11. Tyler
ELEVEN
TYLER
This week, we’ve got a Saturday night home game, which is a big deal. The crowd is always insane, and my players feed off of it. The campus has been buzzing with excitement all week, especially since we’ve won our past two games. And I’m definitely feeling the pressure to keep the winning streak going. I think we all are.
We made a few stupid mistakes in last week’s game. We won, but we should’ve won by a bigger margin. We let the boys celebrate the win, but we also pushed them hard at practice all week.
The team is in the locker room getting suited up, and I’ve got a few extra minutes, so I go change my shirt in my office. I take off my white T-shirt and throw it on my chair before looking through the clean polos hanging in the small closet in my office.
I’m pulling one off the hanger when I hear a gasp followed by an “Oh shit.”
I turn to see McKenzie standing in my doorway, her eyes focused on my bare torso.
I quickly tug the polo over my head and start tucking it into my jeans.
“Sorry, I should’ve knocked. . .” she trails off, but I notice she doesn’t look away.
“And I should’ve shut the door.” I’m used to it being primarily males in the field house, especially on game days. It didn’t even cross my mind that someone could’ve walked in on me changing.
I hate to admit that I like the way McKenzie is looking at me, though. I know I shouldn’t like it and can’t quite figure out why I do, so I choose to ignore it altogether. That’s a problem for a different day.
“Did you need something?” I ask after she hasn’t said anything for entirely too long.
“Oh, um. Yeah, I did.” Her cheeks are slightly pink. “Josh and I were wondering if he could run with the team out of the tunnel to get an action shot.” Josh is her camera guy, I’m assuming. I never bothered to introduce myself to him.
I shrug. “Fine with me. Just don’t get crushed.”
She smiles. “Ok, thanks.”
“You going back toward the field? I’ll walk with you.”
I pass her in the doorway, and my hand brushes hers. It’s a nothing touch. A graze, if that. But it still feels like too much. I quickly pull my hand away and hope she didn’t notice, but hearing her breath hitch, I know she felt exactly what I did.
That’s not good at all.
I feel like a fucking teenager with a crush again, which is so damn stupid.
“You going out tonight?” I ask her, my voice coming out deeper than usual. I shake my head and clear my throat to get these thoughts out of my head. If we’re talking, I’m not thinking.
“Oh. Actually, Kylie asked me to come over after the game. . . if that’s ok with you.”
Kylie didn’t like football and definitely did not want to come to the game, but somehow, a few of her other friends convinced her. And I’m glad she decided to come. Maybe if she sees enough games, she’ll realize why I love this so much. It’s doubtful, but I’m hopeful anyway.
“Yeah, of course, that’s fine.” I tell myself that I can keep my eyes from wandering while McKenzie is at my house. I’m a grown adult and can control myself. Except here I am, trying to convince myself not to look at a twenty-one-year-old.
We stop in front of the home team locker room and stand there awkwardly, staring at each other. She looks like she wants to say something. I feel like I should say something, but nothing comes out. Is she feeling the same way I am? Whatever is pulling us together is completely inappropriate, though, and we need to sever it quickly.
Finally, she settles on, “I’ll see you on the sidelines, Coach.”
I nod and turn into the locker room before I make myself look like an even bigger fool.
The game is amazing. The team really came back from last week. I’m proud of everyone, and I can feel the relief when the fourth quarter ends and we’ve won by three touchdowns.
The stands are booming, and my players are celebrating on the field. This is why I do it. This feeling right here makes all the long days and grueling practices worth it.
The high of the win.
As soon as the game is over, I’ve got cameras in my face and people asking me questions. I’m expecting to see McKenzie in with the reporters as well, but I don’t. I’m disappointed, but I quickly shake it off and answer whatever’s thrown at me.
When I finally make my way toward the tunnel, McKenzie appears next to me with her camera guy. I don’t stop walking when she greets me. I can’t. If I stop and stare at her with this game-winning energy coursing through me, who knows what dumb shit will come out of my mouth.
“Hey Coach, great game.” I can tell she’s just as exhilarated as I am. She’s practically bouncing down the field with me.
I can’t help but smile at her energy. “Thanks.”
She asks me a few questions about my general thoughts on the game and how we’ll keep it up next week.
It seems like the awkwardness from earlier is gone. She smiles at me again before leaving, and I give her a small nod. A normal coach-student interaction.
That’s all this is, anyway.
Totally normal.
The rest of the evening goes by in a blur. I congratulate the team in the locker room and then meet with my assistant coaches. I have to sit through the post-game press conference and answer question after question before I finally get to go home.
The house is quiet when I get there. I imagine McKenzie and Kylie are already asleep. After my shower, I’m not tired yet, so I sit in the living room and turn the TV on.
I’ve barely been watching for ten minutes when I hear a sound from behind me. I look behind me and see McKenzie standing in the kitchen, wearing just a large T-shirt. I really hope she’s got shorts on under there.
“Sorry, I thought you’d be asleep,” she says.
“I should be. I’m still a little wired, though.”
“Same.”
I point to the other end of the couch. “Wanna sit?”
She smiles and nods before taking a seat. She puts a large distance between us, which I appreciate.
We watch the highlights on TV for a few minutes before she asks, “Did you always want to be a coach?”
“No. I wanted to play. I started playing football when I was five years old, and it was my dream to play in the NFL. I didn’t think about what I’d do when I couldn’t play anymore.”
She laughs. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing you’re pretty good at coaching.”
“I don’t know if I’m good at it or if I just got lucky.” I’ve had a pretty good run in my few short years as a coach, but sometimes, I think it might just be beginner’s luck. Like sooner or later, everyone will see that I’m not as good as they thought.
“Well, I think it’s because you’re good. Your players respect you. So do your assistant coaches. You’re doing big things, Tyler.” I’m Tyler again. I like that.
“I had some good mentors growing up. My coaches were the best.”
“Yeah?”
“Oh yeah. My high school coach saved my life, really. When I found out Kylie’s mom was pregnant, I freaked out. Not because I didn’t want a kid or anything, but we were young. I didn’t know what to do. He sat me down and said the best thing I could do for my daughter would be to be able to support her. He believed in my NFL dreams and pushed me as hard as he could.
“In college, my coaches understood my commitment to football and Kylie. I practiced hard, studied hard. In return, they were cool about me having Kylie around campus sometimes or leaving for a day or two to go spend time with her.
“I know I missed a lot of Kylie’s life. But I did the best I could.”
I have no idea why I just unloaded that on McKenzie. I barely know her, but having Kylie here with me now, getting this second chance with her, has meant so much. I know her mother talks shit about me and says that I left them to live out my dreams. But I always sent money and visited as much as I could. I even tried to keep things going with her mother. I proposed and everything. We eventually realized we weren’t compatible and broke things off, but I tried. Having a kid at seventeen isn’t easy.
I guess I just want someone to know my side of things.
McKenzie studies me a moment before she says anything. “If it’s any consolation, I think Kylie is happy here. I don’t think she holds any of it against you. At least she hasn’t mentioned anything to me about it. She loves you and, if anything, wants to spend more time with you.”
I swallow, not wanting to get emotional right now. “Good. Good. I want that, too. And once the season is over, things will be different.”
McKenzie gives me a soft smile. My eyes drop to her lips and the way the bottom one is still full and plump even when she’s smiling.
Fuck.
I look away and focus on the first thing I see. A deck of cards. “You wanna play a card game?”
I grab the deck from the end table next to me.
“Oh,” she says, likely startled by my abrupt subject change. “Yeah, sure. What do you wanna play?”
She turns her body on the couch to sit with her legs crossed, and I get confirmation that she is wearing shorts under her baggy shirt. Thank God.
“You know how to play blackjack?” I ask.
“Yep. I used to play with one of my older brothers all the time.”
I shuffle the deck. “Oh, yeah? Which one?”
“Oliver. He’s only a year older than me, so we were pretty close growing up.”
“What’s he doing now?” I like hearing about her family. I always wished I’d come from a big family, but I was an only child. She seems close to her family, though, which is nice.
“He works with a construction crew based out of Iowa. Builds office buildings.”
I nod and deal out the cards. She looks at hers. “Hit me.”
She wins the first round and gives me a cheeky smile.
“Are you a card shark or something?” I ask her as I get us set up for another round.
“Don’t be a sore loser, Tyler.”
“I’m not. Just trying to figure out what I got myself into.”
She chuckles quietly. “Guess you’ll have to wait and see.”
We play several rounds, her winning most of them, until she finally yawns, signaling time for us to call it quits. I gather up the cards.
“I’m glad we weren’t betting money. I’d be broke by now.”
“We were all very competitive growing up. Card games. Board games. Tic-tac-toe. We made anything a competition.”
“I feel bad for your brothers. It seems like you probably took them down every chance you could.”
“Oh, absolutely. But don’t worry; they always got their revenge on me one way or another. We drove my parents nuts. They probably wondered how they got stuck with kids like us.”
“Nah. If your brothers turned out anything like you, then your parents were doing something right.”
She tilts her head slightly and smiles at me. “I should probably get to bed,” she says. “I have to work a double tomorrow.”
“Yeah, me too.” I look at my phone to see it’s almost three a.m. I’m usually a night owl, but even this is pretty late for me.
“Thanks for the company.” She stands, and I try so hard not to look at her long legs, not to wonder what they’d feel like wrapped around me. Unfortunately, I’m unsuccessful.
“Goodnight, McKenzie.”
She looks over her shoulder at me and smiles. “’Night, Tyler.”