by Claire Adams
I loved volleyball, but I trained so hard and practiced so much that I did need a break from it.
“Nah, not right now,” I replied. “Let's just relax for a while. Besides, maybe they don't want any extra players.”
“Yeah, I guess you're right. Well, come on, let's pick a spot and set our towels down.”
We found an open area to claim. I stared out at the waves rolling in. It was a calm day, perfect for swimming.
“You know what? I think I'm gonna take a dip,” I announced. “You wanna join me?”
“Not right now,” Leena replied. “I think I'll just soak up some sun for a while.”
“Okay.”
“Watch out for sharks,” she joked as I started toward the water.
I turned back over my shoulder and smiled. “I’ll do my best.”
I was already plotting my swim path down toward the small pier about a half a mile away when I noticed the people in the water — two guys and two girls. As I started getting closer to them, I noticed that the features of the two girls were pretty familiar. Actually, they were really familiar.
When I was close enough to make out who it was, I couldn't help but let out a gasp of surprise. It was Tammy, Kelly, and…Wade?
I was fairly certain they hadn’t seen me, so I simply turned around and walked stiffly back to Leena, a clamor of emotions churning through my head.
What the hell was going on here? Why were Tammy and Kelly with Wade…here…swimming together? I sat down next to Leena, who had already settled down on her towel.
“Gee, that was quick,” she remarked. “And you didn't even get in the water. Why'd you change your mind? You saw a shark, didn’t you?”
“Umm. I suppose that’s one way to look at it.”
She popped her head up and glared at me over the top of her sunglasses. “Lee, I want you to take a very careful look at who is in the water right now,” I said.
She peered at the figures, but couldn't quite make out who it was. “Someone we know?”
“Uh, yeah. Totally someone we know.”
She studied the figures for a few more moments. “You know I’m half blind. Are you gonna tell me, or just keep me guessing here? C'mon.”
“It's Tammy and Kelly.”
“Seriously? Those two! Way to ruin a great day.”
“Ohhh, that's not all. Wade is out there, too.”
“Wade?”
“Coach Vinson!”
Her eyes widened with surprise. “Oh my God, are you serious?” she sat more upright on her elbows.
“I promise you, it's him. There's no doubt about it, it's totally him.”
“And, they're swimming together?”
“You can see that they are, Lee, come on.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know. Jeez, that's crazy! Do you think that...that something is going on with them?”
“I don't know! But it's crazy, right?”
“We've established that, Eryn.”
It was weird. My heart was pounding fast, and my face felt hot. If anyone had asked what was going through my head, I wouldn’t have been able to tell them. I had no idea how to describe what I was feeling. Anger? Resentment? Jealousy? Betrayal? But...why?
“Shit. They're getting out of the water,” Lee announced.
I snapped out of my trance. “All right, all right, don't panic. Quick, take out the magazines. We can hide our faces and just watch what happens.”
We snatched out the magazines we had brought along from the bag between us and used them to cover our faces as we pretended to read. I peered out over the top of my magazine and watched as the scene unfolded.
“Oh my God, Lee, look at that bikini!” I half whispered. “I mean, can you even call it a bikini? It looks like three postage stamps joined by a few pieces of dental floss! It's ridiculous! Is that even legal?”
I was staring, yes, but I had really only glanced at how ridiculous Tammy's bikini was. For the moment, all I could see was Wade's gloriously toned and muscular body. Despite everything about the current circumstances, it was hard not to get lost in how gorgeous he was. Like, Greek god gorgeous. I shook my head to snap myself out of my ogling.
Gorgeous or not, he was hanging out with Tammy and Kelly. Already. Maybe my first assessment of Wade Vinson had been spot on. Maybe he was just a shallow narcissist chasing after girls just to add notches to his bedpost…much like my ex.
“Yeah, her bikini is pretty ridiculous,” I repeated, masking what I had really been looking at. Studying, even.
“She's naked. Seriously, she's pretty much naked,” Leena commented.
I watched them, feeling a strange sense of jealousy. Kelly and Tammy waved a quick goodbye to Wade and the guy with him before they parted ways. At least they hadn't hugged or kissed or anything; that would have made me feel even more awkward about the situation.
“Wade and that dude are coming this way!” Leena exclaimed in a hushed tone.
I glanced to our left and saw some towels a few yards away from us. It must have been their stuff.
“Crap. I think they're going to be right next to us,” I said.
“Put your magazine up! Cover your face!” she commanded.
I did as Leena instructed, not knowing what else to do. I felt trapped, almost like a small animal watching a hunter slowly moving in.
Moments later, Wade and his friend were close enough for us to hear their conversation. I tried to position my head at just the right angle to hear them, but hide my face. I felt like I should be in an episode of I Love Lucy.
“Good God, bro, those are two smoking hot chicks! Damn, Florida State volleyball girls seem to have gotten so much hotter since our days there!” the other guy chimed.
I waited with bated breath to hear what Wade's response would be, certain he was going to confirm his status as the douchebag I had made him out to be in my mind.
“Yeah. They're good-looking,” he agreed. I was about to begin my internal condemnation when he continued, “But, ya know, John, I've had more than my fill of girls like that.”
That was certainly not what I'd expected him to say.
“Are you serious, man? You wouldn't bang those two, like right now? ‘Cause I sure as hell would! At the same time, if that’s what they wanted.”
I shook my head and glared over at Leena, making sure she was hearing what I was hearing. This John guy wasn’t scoring any morality points at the moment.
“No, man, actually I wouldn't,” Wade heard him respond.
“What are you grinning at?” Leena whispered, peering over her magazine.
“I’m not grinning,” I denied the accusation until I realized she was right. She just gave me a knowing look. I made a face at her and focused back in on the conversation going on next to us.
“I went for a swim with them because they're on my team and I just wanted to be polite. But seriously, J, they're not the kind of women I want to be around anymore. And besides – I'm their coach! There are professional boundaries I have to think about. But even without that, like I said, they're not my type,” Wade added.
“They sure are my type, though, dude!”
“Yeah, well…if she has a pulse, she’s your type,” Wade joked.
As much as I didn’t want to admit it, a strange sense of relief washed over me. Wade Vinson did have some morals, after all.
But it seemed those morals extended to every member of our volleyball team. He was making it quite clear that he would not have anything to do with any of his players outside of the volleyball court, and I was as much a part of that group as Tammy and Kelly were. It was weird. Maybe I would have felt better if he had just said he did want anything to do with Kelly and Tammy.
Not that I had a right to feel any way about it. Wade was, above everything, my coach, and volleyball was the priority in my life. It had to be. Without that scholarship, I'd be out of college.
Wade and John settled into their spot next to us, and I flipped a page on my magazine to really sell the façade
that I was reading it.
“Hey,” I heard John say to Wade in a quieter tone, “looks like we've got some new neighbors.”
“It appears we do,” Wade replied before turning his attention to us. “Good afternoon, ladies. I hope you're having as good an afternoon as we are.”
Leena and I both dropped the magazines to our towels and turned to look in their direction. I watched Wade's eyes grow wide with surprise.
“Oh, hi, Wade,” I said with as much false surprise as I could manage.
CHAPTER 8
Wade
I couldn't believe it. Two chance meetings in one afternoon! This one, however, I was a lot more pleased about than the previous one.
Kelly and Tammy had made me pretty uncomfortable with their blatant flirting. And seeing them in those micro-bikinis, or whatever you called what they were wearing, was even more uncomfortable. I couldn't deny that part of me found it tempting. But they really had left almost nothing to the imagination. I think the average washcloth had more material than the total of both of their bikinis combined.
Of course, John couldn't keep his eyes from popping out of his skull, and I guessed I couldn't blame the guy. Two practically naked college girls flirting outrageously with a couple of guys our age… Hell, it was like a fantasy becoming a reality for John.
But I'd lived in Los Angeles. I'd had experience with girls like that. Both of them had fake boobs, for sure – I'd seen enough of those in LA to be able to tell. And really, I just wasn't into such blatant advances, such self-obsessed displays.
Still, I'd let John have some fun and had agreed to at least go for a swim. But, I was glad it was over. However, just when I'd thought we could kick back, relax, and chat up the cute women on the towels next to us, I realized that wasn’t in the cards. Two more members of my team. What were the odds?
This time was entirely different for me, though. While John was obviously having the time of his life, having enjoyed not one, but two pairs of bikini-clad young women to ogle at, this time I was the one fighting a stirring of attraction welling up.
I could hardly take my eyes off Eryn, and I was thankful that I was wearing sunglasses so she couldn't see just how hard I was staring.
She and Leena were dressed in far more modest bikinis than Tammy and Kelly's. But that in itself was part of what attracted me. She wasn’t trying to show off everything she had. Make no mistake, I'd found her tremendously attractive since I'd first laid eyes on her, but seeing her in a bikini set off a fire inside me that I needed desperately to tamp down.
Her body was toned, obviously from all the extra workouts she put in, and she had a beautiful, even tan. Her long legs and strongly-defined muscles were even more obvious than during practice, again a result of her hard work on the volleyball court.
Her stomach was smooth and flat, and her breasts – God, I could hardly keep my eyes off them. They were clearly not fake. Pert and medium sized; just the right size for a handful...or mouthful. Her curves were so different from the exaggerated, plastic-enhanced bodies of Tammy and Kelly. She was natural and beyond beautiful.
Damn. I was getting hotter than the temperature intended, and I knew that I shouldn't be thinking about my star player in such a way. It was just so, so hard not to stare at her.
“Hi, ladies,” John said in response to their greeting before I could talk. “I'm guessing you're also members of the Florida State volleyball team?”
“We are, yes,” Eryn replied.
“And, Eryn here is one of the star players,” I added quickly – not sure why I'd felt the need to add this. But then she smiled and I was glad I had. I couldn't help but smile back at her.
“I'm not that great,” she said, “but thanks for the compliment, Wade.”
“Except you are that good, Eryn,” Leena interjected. “C'mon, you work your ass off! It's okay to take a little credit for your hard work now and then. Right, Coach?”
I laughed at the way Leena had delivered her pat on the back. “That’s exactly right, Leena. Exactly right.”
“So are you planning on introducing me to these lovely ladies at any stage, Wade?” John asked with a grin.
“Ah yeah, Eryn and Leena, this is John. He’s one of my best friends. I've known him since our college days.”
“Yeah, Wade and I were both on the Florida State men's volleyball team together,” added John. “Believe it or not, despite how I look now, I was once as fit, strong, and ripped as this specimen next to me.”
The girls both giggled, and I could have sworn that I caught Eryn staring at my chest, only to look away quickly when I glanced at her.
“Wade was the star of the team, of course,” John continued.
“But you were good, too,” I added. “You had a mean spike on you; you could really blast that ball like a cruise missile.”
“I'm not the one who ended up going pro, though, and then winning Olympic gold,” replied John. “You ladies do know about that, right? That your coach is an Olympian with a gold medal?”
“We do,” Leena spouted, “and we're extremely happy to have him as our coach.”
“We really are,” Eryn added. “I feel like I am going to learn a lot under his watch.”
“I'm glad you feel that way,” I said.
“And, of course, you're both gonna improve leaps and bounds with this crazy guy as your coach,” John added.
“Oh? He's crazy, is he?” Eryn asked with a grin, and I could have sworn that there was a hint of flirtatiousness in her tone.
“Believe me, I could tell you some stories, I really could!” John exclaimed with a big smile.
“I’m going to want to hear some of those stories,” Eryn chimed.
“Agreed,” Leena piped in. “Might need some leverage sometime when he wants to make us run suicide sprints.”
I didn't want to get too much into the stories John could tell. Yes, I'd done some crazy things in my college days that were fun to laugh about now, but I didn't want that to evolve into any kind of stories from my LA days, which were a lot more recent and a bit more shameful. I decided to change the topic before anything like that could pop up.
“So, what made you ladies decide to come out to the beach for the day?” I asked.
“Eryn's restaurant burned down,” Leena replied nonchalantly.
“Whoa, hold up – first, you have a restaurant, Eryn? And second, it burned down?” John asked with a truly convinced look.
Eryn laughed, and I found that I really, really liked the sound of her laughter. It was almost musical.
“No, no,” she replied, still chuckling. “I just work as a waitress at Nino's, that Italian place downtown.”
“Ah, I see,” John said.
“And what about the burning down part?” I asked.
“There was some sort of electrical short last night, and a lot of the kitchen burned. Nobody was hurt, though, and the damages weren't too bad, from what the owner said. I was supposed to work there today, but found out about this fire at the last minute. So, with a free day, Lee and I decided to drive out here.”
I smiled. “Good plan.”
Neither of us had mentioned the fact that we'd seen each other just hours earlier when I'd fixed her car. It felt kinda like a little secret between us. She didn't seem to have told Leena about it, and I hadn't mentioned anything about it to John. There was an unspoken understanding between us that we'd just keep it quiet.
“So what are your plans for the afternoon?” I asked.
“We were just going to relax and catch some sun,” Eryn replied.
“John and I were talking earlier about going snorkeling. We have another old friend from college who has a little dive shop and a boat here. I think he can take us out for a very discounted price, if you're interested.”
Eryn and Leena looked at each other, and there was an obvious enthusiasm in their eyes. “That sounds amazing,” Leena said. “Last time I went snorkeling, I managed to see not one, but two sea turtles.”
&nbs
p; “Awesome!” I commented. “What about you, Eryn?”
Her cheeks went red as she blushed. “I've never actually been snorkeling before,” she replied.
“Well, now is about as good a time as any to start,” I said. “So would you two like to come with us?”
“It's not gonna be too expensive, is it?” Eryn questioned.
I immediately understood why she was worried about the cost. She hadn't told me everything about her situation, but from what I gathered when I'd fixed her car, I knew she wasn’t one of the silver-spoon college kids whose parents could pay off the coach for a starting spot on the line-up. And, she had a part-time job.
Frankly, I really didn’t know when she had time to do her schoolwork and sleep. I knew first-hand how much time being on the team took up.
“You know, come to think of it, ol’ Trevor owes me big time from way back. I think I might be able to twist his arm and get us a trip free of charge. So don't even worry about that, all right?”
That was a bit of a lie – Trevor didn't owe me anything, but I'd gladly pay for Eryn. I just knew if I put it like that, she wouldn't accept and then Leena and John would probably both be a bit suspicious about my intentions.
Eryn's eyes immediately lit up. “All right. Well, if it's really no trouble, then we'd love to come, right, Lee?” Leena nodded as well.
“All right girls, come on, let's head over to Trevor's. It's about a fifteen-minute walk from here.”
We all gathered our things and began to walk at a leisurely pace along the beach. When reached Trevor's dive shop, I made sure that I went in first, leaving John to chat with Eryn and Leena outside. I wanted to be certain that Trevor understood there was a “little favor” between us.
When he saw me walk in, his eyes lit up. “Holy smokes! Is that you, Wade Vinson?”
I grinned as I looked at him. He still looked like he had in college – lean, tan, and full of energy, but his hairline was a touch further back than I remembered and he had few crinkles around his eyes. I was reminded of my own age and the gap between myself and Eryn, but I tried not to think too hard about it. After all, there was nothing to think about. She was a player on my team.