The Boss

Chapter 12

Chaz

Shelly had gone south to Berlin for the previous three weekends, but I couldn’t have cared less. Her friend Tara was going through some shit, and I was appreciative of her stealing my wife away as often as she did. Offered me space to draw a proper breath and a reason to go home for dinner rather than hanging around the shop so I wouldn’t have to listen to her nag and bitch until she passed out drunk.

Ever since I’d tasted Jamie’s mouth, I’d been ten times as miserable than before his return. The mistake of giving into temptation pressed on my head and heart like the weight of a F-350, crushing my spine and causing every inch of me to ache.

I needed every break I could catch and didn’t mind Shelly disappearing as often as she did. Made for one hell of a quiet, peaceful house, that was for damned sure.

She stayed in town tonight though because it was Pippen Creek’s first home game for the high school football team. While I had zero interest in hanging with her like we’d done every year since on this night as far back as I could remember, I wasn’t about to miss out on Jamie coaching on the gridiron where we’d played together.

Even if we hadn’t spoken for a few weeks, I would show my support from the stands along with the rest of the town.

I finished up an alignment job, and rather than lingering to clean or doing paperwork so I wouldn’t get home until after dark, I stepped out into the early evening’s cooling air and filled my lungs with something other than the scent of grease and oil.

A car sped past, most likely on the way to the season opener, “Go Bobcats”

in bold, red letters on the back window brought a smile to my lips. When Jamie and I had played on the team, the cheerleaders had done the same. The tradition continued, as would Frenchie’s being packed to the brim after the game while the players and their friends partied hard over at the pond beside a bonfire.

Chief Sutton and his officers on duty would be busy until the early morning hours, no doubt.

I climbed into my truck far earlier than usual. I couldn’t remember when Shelly and I had last sat down to dinner, and it wasn’t going to happen tonight because I’d made sure I would have time to get ready and nothing else.

Shelly watched TV and was dressed to go when I walked in the door. “We need to leave in a half hour so we get good seats on the fifty yard line,”

she said, her level of bitch voice lesser than I’d expected after I’d waited until the last second before heading home.

“I’ll be ready.”

I showered quickly, and we were out the door fifteen minutes later, giving her jack to complain about. I even wore a newer T-shirt, same as I had while on that date all those weeks ago because I wasn’t in the mood for her nagging. The silence in the car, while better than bitching, was still depressing as fuck. At least she didn’t stink of whiskey. I wished that I felt free to hold her hand atop my thigh like we’d done on this night every year since I’d gotten my license.

But I didn’t, same as on our last date.

And she couldn’t be bothered to initiate affection either.

We didn’t have a far drive, and the atmosphere when we parked and walked through the busy gravel lot toward the school’s old stadium kicked in a little adrenaline, enough to lighten my steps.

I told myself I was looking forward to the game, the enjoyment of tradition, and the hype about to hit us from the younger spectators with their face paint and signs, the cheerleaders egging them on. Music already poured from crackling speakers, coating the arriving crowd with excitement.

A grin crept onto my face, and I gave in to the thrilling swell seeming to wash over the town.

It was going to be a good night.

And my thought had nothing to do with the fact that I would see Jamie for the first time since the “incident”. I’d kept my head down whenever driving in or out of town, ignoring any red vehicle in my periphery in case it was his SUV. I’d figured out of sight, out of mind. Hadn’t exactly worked. Hadn’t helped my state of shame or my lust-filled mind toward the man either.

But not seeking him out intentionally made me feel like I did good. Hadn’t failed outwardly since that night, at least. In my mind was a whole other story, one filled with fantasies and what-ifs I focused on while jerking off in the shower or bathroom at the shop. Happened almost daily now that my libido had woken with a vengeance.

Turned out, there was nothing wrong with my dick.

Just my marriage.

I ignored the field while following Shelly through the gates after paying, traipsing along behind her, hands shoved in my pockets, enjoying the scent of hot dogs and popcorn from the snack shack we passed. A line at least ten deep already crowded the small building, little kids running around and roughhousing.

It seemed the whole town had thought like Shelly and had shown up early which was the norm on opening night: Grab the best seats on the hometown bleachers that didn’t even span the entire length of the field.

Our feet clomped on metal treads as we climbed the stairs, and we shuffled past a few people already settled in toward a narrow opening between families.

Shelly greeted the person on her left while plunking her ass down, and I had to excuse the woman on my other side while sitting on the cold seat. Everyone scooted, making room for us, and I exhaled fully before shifting my focus to the field.

Neither team had come out yet.

I breathed easy even though we’d gotten there before for their big entrance at the field’s end.

The cheerleaders had created a banner full of color and exclamation points for the team to barrel through once they’d been announced over the ancient sound system continuing to pump out music.

Shelly sat engaged in conversation with the woman beside her, face animated as though everything was rainbows and unicorns, faking like she always did, but I couldn’t be bothered to do the same.

I ignored her false front, focusing inward on the tremors in my stomach and the dampness on my palms.

Was Jamie freaking the fuck out right now?

Part of me wanted to go find him, tell him he was going to kick ass, give him a good luck hug. Linger for a long time, drink in his scent, and taste his mouth?—

No.

Clearing my throat, I turned toward the woman on my right.

Kathy “Babs”

O’Neill was Chief Sutton’s secretary and dispatch down at our small police station. She’d been playing that role for as far back as I could remember. A kind, older woman who had a spine of steel, she didn’t take any nonsense from townsfolk or the officers, and treated everyone like family.

“Think Jamie’s about to shit his pants?”

Her question made me laugh.

“I was wondering the same thing. I would be in his shoes.”

Babs glanced over at Shelly before dismissing her as thoroughly as I had. “He’s a good man, just like his dad.”

“One of the best,”

I admitted quietly.

She patted my knee. “You’re lucky to have him as a friend, Chaz. I hope you’re aware of that.”

I swallowed hard. “I am, ma’am. Yes.”

“Don’t ma’am me,”

she fake grumbled. “Makes me feel like an old woman.”

“You’re far from old.”

“In spirit, maybe,”

she argued.

The music cut off, a high-pitched squeal over the speakers—also tradition—sounded the time had come, and heart racing, I turned my focus toward the banner and cheerleaders waving their pompoms.

A loud yet muffled voice got the crowd amped up, welcoming everyone to Pippen Creek Stadium. The opposing team came running onto the field with the announcement they would attempt to beat the Pippen Creek Bobcats.

We were small but mighty.

At least, that was the reasoning for the mascot in the seventies. Unfortunately, the name didn’t mean shit when it came to football. We hadn’t had a winning season in any sport since the early eighties, back when our parents had been kids.

This year’s captain, Kyle Danowski, barreled through the banner, fists pumping in the air, and a river of red and white flowed onto the field behind him. “In The Air Tonight,”

by Phil Collins, attempted to drown out the roaring crowd through the tinny speakers.

The coaches followed, jogging rather than sprinting like their players.

Jamie kept his attention set forward, face filled with grim determination. A man on a mission, he didn’t fuck around but gathered the team on the sidelines directly in front of us, his focus solely on the jittery kids surrounding him.

Whatever he told them got lost in the crowd’s continued ruckus and the music.

After a short time of stretching out, the team took to the field, the coin toss having us kick off.

I tried to watch the game and get caught up in our defense killing the opposing team and offense actually pulling off a few first downs. More often than not, my gaze glued to Jamie on the sidelines, causing me to miss out on the action. The man looked good. Edible. Downright sexy as fuck. His wind-blown hair, wide shoulders covered by a Bobcat’s sweatshirt, khakis form-fitting enough his ass made my dick twitch. The memory of having that body pressed fully along mine while we rutted against each other sent searing heat over my skin to the point I sweated.

Shelly ignored me, screaming her head off at every play, good or bad. She didn’t understand the game even though she’d been a cheerleader when Jamie and I used to strive for wins on the same field. She’d been the cutest one in those short skirts, pompoms waving, fiery hair tamed and slicked back in a high ponytail.

The perfect cheerleader for the team’s quarterback. High school sweethearts, the couple crowned homecoming queen and king our senior year. Everything Shelly had hoped for.

An ache settled in my chest as I realized nothing about the woman sitting beside me affected me in the same way Jamie did. Never had.

Still, those had been the good old days when even though we’d said life was so tough, unbearable at times, shit had been easy compared to adulting. When the only strife was learning how to accept my best friend was straight and wouldn’t ever be mine. I’d thought it had been difficult settling for Shelly since I couldn’t have him.

Oh, how shit had changed.

Teeth gritted, I forced myself to stay put when I wanted to escape, but I couldn’t feign even a hint of excitement as those around me. My heart broke over and over whenever I glanced at Jamie. The what-ifs, all the regrets, piled up to bring back that F-350-inducing pain in my bones.

The game lasted what felt like ten hours, and the Bobcats bombed in the second half, walking away with a terrible loss. Thirty-one to three.

Gabby, Coach Dave’s niece, had gotten us on the scoreboard late in the second quarter, splitting the uprights like a pro. The crowd had gone wild, jumping up and stomping on the metal bleachers. I’d managed to stand and clap, my gaze glued to Jamie’s smiling face as he congratulated Gabby as she ran off the field. He’d held her helmet in his hands, face close as he said whatever a coach did when edifying their kids.

I’d never known such jealousy, a yearning to trade place if only for a few seconds with a teenage girl who had Jamie’s undivided attention.

He’d patted her shoulder, and she turned toward the players around her, quite a few headbutting helmets with her.

The team didn’t exit the field nearly as high on adrenaline as they’d taken to it before the game, but at least they held their heads up as though having adopted their coach’s fighting spirit.

“Frenchie’s?”

Shelly asked as we slowly made our way out of the stadium with the rest of the disappointed yet still buzzing crowd.

I shrugged, not really in the mood for socializing, but Jamie would be there, the same as Coach Bernard always had, I didn’t doubt.

“Yeah, sure.”

A half hour later, I slouched on my barstool, wishing I’d insisted Shelly drop me off at home first. She’d downed a couple of shots, enough to loosen her tongue and to hang on me like she did when drunk and in public.

Yep. All was fine here, folks. We’re still happy as raccoons in dumpsters covered in shit and stinking to high heaven.

Jamie arrived, causing quite the stir regardless of the town being bummed we’d lost.

My pulse sped up at having him in the same room as me.

The crowd surged over him, offering condolences and causing his smile to stitch into place without a hint of happiness behind it.

Had he felt pressured to show up? Chosen to do as Coach Bernard had always done when he probably would have rather headed home to nurse his mental wounds? I didn’t doubt he blamed himself for the loss, even though from what I’d noticed, he didn’t have the best players on the field.

Eventually, he worked his way through Frenchie’s crowd until our gazes caught.

Shelly grabbed him up with a hard squeeze, rocking back and forth while laughing loudly. She, at least, offered congratulations over how well he’d coached, rather than bemoaning the scoreboard.

Jamie’s smile appeared a little more genuine, his eyes soft when they returned to me.

I held out my hand, needing contact desperately, and at the sparks shooting up my arm over the clasp of his palm to mine, I choked on a groan. “You did well out there, Coach,”

I rasped, needing to speak loud to be heard over the people chatting around us.

“Thanks, Chaz.”

His gaze flitted down to my mouth but jerked back up and away as though he was afraid of where his thoughts had strayed.

My lips tingled, and I pressed them together as he released my hand, wiping his palms down his thighs.

Shelly, wavering on her feet and with a second or third bottle of beer in hand, watched us, her gaze flitting between the two of us. “It’s really nice having you home, Jamie.”

She slurred her words as usual. “Chaz needs a good friend to get him out of the shop more. Are you busy next weekend?”

“Game a week from tonight, same as every Friday, but that’s about it,”

Jamie replied, glancing at me.

“You ought to drag his ass out the pond for a guys’ weekend again. Maybe that’ll make him smile.”

Jesus Christ.

Annoyance roused inside me. “You’re not my mom and don’t need to be setting up play dates for me, Shell.”

If the woman only knew how badly I was trying to remain faithful to her, she wouldn’t be trying to throw Jamie and I together, never mind into a situation where we shared a too-small tent.

After having made out with him to the point of busting a nut in my boxers, I feared another camping trip would land me beneath him, his dick buried so damned far up my ass I wouldn’t be able to breathe.

Desperate desire swept through me, and I closed my eyes, fighting off the blood rushing to my groin.

Goddamnit, this whole situation is fucked.

Regardless of my guilt, I wouldn’t say no if he initiated. My want outweighed my morals when it came to Jamie Forester.