Page 7 of The Coach

“Yeah,” I lied, not fooling anyone.

“Don’t mind that prick,” he said, pulling me up. “Who cares what he thinks?”

ButIdid, I almost yelled at Finn.Icared. And despite all the hard work I put into my training, Coach still failed to recognize it. Despite seeing how awful I felt about what happened, he was still a jerk to me. Well,fuckhim. He may be the hottest man I’ve ever met, but he was also the biggest asshole I knew. A motherfucking stuck-up bastard and a bully.

To hell with him. I was so over it.

6. Blake

“Hey there, sour-face.” Mandy put her food tray down on my table and slid into a chair across from me. The mess hall was almost empty, only a few professors around us still eating, and I wished she had chosen some other table to sit at. But I couldn’t tell her that. So I only grunted as a way of greeting and kept attacking the turkey chop on my plate. “What’s eating you today?” she asked.

What isn’t? After the incident with Tyler at the practice last week, everything took a turn for the worse. For starters, I lost one of the best athletes on the team right before the competition season. With his shoulder injury, Rodriguez would most likely be out of commission until the spring. Second, there was the matter of team morale. Other guys became somewhat timid afterI ripped one of their teammates a new one right before their eyes. Their performance had started to drop, just like their respect for me, and I didn’t have a clue on how to fix it.

Then there was Tyler. He was angry, that much was clear. And he had every right to be; I said some pretty nasty things to him. The kid didn’t deserve it. What happened at the practice was an accident, the kind that happens in contact sports. The reason I got so mad wasn’t even his fault—it was mine. It was all these weird thoughts that came to me whenever I saw him, the fucked-up dreams I’ve been having ever since that day I caught him in the shower, naked and fingering his hole.

I knew he wasn’t to blame for my own hang-ups. So, the next day I took him to the side and tried to apologize, however awkwardly, but the kid didn’t want anything to do with me. He brushed off my apology with an indifferent “Whatever,” jogging away to his friends and leaving me to stand behind like a God-damn reject. And that bugged the hell out of me more than any of that other shit did.

“It’s nothing,” I finally spoke, hiding my reluctance to talk behind a mouthful of meat. “I’m just worrying about the coming tournaments, that’s all.”

If Mandy noticed my standoffishness, she didn’t show it. “You coaches really take your job seriously, don’t you?” she said, taking a spoonful of peas. “Lighten up a little!I’m sure you and the boys will do fine.” After a moment where both of us just chewed in silence, she spoke again. “How about I take you out to dinner tonight?”

“I don’t know…”

“Come on, Blake. You drove me around for a week; it’s the least I can do. I won’t take no for an answer.”

I swallowed and took a sip of water. There wasn’t a nice way of getting out of this. “Okay, fine. But don’t complain if I turn out to be lousy company.”

“I’m a licensed therapist. I’m sure I’ll have a field day.”

“And I don’t want any of that psycho-analyzing crap!” I threatened her with my plastic fork, pointing it at her like a weapon so she’d know I wasn’t joking.

She laughed. “Fine. I promise. Your psyche is safe with me.”

I grunted and took another bite of turkey. “When do you want me to pick you up?”

“Now, don’t give me any of that macho bullshit.” It was now her turn to wield the cutlery at me. “I’llpickyouup at eight. Now that I have my car back, there’s no reason for you to play the role of my chauffeur anymore. I know the street where you live, you just text me the number of your house. And I’m paying for dinner!”

“All right, all right, it’s a date.” I realized what I’d said a moment too late. I leaped up, grabbed the glass of water, and gulped it in one large swig. “Well, um, anyway, I better go now. Practice is about to start.”

She bit on a piece of salad and gave me a wink. “See you tonight, big boy.”

What did I get myself into? It was becoming all too clear that Mandy wanted to be more than just friends—it took me a while, but it finally pierced through my thick skull. I only hoped I wasn’t giving her any mixed signals, because a relationship was the farthest thing from my mind right now.Especiallysomeone I shared a workplace with. That could become real messy real fast. I haven’t even had a fling with someone since Jen had died. I’ll have to clear things up at dinner before we go any further.

But sooner or later, you’ll have to move on, a voice inside my head said.It’s time.

As I stepped into the gym, I pushed all these thoughts aside. The boys were already waiting for me, lounging on the mats, and I needed to focus on the work at hand. Before I could stop myself, my gaze wandered to Tyler. It was almost an instinct at this point. As usual, his head was turned away, his eyes fixed on the mat, not even acknowledging my existence. But isn’t that exactly what I did to him? Karma truly is a bitch.

“What are you all sitting around for?” I barked, hiding the real frustration behind the mask of roughness. “Is this a pageant queen competition, or a wrestling team? Begin with your warm-ups, stat!” I blew my whistle for good measure. “Come on!”

The guys jumped to their feet and started stretching. Tyler was the only one who moved slowly, apathy written all over his face. Feeling my anger rise, I was tempted to tell him to get out if he wasn’t willing to put in the same effort as everyone else. But I controlled my temper and ignored him like I did all these past weeks. What good would it do if I made another scene? He hated me enough already.

Instead, I focused on other boys, circling them with assessing eyes. The warm-ups done, it was time for some technique drilling. “All right, let me see some top controls. Miller, this is not a boxing match, use the proper stance! Anderson, pay attention to your opponent’s feet when doing the half-nelson. Okay, I wanna see some turns and breakdowns now.”

They did what they were told, but the energy was not there. There was no power in their moves, their bodies heavy and listless like after a hangover. I knew it wasn’t a physical issue; I’d trained and observed them for almost two months now and all of them were in top shape. The problem was in their head. I was losing them. And it was all my fault.

How could I let this happen? I rubbed my face in despair, my head a whirl of misery and distress. How could a team be successful when their coach was such a mess? My mind thus preoccupied, my focus must have slipped for a second, because the next moment I hearda cry and I looked in time to see Tyler fall to the floor, clutching his thigh. I was right there beside him in a flash.

“What happened?” I demanded.

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