Page 76 of Make the Play
“Because they’re going to see us come together, and they might make assumptions.”
“I’m not worried about that,” Jason says, unbuckling his seatbelt. “We come to work together every day, besides I would never want to hide you. I was just hoping for a few more minutes alone with you. That and I know them. They’re going to be rowdy as fuck.”
Proving his point, Matty and Sanchez jump on each other at the same time, ending up in a haphazard dog pile on the asphalt in front of his truck.
“Looks like chaperoning duties start now,” Jason laughs, giving Emerson’s knee a squeeze before getting out of the truck. “What the hell are you guys doing?”
“Hey Coach,” Matty yells from the ground, looking nonplussed about being buried beneath five other guys who joined the pile. “Did you bring a date or—oh, you brought Mr. Miller.”
On cue every player turns to look behind him. Standing at the front of Jason’s truck is Emerson, smoothing down his hair and smiling despite the obvious tension in his body.
“Damn, Mr. Miller, you clean up nice. You too, Coach King,” Matty adds, followed by a round of cat calls and cheers from several other players. Unsure if they’re whistling at him or Emerson, Jason moves around the front of his truck, trying to subtly but effectively block Emerson. “Do I need to remind you all to be on your best behavior?”
“No, Coach,” enough voices echo that Jason doesn’t feel the need to repeat himself.
A hand touches his lower back and Jason turns, unable to stop the smile that spreads across his face. “Yeah?”
“I’m gonna head inside and check in with Mabel to see if she needs an extra set of hands with the photo booth. I know Mrs. Montalvo said she was going to come early to help, but she’s not the most prompt. Mabel might need me.”
“Sounds good,” Jason tells him, unsure if Emerson actually feels the need to help or needs an excuse to get away from the commotion of over a dozen rowdy football players. Either way, he’s unwilling to put him on the spot in front of the students by asking. “I’ll wrangle these guys and see you inside in a little bit.”
Emerson nods, making a hasty retreat that Jason watches with calculating eyes. It’s not until he turns back to his kids that he realizes he wasn’t the only one staring.
Matty, expectedly, is the first to break the silence.
“Coach King, is Mr. Miller your date?”
“No,” Jason answers, because as Emerson so decidedly pointed out, this is not a date.
“Do you wish he was?” Sanchez asks, the nosy fucker.
“He totally does, did you see the way he was staring,” Taylor, one of his other seniors, interjects. “He’s been watching Mr. Miller for weeks.”
“I thought this was a homecoming dance, not a gossip session,” Jason snorts, arching one eyebrow at them. He doesn’t like to give his players too much shit, especially since he knows they’re kidding, but he doesn’t want them to say or do anything that could make Emerson uncomfortable. Besides, he barely knows what this thing between them is; he's not sure he’s ready for it to be the topic of school gossip before they’d have a chance to figure it out themselves.
“But you make it so much fun, Coach. The way you always make heart eyes at him like you’re in an anime and?—”
Jason might not have his coach whistle with him, but he doesn’t need that to get their attention. Placing two fingers between his lips, he whistles loudly, earning him some laughter and grumbles but also their undivided and quiet attention. He scrubs a hand over his jaw, struggling not to let his embarrassment show. How the hell did they all clock his feelings before he did?
“Off the ground and inside boys,” Jason instructs, as eager to get the subject changed as he is to get them inside the dance. For safety, he tells himself, and not so he can see Emerson again. He watches them all stand, smoothing down their suits and poking at each other silently. “Where did you guys leave your dates anyway?”
“No dates this year, Coach,” Matty answers, slinging his arm around Arlo’s shoulder. Arlo looks like he has no idea how he got there, and Jason would laugh if it weren’t sort of adorable. “Team bonding. We’re manifesting state champions this year.”
When Jason asked Matty to make Arlo feel part of the team, he hadn’t realized how seriously he and the other guys would take it, but he’s damn proud of them. He also suspects the lack of dates might be part of that commitment since he knows Arlo didn’t ask anyone and turned down the three girls who asked him, but he wisely doesn’t mention that.
“Damn right we are,” Jason grins, crossing his arms. “You boys taking us all the way to state?”
“Yes, Coach!” they all exclaim at the same time.
Jason stands just that little bit taller. He’d been nervous at the start of the year with some of his big players gone, but these kids have shown him the kind of commitment and dedication that reminds Jason exactly why he loves coaching and teaching. They’ve also had a stellar start to the season and Jason won’t be surprised if they do make it all the way to state. Nothing is a sure thing in football, but Jason’s not going to jinx them with statistics and realism tonight. Tonight, his boys deserve to have fun. They kicked ass at their game last night, and they deserve this, all of them.
“Then I expect to see you all behaving like champions tonight. Party hard but safe,” he says, making sure to lock eyes with each of them individually. He doesn’t expect any trouble, at least not from his guys, but he still wants to be sure they set a good example for the other students. Especially the younger ones, like Arlo and the other freshman who are experiencing their first homecoming and might be tempted to cave in to peer pressure to fit in.
“Yes, Coach,” Matty says, followed by him elbowing Sanchez who copies. Once they’ve said it, the rest of the players follow suit.
“Good, then let's get inside and have fun.”
The guys nod, moving towards the gym. All except Arlo who lingers towards the back of the group. Jason slows his steps until they’re a good twenty feet behind the group.
