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I end dinner on a high note, and send Tina on her way to talk to her husband. He’s going to be happy.
As for me, maybe coaching won’t be so bad.
10
BRODIE
How is it already Saturday? I’ve got so much to do before I go to Vanessa’s and help her with the team party. Of course, I’m the person that pushed off grabbing everything for it until a couple hours before, and I still have to swing by and check on Tristan. How is he handling being stuck at home? How many shows has he already binged?
I grab my keys off the entryway table, and head to Tristan’s. He is going to ask about the team and how things are going. He might try to act like he didn’t want to help me, but I’m not fooled. His love for the sport is as strong as mine, and if Vanessa wouldn’t have been there on the first day, he would have had fun with the kids. I have no doubt about it. I can’t get mad at him for being distracted, because so was I, but we have to do our jobs. He didn’t need to be so obvious about checking her out. What if it made her uncomfortable and she complained? Thankfully, she was too busy on her phone to notice.
I pull up in his driveway, and head to his door, knocking once and then opening it.
“I’ve brought you pizza. How you doing?” I say, sitting it down on the coffee table in front of him.
“This is so boring. How am I going to survive weeks of this?”
He opens the box and puts a slice in his mouth. “How did practice go? You never called me back.”
I take a seat on the couch, and start laughing. “It went well, but Vanessa has stepped up and helping me.”
He sits his slice on top of the box, and glares at me. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me? She wouldn’t do that. No way.”
I run my fingers through my hair. “Dead serious. Matter of fact, she is hosting the team party at her house in just a little bit.”
Tristan is jealous, and I get it. He wishes it was him getting to stand next to her without appearing to be a creep. It makes it easier on him.
“Well, you are screwed now. She definitely isn’t going to get with you.”
I scoff. “You were the one trying to get with her. Not me.”
He rolls his eyes, and picks his pizza back up. “Sure, keep telling yourself that, bro.”
The attraction is there, but I’m more about connecting on a deeper level. Looks fade over time, and I want to be with someone who I will love fifty years from now. Personality is important for me. Vanessa has something bothering her right now, and drama isn’t something I want to be caught up in. So, I plan to stay away from her.
“Don’t worry. Nothing is going to happen. Anything else you need before I head out?” I ask, getting off the couch.
“Already leaving?” he asks.
“I still have to pick up everything for the party and it starts in almost an hour. Don’t think it would look good for me to be late.”
He smiles and tells me to get the hell out of his house, jokingly.
I jump in the truck and head to the grocery. Once inside, I pull up the list that Vanessa sent me, and start throwing juices and snacks into the cart. She is baking all of the dessert items so that’s one less thing for me to have to buy.
The girls have been adamant about having their annual party. It’s something they look forward to every year, and I didn’t want to take that away from them. As their coach, it’s nice to witness them bonding as a team. A team only works if they trust each other, and parties like these build relationships.
After checking out, and loading them into the truck, I plug her address into my GPS. I’m shocked to find out she only lives a couple blocks away from me. When I pull on her street, I see her car and pull in the driveway.
“You made it!” Sherrie screams, coming off the porch and down to my truck. “Do you need help?”
I nod and hand her the two lightest bags, and take care of the rest myself. Vanessa is standing on the porch in a royal blue summer dress that comes down to her ankles.
“Told you I wouldn’t be late. Fifteen-minutes to spare,” I say, following her inside and setting the bags down in the kitchen.
The island has softball-shaped cookies, marshmallow bars, and cupcakes on it. All this sugar is going to get them wired up. These next few hours should be fun.
“Let me show you the back yard,” Sherrie says, grabbing my arm and pulling me to the back door.
