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“There we go. Shake it off and do it better the next time, yeah?”
The girl nodded and flashed a bigger smile. “Yeah. Thanks Coach Callahan.”
Joss encouraged each girl every step of the way, giving advice I wished I could hear to keep their heads in the game. And when they pulled ahead during the last few minutes for a 3-2 victory, she flashed a brilliant smile as she fist-bumped each girl before wrapping her in a congratulatory hug. I felt a tug of envy that those teenagers were on the receiving end of her genuine smile, that they got to be up close and personal with her husky laugh and pink-cheeked cheer.
I watched as she offered up kind words to the opposing team, congratulating the goalie on a thwarted goal attempt, and I realized that Joss was one amazing woman. It really was too bad she worked for me, dammit, because the more I knew of the woman, the more I wanted her. The more tempted I was to say screw my own self-imposed rule and make her mine. Which, of course, was a joke because I couldn’t even get the woman to look at me or speak to me. Never mind spend time with me when she wasn’t required to for work.
But I’m not giving up. The field and the stands had cleared and I made my way back to the parking lot where the long blue bus idled in the back, PHS emblazoned across the side in big white letters, a cocky pirate painted on the side. Perfect. I took my time, because I needed to ready myself to see Joss again, this time up close and with eyes full of hate. I didn’t see her at first, but the girls milled about, noticeable due the school colors they all wore.
“Great game, girls!”
Their chatter stopped and all eyes focused on me, some annoyed and some surprised. “Mr. Rutherford, what are you doing here?”
“You think I’d miss last year’s champs starting to defend their title?”
“Everyone else does, what makes you so special?” I wasn’t offended by Shelly’s sarcasm because she was right. Partly.
“To start, I’m the principal and I’m proud of you girls. Not only are you kicking butt out on the soccer field, but you’re all maintaining better than average grades.” It was something every school struggled with, balancing athletics and academics, but these girls were doing it successfully.
“Thanks for showing us some love, Mr. R. Poor Coach Callahan’s gonna go hoarse as our one-woman cheering squad.” A bunch of the girls laughed and agreed with Tanisha’s assessment of Joss.
“It was my pleasure. Why aren’t you speeding out of here to celebrate your victory?”
Shelly shrugged. “Coach C is trying to see if she can get us a reservation at that fancy pizza place right off the highway to celebrate.”
“Oh man, I hope she can get us in, because I saw online that they let you put lobster on your pizza. And fried chicken!” That started another round of conversation about what kinds of pizzas each girl wanted.
“You comin’, Mr. R?”
I wanted to say yes right away, but this was Joss’ victory and if I wanted her forgiveness, I couldn’t just force my presence on her. Could I? “Is that an official invite?”
“Can’t very well let the principal starve, now can we?” Joss’ voice sounded behind me and a smile crossed my face as I turned to face her.
“You sure?”
She folded her arms and nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure. But you’re buying your own pizza.”
“Deal.” I couldn’t stop smiling as I made my way to the other end of the parking lot. It wasn’t actually progress since Joss hadn’t technically invited me, the team had, but she could have come up with an excuse. Yet she hadn’t.
Because you’re her boss. I ignored that voice and pressed down on the gas a little harder, eager to get to Pizzamore. When I walked through the doors of the kitschy restaurant, the team was already there, loud and boisterous, and taking up a large table right in the middle of the place.
“Mr. R, over here!” Tanisha waved me over and took my time, scanning the table in search of an empty seat. There was just one spot available, and I couldn’t help but feel like the girls had orchestrated it that way. “We saved you a seat.”
“Thanks. What did I miss?” I should have known what a minefield that question could be.
“Principal Rutherford can help,” Mira, the goalie, proudly proclaimed. “So, you’re a guy, right?”
“Last I checked, I was.”
“Okay so, what does it mean if you’re, you know, making out with a guy and he wants to, ah-,”
“Girls,” Joss interrupted with a low growl. “If you can’t even say the words, you probably shouldn’t be doing the deeds.” Tanisha opened her mouth, a mischievous smile on her face when Joss pointed at her. “All of you, not just Tanisha.”
