“Raine, I don’t know what you’re about to do but please don’t do it.”
“Trip, it’s not as bad as you think. I promise everything will be okay.”
“As your friend. As my best friend. I’m asking you to stop and really think.”
I let out a disgusted laugh. “Think about it. All I’ve done is think about it. I have thought this through ad nauseam. And I would have maybe talked to you about it if you had called me. After today everything will be good. Trust me.”
Tears stung my eyes as I turned my phone off to guarantee he didn’t call me back. I would have to do a lot of groveling after this was over to get back on Trip’s good side. Or at least I hoped groveling would be enough. His mother declaring I was in love with him was just the tip of the iceberg.
Thirty minutes later I convinced myself to get out of Dora. Each time I reached for my door handle I froze thinking of all the things that could go wrong. This wasn’t science. There were no studies and there were a lot of variables. This kind of fly by the seat of my pants stuff was not me, but I didn’t have time to research what I should do. I was trusting my instinct and hoping it wasn’t going to let me down.
I crossed the parking lot with the Mission Impossible theme song playing in my head.
Hustling into the locker room, I checked around to make sure none of my other teammates decided to come in early. When I was certain it was empty I took a couple of deep breaths and crossed my fingers.
A low throaty moan followed by a shhh assaulted my ears. My face squished together as I moved closer to Coach Rutching’s office. It was slightly ajar and from the noise coming from inside I had a feeling it was open on purpose.
Promising myself I’d bleach my eyes out later, I peeked through the crack to confirm my players were on the field so to speak. Claire was on her game. I naively thought I’d catch them making out. What I saw was way more than I had bargained for.
Coach Rutching’s ass was pumping into Claire on top of his desk, his hand over her mouth as his ass cheeks clenched with each thrust. Seeing how much effort he was expending I figured I didn’t have much time. I just hoped Coach Mae was being a team player today as well.
I quietly moved away from the door and sprinted toward Coach Mae’s office. Before I was able to knock a loud roar echoed off the wall from where I had just been. A roar I’d never heard before, but knew with certainty to whom it belonged.
How Trip was able to get to the field in the half hour I lingered in Dora was nothing short of a miracle. Changing course, I pivoted and raced back to Coach Rutching’s office.
A sickening crunch reverberated off the walls as Trip’s fist plowed into Coach Rutching’s nose. Claire screamed as she tried to cover herself.
“What the fuck is going on here?” Coach Mae bellowed, busting in as chaos ensued.
“Trip.” I placed my hand on his shoulder, stopping him from cocking back to slug Coach Rutching again.
Trip’s rage filled eyes landed on me and his eyebrows scrunched together. His head rotated to see Claire still scrambling to get her clothes in order. All the anger and fear on his face faded away.
His hand slid behind my neck and he hauled me toward him. My arms were around his waist as his body shook from the adrenaline still surging through it.
“Rutching, what the hell’s going on?” Coach Mae asked again through clenched teeth.
“It’s not what it looks like, Mae,” Rutching stuttered. His nose poured blood down his face, while his flaccid penis still protruded from his zipper.
“It looks like you were in direct violation with one of my players.” Coach Mae swung around to pin me with adon’t fuck with her glare. “Was this the reason you wanted me to meet you today?”
“You bitch,” Coach Rutching screamed, struggling to get up, but Trip pushed him down.
“No, Coach. She was going to meet him. I overheard her yesterday making plans. Raine’s been flirting with him since he got here. It’s her way of keeping her starting spot. I bet she was doing Coach Butler too. Look at the way he’s holding her.”
At her words, I attempted to move out of Trip’s grasp, but he was having none of that. I was plastered to his side and not going anywhere from the indication of his hold.
Claire’s accusation was met with stunned silence from everyone else. Guilt bubbled up as Claire played right into her part.
“Is this true, McKenna?” Coach Mae asked, her eyes taking in what Claire had pointed out.
“Yes and no.”
“Enlighten me,” Coach Mae commanded.
“I did make plans with Coach Rutching today and it was also the reason I asked you to come in early today.”
“I’m the starting pitcher. You can’t take it from me,” Claire screamed.
