Spotting the coach along the sidelines of the football field, Ronnie walked over and introduced himself. Never one to beat around the bush, he asked about borrowing a few of the football players for stunts.
“Look, buddy, I think it’s great of you to step in to help out the girls like this. It would seem odd to have a football game without cheerleaders, even if half the time they have no clue what they are doing. However, these boys already participate in spirit day and they can’t afford time away from practice for…cheerleading. And you’ll have a hard time convincing any of them to join the cheer squad anyway,” the man said.
“So you don’t mind me asking them then? If they agree I’d be happy to move the time for practice so it doesn’t interfere with football,” Ronnie offered.
The man looked a little put out that Ronnie was still hanging around, but he blew his whistle and called the team over to the sideline anyway. When the team had gathered around him, the coach asked about helping the cheer squad and a couple of boys on the team appeared interested.
Just before the two boys could speak up, the quarterback for the team said, “Anyone who is split between this team and the cheer squad can forget about getting any ball time from me, so you might as well drop now.”
Wow. This was the boy Addie and her friends were so excited about? He was a nice-looking young man but obviously a power hungry ass wipe. Ronnie watched as the boys on the team gave in to the pressure from their teammate and remained silent.
“Well, there is your answer. Now they need to get back out to the field, if you’ll excuse us,” the coach said with a half sneering, half approving smile.
“So let me make sure I understand you. The cheerleaders help your team every Friday night by cheering and entertaining the crowds even when you’re losing because they are team players who support the school’s sports programs regardless. The one time they ask for your support in return, it becomes every man for himself. That about right?” Ronnie asked the coach and the group of football players.
“Look, man, I can’t make them do anything. I’m sorry if that offends your sense of morals, but I think we’re done here,” the coach said, turning his back to Ronnie.
A couple of the boys snickered, and before he said anything more or lost the last bit of the cool he still possessed, Ronnie walked away. As he rounded the corner of the building heading back to the gym, he nearly collided with the two boys he’d met the first day he’d picked up Addie. He made it nearly the entire way past them before inspiration hit. It didn’t matter what sport the boys came from….
“Hey!” he said, turning back toward the two.
The boys halted in their tracks and he walked back to where they stood.
“What are your names again?” Ronnie asked.
“My name is Chase, and this is Stevie,” the taller boy said.
“Are you boys busy right now?” he asked. They looked at each other and then back to him and shook their heads no.
“Why aren’t you working out then?” he asked suspiciously.
“Coach no-showed again,” Chase replied with an uncaring shrug.
“That’s too bad. Now go get the rest of your team and meet me and Sergeant Buck in the gym in five minutes,” he said.
“Okay,” Stevie replied. The boys stared at him for a few seconds more before they led the way back into the building and disappeared down the hallway while Ronnie headed back into the gym.
“I’ve got several guys who should be here in five minutes or less. How’re those flips coming?” he barked upon entering the doors and seeing the girls standing around not doing what he’d ordered.
“Watch us!” Kaitlyn squealed in delight.
The girls lined up and did a whole series of flips in near-perfect formation and synchronization. He couldn’t help the small bit of satisfaction he felt that they were able to do something that appeared rather complicated when just a couple of weeks ago they couldn’t even cheer together as a unit. Showing he approved too much would only serve to make them stop trying so hard—that was the trick with new recruits. He had to make them crave that occasional compliment.
“I assume this means you will be able to teach the new team members those flips. How long will that take?” he asked without saying whether he approved or not.
“How did we do, Ronnie?” Addie asked.
“I wouldn’t be asking you to teach someone else a messy mistake, now would I?” he asked with a gruffness that effectively stopped most new recruits from asking more questions.
Instead of the solemn focus from the girls he expected, they began squealing, cheering and jumping around. The door to the gym opened and ten boys entered. Chase and Stevie led the group over to where Ronnie and Buck stood.
“Okay, you got us here. What’s up, Sarge?” Stevie asked.
Eyeing the mischievous little punk, Ronnie wanted to correct the slang way the boy had addressed him but gave up the idea when the girls headed over. It was like mixing apples and oranges. The boys were various heights, with some meatier than others, while the girls were various heights but mostly thin.
Looking over the group, Ronnie said, “Before we do this, do any of you have an issue with my cheerleading team here?” He gestured toward the girls.
“No, sir,” Chase replied with a grin and then blatantly checked out Addie.
Oh, Ronnie was going to work that smartness out of these boys—starting with Chase.
“Prove it,” he said. “Kaitlyn, would you and the other girls care to show these boys all those flips you’ve been working on?”
Again, the girls lined up in formation and executed their series of flips almost as well as before. Turning to the boys, he looked them over again. From what he could tell, cheerleading for boys would require a little agility along with brute strength.
“The first eight of you who can repeat that series of flips the girls just did, I will personally train for cheerleading and for wrestling. My training will ensure that you go into future matches with confidence and ability and come out with a pin,” he said. “Anyone not interested in being a part of this team is free to go, but I don’t want to see you back in this gym during cheer practices anymore.”
The boys looked at each other. The girls looked at each other. Then Chase spoke up again, “You want us to be on the cheer squad?”
“I don’t want any such thing, but the girls here convinced me to allow you boys a chance to at least try to keep up with them. I’m doubtful that’s going to happen, though, because as much as you guys roam the halls when you should be lifting weights, I don’t think you can do what needs to be done here,” Ronnie said.
Then, upon seeing the competitive looks the boys gave him, he continued, “I realize you’re just boys and not full-grown men yet, but the football team has already bowed out gracefully, so feel free to do the same. The football team does have the agility, but not the strength, required, and I fear you boys might have the strength but not the agility.”
After a moment of awkward silence, one of the boys took off running and did a series of flips, different from what the girls were working on but still impressive. The boy was much better than anything Ronnie had seen from the girls. He stared at the boy for a full minute and then the boy completed the same series of flips the girls had done. When he was finished, Ronnie walked over to him and paired him by size with one of the girls on the team.
After positioning the boy behind the girl, Ronnie put the boy’s hands on the girl’s waist and said, “Pick her up and stand her on your shoulders.”
“I…I can’t,” the boy said after a moment.
Kaitlyn came over and began working with them on using his hands as a step to allow the girl to get up and around onto his shoulders. Then she helped hold the girl in place. The girl and boy were both wobbly and Ronnie motioned for the girl to get back down. They all needed balance and strength training.
“Go get a bar with twenty-five pounds on each end and bring it back in here. I want you to
walk the length of that bottom bleacher row in a straight line while doing curls,” he said to the boy. “Congratulations, private, you just made the team.”
The girls began cheering and congratulating the boy and a couple of them even hugged him. The boy stood stunned for a minute before looking over at his buddies, who seemed jealous of all the attention the boy was receiving from the girls. Then the boy smiled at Ronnie and headed out of the gym.
A few of the other boys walked over to the mat now, including Chase and Stevie. Ronnie watched them for a minute as the girls tried to explain how to do some of the flips and then demonstrated them. Chase seemed to catch on fairly quickly and was able to complete part of the flips, though not well.
“You ladies have two weeks to get these boys doing those flips or we move on to the next group of boys. We don’t have time for wannabes. They either cut it or they’re out. Boys, be prepared to work or join the ranks of your football team and just give up now.”
“Let’s see you do these flips, Sarge,” Stevie said sarcastically.
For once, being the only boy right in the middle of four girls while growing up would pay off. When Ronnie was little, the only reason his older sisters let him anywhere near them was because he could do these kinds of flips when they could not. He couldn’t remember what half of the flips were called but knew he could still do a couple of them, and a lot better than the boys who were left in the gym.
He walked into the middle of the mat and the remaining boys all backed away from him. When there was enough room, he did the one flip that had made his sisters crazy jealous, which didn’t even require running. After he landed and watched the boys’ jaws drop open, he said, “What now, bitches?”
Most of the kids started laughing so he headed over to the bottom bleacher where the other boy was now standing holding the barbell. Ronnie could feel the eyes of the entire group of kids on him. He wasn’t the type who would order others to do what he couldn’t or wouldn’t do himself. That philosophy had earned him respect in the army and would hopefully do the same in this situation.
Two weeks. He could handle coaching these kids while keeping this whole thing quiet for two weeks…or at least until they found a new coach.
Chapter Six
“Addie, I’m home!” Kayla yelled as she entered the house.
“Hey, Mom! I’m in here eating and then I have to get ready for the game. Ronnie left some dinner in the microwave for you. He went to go visit Sergeant Buck and will meet us at the football field,” Addie yelled from the kitchen.
It felt great to walk into a clean house and find a happy child after having been gone all week. Though Kayla had told him not to, she could tell Ronnie had been there doing what he did so well—making her house cozy.
She had stopped off to see her mother before heading home. The camera Ronnie had set up in her mother’s room had proved to be a priceless stress reliever. Over the past couple of days she hadn’t seen anything damning but she’d only been watching from time to time and mostly during the evening. Her mother’s face was still black and blue and the nurse insisted it would take a little while to heal.
She had been surprised to see Ronnie in her mother’s room the day after he hooked up the camera. During a break, she had logged into the camera’s website so she could check on things and had watched as Ronnie placed a vase holding a few fresh-cut flowers on a small table near her mother’s bed. Her mother had been all smiles and Kayla couldn’t help but smile, as well. He probably hadn’t realized her mother wouldn’t remember his visit five minutes after he left, but it was still thoughtful.
“How was your week?” she asked Addie as she entered the kitchen.
“It was good. I got my first quarter report card today. Nothing lower than a B. I was an angel for Tori and even helped her out a little around the house. She so needs a Ronnie. Oh, and I think you will be surprised how much better our cheering is now,” Addie said excitedly. “How was your week?”
“I wowed the client, of course. They aren’t going anywhere. I think it was simply a demand for undivided attention, which I gave them plenty of, and all is well again. I certainly missed you, though,” Kayla replied, kissing the top of Addie’s head. It felt so good to have her life back in control again and all of it was thanks to Ronnie. She paid him to do all of this, but still… It was wonderful and she was grateful to him for it.
“Maybe Ronnie can come over after the game and we can do popcorn and a movie, just the three of us. I missed you, Mom, but I have got to go get ready and you need to eat up,” Addie said cheerfully, and then headed out of the kitchen. A moment later Kayla heard Addie racing up the stairs.
Ronnie thankfully hadn’t mentioned their upcoming date to Addie. After heating her dinner, Kayla sat down to eat and sift through the pile of mail from the past week. Taking Ronnie’s suggestion, she kept those bills she needed to pay or information she needed to do something with and threw everything else out. She finished eating, put the bills she needed to enter on her desk and headed out to the car to grab her bags and carry them into the laundry room.
Just as she finished up, Addie came back down the stairs. Kayla couldn’t help but think that Addie actually looked more like a typical cheerleader than she had before. Maybe it was her stance or some new confidence?
“Mom, hurry up and change—we have to go. We have to do warm-ups before the game starts,” Addie said.
A short time later, they pulled into the parking lot near the football field. Kayla was surprised to see Ronnie’s truck there. She parked beside him and Addie got out of the car and took off at run to meet up with a couple of other girls from the team who were talking to a group of boys. Kayla made her way over to the bleachers and sat down before she noticed Ronnie near the sidelines talking to the football coach.
Ronnie didn’t appear too pleased with the conversation and after a minute he simply gave the other man a dirty look and turned and walked away. As he headed back across the field toward the sidelines, a few girls on the team ran out to meet him and began talking to him as they walked back together. When he got near enough to notice Kayla, he stopped walking and grinned.
Kayla wasn’t sure if it was possible but somehow he’d become even better-looking during her absence. He was even more incredible in his jeans than when he wore his tough-guy camouflage pants.
After shaking off the girls, he headed up the steps of the bleachers to where she sat. Stopping in front of her, he simply put his hands on his hips and smiled at her. She actually heard her own sharp intake of breath. He was stunning up close, and warmth spread from her belly down to her knees and up to her breasts until she had to look away from his sinful grin.
Was this enhanced reaction to his nearness because of their upcoming date, or had she really just missed him that much?
“We should move down closer to the front row,” he recommended.
“Okay,” she said hesitantly.
“One for offense, two for defense. Remember?” He gave her another delicious smirk that only brought back memories of how that mouth of his felt on hers.
“Oh, yeah. I almost forgot.” She smiled back.
She followed him down to the front row, near the middle. They would be directly in front of the cheerleaders. Addie and the other girls on the team were doing some warm-up stretches with a couple of the boys they had been talking to earlier. Ronnie sat down next to her—so close she could smell the aftershave he wore, which again filled her stomach with a tingly ball of sensations.
Leaning down close to her he whispered, “Addie wasn’t the only one who missed you this week. Did you miss me, too, Kayla?”
He stared at her. With each passing second her reasons for not getting involved with him were put to the test. Technically, he worked for her, and it was wrong to get involved with an employee. But he initiated most of the flirting, even if she’d been the one who’d kissed him last week. She was a single mother and shouldn’t have meaningless flings with men. It was a bad example
for Addie. But Addie was the one who’d invited him over for popcorn and a movie. He probably only wanted Kayla for sex. But she had to admit that “only sex” wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“I guess you didn’t miss me,” he said, still smiling. “Here I was hoping you would tackle me to the ground and kiss the cute off of me.”
“I shouldn’t have done that.” She blushed even as she felt the grin spreading across her face.
“No, you probably shouldn’t have. It left me a mess this whole week. It is really hard to focus when all I can think about are your arms around my neck and the passion in your kiss. I realize you’re technically my boss and I shouldn’t be having the wicked fantasies about you that I have had, but…even though you probably shouldn’t have kissed me, I can’t wait for you to do it again.”
“What if I don’t kiss you again?” she asked breathlessly.
Glancing out to the field where Addie and her friends were still stretching and talking—and paying no attention to them—he leaned in and captured Kayla’s lips in a hungry kiss that had her raising her arms to wrap them around his neck. Before she could touch him, though, he grabbed her wrists and halted her movement.
Pulling back, he said, “Do you want to kiss me now, Kayla?”
“Yes,” she replied. Her whole body wanted to kiss him.
“You had your chance. Now you have to wait until our date tomorrow because your daughter and her friends will be heading this way any minute,” he whispered against her lips. He captured them one last time and just as quickly released them, along with her wrists, and sat back.
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