After Practice

Waiting on the bleachers, I hunched over my physics packet as I slogged my way through it. Practice ended twenty minutes ago, but I was waiting for Kaylee. Beyond wanting to talk with her, she was my ride home since I let Paige take mine. When she finally exited the locker room, she was flanked by Zoe. The two spoke quickly as I stood and packed up my things. Slinging my backpack over my shoulder, the bleachers creaked under my weight as I made my way down. I was too far away to hear what they were talking about and they stopped as I approached.

“Ready?” I asked, ignoring Zoe’s displeased frown.

Kaylee smiled and gave me a nod. Turning to Zoe, she said her goodbyes with a quick hug and together we walked out of the gym. It looked like she had taken a shower before changing, her hair still damp. There were also a few places where her white teeshirt clung to her body, turning almost translucent. Without a word, I nabbed her athletics bag and slung it over my shoulder. She gave me a confused look but didn’t comment on it.

“I saw you working on your packet,” she said, oblivious to my less-than-noble stares.

“Finishing the last few problems.”

“Uh-huh. Right. So if I were to offer you a chance to see my packet…” My jaw clenched. Damn her. She was baiting me. For what, I didn’t know, but it was mighty fine bait.

“What’s the catch?” I asked, immediately suspicious.

“I want dinner.”

I pretended to think about it. “Fair enough. What were you thinking?”

“Chicken! Come on, I’m starving,” she said, picking up the pace and throwing on the jacket she was carrying. I chased her into the nearly empty parking lot, bogged down by my bag and hers. When I finally caught up, I was slightly out of breath. Kaylee watched me with a raised eyebrow. “Sounds like someone needs to work on their cardio.”

“What’s in this?” I asked as I hoisted her bag from my shoulder. “It weighs a ton.”

Snickering, she grabbed it and tossed it into her trunk. “I never asked you to carry it. Would have been a good handicap.”

Kaylee’s car was a luxury model. Probably one of the more expensive cars at school. Her mom had an extremely successful consulting business. I didn’t know exactly what she did, only it paid well and caused her to travel frequently. Kaylee was spoiled by her mother, but I always thought it was because her mom felt guilty for missing important life events.

I got inside and waited for her to do the same. Seatbelt on, I looked over as she did the same before starting the car. It purred to life. Putting it into drive, she took off. We traveled in silence for several minutes before I couldn’t stand it any longer.

“Okay, I have to ask,” I finally said, looking over at her. She never took her eyes off the road.

“Yeah?”

“What exactly does your manager do?”

She glanced over at me before focusing back on the road.

“This and that.” My silence was all I needed to show I wasn’t satisfied with that answer. She sighed. “Pretty much what it sounds like. He helps out the team with whatever they need.”

“Helps.”

She shrugged. “Yeah. He puts equipment away after practice, helps load and unload the bus, runs errands, stuff like that.”

‘Stuff like that’ was pretty vague. There was more to it, and I was pretty sure I knew what. “Does he actually do any of that, or is he just the team fuck toy?”

I saw her smile. “Pretty much the team fuck toy. Why?”

The scenery passed outside the window as my head rested against the glass. “Your coach asked me if I wanted the position.”

Kaylee’s eyes widened. “R-really? Did you take it?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

I couldn’t tell her the real reason. Fortunately, I’d expected this. “I don’t think I’d be a good fit. You heard Zoe. I’m not exactly the ‘type.’”

“Don’t take it personally. You know how picky Zoe is with her guys, and she has a lot of pull on the team—especially with the juniors. Besides, the last manager was Jayden before his girlfriend made him quit. He’s a hard act to follow.”

I looked down at my lap, folding my hands together. “So I guess you two… uh…hmm.” I didn’t know where I was going with that as I trailed off into mumbles. I sounded like an idiot.

Sitting at a red light, Kaylee looked over at me. “Not as much as the others. He was a good lay, but we didn’t really click. You know how that is.”

“Sure,” I lied. I didn’t know, but admitting to that would bring up questions I didn’t want to be asked.

There was a slight pause. “You okay?” she asked.

“Huh? Sure,” I said, looking over at her. “Why?”

“You don’t look okay.”

“Just hungry. Been a while since lunch.”

She frowned. “You’re hungry? The boy who was sitting on his ass all practice is hungry? Well. I better pick up the pace. Wouldn’t want you shriveling up and blowing away.”

“No need to be an ass,” I said with **** grin and light tone. The light turned green and her attention turned back to the road. I took the opportunity to stare out the window. It was always painful hearing Kaylee talk about the guys she’d been with. Worse when she dragged it out, going point by point on what she liked and didn’t like. Hearing it created a bitterness inside me that took a while to wash out. A bitterness that I wasn’t normal. Talking about sex was difficult for me, especially when I was with her because of all the feelings it dredged along with it. A problem considering its prevalence in conversations.

My thoughts would often drift to an alternate reality. One where I was just a normal guy. In that world, I never felt awkward around Kaylee. Never had to watch my words or hide my true thoughts. Maybe in that world, we would be something more than this platonic friendship we shared here.

I wondered if alternate me would have cared about Kaylee the way I do, or if she would just be one of the many.