32. Will
CHAPTER 32
WILL
“ O kay, I don’t know shit about cheerleading, but I’m pretty sure that was freaking incredible,” Seth says, leaning forward in his chair so Theo and I can both hear him.
“Yeah, it was,” I admit absentmindedly, but all my focus is on Hannah as she and Caroline jump around, hugging and screaming for the squad as they dismount their stunts before moving out of view for the next squad to get set. God, she’s so fucking beautiful.
I haven’t been able to think about anything but the way she felt riding my cock last week, and the sight of her smiling in excitement below has me wishing I could pull her out of this arena and keep her to myself for a couple of hours.
“Coach Thompson, how long until they announce the winners?” Blake asks from his seat in front of us, interrupting my thoughts.
“Uh, I think there’s only one or two more squads left,” I tell him, checking my watch. “Another thirty minutes tops.”
He nods, turning back to the front as Seth and Theo make small talk about a project on Theo’s farm that I halfheartedly attempt to follow while we wait on the results. It sure as hell doesn’t seem to work because I find myself distracted by the thought of finally getting her alone again.
“All right, who’s ready for some results?” the voice over the loudspeaker booms, and the squads that are starting to line up across the mat scream so loud, I swear my ears start ringing.
I smile when I see Hannah and Caroline standing with their squad on the corner, huddling together and whispering . She’s so damn gorgeous , I think, watching as her long blonde hair falls in her face while she wiggles around impatiently.
“First of all, we want to say congratulations to all the teams here. And thank you to all the coaches, parents, and school districts that make this possible,” the announcer says, and everyone claps.
She continues on for several minutes, talking about the tough job the judges had thanks to all the talent until Seth finally leans over to whisper, “Damn, I’m not even the one competing, and I’m getting anxious.”
I nod in agreement, just as the woman in the front of the room starts, “Without further ado, coming in third place in the 3A small varsity division, we have the Bulldogs from Brookside High School.”
The squad standing next to Hannah erupts into cheers, screaming and hugging while one of the girls goes to grab the trophy. After a few moments, the arena goes silent again, until the announcement continues, “And in second place we have the Wildcats from Saddle Ridge High School!”
The girls on the opposite end of the arena cheer as Seth leans over. “So either they won, or they didn’t place…”
I nod, feeling my nerves heighten as I watch Caroline and Hannah squeezing each other’s hands so hard I’m scared they’ll break.
“Surely they won,” Theo mumbles. “My fiancé is their freaking kick-ass coach.”
Seth and I chuckle at that, as everyone around us goes quiet. There are at least twelve other squads on the mat, and they all look like they’re about to lose it as they wait for the announcer to finish.
“And finally, your 3A small Varsity division state champions are…the Saints from Springside High School!”
“Hell yeah!” Theo yells, causing a few of the parents from other schools that are sitting near us to turn and give him looks of disapproval. He shrugs in apology, and I let out a whoop of excitement. In the rows in front of me, the football team jumps up and starts high-fiving each other, as the squad on the floor screams and hugs each other while Maggie runs forward to grab the trophy.
As soon as it’s in her hands, she runs back, holding it up while the squad all but tackles Caroline and Hannah. Most of the girls are crying, and I smile when I catch sight of Hannah, who’s always pretended she doesn’t cry, wipes a stray tear.
“Those girls really love Hannah and Caroline,” Seth says, watching the scene below us.
“Yeah, they do,” I agree, wishing that I could go pull her into my arms and congratulate her. But considering that everyone here thinks we can’t stand to be in the same room, plus the fact that the school would definitely frown upon it, I stay put, watching her and wishing she was mine.
“All right, guys, we have the Huntsville Hornets away on Friday, so in addition to the game, we also have a huge travel week,” I say, sitting down on my sofa with a beer Sunday afternoon to comb through the film I have pulled up.
“Shit, I am not looking forward to that ride on the bus,” Kent groans, and we all nod in agreement.
“Yeah, I can’t say it’s something I’m excited about either, but the boosters have offered to help us cover the cost of staying in a hotel outside of Huntsville for the night. Apparently, Blake’s dad has a connection and they were willing to give them to us pretty cheap. It’s not what I’d normally do, but depending on how late the game goes it could be after three in the morning before we got back, and I’m not comfortable being on the road that late after a game.”
“Hell, I can’t say I’ll complain about that,” Jason agrees, reaching out for a handful of chips off the coffee table.
The other coaches nod in agreement, and I grab the remote to start the first few plays of Huntsville’s last game.
I let the video play for a while, pausing them every so often to point out the things I noticed when I previewed this game last night. “I really think we need to think about moving Drew over here on the offense line when we run the new ‘24 dive’ play,” I suggest to Kent, just as I hear my phone ping with an incoming text.
HANNAH: Hey, are you coming by tonight? I wouldn’t mind a repeat of Friday
I smile at the text, before pausing and resisting the urge to curse at the realization that by the time I get everything ready for the week, it’ll be close to midnight.
WILL: I wish… As much as I’d love to, there’s a ton of stuff I have to get done tonight. What about tomorrow?
HANNAH: You know it’s Margarita Monday.
WILL: Crap, that’s right. And I have a booster club meeting Tuesday night and then Thursday, I agreed to drive the bus for the volleyball team since their coach has an appointment.
HANNAH: Wednesday is our late practice day this week.
I growl in frustration at the texts, feeling the good mood I felt when I saw her name on my phone drifting away.
WILL: Damn. I don’t know if I can make it this week.
HANNAH: I mean technically we made it the last seven years so I think we’ll survive…
HANNAH: I guess I’ll also admit that I’m a little sad about this. I was looking forward to sliding my mouth up and down your thick…
HANNAH: But never mind… I’ll just have to take care of myself. ;) See you Friday!
“Will, why do you look like you’re ready to punch something?” Marcus asks, looking over at me in concern. “Is there something wrong?”
I blink up from my phone, feeling all the coaches staring at me. “Oh, uh, no, I’m good. Just fired up for the game Friday,” I tell them, the lie sounding lame even to my ears.
“Oh, okay,” Marcus says skeptically, before sharing a look with all the other coaches.
Eventually, they all turn their attention back to the film, and I struggle to get my frustration under control. It figures that now that we both want to be together, even if she claims it’s just for sex, we’d have a full schedule. Eventually, I push those emotions to the side and grab my phone again to respond to Hannah.
WILL: Tease me all you want, but I’m coming for you on Saturday and I promise you’ll be begging by the time I’m through with you.