Team Mates (6 page)

Though you've seen a lot more than that tonight, haven't you?

The girls waited as he locked the doors. For an instant he thought about saying something, then decided against it.
Better to wait until I know what I'm going to say,
he thought with bitter amusement.

“I'll see you on Monday, girls,” he said, and walked away, unaware of their bewildered expressions as they stared after him.

*****

“We blew it, Tabby,” Stacie moaned. They were sitting on the hood of Tabby's car at her house. Tabby's parents were inside. Stacie had called her mother and let her know they had won the game and she would be home soon.

Somehow, the fact their coach, who was also their history teacher, had caught them making love in the teacher's lounge had not come up in the conversation.

“We are so,
so
fucked,” she continued miserably. “God, he could have us suspended. Expelled. We broke so many rules I don't think there's a word for how much trouble we're in.” Inside her jeans her phone vibrated, but she ignored it.

“Relax, baby,” Tabby said, though she was far from confident herself. “I don't think he was mad at us. Did you see his face? He was scared someone was being hurt, and he wanted to help. And when he saw us,” she giggled, still reliving that horrifying moment, which was beginning to seem a lot funnier in retrospect, “he was embarrassed. Poor man,” she said wickedly, the memory stirring up a delightful craving deep within her. “To burst in like that, ready to protect the defenseless maiden, and to see us instead?” She snickered. “Besides, it could have been worse. He could have called 911.”

Beside her, Stacie snorted, Tabby's mood being contagious, despite her fears. Unwillingly, she began to chuckle, and then laugh out loud. In moments, the pent-up stress of the evening had found its release, and the girls had both slumped to the driveway, helplessly shaking with laughter.

Wiping tears away from her eyes, Stacie saw the feet and legs of Tabby's mother in front of her.

“Well,” came Loretta Harrington's warm, indulgent voice from above. “It sounds like you girls had a good time tonight. Stacie,” she continued, “your mother just called. You need to go home for dinner.”

“All right,” Stacie said, a grin still playing at the corners of her mouth. She rose to her feet with Tabby and gave her a good-bye kiss, aware of Loretta's approving presence beside her. Waving, she walked down the sidewalk and turned the corner towards her own house.

“I'm happy for you,” Loretta said to her only daughter. “Your dad and I both. You know that, don't you, honey?”

“Yes, Mom. I do,” Tabby replied. “I just wish we had more time for ourselves.”

“Well, you'll get your wish tomorrow,” her mother said. “Your dad and I will be gone most of the day. We're going to the movies, and then we're going out to eat. And your brother is going camping tomorrow night with Doyle Brannigan and his folks. So you two will have the entire afternoon and most of the evening to yourselves. Try not to break the bed.”

“Mom!” Tabby protested, her face flaming. “We're not like that!”

“Really? I'm disappointed. Your dad and I certainly were when we were your age.”

“
Ewwww,”
Tabby laughed. “Stop it! I don't want to hear about it! I'm going inside.” Covering her ears, she dashed for the house, her chuckling mother only steps behind her.

*****

Alan woke up the next morning and immediately wished he hadn't. The late-morning sunlight streaming through the window in his bedroom hit his gummy, bloodshot eyes like a celestial hammer, and he made a pathetic, whimpering sound as he turned over and tried to hide his face from the terrible, terrible sunshine.

You have to get up sometime,
an amused voice in his head noted cheerfully.

“Go away,” he groaned, burrowing deeper into his blankets. Good God, his stomach felt terrible. And his head. What had he done last night?

Oh. Oh, sweet Jesus.
His traitorous memory threw up the vision which had greeted him when he opened the door to the teacher's lounge the night before, of two lovely women pleasuring each other.

After that, his recollection grew cloudy. He vaguely recalled picking up a carton of suspiciously cheap Chinese take-out on his way home, and stopping by the conveniently close liquor store for more beer as well. From the roiling in his guts, he thought both the take-out and the beer had made a too-swift trip into his stomach.

God help him, he hoped the fragmented memories of the rest of the night were wrong. He didn't relish the thought of trying to convince Amazon that he hadn't meant to buy all of Michael Bay's movies while he was in a drunken stupor. Groaning, he sat up and put his head in his hands, grateful that the motion didn't cause him to lose whatever was left in his stomach all over the floor of his bedroom.

A shower,
he decided.
A long,
hot
shower, and a run. Try to sweat some of this crap out of your system. Then you can grade the papers you should have taken care of yesterday, and decide how you are going to face Tabitha and Stacie on Monday.

*****

Thirty minutes later, showered, dressed, with aspirin and cold water having dulled the edge of his hangover, he set out on his morning run. He was dressed in shorts, running shoes, and an old, ragged t-shirt. Not bothering to warm up, he hit the sidewalk at a slow, steady pace, one which he could ramp up as the turmoil in his belly receded.

As he made his way though the cool Saturday morning, his mood slowly improved. In time with his pounding feet, his thoughts turned to the cataclysmic shock he had received the previous night.

God, I'm an idiot,
he thought.
The least I could have done was let the girls know they weren't in any trouble.
In his mind's eye he could still see the terrified looks in their faces when he had burst into the lounge like some sort of madman. And then he didn't even have the courtesy to apologize! Granted, they shouldn't have been in school after hours, and they certainly should have chosen a better place to make love, but he could remember what it felt like to be their age. Young, horny, in love, or at least so close to it that it made no difference. And he had treated them as if they had committed some sort of crime!

He shook his head and made a turn onto a leafy, tree-lined street. Arching branches overhead rustled in the late-October breeze, and his feet thumped softly as he made his way through drifts of fallen leaves. Their musty smell rose around him, and he was so caught up in his own thoughts he barely noticed the car pull into the driveway a few houses ahead of him.

But when Stacie Reynolds climbed out of the passenger seat and hugged Tabby Harrington, who had sprinted off the porch and into her girlfriend's embrace, it was a little hard to ignore. He tried to keep his gaze resolutely forward as he passed Tabby's house, but when they called and waved to him he had little choice but to return their greeting. Waving awkwardly, he sped up, not trusting himself to stop, completely unaware of their hot, greedy gazes lingering on his legs and back as he jogged out of sight.

*****

“Who was that?” Loretta asked her daughter as she and her husband joined the girls outside. Stacie's mom had already left on errands of her own.

“Our history teacher,” Tabitha said.

“And our volleyball coach, now that old Mr. Walton has quit,” put in Stacie.

“Mmmm,” Loretta said, eyes following the lithe figure as he continued down the street. “Very nice. I can see why you two have been lusting after him the last month or so.” At her side, her husband chuckled.

“Mom!” said Tabby, horrified.

“What? Do you think your dad and I don't have ears? The two of you have been giggling about Mr. Glassman for weeks. Just make sure,” she continued, her voice serious, “that giggling is all that happens. We don't need to tell you how dangerous it is for students to get involved with their teachers, do we?”

“No, Mom,” Tabby said obediently, and Stacie echoed her.

“Good.” She smiled at her daughter and her girlfriend. “We'll be back home late. We trust you, so don't do anything silly. No boys. Or girls,” she said, with an amused twinkle in her eye. “Call us if there's any problems.”

“Let's go, woman,” growled her husband. He gave her rear a quick slap as he walked past her towards the car.

“Oh, baby,” her teasing voice followed him. “You know what I like.” After giving the girls a quick hug, she joined him in their sedan.

“Did you really think he was hot?” Robert Harrington asked his wife as they pulled out of the driveway.

Loretta shrugged. “Cute enough, in a just-out-of-college sort of way. But don't worry,” she continued with a seductive smirk. “I like my meat a little more aged.” She ran a loving hand up the inside of her husband's thigh, lips curling as he jumped. “You know,” she continued, “I think we can trust the girls alone, if you want to make a night of it. What do you say, honey? Movie, dinner, a drink at a night club, then a nice long orgy at a hotel to finish the night? Just the two of us, with no kids?”

“Woman, you just made a deal.”

*****

After getting back from his run, Alan took a shower, then graded the quizzes for his civics class. Trying to distract himself, he then set up his classroom plans for the next week. Turning on the TV, he tried to immerse himself in sports, but for once the pleasures of college football were lost on him.

He sighed, pacing the small living room, then flopped back down on the second-hand couch.
I need to get this over with,
he decided.
I need to let the girls know they aren't in trouble and don't need to worry about me coming down on them.
Theoretically, he knew there should be some sort of disciplinary action for the girls, but he couldn't imagine telling Lavender Tipton how he had caught the two of them making love in school.

He frowned at the contact list he had been provided. He had e-mail addresses and cell phone numbers for all the girls on the team, as well as contact information for their parents. He shook his head. He wasn't going to send the two of them an e-mail, as impersonal as a thrown knife. He knew where they were.

His guts knotted as he changed his clothes, trying for a professional look. He didn't look forward to convincing Tabby's parents he needed to talk with the girls privately.

Christ, what a mess. Just get it over with.

At the last second, he decided against driving. The last thing he needed was for someone to drive past the Harringtons' house and see his car there. He knew as well as anyone how easy it was for rumors to get started.

Trying to whistle cheerfully, he walked down the sidewalk, retracing his steps from a few hours before.

*****

“This is nice,” Tabby said, stretching luxuriously at Stacie's side. They were laying together on the couch, watching on old movie on TV.

“What is?” Stacie asked.

“This,” Tabby replied. “Having time alone together. Not having to be in a big damn hurry when we decide to make love. Lord,” she said, continuing the thought, “I can't wait until we get into college. Think about it, baby,” she said, snuggling deeper into her lover's arms, cooing with pleasure as Stacie cupped her breasts lovingly. “We'll come back from class, eat a really
crappy
dinner,” she said with a smile. They had both heard horror stories about dorm food. “And then we will have all night long to make love. Just the two of us.”

“Unless we have homework to do. Or unless you've found another girlfriend. Or boyfriend. Or unless I've found a boyfriend.”

Tabby twisted in Stacie's arms, a frown pinching her forehead. “Well, aren't you little Miss Glass-Is-Half-Empty today. What's got your panties in a twist?”

Stacie sighed. “Nothing. This...” she trailed off. “It seems to good to be true. Us. What we have together. Do you ever worry it's all just a dream, that it'll all go away one day?”

Tabby's arms tightened around her. “No,” she breathed softly, her dark blue eyes intent on her lover's face. “I don't. I love you. Maybe someday I will date another girl, or find a boyfriend, but that doesn't mean I will ever stop loving you. Do you think I'm scared I'll lose you if you find a man to share your life and your bed?” She shook her head. “This is true love,” she said, quoting 'The Princess Bride', a movie they both adored. “You think this happens every day?”

Stacie sniffled, a single tear running down her cheek. Face solemn, Tabby raised her face and kissed it away. Their eyes caught and passion kindled between them, as it had since that first night when Tabby had crept, trembling, into Stacie's sleeping bag. Below Tabby, Stacie spread her legs, making her body a cradle for her lover. Moaning, Tabby slid into her embrace, her groin gently rocking against Stacie's pubis, feeling her panties growing damp as her arousal increased. She smiled and nibbled at the curve of Stacie's jaw as she felt her pulling up her skirt, exposing her ass-cheeks to the cool air of the living room.

At that moment they both heard it; a firm knock on the front door.

“Ignore it,” Tabby said, burrowing deeper into the curve of Stacie's shoulder.

“We can't,” Stacie protested. “It might be my parents. There might be an emergency, and your car is here, so they know we're here. If we ignore them, they'll
know
we're ignoring them. Dad still thinks this is all going to pass over,” she said, frowning. “The last thing we should do is rub their nose in how we're screwing every chance we get.”