Page 11 of The Coach

Jasmine gives us a sneaky smile. "Sorry, ladies, I can't. I have another date lined up."

"Ooh, tell me all about the lucky guy." I'm trying not to get my hopes up for her too much, but I just want her to be happy. If anyone deserves a nice relationship, it's her.

"No, not this time. I don't want to jinx anything." I give her a look like fuck, she'll be telling me all about it later when it's just the two of us.

I turn to my friend. "Okay. Luna?"

"Not this weekend. After our game, I'm spending the weekend with Rick."

We all look at her, confused. I haven't heard her talk about a Rick before.

"The guy who thinks I work at the sex shop." She laughs. "He wants to test out some of the new toys that have just arrived in." I shake my head at her. She ends up with a sex maniac out of that night, and I end up with a total mess. Typical.

"Looks like it's just the two of us then, girlfriend," Darcy says. "It'll be more fun that way."

I smirk at her, wondering what exactly she has in mind. Even after knowing her for nearly six years, Darcy is still a bit of a mystery to me. She never talks about anything too profound or serious, not her family or life back home. I know literally nothing about her past at all. She's not the deep conversation kind of girl who you really know well. Luna is the total opposite. She's an open book and I know every little detail about her life. But we love Darcy because she's the fun one, always up for a night out, so really, what does it matter if that's all we know about her?

Chapter Five

Brad

This morningI'm working with our assistant coach, Ava. Mitch was going to be here as well, but he ended up in the hospital last night, so she can give me the rundown. We will need to work closely together this year, anyway.

Ava and I go back a while. She did some work with Chelsea when I was playing for them. So I think we'll make the perfect team to bring home the victory this year.

Since finding out I had the job, I've been watching over last year's games and working on some new ideas for areas where we can improve, and I'm looking forward to sharing them with her and the team. I'm not sure the girls are going to be stoked about some of the changes, but they'll adapt, and I'm sure we'll be able to see the benefits before too long.

Ava hands me a clipboard with a flick of her hair and a smile. "Are you ready for today, Coach?"

I flip through the attached papers. There's the team roster with the positions they play and some of the drills she's been working on. Everything is very organized. She specializes in set pieces, for corners, free kicks, and penalties as a new coach. I'm lucky to have her experience. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"I can take charge this morning if you want to observe, then you can take over this afternoon," she offers.

"Sounds good to me." It will give me a better chance to see what's going on and the team dynamics as well. Stuff I couldn't pick up by watching their games on a screen.

The girls filter into the parking lot, and I can't help but look for her. Andrea Harper. I know I need to put what happened behind me and move forward, but that's easier said than done when that night together was the first time I really connected with another person in a really fucking long time. I had plans for her, and finding out she was on my team last night was more than just disappointing. I know I should have picked up on it sooner, I've been studying this team for weeks, but somehow, I didn't connect the dots. Her name in soccer is Andrea, and mostly she goes by her surname Harper, and she looks so different in her sports gear to the all-black badass look she had going on the night I met her.

I don't see her getting out of her car and making her way to the field like the other players. Why am I not surprised that she can't be here on time like the rest of the team? Even Mitch said she has attitude that needs to be kept in check.

I stroll down to the field with Ava. A few of the players say hi and offer welcoming smiles. "You're certainly getting a lot of attention this morning," Ava says with a smirk. "I take it the team are happy about you being a new addition to our coaching staff."

"I'm sure they're all just being friendly with their new coach." I give her a look back that tells her I won't put up with anything else.

"Yes, all new coaches get that kind of flirtatious smile and wave." She rolls her eyes, and if I didn't know better, I would think she is jealous.

We take our place on the side of the field, clipboard in hand. It feels odd to be on the sidelines, not taking the field with my team. My feet itch to play, it's all I've known. But I guess now I get to know something else, a new way of enjoying my favorite game.

As if Ava can read my mind, she offers me a sympathetic smile. "It must be strange for you not being one of the players."

"Yeah, it is. All I ever wanted to do, from the youngest age, was to be a professional soccer player. I guess life had other plans."

"And you were one of the best, not many can say that." She gives my arm a squeeze.

I offer her half a smile. I was the best; that's what hurts the most. The only dream I ever had for my life was to be the best soccer player possible.

I can remember practicing kicking for goal. My poor older sister, who was left in charge of me until Mum got home from work, would be dragged along to the local sports field, and I would shoot goals at her till she had enough of it, or it was dark and Mum called us home. Lucky for me my sister was a sick player herself. She was the top goalie in our area in the juniors. I like to think because of me.

The last two years since my accident have been the most difficult of my life. First my injury then surgery and rehab so I could walk on it again. Then coming to terms with the fact that I would never play again. I was miserable, and I know it's one of the reasons my new marriage suffered so much. Well, that and I should have known right from the start that Madeline only wanted to marry me for the status and money it gave her, and once I wasn't the top soccer star anymore, she was bored and went looking for something more exciting. She didn't go far to find it! When I caught her in bed with my best mate and the player who benefited most from my injury because he was now the top striker, that was it, my marriage was over as well.

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