cakes from the first-floor teacher’s lounge?”
“Sure thing.”
I left and headed down the hallway towards the school’s main offices. Turning the corner, my hands fumbled with the light switch on the wall.
Reaching into the fridge, I snagged two cakes covered with hard plastic tops making it easy for stacking. Using my foot, I closed the door. I turned and ran right into Rena Walker.
“Hello, Wyatt,” she purred. Her dark hair fell in loose waves over her shoulders and she smacked her lips together.
“Evening, Rena,” I replied. “Are you having fun?”
She cocked a brow. “Fun?” She shook her head. “If you must know, I’m pretty bored. How about the two of us get out of here and make our own fun.” One red polished fingernail brushed down the buttons of my shirt.
“I am having fun,” I replied raising the cakes between us. “Cake walk duty, I’m told it’s the hottest game here.”
Her hands flew to my waistband. “I have another game that we can play, it’s way hotter,” she hissed.
I wracked my brain for a way to let her down nicely. There was absolutely no way that I was getting out of this situation without embarrassing her. Then again, Rena struck me as a woman who didn’t embarrass easily.
“I don’t play games with the moms of my players.” I stated matter of fact. Which, in turn, was not a fact, but a lie at least where Hannah was concerned. Last week I’d had my hand practically up Hannah’s skirt in the middle of a restaurant. I wanted to play games with her.
Rena pursed her red lips and her dark brows pinched together. “Come on, Wyatt,” she cooed, brushing her tits against my biceps. I was beyond irritated. If being matter of fact wasn’t working I’d have to be more direct.
“How long has it been since you’ve had a woman?” she pressed.
“Rena, I’m touched by your concern, but I’m doing just fine. Now, please remove your hands from my waistband and we’ll forget this little incident happened.”
Echoes of laughter sang through hallways as Rena pulled her hands away from my body. I twisted away from her and walked towards the doorway.
What the actual fuck was that? A hundred questions buzzed through my mind as I strode back to the gym.
“Took you long enough, Coach,” Stephanie teased.
“There are so many people here,” I pointed out, setting the cakes on the table. “I was stopped a couple times to talk about the upcoming game.” Not a total lie.
“Everyone is excited about the home opener. How about you play the music and I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Sounds good to me.” My eyes scanned the crowd for any sign of Hannah. We waited for the new batch of players to take their marks on the squares.
When I pressed play, I lifted my chin towards the back wall where the large mural of the school’s logo hung. There Hannah stood at the bake sale table wearing a sleeveless red dress.
Her head was tilted to one side, those loose waves of golden brown sliding over her shoulders. For a moment I wondered what it would be like to wake up to all that hair wild and fanned over my sheets.
Okay, think of something else. You’re at a school carnival.
I stopped the music and Stephanie selected the number. A mixture of groans and cheers filtered through the crowd.
“Excuse me, Coach Hamilton?” I heard a small voice say from behind me. “Will you take a photo with us?”
“Sure thing, guys,” I answered, smiling at a group of elementary age kids.
After posing for a handful of pictures, the mom smiled and thanked me. My eyes drifted back to Hannah who was engaged in conversation with a few parents. Light glinted off her silver rings, her hands doing most of the talking.
I turned my attention away from Hannah and refocused on the next game. Stephanie told me that I could shuffle the playlists labeled for the cake walk.
The song “Simple” by Florida Georgia Line came up and I couldn’t help but smile at my rainy day memories with Hannah. When the new set of players were ready, I hit play. I didn’t know if the music carried all the way over to the other side of the gym, but I’d like to think that when Hannah paused for a moment, she had heard the song.
When my shift at the cake walk ended, I pushed through the crowd and the gawking gazes from some of the “book club housewives,” also known as town gossips, only to be halted by Principal Allen under the basketball hoop.
“Coach, nice to see you.” She shimmed up to me and grasped my arm. “Having fun?”
“I am, and what about you?”
“Very nice. Are your boys going to be ready for the big game next Friday evening?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I replied.
Principal Allen kept talking and I barely heard a word. My eyes darted back to the table where Hannah was standing. I wanted to say hello before she left.
“Don’t worry, Tina, our boys will be ready,” I reassured. “Excuse me, I need to say hello to a few parents.”
“Yes, of course.”
I practically jogged through the crowd to get to Hannah, thankful that I wasn’t stopped by anyone. When I reached my destination, Luke appeared by her side.
“Coach, hey.”
“Hey, Luke,” My gazed pinged between the two of them. “Miss Richman.” Hannah’s blue eyes met mine with a smile that tugged at something deep inside me.
“Coach Hamilton, nice to see you.”
“Coach, you gotta try my mom’s cookies, double fudge with caramel,” Luke said, pointing to a small brown paper bag labeled: “Have a cookie.”
My gaze leveled at Hannah. “I’d love to try your mom’s cookie.”
Luke handed me the bag. Blushing, Hannah looked away pressing a fist to her mouth to hide her smile.
So beautiful.
“How much?” I asked, fishing my money clip from the pocket of my jeans.
“Five dollars,” she answered, avoiding direct eye contact with me.
I grabbed a ten and handed it to her. “Keep the change. I’m going to eat these in my office. Enjoy the rest of the carnival.”