“Hey, Coach, good practice,” I purred, running my finger up and down his desk.
His pupils dilated as his eyes wandered over my body. The urge to shudder went through me and I was barely able to contain it.
“What can I say? It’s easy when you have someone so willing to listen.”
I smiled widely and looked back to make sure Claire was within earshot. This was a long shot, but it had to work.
“I’m very willing to listen. I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind coming in early tomorrow for some one-on-one practice.”
“I think we can arrange that.”
“Two hours before practice? Is that enough time?” I batted my eyes and pushed my chest out.
“For the first time that should be enough.”
“I’m looking forward to it.” I sauntered out of his office, swallowing the bile as I went. Claire was at her locker, pretending as if she wasn’t just eavesdropping. Or at least I hoped she was pretending.
When I climbed in Dora I cranked up the heat, unable to get warm even in the summer sun. This was the most underhanded thing I’d ever done. It was completely out of character for me, and I was sick over it. The only thing holding my resolve was knowing this would protect Renee and Norah in the long run, securing their happiness.
When I got home I scrubbed myself until my skin was raw. All my planning would come to an end tomorrow. This was the first time my future was unsteady and I was ecstatic it was almost over.
The next day I made sure everything was in order before I grabbed my bag and headed to the field. There were a lot of variables in my plan and I was sick with worry one of my players wouldn’t show up.
My phone rang while I was driving to the field. Fear shot through me that one of the pieces was backing out. It would have been smart to have a backup plan, but this was all I had and it had to work.
I pressed the speaker on my phone and Trip’s voice surrounded me. “McKenna.”
His southern drawl startled me and I swerved a little, not expecting to hear from him. My heart sped up, my body reacting to just one word.
Why of all the times he could have called me he had to do it now?
“Hey, Trip.”
He sighed heavily and my eyes averted to the phone as if I could see him. “McKenna, we need to talk.”
I pulled Dora into the parking lot and took Trip off speaker. As much as I wanted to talk to him I needed to get into Coach Rutching’s office before everything blew up.
“Trip, I completely agree we need to talk, but can we do it after practice?”
“McKenna, wait, what do you mean after practice? Where are you now? Practice doesn’t start for almost two hours. I’m sorry I haven’t called you. This is the first chance I’ve had.”
“Or you finally decided to stop avoiding me?”
“I wasn’t avoiding you, Raine. I went into intensive training and the coaches took my phone away while I was at camp.”
Relief surrounded me like a warm cotton blanket. I was terrified Trip was through with me. Knowing he didn’t have access to his phone the last week made it easier to breathe.
“Trip, I really need to go. Why don’t you call me later tonight if you get a chance?”
“What the hell are you up to?”
“Trip, I’ve got to go.”
“Raine,” Trip yelled through the phone before I hung up.
My phone rang immediately.
“Stupid,” I muttered to myself before answering it.
