Temi speaks up, “They’re in the weight room too?”
Coach nods. “Apparently, this is a joint practice between two teams. There’s one in the weight room now, and later in the day they will switch. Normally, I would have a backup plan, but since I’m not from around here, I’m not sure where we can go on such short notice to have any kind of workout.” She looks at us for suggestions or ideas. Coaches are supposed to have an answer for everything, to never crack under pressure or let anyone see them flinch, but this season hasn’t come without challenges, and we need to stick together if we want to make it.
“Let me call a friend,” I say and step away from the group and into the locker room to grab my phone. I unlock it and go to my favorites, hold it up to my ear, and listen to it ring. Time and time again I find myself leaning on Wyatt when things go sideways in my life, and this time is no exception.
“Hello?” Wyatt answers.
And he never fails to come through when I need him.
“Hey,” I hedge.
“What’s up? Shouldn’t you be at practice?”
“I am, but there was a scheduling issue and the Average Joe’s are here, instead. We need somewhere else to go, and I thought maybe you might know someplace that can accommodate us last minute?”
“I think Ironsides is usually closed on Mondays, but I’ll call and get them to open for you. He owes me a favor. I’ll text you the address.”
“Oh my God, you’re a lifesaver. We cannot afford to miss a practice. Even just catching half of a workout is enough.”
“It’s no problem.” I can hear the tease in his voice when he says, “Anything for my girl.”
Tell me why my stomach did a little squiggle when he called me that? Why did I have to press my lips between my teeth to contain my smile? “Bailing me out, once again.”
“It’s not bailing if I want to help.”
I toe the tip of my court shoe at the ground. “Nobody heard that anyway. So your boyfriend charm is wasted on me alone.” I hear everyone in the main gym speaking over one another and say, “I’ve got to go let everyone know we’re moving out.” If I stay on this call with him any longer, I’m going to be flouncing out there like a little schoolgirl.
When I come back out of the locker room, my teammates are putting their warm-up sweats back on over their practice gear and changing out of their court shoes for a variety of other footwear, as if they’ve given up hope on having a practice today. They turn expectantly to me. I hold my hands out like I’m about to tell them I found the golden ticket and we’re all going to meet Willy Wonka. “I’ve got a place. I’ll text the group chat the address and we’ll all meet there.”
“Where are we going?” Temi asks.
“How did you find something so quick?” Lauren adds on.
“Wyatt trains at this gym with some teammates, and he said they’re usually closed on Mondays, but he is going to call and get them to open for us.”
An actual cheer that makes me feel simultaneously like a hero and a fraud, breaks out. I wave them off. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. You can thank me if this actually works.”
Temi runs up to me. “Wyatt did this?”
I shrug. “He said the guy owes him a favor.”
“Either way, that is so sweet of him.”
I try to hide the smile and blush combo spreading across my face. “He’s a sweet guy.” And I am walking the tight rope between us. The thin line between making a good thing even better and ruining something that’s been so important in my life. The cherry on top of that shit pie is that I’m also lying to all my new teammates, who I feel like are becoming my good friends.
I try to not let those thoughts linger as we get to Ironsides gym and acquaint ourselves with the space. I check my texts one last time before abandoning my bag. There’s one from Wyatt.
WYATT
Let me know if you need anything else.
If he only knew what I really wanted from him…he might change his mind about that comment.
When we wrap up our weight room session, the owner of the gym, an older man who’s ex-NFL, comes out to greet us. “Ladies, I hope you enjoyed your time here. I’d like to extend a discounted offer to you for your off-season gym needs. Just let me know if you’re interested later on.” We all nod our thanks.
Coach speaks up, “Thank you for letting us use your space on such short notice.”
“No problem, always looking out for H-town’s athletes when I can.” It’s at this moment that Wyatt strides through the front door. “Wyatt,” John, the owner, greets him, “Great to see you.”