Page 18 of Tequila Tuesdays

“Okay everybody, let’s warm up. We’re going to run around the field twice, do a few reps of calisthenics, and finish up with burpees before we get our hands on the ball.”

Several of them groaned about the burpees.

“My wife got her hands on my balls last night,” Jaime volunteered.

Josh grinned and gave him a fist bump.

I shook my head. “Thanks for sharing, and putting that disturbing image in our heads. Okay, let’s get the run out of the way.”

We started jogging around the field. Josh and Kevin tried to keep up with me for the first lap, then fell behind when I picked up speed on the second one. Frankie ran at a slow but steady pace for both laps. And Jaime shuffle-walked for the first lap and picked it up when I threatened to lap him. Then he cut across the field for the final lap and called it good.

“I hate push-ups,” Kevin muttered as he dropped to his knees.

They finished the rest of the workout, most of them grumbling under their breath.

“Why do we alwayshave to do burpees?” Jaime complained as he threw his hands above his head but didn’t jump up.

“Because your vertical is nonexistent. In fact, I think it’s a negative number.”

“What’s a vertical?” Josh asked.

“It’s basically how high you can reach minus your jump reach,” I told him as I did another burpee.

“Whatever the fuck that means,” Kevin muttered, giving a pathetic little hop.

I shook my head. “Kevin, you’re like a big black sprinkle on a rainbow cupcake.”

“I’d still eat it,” Jaime huffed.

“Was your vertical good?” Frankie asked.

Remembering those days, I smiled a little. “Yeah. Back in college, it was pretty good.”

“If it was anything like that final game last season, it was fucking awesome,” Josh said. He’d finished his last burpee and stood there panting.

“They’re called sets, not games,” I told them for the millionth time. They all ignored me.

Jaime grinned. “Yeah, did you see that motherfucker who called us the Walmart crew get his face rearranged when you smashed the ball into it?”

Frankie shuddered. “Oh my God, there was so much blood.”

“And we fucking won,” Josh added. He and Jaime high-fived each other. They were still savoring that win.

“I thought he was pretty cool about it,” Kevin said. I looked at him in surprise.

“What? He was. And he shoved tissue up his nose and kept playing. That was pretty dope.”

I shrugged because it was true. “Yeah, he was decent about it. He still wants me to apologize though.” I grinned.

Frankie looked at me curiously. “Have you run into him?”

“A couple of times.” I didn’t know why I felt embarrassed. “I saw him at the courthouse once, and he’s friends with some of my neighbors.”

They all studied me curiously, and Jaime smirked.

I clapped my hands. “Okay, let’s practice.”

We practiced bumping and setting, then they served to each other. I sighed as I watched them goof around and half-heartedly practice. There hadn’t been much improvement since the end of last season. A few of them seemed to have gotten worse.

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