Page 73 of Waiting for Friday Night

She didn’t, but the idea of being alone with him made her giddy. They rarely had time to be together without Shania or his family around. His phone calls to make plans for how he and Shania would spend time together was their only alone time.

“I don’t mind.” She motioned for him to sit on the couch. “Good job on the varsity game last night.”

He sat and stretched his long legs out in front of him. “Thanks. I was worried we wouldn’t be able to get the win, but it worked out. Were you there? I didn’t see you?”

Halle sat on the far end of the couch. “No, Shania went to the game with her cousin and then they had a sleepover afterwards. She told me about the win.”

The edge of his mouth lifted up in a slight smile. “You don’t like football, do you?”

“Why do you say that?”

“I remember overhearing you talk about how you wish you could get rid of the football program at the middle school.”

Her eyes widened. “When did I say that?”

“It was an offhand comment. It was at my first district meeting. You were upset that they focused on me joining the high school coaching staff and said you wished they’d focused on academics as much as they focused on football. That if you could, you’d get rid of the program all together.”

She pressed a hand to her temple. She remembered that comment. She had been annoyed about the district training being all about the high school’s newest celebrity coach. “I’m sorry. I had to have sounded terrible.”

“You sounded honest. I was surprised when I found out your daughter was playing at the middle school.”

“I was surprised when she went for the team. She played flag at summer camp and was always into basketball, but I thought it would end with middle school. She proved me and everyone else in town wrong.”

“But you still don’t like football.” There was no judgment in his tone.

Halle decided to be honest. “I’ve grown to appreciate it. Shania’s confidence has grown, and I know she’s talented. My issue is growing up in this town when they cared more about football than anything else. In college, I also noticed the school cared more about the teams winning than the other programs. So, I’m a little jaded.”

“A lot of schools put more emphasis on sports than they do on academics. I’m not saying it’s right, but it’s not uncommon. What specifically jaded you?”

Her answer usually satisfied most people; she was surprised he’d realized there was more to her story than an overall disdain of sports. Then again, she shouldn’t be surprised. He was observant.

“I was a student tutor. I didn’t mind helping, so when the former Peachtree Cove High principal made me tutor the star football player, Darren Jeter, so that he could get the team in the playoffs, I didn’t like it but I tried. The problem was that he kept blowing me off. When I confronted him, he said it didn’t matter and that he would be able to play anyway. I went and complained. The principal listened to me, but ultimately blew me off. Not only that, Darren miraculously got an A in English and a B in math. Something I know he couldn’t do and later realized that his grades had been changed. They let him play, patted me on the head and told me that’s the way the world works, and that was that.”

She still was upset when she thought back on that. It was one of the reasons she went into education and later became a principal. To give all students a fair advantage. Academics was her main focus; she wanted all the kids to succeed. If they played a sport or not shouldn’t be a ticket to passing.

“I’m sorry that happened to you.” His eyes were sincere along with his tone. “But you can’t put all athletes under the same umbrella because of that.”

“I don’t, but I don’t have to like the way they’re coddled either.”

He cocked his head to the side. “All athletes aren’t coddled.”

“What about you? You were good in high school before your accident, right? Did the teachers cater to you?”

He snorted. “Hardly. In my hometown, the kids whose parents were able to contribute to the booster club were the ones who got preferential treatment. The poor kids like me, we were lucky to even make the team.”

“But you’re a good player?”

The look he gave said being a good player wasn’t enough. “I was, but if someone else’s kid’s dad gave enough to the booster club then that kid was the starter. I fought for my position, but I also did what I needed to do to keep my grades up because I knew that football may not be my way out of poverty. The accident proved that. I got into college on an academic scholarship. From there, I walked on to the team and earned an athletic scholarship later. It wasn’t easy.”

“I’m sorry for misjudging you. Tracey and Imani tease me about having it out for athletes. I guess I did let what happened in high school cloud my judgment.”

He reached over and squeezed her hand. “No harm was done. I just hope that you’re willing to give this athlete a chance.”

Warmth from his touch traveled up her arm, across her chest and neck and down through her midsection. She wanted to give him a chance. The thought made her take in a shaky breath and her heart rate increased. She did want to. She liked Quinton, not the idea of him, but him as a person. But there were so many things they needed to fix before she could do that.

She pulled her hand away before her newfound revelation sent her across the couch and into his arms. “You said the Travel Magazine editor caused your accident. How did it happen?”

Quinton’s jaw tightened. She thought he wasn’t going to answer but he spoke after a tense second. “According to my principal, boys just playing around.”

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