Chapter 27
27
Lim, can I get a word with you in my office?”
Franny looked up from her notebook to see Coach Landry standing at the doorway of the classroom they used for team debriefings and indoor practice days. The game had ended over an hour ago, and every player had been patted on the back and sent home to mourn their loss with their folks. Most of the coaches had already split too. But she’d come with Jade, and well, Jade Dunn was not known for being the first out of anything. The woman had flitted off somewhere fifteen minutes ago, muttering something about game scheduling. So Franny had made herself as comfortable as she could in one of the old wooden desks and started making O-line notes.
Landry’s sudden request both thrilled and terrified her. She could think of only two things the man could possibly want to say to her. One of which would crush her and the other of which could make her goddamn life.
“Sure, Coach,” she said. She wiped her sweaty hands on her pants and stood up. Taking an awkward second to waffle between bringing or leaving her notebook, she decided at the last minute to tuck it into her arms before falling into step beside him. At the very least, it would give her something to clutch on to if he told her to fuck off.
“You can have a seat.” He pointed to the cushy chair on the other side of his desk as he sat in his chair.
They stared at each other silently for what felt like forever. Every beat that passed made Franny’s tongue heavier in her mouth. Her body didn’t seem to know whether it wanted to go as dry as the Sahara or flood with sweat.
She felt completely ridiculous, but there was nothing for it.
“You did very well out there tonight,” Landry complimented her.
“Thank you, Coach. I, uh… I just followed Carr’s lead.”
“No, you didn’t,” Landry said. “You took the reins with the O-line today, same way you’ve been doing all summer. The boys listen to you, and they respect you, which is important. Just as important as, if not more than, knowing all the technical stuff.”
Franny nodded.
“You’ve still got a ways to go now. You need to ramp up your confidence, and you need to build up stronger bonds with the players than you already have. You know the game well; there’s no denying that. But there’s a lot that goes into coaching at this level.”
“Yes, sir, I realize that,” Franny said. “I’m working on connecting more with the players and their parents. I know that being a true leader to them will come with time, but I’m more than willing to spend it.”
“You sound like somebody else I know.” He chuckled.
“Unfortunately, she’s right more often than either of us would like to admit.” Franny smiled just thinking about it.
“She speaks highly of you as well,” he continued. “She thinks that you deserve a real chance on this team.”
Franny was immediately conflicted. It felt incredible to hear that Jade had spoken kind words to Landry about her. It felt good to know that Jade had almost certainly meant them too. The woman was practically allergic to lip service. But Franny wanted to succeed on her own merit and nothing else, and she needed him to know it.
“I appreciate that, Coach. I really do. But I’d rather your opinion of me be based on your own observations.”
“Lim, I’ve spent twenty years raising this team. It might as well be my child at this point. I promise I don’t make decisions about it based on what other people want.” He leaned forward on the table, clasping his fingers together. “That said, I also need to make sure the team is stacked well for the person who comes in behind me. They need people they can trust and rely on. Maybe some people they can grow with too.”
Her heart almost seemed to stop pumping blood completely. Her breath followed, halting the flow of air in her lungs as her body seized up in anticipation.
“In the spring, Carr will take over responsibilities as the D-line coach, and I’d like you to step in as the head of O-line.” He slid a stack of papers across the desk toward her. “Until then, we’ll bring you on with the assistant coach title, and you’ll shadow Carr. We’ve already got your background check and necessary credentials, but this should tell you a bit more about additional pay and stipends. Look this over and get it back to me by the end of next week, and we’ll get your info in to payroll.”
“Are you serious right now? Like, for real? I got it?”
“You got it.”
“I’m a coach?”
“You’re a coach.”
“Holy shit!”
O n the way home, Gladys broke down. They’d taken the truck to the game to soothe one of Jade’s game-day superstitions. A few weeks ago, Jade had taken Gladys in for an oil change and had come home with heartbreaking news about the old gal’s transmission. Franny had held her girl in her arms for over an hour while they talked through options. Only to end on the one that made the most sense for their lives right now—Jade would use some of her riches to just rebuild the damn thing. She’d had a lot of change recently and they anticipated more to come, so keeping this one constant seemed reasonable.
In the in-between time, though, they were sitting on the side of the road in the pitch-black, waiting for someone to come scoop them up.
“C’mon,” Franny said. She grabbed her water bottle and opened the door on the passenger’s side. “It’s too hot to sit in here.”
They ambled out of the truck and into the bed, laying down some tarp as makeshift protection against the hard ridges. It was still hot outside. The air was thick and wet, and the heat clung to their skin. But it was better than sweating up a little tin box.
Jade put a hand on Franny’s knee, her thumb rubbing against the warm skin. “I’m sorry the truck broke down… again.”
Franny shrugged. “It’s all right. This is pretty romantic, honestly.” She squeezed Jade’s hand, and they tilted their heads up to look at the sky.
On any given night, she could look up and see stars. It was one of the things that made Greenbelt so intoxicating for her. Some were twinkling and bright, others farther away and duller. But they were there. Not hidden behind a thick haze of pollution or obstructed by buildings. Even the suburbs back in Houston weren’t far enough away from it all to get a view like this.
Jade giggled. It was light, almost girlish, and Franny immediately looked over at her, taking in that beautiful profile. The curve of her jaw, the way her eyelashes were so long they brushed against the tops of her cheeks every time she blinked.
Franny could hardly believe where she was or who she was with. She had to run a finger along the apple of Jade’s cheek just to make sure she was real. It was soft, supple, and warm. There was so much life in the woman next to her. Franny didn’t want to be absorbed into her or make their bodies one and the same. She didn’t want to experience it through Jade’s eyes. She wanted to be right there next to her, watching, learning, admiring. She wanted to watch from the outside as her body came alive. Acting and reacting, she wanted a front-row seat to it all.
Maybe front-row seat wasn’t the best way to put it, actually. In Jade’s lap was probably a more accurate description.
“There’s nothing romantic about this heat,” Jade said, wiping her forehead.
“Oh, I don’t know… Isn’t there a song about hot summer nights and how sexy they are?”
Jade turned her amused eyes on Franny. “You’re in a good mood tonight, huh? Usually you’d be cursing Gladys to hell by now.”
Franny shifted, leaning back and resting on her elbows. The ridges from the truck bed dug into her skin. She wouldn’t be able to stay in the position long, but it felt good for now.
“It’s been a good night!”
“We lost.”
“Sure, but I watched you finally get what you’ve been working so hard for, and that makes it a good night. The best night, even.”
It had taken everything in Franny not to blurt out her own news the second she’d left Landry’s office. She was on cloud nine, and nothing could change that. He’d asked her to keep her new position on the down-low until he “moved some other things into place.” Franny assumed that meant until Jade officially got the job. She was more than happy to bide her time and keep her own win close to her chest, even if it would be difficult. Besides, there was something a little thrilling about being on the other end of a secret agreement with Landry for once.
Jade’s knees drew up to her chest, her arms wrapping tightly around them. “Nothing’s official.”
“Jade.” Franny rolled her eyes. “It’s high school football. It’s not like there’s going to be a literal torch-passing ceremony. You got it, Jade. You got the job. You’re allowed to celebrate.”
Jade’s face disappeared in the space between her knees for a few moments. Franny kept quiet, letting the crickets fill the silence. When Jade pulled her face back up, there were tears in her eyes.
“I am?”
Her voice was small as it asked the question, and Franny’s heart wanted to break into a thousand pieces right there. She scooted behind Jade, so that her legs bracketed her hips, and wrapped her arms around Jade’s middle, pulling her close. Jade leaned back into her as naturally as breathing.
“My poor girl,” Franny murmured into her hair. “You’re not just allowed to celebrate your wins; you need to.”
“You have no idea how silly I feel right now. I’ve been waiting for this for so long, and yet… I don’t even know what to do with myself.”
“Well, what do you want to do?”
There was another stretch of silence. Jade ran her hands up and down Franny’s arms, her fingertips leaving gooseflesh in their wake despite the heat.
“I kind of just want to sit here forever,” Jade said.
Franny pressed a kiss to the side of Jade’s head. “How are you supposed to coach games from the side of the road, huh?”
“It’s 2023. Don’t we have access to a hologram version of me or something?”
“Maybe if we had quadruple our current budget.” Franny snorted.
Jade turned a bit, wiggling so she could look at Franny head-on. “In all seriousness, thank you for being there for me today and… all the other days too.”
Franny’s cheeks heated. “Jade, you know—”
“Don’t discount it,” she cut Franny off. “After everything we’ve been through, everything I’ve said and done, you being here holding me might as well be a miracle.”
Franny tried to blame allergies for the way her eyes watered. She sniffed and blinked, coughed a couple of times. Nothing would clear the feeling in her chest. Nothing would dampen her emotions.
“It’s not a miracle. It’s just… Shit, I don’t know what it is, to be honest.”
“It’s forgiveness,” Jade said. “You forgave me.”
“Because you showed me who you actually are. You let me see the real you, and you haven’t gone back on your word once.”
“I won’t ever. Not if I can help it.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” Franny said, pressing another kiss to Jade’s skin, this time in the warm space underneath her jaw.
“All these responsibilities.” Jade’s tone was light, dreamy almost. “I’d better not fail.”
“You won’t.”
“So sure, aren’t you?”
“Just as sure as you were about us winning going into tonight’s game.”
“We lost, though.”
“You know as well as I do that a single setback isn’t even close to meaning it’s over.”
Jade made a humming noise in the back of her throat. “I might need you to remind me, every now and again, that fucking up is a part of this.”
Franny laughed gently in her ear. “We’ll probably have to remind each other.”
Jade held out her pinkie, and Franny wound hers around it until they were tightly linked. “Promise.”
“Promise.”
Jade shuffled her body around then, all but forcing Franny to lean back on her hands as Jade climbed up over her, her thighs on either side of Franny’s, straddling her lap. Franny breathed in deeply. Jade still smelled like the soap she’d used in their tandem shower earlier in the day. Like the scent of her fruity lotion, whatever sunscreen was left on her skin, and faintly of grass clippings. No doubt the first thing they’d do when they got back to Jade’s was shower, but Franny quite liked the scent that clung to her now. Wild and natural, every part of her day was evident on her flesh, and it made Franny’s stomach hot.
“Francesca,” Jade said slowly, her eyes alert but hooded.
Franny bumped their noses together playfully. “What?”
Jade’s hands went to Franny’s cheeks, thumbs rubbing over warm skin. “I can’t believe I can just do this now.”
“What? Park your perfect ass in my lap?”
Franny put her hands on said ass, squeezing the flesh. Ample even through those unforgiving khaki pants.
“Mm-hmm.” Jade nodded. “And this,” she said as she planted a kiss on her lips. “I can touch you and kiss you.”
“You can do more than that.”
Jade bit gently into the middle of Franny’s plump bottom lip. “I plan on it too, just as soon as I get you home.”
“Celebrations are in order. Maybe we should skip the waiting part, though.”
Jade leaned back, looking around them. Aside from the stars and a few streetlights down the road, it was completely dark. They were parked under a canopy of tall, dark trees that very well may have hidden them completely. Franny had never had sex outdoors before. It was damn near a bucket list item. Sex with an incredibly sexy woman beneath the stars, warmth seeping into their bones at every touch.
“As hot as fucking you in a semipublic area would be, that’s a hell of a risk.”
Franny sighed. Jade was right. Neither of them were necessarily pillars of the community, but getting caught could have far greater consequences than simple embarrassment.
“You’re right, you’re right. A bit of necking can’t hurt too much, right?” Franny tried. “Just while we wait for our ride.”
“‘Necking’?” Jade snorted. “Since when did you start talking like my granny?”
“Don’t blame me; blame this town. Greenbelt has turned me all inside out.”
She pressed her lips against Jade’s. Gently at first, as delicately as the first time. Savoring the feel of her, the way her soft lips moistened almost instantly, the heat they emanated. Jade’s hips moved up until their chests were pressed more closely together. They were so connected, Franny could feel Jade’s heart beating through her rib cage. The fast staccato thumping against Franny’s flesh until her own heart matched its rhythm.
Their kisses were slow, as languid as the Sunday mornings they spent in bed together. Each brush of the tongue or sweet little nip felt like the first rays of sunshine hitting their faces through the curtains. The weight of Jade in her lap provided more relief than the hottest cup of coffee first thing in the morning ever could. She felt so alive even as her eyes became heavier. Her body felt both weightless and firmly grounded at the same time. It was entirely too heady to handle, but damned if she didn’t try.
Franny tucked her hands underneath Jade’s shirt, feeling her way up the curvature of her back. There was a spot, just in the middle, that made Jade go wild, and the second Franny pressed her fingers into it, her girl pulled away with a groan, throwing her head back, exposing her neck as she released her pleasure into the night.
“You are unreal.” Franny made no effort to keep the awe out of her voice.
Jade looked down at her. She ran her tongue over her lips, then swallowed. “I love you.”
Stunned, Franny reared back suddenly. “What?”
“I love you.” There was no hesitation.
“Jade, you don’t have to… Wait, are you serious?”
“I don’t care how much of a cliché I sound like. I don’t need six more months just to know that I love you. I need six more months to keep learning how to love you properly.”
Franny wrapped her arms tightly around Jade’s waist, her throat thick again. “I love you so much.”
“You mean it?”
“I’ve never been so excited to be in love before. So hopeful. So—so happy,” Franny said. “Whatever I imagined it would feel like to finally find my person is nothing compared to what I feel every time you so much as look in my direction.”
“Francesca.”
“My Jade.”
Jade’s eyes were glistening, and from the stinging Franny felt along her lash line, hers were too.
“You know, I never actually understood people who cried because they were happy,” Jade said.
“Yeah?”
“I just didn’t get it. It didn’t make sense to me at all, how something that made me happy could make me cry too. But you’ve got me out here boo-hooing like a baby with not a negative thought on my mind.”
A few tears tracked down Jade’s cheeks, and Franny used her fingers to smooth away the wet streaks they left behind.
“You’re so sensitive, angel,” Franny told her. “Tough-ass coach. Sweet, sensitive girl. They’re the same person. You’ve just been keeping one side in the dark a little too much.”
“Not anymore.” Jade shook her head. “Not with you.”
Franny pressed their foreheads together, grinning at her. “That’s right, because we’re in love.”
Jade returned her grin, eyes still watery. “Hell yeah we are. And I—”
She was cut off by a sudden flash of light, followed by a loud beep. They looked up but made no moves to untangle their bodies.
“M. M. Butler’s Taxi Service, here for a pickup. Would you two fornicators happen to know where I can find two gals and an old truck?”
Jade groaned, immediately rolling her eyes as she finally lifted herself out of Franny’s lap. “That husband of yours is making you corny, Miri.”
Miri beeped her horn twice more in response, a shit-eating grin on her dark face. “Be careful, Jadey-wadey, before I scoop up Ms. Franny here and leave you to hitchhike your ass home.”
“She wouldn’t leave me behind.” Jade opened the back door for Franny to slide in, but before she sat, Franny leaned up for one last cheeky peck on the lips.
“Never.”