Page 5 of Waiting for Friday Night

Halle was the middle school principal and involved in almost every event that happened in Peachtree Cove. She was smart, enthusiastic about giving back, and could be considered overbearing or dedicated depending on which side of an issue you stood. Her dedication to making Peachtree Cove better and her daughter being the only girl on his team weren’t the only reasons he’d noticed her. Halle was the kind of woman who made a man stop talking in the middle of a sentence to focus on her. She was little over average height, cocoa-brown skin with full breasts, hips and thighs that made his stomach drop. Quinton was a sucker for a full-figured woman.

“Ms. Parker? Is everything alright?” he asked hesitantly. Though he noticed Halle whenever she was in his vicinity, he rarely interacted with her. Outside of school district-wide trainings, they didn’t hang with the same crowd. Her daughter played, but from what he knew, Halle hadn’t been overly involved in the team when Shania played in middle school. She’d come to the initial parents’ meeting before summer conditioning and practice began, but that was it. She wasn’t a hovering football parent.

Halle stopped a few feet in front of him. She wore a black blazer over a white button-up blouse that revealed just enough of a V of brown skin above her cleavage to make his eyes want to linger, and fitted pants that weren’t at all indecent but hugged her ass just enough to elicit thoughts of what it would be like to cup said ass. The idea of wearing a suit in this summer heat made him hot, but she somehow managed to look cool and sophisticated. Or maybe that was just Halle. Always in control and put together.

“Yes, I want to talk to you about Shania.” Dark brown eyes stared directly at his, even though she would only see herself reflected in his shades.

He glanced over her shoulder again at Shania, then back at Halle. He relaxed a little but kept his guard up. Parents approached him for a variety of reasons. Some just wanted to know how they could help the team. Others approached to tell him why their kid was the best football player since Deion Sanders. Then there were those who approached to point out all the things he was doing wrong before making suggestions on what he should do instead. He could only imagine Halle approaching him for the first reason over the other two. Unless there was a problem.

“Is there something wrong?”

Halle held up a hand, palm out, and gave a quick shake of her head. “No problems. In fact, Shania is enjoying summer practice.”

The tension in his shoulders eased a little more. Girls playing football in middle and high school wasn’t as rare as it had been when he’d played in school, but it was still rare enough that they got challenged for daring to play with boys. Many of the freshman boys had played with Shania in middle school, but there weren’t any other girls on the team. If any of the players had given her a hard time, he would deal with it personally. Bullying, of any kind, was a hard-line no for him and not just because of his own experiences being bullied when he was younger.

“That’s good to hear.”

“Don’t worry. If there were any problems, she wouldn’t hesitate to tell you. I made sure to raise Shania to speak up for herself.”

The corner of his mouth twitched. He didn’t doubt that any child of Halle Parker’s would be afraid to speak up. In his few years in Peachtree Cove, he had yet to see Halle back down from anything. She was the one most likely to lead the charge.

“I’ve told all the players that they can come to me with any issues. I don’t tolerate bad grades, bad attitudes, or bad decisions. If you’re going to play for me, you’re going to represent me and this team both on and off the field.”

She blinked, and appreciation filled her eyes before she nodded. “I didn’t know that about you. I thought most coaches only cared about winning.”

The wind blew her curly hair into her face, and she pushed it aside. He’d noticed she typically wore her hair twisted up in a lot of fancy hairstyles. He liked it better like this, wild and curly.

His shoulders stiffened. Why was he thinking about her hair? She’d low-key insulted him. He tried not to take offense at her words. The previous coach had put up with almost any type of behavior as long as the team won. Unfortunately, they hadn’t won much of anything and they hadn’t cared about much either.

“Not all coaches are the same.”

She nodded. “I’ll remember that. My apologies if I offended you.” Full lips lifted in a smile that made his stomach clench and almost got him to smile back.

“You didn’t. If Shania is all good, then what can I help you with?” He took them back to the point. He could look at Halle’s pretty face all day, but he was also ready to get in his car, get showered and get on with his day.

Halle crossed her arms and gave him a determined look. “It’s about the position Shania will play.”

“I haven’t decided who will play what just yet,” he jumped in before she could continue. He gave this same speech at the start of each season. “The first few weeks are conditioning, just to get them used to working out and introducing them to a few plays. When we get into running drills and plays, everyone will have a chance to try out for any position they like and then me and the coaching staff will decide who is best for what spot.”

He kept his voice pleasant but firm. He liked and respected Halle as a teacher and was definitely attracted to her but wouldn’t reveal his thoughts on team positions until he’d had a chance to evaluate everyone. He would give Shania a fair chance just as he would any other player, but he couldn’t run the risk of favoritism toward Shania if he didn’t give Halle the same story he gave every other parent.

“That’s all well and good, but I want Shania to be wide receiver.”

“Did you not hear what I just said about my process?”

“I did, and I’m telling you she wants to play wide receiver. And she wants to start.” Halle lifted her chin. Her voice had gone from casual into a clipped and professional tone. He’d heard that before. Her Principal Parker voice.

“She will get a chance just like everyone else.” He matched her Principal Knows Best tone with his own this-isn’t-up-for-debate coach’s tone.

Once again, her hand flew up in a stop position, cutting him off before he could say more. “I get it. You have to be fair. But I am going to do whatever I can to help Shania. If that means lessons or some sort of camp, let me know. You’re a coach, so coach her. I’m sure we can work together to come up with a plan to make this happen.”

Quinton blinked. Surprised and irritated that she spoke to him as if he didn’t know what the job of coach meant. “I’m going to coach Shania just like I’d coach anyone else. I don’t give preferential treatment.”

“I’m not asking for preferential treatment. I’m saying you know my daughter’s goals, so I expect you, as her coach, to help her meet her goals. That is your job, right?”

Quinton shifted his stance and crossed his arms. “My job is to do what’s best for the team. All players, not just one or two.”

“I understand. As a principal, I care about the well-being of all my students. My job is to help them. When there are students who come to me with a specific goal in mind, then it’s also my job to help that student achieve that goal. I’m not asking you to automatically make her starting wide receiver. I am asking that you take her dream seriously and help her. If she needs to work on something, I want to know. If there is a way she can improve, tell me. Is that asking you to do anything extra or not in your job description?” She raised a brow and her chin with the question.

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