After their impromptu practice, they all had dinner together and went back to their rooms to do their homework or watch television. The bed check was at ten, reminding the players that breakfast would be at nine a.m., practice at the arena at eleven thirty for a couple of hours, then back to the hotel after treatment for any injuries the players had. None of the ladies had expressed any interest in sightseeing; they knew why they were there and what their focus should be on.
Lisa took her cell phone to the lobby and called Celeste. Since it was two hours earlier in California, Lisa didn’t worry she would be disrupting bedtime.
“Hi, Coach. I was hoping I’d hear from you.”
“I just got the kids to bed so I thought I’d call you. Are you busy?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact. I’m busy thinking about you. I miss you.”
“I miss you too, baby.”
Celeste chuckled. “You do not. You’re too busy going over game tape and coming up with a game plan to miss me.”
Lisa mock-scolded Celeste. “You don’t know me.”
“Oh, I think I do know you, handsome.” Lisa shivered when Celeste lowered her voice. She sounded so sexy when she did that.
“What are you wearing, Professor?”
There was a pause, and Lisa thought she might’ve pushed too far. She was about to apologize when Celeste answered.
“I’m wearing the black lacy nightgown you like so much.”
“Ooh, I do like that one. It looks really good on you. Shows off your luscious cleavage and delectable hips.” Lisa had to be careful to keep her voice low so no one else would hear.
“I like the roughness of the lace on my nipples when I pinch them.” Celeste gasped. Lisa grew hard. She squeezed her legs together to apply pressure to her swollen clit.
“Are you squeezing them now?”
“Yes, but I’m imagining they’re your hands squeezing them. God, Lisa, you have the best hands.”
“Are you wet, baby?”
“Yes,” Celeste whispered. “So wet and hard for you.”
Jesus Christ. “Baby, I’m not alone, so can you tell me what you’re doing and feeling? I want to hear you come for me.”
“It won’t take long, stud. Just the thought of you makes me so hot.”
“Let me hear you, baby.”
“Well, I’m not wearing panties, so I have no confinement of my hand. I can easily stroke my clit or slide two fingers deep into my pussy. Would you like that?”
“Yes. Jesus, yes.” Lisa wiped the bead of sweat from her forehead and looked around the lobby, making sure nobody she knew was around. She’d never heard Celeste use that word before and her body sizzled.
“Oh, God, your fingers feel so good in me. Stroke in and out of me nice and slow.”
Lisa could feel her face grow hot and she stuck her fingers under her nose, across her upper lip, and imagined Celeste’s scent on her. She wished she had some privacy so she could actively participate. Better yet, she wished Celeste was here so she could use her own fingers and mouth to bring her pleasure.
“Lisa, I’m going to come all over your hand. I’m almost there, baby.” Celeste sounded out of breath and her voice got higher. Lisa felt her own breath and pulse quicken. It was a good possibility that Lisa would come just from hearing Celeste come. She squeezed her knees harder together when Celeste squealed, her sure sign that she’d been completely satisfied. Lisa was content to sit and listen to Celeste come down from her release, to hear her breathing return to normal, then the slow chuckle Celeste always did after she came, like it was a wonder why they didn’t do that more often. To be honest, the only thing that prevented them from having sex more often was work. Lisa whispered into the phone so that only Celeste could hear her words.
“You’re so beautiful when you come for me. So responsive, so damn sexy.”
“You make me feel so good, baby. I can’t wait till you come back and do that to me for real.”
“I have no idea how I’m supposed to walk through this lobby and back to my room in the state I’m in.”
Celeste chuckled again. “And I’m assuming you’re sharing a room with Athena so you won’t be able to take care of it yourself.”
“You got it. I guess I’m going to have to take a cold shower instead.”
“How are you feeling about tomorrow?”
The abrupt change in topic had Lisa confused. “Huh?”
“The game tomorrow. How are you feeling about it?”
Geez, Lisa almost forgot about the game, she was so caught up in Celeste. “Good. We’re as prepared as we’re going to be.”
“I wish I could be there, sweetheart, but Olivia and I are going to watch it online. We’ll be cheering you on.”
“Thank you, baby. I appreciate it.”
“Okay, Coach. Get to sleep. You have a big day tomorrow.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow after the game. Sweet dreams.”
“Good night.” The softness in Celeste’s voice reminded Lisa of when she was thoroughly satisfied and on the brink of slumber.
She hung up and held the phone against her cheek. That wasn’t the first time she’d had phone sex, but it was definitely the best. She looked once more around the lobby before standing. She wanted to make sure nobody was paying any kind of attention to her. Her clit was still hard and her underwear was soaked. It was going to be an uncomfortable walk back to her room.
* * *
Glassell University won the first game by a pretty good margin. Lisa’s team came out owning the court. They played effective defense, shutting down their opponent’s best player, and had an amazing offensive showing. The team had spent their day off pretty much resting. They did go to the gym to shoot around and run through the plays their next opponent would be running. The players were in good spirits but still focused on the next game. This was the furthest any GU women’s basketball team had gotten in the post-season. Until this year, they’d never made it out of the conference tournament. Finally, in this historic position, they found that it wasn’t enough for them and they weren’t quite ready to call it quits on the season just yet.
After the game, Lisa returned to the hotel with the team, got them situated, and then gave Celeste a call. Celeste had told her they watched the game, the team looked great, and Celeste threw in that Lisa looked extremely hot in the suit that she wore. Lisa didn’t readily respond this time because if she were being honest, the nerves were getting to her. She kept her conversation short with Celeste that night but called her the next night and hoped Celeste could talk her down.
“Hi, baby. I wasn’t sure I’d hear from you before the game.”
“I need you, babe.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m almost sick to my stomach with nerves for tomorrow. I really want my girls to keep winning.”
Celeste was quiet for a moment. “Of course, you do, baby. Is there any reason to think you won’t win tomorrow’s game?”
“No, I just have a bad feeling.”
“Coach, listen to me. You’re great at what you do. The girls have worked their asses off to get this far. You and Athena have done everything in your power to get them ready for this moment. I wish I could be there with you, but I have the utmost faith in your ability to lead your team to victory.”
“I don’t know, Celeste. What if I call a wrong play that loses the game?”
“Honey, where is this coming from? Do you think if you lose, it will hinder your chances of advancing your coaching career?”
Lisa was quiet. Was that it? Was she so worried about getting back to Division I coaching that she was making herself sick over this tournament and in particular the next game? She mumbled into the phone, upset and grateful that Celeste seemed to know her so well.
“Maybe.”
“All right. Listen to me. If by chance you don’t get an offer at a higher level, at least you still have a job at GU. Gerald loves you and you’ve made quite a name for yourself around campus. You
r team loves you. I…I love you.”
Huh?
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that.”
“You didn’t mean to say that? Or you didn’t mean to say it this way?”
Lisa could hear Celeste blow out a deep breath.
“I didn’t mean to say it this way. I wanted to say it, but I didn’t expect it to come out of my mouth so soon, and I especially didn’t picture myself telling you over the phone. It doesn’t change how I feel though. I am absolutely falling for you.”
Lisa felt her heart swell. Celeste loved her. Those three tiny words that held so much meaning made her momentarily forget the angst she’d been feeling about the next game. She’d been wanting to tell Celeste that she loved her, but it never felt like the right time, and it also frightened her that she would say it too soon. This wasn’t how she wanted to tell her either, on the phone, but she wanted Celeste to know that she loved her too.
“Celeste, I…” Lisa saw Athena waving to her frantically, walking quickly across the tile floor in the lobby.
“I have to go.” Lisa hung up without saying good-bye, starting to panic from the look on Athena’s face.
“What’s wrong?”
“Emily and Kristina have food poisoning. Apparently, they both had the shrimp for dinner and they’ve been puking for the past thirty minutes.”
“Shit!” They both ran to the stairwell and took the stairs two at a time until they got to the third floor. The team had congregated in the hallway outside of Emily and Kristina’s room.
“Coach, they’re really sick.”
“Okay, ladies, go back to your rooms. Coach Chang and I will take care of this.”
Lisa and Athena walked into the room to find Kristina throwing up in a trash bucket while Emily was draped over the toilet. Lisa threw her hands up in the air and huffed. “This can’t be happening!”
Neither player could take their face out of their respective chamber to look at her. Lisa told one of the assistant coaches to take the van and go to the nearest pharmacy for anti-nausea medication, Pedialyte, and saltine crackers. The girls were going to need rehydration and electrolytes when their stomachs finally calmed down.
The girls started crying simultaneously, and Lisa tended to Emily while Athena tended to Kristina, rubbing their backs to try to comfort them. Lisa soaked two washcloths with cold water and handed one to Athena so they could wipe their faces. Lisa called down to the hotel lobby to ask them to have housekeeping bring up a couple of extra trash cans with double liners, and a few extra liner bags.
Lisa and Athena stayed with Emily and Kristina all night, but when the morning came, they had to get ready for their game. Lisa instructed Chris, their volunteer assistant coach, to stay at the hotel with the girls and take care of them.
The whole day felt off-kilter; the rest of the team was upset that their team captain and point guard, Emily, and their starting center, Kristina, weren’t going to be able to play. This had been the first time Lisa had ever seen her team look defeated before they even started a game. She had to say something to get them fired up. They were in the meeting room before the game and Lisa started her pregame speech.
“Listen up, Panthers. I know this isn’t what we wanted, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. With Emily and Kristina sidelined with food poisoning, I need you all to step up, and play the winning game you’re all capable of playing. I believe in each one of you individually, and in you all as a team. The question is…are you ready for your season to be over, or do you want to continue your journey, and make it to the next round?”
A few of the players muttered, “Keep playing.”
“I’m sorry. What did you say?”
“Keep playing!” they all shouted.
“Give Emily and Kristina an opportunity to keep playing too. Melissa, you’re starting for Emily, and, Dana, you’re starting for Kristina. Now, let’s get our fight on.”
The team started out strong, scoring the first ten points. The other team pulled to within two points by the end of the first quarter. The ladies played hard defense and ran their offensive plays efficiently, setting solid screens, making sharp cuts. Everything GU did could have been used in a video on how to play perfect basketball.
Lisa’s anxiety eased just a smidge, but she was still pacing in front of their bench, barking out orders. When she stopped, she folded her arms across her chest. When either a good or bad play was made, she’d turn to her team on the bench to make sure they saw that. The players on the bench must have picked up on Lisa’s anxiety because they spent nearly the entire game on the edge of their metal folding chairs, arms linked together.
The two teams went back and forth for the rest of the first half, neither team getting ahead by more than four points. At halftime, the two teams were tied at thirty-four. The Panthers were sitting in the meeting room, drinking their sports drinks to replace their electrolytes they’d lost by sweating so much, and sucking on orange wedges to replenish their energy.
“You ladies are doing great.” Lisa strode to the front of the room, uncapped her dry-erase pen, and started drawing diagrams on the board. “Melissa, you’re doing a great job running the plays and seeing the open player. I want you to try this play in the start of the third quarter.” Lisa drew Xs, Os, and lines with arrows to draw up a new play they’d never practiced. The defender on Dana was playing a little too closely, and if Dana could pin the defender behind her, Dana would be wide open for an easy shot.
“I know Emily and Kristina would be so proud of the way you’re playing. I have one question, though. You don’t have to answer me, only yourselves. Are you giving it your all? Are you leaving it all on the floor? Because that’s what it’s going to take to win this game. I know you have the hearts of champions. We have twenty more minutes to lay it all out there. Are you ready?”
“Yeah!” everyone screamed and jumped out of their chairs. They huddled up with their arms around each other and started swaying back and forth, side to side, yelling out a chant. When it ended, they ran back into the gym to warm up before the start of the second half.
Their first time on offense, Melissa and Dana ran the new play perfectly that ended in an easy basket. The other team’s coach quickly called a timeout. Lisa suspected it was so she could yell at the player that just blew the defense on that last play, but that wasn’t Lisa’s concern. Her players were giggling that the play had actually worked, and they looked a lot more relaxed.
Despite playing relaxed, the other team just wasn’t going away. Back and forth. Back and forth. Trading baskets, getting steals, sprinting up and down the floor. Any time the clock stopped, every single player on the floor was bending over, grabbing their shorts, trying to suck in deep breaths of air. There was twenty-three seconds left, Glassell was down by three, and they had the ball. Lisa called a timeout and knelt in front of the five players on the bench.
“This is it, ladies. This is what we’ve worked so hard for in our practices, games, preseason conditioning. It’s all been for these last twenty-three seconds. We need a three-pointer to send this game into overtime. Mac, I want you to take the shot with eight to ten seconds left. You’re going to come off a double screen, get the pass behind the three-point line, and take the shot. If you miss, and we get the rebound, kick it back out to Mac. She’s had the hot hand all night. Any questions? Let’s do this, Panthers.”
The team inbounded the ball, and Melissa kept dribbling until the clock ran down to thirteen seconds and she gave the signal to Mac to run her play. She was wide open when she got the ball, and she shot it. The ball bounced off the rim, but Dana got the rebound and passed it back out to Mac with three seconds left. She took the wide-open shot for three points. The ball hit the metal rim, bounced up, came down and hit the rim again, then bounced one more time before finally missing as the final buzzer went off. The five Panther players stood in shock, looking at the basket as if they were wondering how it could betray them at the time they needed it most.
The other team ran onto the floor, cheering and celebrating while the players from Glassell University mourned the end of their season. Some of the players started crying, hiding their faces in their jerseys, and hugging their teammates. Lisa had to collect them to congratulate the other team. The locker room had been somber, a few of the players still crying silently and sniffing.
“I know you’re upset, but we fought hard and we had the shot we wanted, but bad luck happened. It’s nobody’s fault. But I’m so damn proud of all of you. You played your hearts out from start to finish and you never gave up. We had a great season this year, and I love all of you. Now get dressed so we can go back to the hotel and see Emily and Kristina.” Lisa was too choked up to continue her speech. If only that shot had gone in…
The team stood in a group hug, and one last time, yelled out, “Panthers!”
Chapter Twenty-five
Monday morning, Lisa sat in her office making notes on the season and players. She’d meet with every player individually over the coming week to discuss the season and the player’s individual play, what they wanted for next year, and how they were going to go about it. Her office phone rang and she picked it up.
“Coach Tobias.”
“Hello, Coach. My name is William Thomas, and I’m the athletic director at Northeastern University in Boston. I’ve been keeping tabs on you throughout the season, and I’m very impressed on how well your team did. With your experience as a player and your coaching style, I think you’d fit in really well with our program. I’d like to invite you out for an interview early next week if you’re interested. I can show you the campus, our state-of-the-art facilities, and go over our hopes for the future of our women’s basketball team. What do you say?”
Taking a Shot at Love Page 21