AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She rolls her eyes, displeased, but even with her attitude, I still want to pull her close and kiss those pink lips of hers. It takes everything I have not to reply with a sly remark. How does she already hate me?
A beautiful woman with an attitude. What could go wrong?
5
VANESSA
Is her coach already hitting on me? Jesus. His eyes wander over my body like he wants to pounce on me, and maybe I’m enjoying it a bit. I still got it. Even after being in a serious relationship for ten years, and being out of practice, guys are still wanting to take me home. Reminds me of my early twenties, before I met Lee, and men would practically beg to take me out. I always turned them down.
I won’t lie. It fuels my confidence to be desired. Sometimes, we forget that when we are with someone for a long time. They stop telling you you’re beautiful, and no longer undress you with their eyes. Right now, Brodie is doing just that, and it makes my heart race.
He runs back over to the kids and wraps up practice and I text Lee we are going to be late. I didn’t expect this to be a long practice, or I would have made other plans.
Me: Practice is still going. Should we just do this another night? We haven’t even eaten yet.
A part of me hopes he agrees to move it to another night because with the lack of sleep, I’m not exactly at the top of my game and the conversation tonight is going to be intense. I’m not ready for it, but even two days of sleep can’t prepare me for tonight.
Lee: I’ll order takeout. Y’all can eat here. No worries. Text me when you are leaving and I’ll order it.
Damnit.
The kids are running to the dugout and Brodie approaches me again. My eyes glance in the opposite direction. He might be cute, but not my type. It’ll be nice to have some eye candy for the season though.
“Your daughter is a fast runner. How long has she been playing?”
I cross my arms and scoff. “Three years. Her former coach was really great with the girls. You aren’t an asshole, are you?”
His head cocks back. “Wow, you are very forward. I respect that. This is my first time coaching, but I don’t think so.”
“Wait, first time coaching? Do you even know anything about softball?”
So, maybe I’m being a bitch, but we need someone with experience to teach these girls, not some random dude with no experience.
“Actually, I played from t-ball through high school, ma’am. Baseball, but my sister played softball for many years, too. I appreciate your concern.”
He replies to me with a straight face. My stomach tenses, but it’s a valid question.
I pull Lee’s thread up on my phone and say we are fixing to leave.
“Any other concerns you would like to express while you have my ear?” he asks.
“Are you one of those people that yell at the kids if they mess up? This isn’t professional softball, right? I won’t stand for that. Sherrie loves softball and I don’t want anyone to ruin that for her.”
“I’ll be sure to keep myself in check just for you, Vanessa. See ya.”
Sherrie runs out of the dugout straight to me.
“I think we are gonna like him, mom.”
I rustle her hair, glance at him, and turn Sherrie to go to the car. “We’ll see.”
After getting her situated in the car, I take a deep breath. Brodie appears cocky, and I can’t stand men like that. Yet, him undressing me with his eyes arouses me. I haven’t been single for long and I’m already drinking up men’s attention. How horrible is that? Although, maybe it’s healthy. It’s not like I’m going to take him home and sleep with him tonight. I’m not oblivious to boundaries. How long is Lee going to wait before dating again? It’s not jealousy, but a real question. Will it be weird to see him with someone else? One-hundred percent, but I’ll be happy for him.
I don’t think I’m anywhere close to being ready to be with someone right now. The person I was when I got with Lee is not the same person I am now. I think I should take some time for myself first. With Lee, I didn’t put myself and want I wanted from him first, and that’s a big part of why we didn’t work out. When I get into a new relationship, I want to be able to be upfront with them about what I want, and if they don’t want the same things, then on to the next one. More importantly, I need to stay true to myself.
When we pull up into Lee’s driveway, my heart skips a beat. This is really happening. I’m going to have to sit in front of my daughter and explain that her dad and I won’t be together anymore. How is she going to react? My head is pounding from the lack of sleep, and not eating anything today.
Lee comes out, and opens Sherrie’s door, engulfing her in a hug. This transition is going to be hard on him too. I can’t imagine not seeing Sherrie every day. That’s another subject that we need to tackle. He is allowed to see her whenever he wants. I’m not the type of woman to use my child to get what I want, and that might be because I want nothing from him.
