Chapter 12 - It Felt Special (Avery’s POV)

Avery wheeled to the front door as fast as she could when she heard the doorbell ring. She had to get there before Neil did. She’d ordered something that she hadn’t even told him about and wanted to present it as a surprise. Over the last few weeks she’d practiced with the door herself, insisting that if she was going to go to Arizona there’d be time she needed to be self-sufficient and this would help. That was only half the truth though. She was mostly trying to stop him finding out just how well her research about sex issues had gone.

And there it was. The box was bigger than she’d expected, but the plain brown cover and nondescript return address left no question as to what it was. Avery began to wrestle with the package, trying to pick it up, but it was far too unwieldy for her to do so. Neil arrived behind her a moment later, an intrigued look on his face.

“What is it, Coach?”

She chuckled, loving the cute name he’d chosen to use for her lately. It wasn’t honey, baby or darling. It was far more intimately them.

“I... er… I ordered a sex ramp,” she said, blushing slightly.

“A what?”

“Remember I said I was going to check on ways we could have sex without hurting my back? Turns out lots of people with spine injuries do that already, using sex ramps or pillows or things.”

He still didn’t look any wiser, though he was definitely interested.

“Basically it lets my lower body be safely elevated so you can lean over and enter me and… look, just go take it in and unwrap it will you? I’ve been wanting to try this since I found out about it!”

Neil glanced at the clock before turning back to her.

“Avery, we’re leaving for the final in less than an hour…”

“Yes, but I want to feel you in me!”

He laughed. Reaching past her, he grabbed the box and carefully lifted it over her.

“Later,” he said. “Tonight’s about you and the HotWheels. Sex can wait.”

“BUT I DON’T WANT TO WAIT!”

Avery pouted. She’d been thinking about this for days now, eager to actually see how her body responded to full sex. They’d pleasured each other orally and manually several times, but this was something new. Still, she knew he was right. She did have responsibilities as the coach, and the HotWheels had managed to reach the championship finals.

“Have I ever told you that you’re annoying when you’re right?” she said with a scowl.

Neil drove. He had to. They’d applied for a grant to get her an accessible vehicle with hand controls, but were still waiting on it. More than that though, Avery was focused on the team sheets, checking off the latest rumors on who their opponents were likely to play and which of the HotWheels would fit best against each player. As she paired name against name, switched alternatives in and out, she had to admit they were ready. Lisa in particular had improved massively since Coach Ramirez had checked in with her and was probably the best player on the team now.

“Avery?” said Neil, “We’re here.”

She looked up from her laptop and realized they were parked in the lot in front of the Worcester Civic Center. From what she knew of the place, it was almost as good as the arenas she’d played in during her college career. Neil unloaded the chair and helped her into it. She thanked him and rolled ahead of him towards the entrance.

The evening chill bit her cheeks, the sting of winter still strong in the March dusk. She pressed the button to open the doors and pushed within, not pausing to wait for him. He’d be fine. Right now, she belonged to the team. As she wheeled herself towards the changing rooms she could hear the hubbub within the arena deeper in the building. People were excited; her most of all.

“You made it then?”

Mary gave her a cheeky grin as Avery reached the open foyer between the changing rooms and arena hall. She and the rest of the team were changed already, leaving Avery as the only one not yet in her uniform.

“Of course I am!” she said. “Was I gonna miss it?”

Mary waggled her eyebrows. “I dunno, I figured Neil might have you tied to the bed… or vice versa!”

She roared with laughter. Not many teams were open to the level of bawdiness and personal commentary that the HotWheels were with Avery at the helm. She knew it didn’t always sit easy with Frank, but to her she was just a part of the team. The one who called the shots, yes, but no more and no less than any player. Besides, it wasn’t exactly a secret that she and Neil had formed a relationship over the last few weeks.

“You’re gonna be doing extra drills all week for that,” she laughed.

“Oh?” said Mary. “You’re denying it?”

Avery coughed. “Haven’t unpacked the ramp yet, that’s all. Now, mind on the games ladies and gentlemen. The Paramaniacs think they’re ready for us and we need to show them that they’re wrong.”

“What you got for us, Avery?” asked John.

He’d become their regular center, always ready to receive and, after Avery had worked with him, make the shot too.

“Regular setup to begin with,” she said. “Except, Lisa, I’m keeping you off for the first quarter. I’m pretty certain they haven’t been following your development and I want to hit them with it when they think they can get comfortable.”

She turned to their eldest and newest member, Grace Thornton. She was also one of their most disabled team members, a 1-point athlete, reduced to a half point with the female-athlete adjustment.

“Grace, can you cover her on the left for the first quarter?”

“You saying I’m not good enough to be anything but a stand in?”

Grace scowled, but it was fake and all of them knew it.

“No, I’m saying you’re new. You haven’t had as much time to work out with the team and they’ll spot that right away. They’ll think they can take advantage of that and I need you to draw on their assumption. Get the ball, move it quickly, and don’t get caught with it. Mike can back you up from guard.”

“Got it,” said Grace and Mike nodded.

“Now, I know the Paramaniacs are good. I mean they’ve won 3 of the last five regionals. But we’re better. I mean look at this place. Last year, you hadn’t played anywhere like this before but now? Now you BELONG here. So let’s turn this place into the HotWheels arena.”

Mike sniggered. “Not the most effective team speech ever, coach,” he said. “Bit cliched really.”

“I know,” said Avery. “Because you don’t NEED a motivational speech, you need to get out there and run the damn plays. You already know you’re the best team here. Now, I gotta get changed. See you in five.” The screech of tires on tile, the thud of the ball against the backboard, the cries of encouragement from the bleachers all reminded her of when she was a player. It was exciting. Avery loved every second of it, but watching the HotWheels execute the plays she had designed had her slapping the arm of her wheelchair and punching the air. There was nothing like it.

Her plan was working too. The Paramaniacs had pushed Grace hard in the first quarter, testing the new blood like Avery predicted. She managed to put two points on the board but was otherwise kept out of the play. They showed their professionalism too by covering the rest of the HotWheels enough to keep the score low.

By the end of the first quarter the Paramaniacs were five points up. Then Avery brought Lisa on and the change switched things up.

“SHOOT!” she yelled as Lisa powered across the half-way line.

Lisa didn’t hesitate. She hurled the ball towards the opposing hoop. A half-court shot while moving was impossible, but that hadn’t been her plan. The ball hit the backboard and rebounded. John and Mary were close by in the three point zone. John moved. The ball came at him. A second later it was heading back to the hoop. Once, twice, three times round the rim and the whole crowd screamed as it sank through the net. The play had been risky, but the speed of the transition and the nature of the score boosted the team’s morale better than anything she could have hoped for. The crowd roared.

It was a crowd too. Not NWBA level, but around a hundred people watching them. The team barely gave themselves a moment to celebrate before working to get the ball back from the Paramaniacs center.

The HotWheels fought for every ball, but it was a struggle. The Paramaniacs were good, really good. Their coach wasn’t. Avery looked down at where he stood and saw him chewing his fingers as his team began to trail. He checked the clock, read his clipboard notes, and frowned. Avery called a timeout at 5:23 in the second quarter and told Mary and Lisa they were coming off.

“What, why?”

It was almost like the team asked in unison, even though Mary was the only one to voice it. She grinned.

“Because their coach is lost,” she said.

John glanced down towards the opposing huddle and nodded. “I heard he’s new. Their old coach left or something.”

“That might explain it,” Avery said. “He doesn’t know them, he doesn’t know how they work best together, and he has no damn idea of how to adjust. Grace, Roger, you’re on for the next two minutes.”

The two were peripheral to Avery’s setup, and they eagerly accepted the chance to prove themselves.

“You got a plan, coach?” asked John.

She nodded. “Run the routine we did in yesterday’s scrimmage. Grace, you’re up front. John, back her up. Roger, help at the back and Mike can power through the center.”

“You sure that will work against the Paramaniacs?” asked Mary. “It wasn’t exactly our most productive practice and they’re-”

“Good?” Avery interrupted her. “Yeah, they are, but right now they’ve adapted to what we’re already doing. They’ll control it as much as they can, but they’re eight points down now. Even if they manage to claw back a couple we have a cushion. Look, I wouldn’t do this against anyone else, but if we can keep the coach unsettled, we’ve got them.”

She saw the doubt on their faces and put her hand into the center of the circle. They joined in.

“You trust me, right?” she asked.

She already knew the tentative answer. They’d already gone far further than ever before.

“Good, because I trust you, now go make it happen.”

It wasn’t easy. It was inevitable. Where Avery was fluid and the HotWheels had been drilled through a variety of plays and setups, the Paramaniacs’ coach was rigid. He barely made any changes and when he did, it was two shots too late and at times left them weaker than ever.

The klaxon sounded to end the game. Avery looked at the scoreboard for the first time in the second half. She hadn’t needed to check it, they were already making the best plays they could, but when she saw they’d won 49-37 she screamed in triumph. She wasn’t alone. The team were ecstatic, and even she could hear Neil’s shouts from the back row of the bleachers.

Avery rolled across the floor towards the team fast. They’d done it. They’d won. She knew they could, but could and did were different.

“FUCKING AMAZING!” she yelled, slapping the palms of the team as she wheeled past each of them. “You hear that? That’s your name they’re shouting!”

“We did it!”

“We won!”

“Best coach ever!”

“Best TEAM ever,” she insisted, not even sure who’d offered the compliment.

“Lisa’s the MVP!”

Avery turned towards the young woman, reaching across her chair arm to embrace her.

“They’re right, Lisa,” she said. “You’ve been getting better and better but that was incredible. You took their defense apart like tissue paper on that last play. What’s going on?”

“I heard back from Arizona,” she said. “I’m in, Avery. I’m IN!”

Avery felt a twinge of anxiety as she realized she hadn’t heard back yet. Then again, Lisa had contacted them immediately whereas she’d left it late. But was it too late?

“That’s great!” she said. “You deserve it.”

Too soon the celebration had to end to allow the more formal ending of the tournament to take place. The Paramaniacs lined up on one side of the court, their coach standing next to them.

“Ready?” asked Avery.

She studied each of their opponent’s faces as she led her team forwards. Some looked disappointed, but overall she admired their obvious sportsmanship. Player by player she shook hands, taking just a couple of seconds to give a swift note of the specific strength she’d seen in each of them.

Finally there was the coach. She stopped before him and reached out to take his hand. He took it carefully. He was biting his lip, a frown still on his face.

“You got dropped in the deep end,” Avery said. “But you fought hard. Keep going, you’ll get there.”

She moved on. It was time to get the medals and trophy. She rolled towards the center of the court where the sponsors stood with the referee. She felt big, swollen with exhilaration. Memories of the games that made her feel that way at college flooded back. It was great to feel it again.

One by one, the players passed the sponsor’s podium. Their name was called. Their medals were given. And finally the lineup was ready.

“Today’s New England MVP is LISA HURST!”

The cheering continued. Avery turned to face her, clapping as loudly as she could. Lisa was looking round open-mouthed, laughing as if she couldn’t believe what she just heard. Up in the bleachers, Avery saw both Neil and Frank on their feet screaming Lisa’s name. She’d earned it.

Finally, it was time to receive the trophy. Avery rolled forwards to take it as the coach and show it to the team before turning and raising it to the crowd. It was far more modest than the one her team won in her first year at college. Somehow, it felt much more special. She closed her eyes, rolled her head back, and just breathed.