Page 49 of The Player

“Thank you for standing up for me today,” my Sugar Plum whispers and looks at me as she pulls into the school parking lot. A knot forms in my throat at how vulnerable she sounds.

“Don’t even mention it, Ju-Ju.” Pulling her into me, I kiss her deeply, wanting to take away all the shit going on in my mind right now.

“Mm, Aaron,” she whimpers for me as we dance our tongues together. She pulls back, and that plump lip look I love so much on her stares back at me.

“Do you want me to come get you after you meet with the team?”

“Well, I kind of need you to come get me, Sugar Plum. I can’t walk back to your place.” I smirk at her, knowing full well I could make the damn mile back to her.

Laughing, Julie pushes me, and I open the door. “See you in a few hours. You got this!”

Once Julie has left, I make my way over to the stands. It’s not hard to see I have some very talented players. It’s also obvious they need some work. There are a few that need major work, but all in all, I’m enjoying watching my talented players.

One thing rings out in my brain, they aren’t bad, but they lack discipline. It took the assistant coach fifteen minutes to get the players’ attention away from their phones. Yeah, that shit won’t fly with me.

Getting up, I take off my baseball cap and sunglasses. Walking onto the football field, I blow the whistle in my hand. Laughing as everyone freezes, I step up to the assistant coach, and his eyes get wide.

“Holy hell, you’re here.” He wipes his sweaty brow and smiles so big at me that it’s almost blinding.

“Yup, I’m here, and we have some work to do, don’t we?”

“Yes, yes, we do. Boys, come on in. Come meet your new coach.”

As the boys come running toward me, I think about how Julie used to run to me after a game and how much I miss it. Fuck, I was a dumbass. Thank God I have a chance to fix things and make her mine.

Mine. The word is on repeat in my mind as I think about how much I want her. Damn, my cock is ready to burst again.

Calming myself down by counting to twenty, I focus on the boys. For the next two hours, I run drills with them. By the time practice is over, I’m sweating and ready to see my girl.

Julie

I’m ten minutes away.

Me

Thank you, Sugar Plum. Wrapping it up now.

I feel like a damn kid on Christmas morning, getting all the presents under the tree.

“Coach!”

“Coach!”

All the boys want my attention. It’s crazy how they are looking at me. Hell, I remember looking at my coach during practices and wanting to hear words of encouragement too. These guys are impressionable, and anything I say could hurt them. Still, I need to be truthful with them.

“Boys, we have a lot of work to do. You are good, but you can be exceptional. Tomorrow starts our two-a-day practices.” A few of the boys groan, but some of them look excited.

“I noticed we don’t have a lot of play on defense, and that’s something we are going to need to work on.” I keep my words as nonjudgmental as possible, even though I want to call some players out. That’s not my style. I hated it when all the coaches would do that.

“Now, hit the showers, get home and rest. As of right now, there are no parties, no girls, and absolutely nothing illegal. If you have a job, come talk to me, and we will work around it. If there are other school activities you are looking at joining, let me know. Football is a way of life for some, but it shouldn’t be your only life.”

The assistant coach blows the whistle, and I shake his hand. “See you tomorrow. For the next three weeks, we are running two-a-days starting at 10:00 a.m. and then 4:00 p.m. Once school starts, practice will be after school. Expect to stay late and work hard.”

With that, I leave the field, placing my sunglasses and cap back on, feeling good about the plan I have for the boys. Now, I have to find a way to get out of the house tonight to take care of Julie’s problem. As her SUV pulls up, I smile, letting all thoughts leave me.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

“Aaron!” I yell from the bleachers. He turns to me, and by the way he looks at me, I almost think he wants me as much as I want him. That’s not true, though. My best friend could never want me. It would mean he would be dating the overweight chick, and that’s not what the cool kids do.

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