Page 8 of The Coach

“I don’t know,” said his buddy Collins. “He just went down.”

“I think I pulled my hamstring,” Tyler said through clenched teeth.

I grabbed his leg, probing the hard muscle. “Tell me where it hurts.”

“Ow!” Tyler yelped and batted my hand away. “There! It hurtsthere!”

“Yep, you pulled a hammy, all right,” I said, trying to haul him up. But he pushed my hand away again, instead reaching out to his friend to get up. “No practice for you for the rest of the week. Go into the locker room and lie down for a few minutes while the pain subsides. I’ll see if I have some ice packs in my office for you to put on it.”

“Yeah, like you care,” he mumbled while Collins supported him.

“Watch your mouth,” I warned him.

“Fuck off!” he snapped, glaring at me. “Just fuck off and leave me alone!”

Holding him around the waist, Collins helped him limp out of the gym, leaving the rest of us to stand around in tense silence.

“Well, what the fuck are you all staring at?” I yelled. “Pair up and get back to training!”

The guys scattered around the gym like bugs when someone turned on the light. No one dared to look at me as they resumed practicing their moves, their faces tight in concentration. I can only imagine what I looked like, scowling and fuming like some figure from hell.

When Collins came back into the gym, I went straight to him. “How is he?”

“Um, fine, I guess,” he said, uncomfortable under my stare. “He didn’t want my help, anyway. Told me to leave him alone.”

This was ridiculous. Sports injuries were not something to be trifled with, and I wasn’t about to let some damn kid tell me what to do. He could be there in pain, his stupid pride preventing him from seeking help that he clearly needed. I blew the whistle and shouted so that everyone could hear me. “Listen up, everybody! I’m going to go and see what I can do for your teammate. In the meantime, I want you to practice escape and reversals. Nothing fancy—only the moves that we did this week. Try not to hurt yourself or your partners while I’m gone. Scott will act as a temporary coach. Bailey, get your ass over here.” When the boy ran up to me, I took him by the shoulder and spoke in a low voice. “I’ll hold you personally responsible for anything that happens while I’m away, all right?”

He said, “Yes, coach,” and I gave him a pat on the back as encouragement.

Leaving the team under Scott’s watchful eye, I turned and stomped toward the locker room. On the walk there, I had to remind myself to calm down. I didn’t want to make the already bad situation worse. Enough is enough. I needed to fix thisthingbetween Tyler and me, however I knew. My throat felt dry and I craved a glass of whiskey on the rocks. Just one sip, to take the edge off. I knew better, of course, but some demons were never truly gone. Only sleeping.

When I opened the locker room door, I found Tyler stripped out of his singlet, standing by his locker only in his jockstrap and rummaging through his bag. He raised his head when I entered, and we just stared at each other, neither of us moving or speaking.

Then I cleared my throat. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” he said, turning to his locker again. “Go back to your class.” But I saw him wince as he moved, his injured leg not touching the floor.

Sighing, I moved toward him. I had to bite my tongue not to say something stupid and harsh. Instead, I swiped the discarded clothes and unused gear off the nearest bench and sat down. Then I motioned for him. “Come here.”

“What?” He gawked at me like I was an alien. “Why?”

“Don’t be stupid, Davidson. You’re hurt. Now get your ass over here and let me help you.”

He was still defiant, standing in place with his hands across his chest. “Why would I? You think I’m an idiot, remember?”

“So, prove me wrong. Do the smart thing and come here.”

There was a battle going on inside him. I saw it on his face, in his stance. He wanted to do as I asked, but his pride still held him back. “What for?”

“I’m going to give you a massage to release the tension in the muscle. It will ease up the pain and make it heal faster.” But he knew all this already. He was being deliberately obtuse, and I sighed again. “I know what I’m doing, Tyler. Would you just trust me?”

Something in him then shifted, his guard lowering but not falling completely, and he limped across the locker room floor to where I was sitting. “Fine. Where should I sit?”

“I want you to lay on your stomach across my lap.” He looked incredulous, so I explained again like I was talking to a child. “I need to have full access to the back of your leg, and without having a masseur’s table, this is the best position to do that. So go on, place yourself here.” And I patted my spread thighs as an invitation.

Slowly, he lowered himself and lay over my crotch, like a kid in need of spanking. And damn my stupid brain for thinking that, because only then did I realize his bare ass was completely exposed to me, the two elastic straps doing nothing to preserve his modesty. Hisbuttcheeks were so round and full, two fleshy mounds clenched together firmly, making his crack completely inaccessible, his hole hidden from my view. Fuck, that ass was perfect. Feeling like a perv, I tore my gaze from it and put my hand on the back of his leg, the soft hair meeting my palm. He went even more rigid at my touch, like a log across my lap. But as I began to move my hand up and down, I felt his body relax, and I heard him sigh.

“It’s gonna take a few days until your muscle repair itself,” I told him. “I don’t want you to do anything strenuous. You can come to the practice if you’d like, but only to observe.” He didn’t respond, his breathing deep and steady. Guess he was still unwilling to talk. And I guess I deserved it. But being the adult one, it was my duty to mend this rift between us once and for all. “Listen, Davids—Tyler. What I said before… I’m really sorry about it. I snapped at you because of… something personal, not because of anything you did. It was uncalled for and I have no excuse. I… I don’t think you are stupid. In fact, I think you’re one of the smartest, most mature guys on the team. I know you hated me from the start, but this is God’s honest truth.”

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