The Coach

Painful Practice

Zoey

    There was warmth in his lips. There was also genuine affection towards me. We pulled away, and he stroked my cheek, as he put his forehead against mine. "I will protect you" he whispered, and I looked at him confused.

    "Protect me? You don't have to protect me. This is my own problem to deal with, and I don't want you involved" I said, standing up from the couch and heading to the kitchen to clean the last of the mess. He followed me, and I could feel his warm arms wrap around my waist. He put his lips against my ears, his minty breath blowing a few strands.

    "I want to. You are special and I don't want you in danger"

    He kissed my cheek and walked out of the apartment, leaving me there wanting more. I couldn't start feeling things for him. I was his coworker and we can't like each other. I finished washing the dishes, scrubbing them furiously until I was satisfied with their cleanliness.

    I decided to finish the rest tomorrow and headed to take a warm shower and go to bed. As I took my clothes off, I winced at the pain in my ribs. I had hidden it very well from Sebastian, but I was dying on the inside when he touched that spot.

    I let the water soothe me for a moment, as I lathered my body. I went to bed, and drifted off to sleep, thinking of him.

******

    It was the next day, and I was already late. The alarm didn't go off, and I only had forty-five minutes to get ready and go to work. I took the first thing I grabbed. Some faded jeans and a blue t-shirt, with some sneakers. More casual than my usual days, but I didn't have time to even wear makeup.

    I pulled up my hair in a messy bun and headed out the door. I arrived at school and took deep breaths to soothe my pain, but it was worse than yesterday. As I walked in, I greeted the students normally, as if nothing happened.

    I walked into the principal's office, and Alex was already waiting for me. He called me, and I slowly walked to his private office. He motioned me to sit down, making me wonder what he wanted.

    "Sebastian was caught up in an important meeting at his company and asked if you could take over the practice today," he asked. I nodded and headed to the locker room to get the boys ready for practice.

    The locker room was empty, so I assumed they were all outside. I left my belongings in the office and locked it before heading to the field.

    They were running their laps, and I was glad I didn't have to order them around. I sat and rubbed my side, trying to get the pain to go away, but suddenly the football came out of nowhere and hit me right on the spot. Just my luck.

    I bent over to the ground and tried to catch my breath, but it was too painful.

    "Oh no, Miss Torres. Are you okay?" Johnny asked, trying to help me up.

    "Yes, I am fine. Just hit a sensitive spot" I said, but the sweat was trickling down my forehead. The pain was unbearable, and it almost made me tear up. I dismissed them to practice while I lifted my shirt and saw the bruise getting worse.

    "Hi, Miss Torres" I heard Martha as she sat next to me.

    "Hey, aren't you supposed to be in class?" I asked and she shook her head.

    "I asked for a pass to the bathroom. I don't like that teacher, she is mean. I miss you giving us the class"

    "I know, sweetie. But your brother had a meeting and Mr. Gibson has asked me to cover for him today. But I will be back to the classroom tomorrow"

    "Well, why don't we pay him a visit after school? I know you want to see him" she said with a cheeky smile on her face. I laughed and shook my head at her silliness.

    "I have things to do, like fix up my apartment, but I can give you a ride and drop you off at his company," I said, as she pouted, "come on, stop trying to get us to be together, it will not happen"

  "That is not what he says. He told me you kissed him last night" she wiggled her eyebrows, and I was just in disbelief. Of course he couldn't keep that to himself.

    She stayed there, keeping me company until the practice was over. The boys went to change, and I headed to my classroom to finish my day.

    "Hello, class. I hope you didn't miss me that much today" I said, dismissing the substitute teacher and resuming with the lesson she was giving them.

    Martha sat down and I chuckled at how she outsmarted the teacher just to come find me. As I was teaching the class, my phone pinged, but I decided to check it out later.

    "Well, kids. We are going to be working today on writing. I need you all to read the book under your desk, and write an essay about what you think is important on that subject," I ordered. They quickly reached for the small books and started reading silently. I sat on my desk and checked the message.

    'Hello, pretty lady. I am sorry for leaving you hanging with the boys, but had a very important meeting here. I was wondering if you accept to go out with me to dinner one day?'  His text message read.

     I smiled, and that didn't go unnoticed by Martha, who looked at me and smiled. I gave her a nod, ordering her to continue with her essay, but I was really looking forward to another date with him. I opened the keyboard and started typing.

    'I would love to. Just tell me when, and I will be there'

   'No need, I will pick you up at your house. Will text you later with details'

    I put the phone away and continued to keep an eye on my class. That man had my heart beating fast, and I was afraid to fall in love with him, but I knew it would be hard not to if he kept being sweet with me.