Page 5 of Ruled Out
“Wait, you’re on the CCU softball team? That’s badass,” he answers. Did he not hear thelatterpart of my spiel?
“Yeah, but I may not be for much longer if I don’t hurry the hell up. This is just my luck… God, I don’t know what I’m gonna do,” I sigh, running my hand through my hair in frustration.
“I’m on my way,” Colin responds without hesitation. “Does your tire need air or is it completely flat? I have tire changing tools in my truck.”
“It’s completely flat. Like my car is doing the ‘Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It’ right now.”
“I cannot believe you just said that,” he laughs at my lame line. “Good thing you’re cute, or else I might have ended our friendship already.”
“Good thing you’re cute.”I feel a slight blush crawling up my cheeks.I think Mr. Colin is a bit of a flirt.
Colin arrives no later than five minutes after our call and gets to work on changing my tire. In between handing him tools, I check my phone to find a string of missed calls and texts from Maisie.
Maisie: Where the hell are you??
Maisie: You can’t be late for our first team workout. Get your ass here, now.
Maisie: Are you okay?!
Maisie: OH MY GOD. Hot guy from the café is our fucking coach!
I swear, my heart bypasses my stomach and drops straight down to my ass as I read her last text. She has to be joking. This cannot be real. I’m going to be at least half an hour late to my first ever college workout, and as if that’s not enough hell for one day, mycoachis the man I casually eye-fucked yesterday.I think I’m going to be sick.
“Phoebe, you good? You’re white as a ghost,” Colin notes as he wipes his greasy hands down his jeans.
“I’m fine; today just didn't go at all how I expected,” I answer honestly, not about to explain toColinwhy I’m internally freaking out.
“Well, on the upside, your spare is secure and you’re good to go. You’ll need to go to an auto repair shop and get a new tire put on when you have the time. Do you want me to go with you?” He looks at me, almost…hopeful? Oh, dear.
“I should be able to take care of it,” I say with an unconvincing smile. “I gotta get going; I’m already so late. Thanks, Colin. I owe you big time.”
* * *
Gravel flies behindme as I slam on my breaks in the facility’s parking lot, taking the first parking spot I find. I jump out of my car and run like my life depends on it. Once I’m in the lobby, I immediately spot the weight room in the back. Through the glass windows, I see the team already hard at work, rotating between interval training and weightlifting.
As soon as I walk through the door, I spothim. He’s turned away from me, and I immediately notice the muscles in his back and shoulders tense, almost as if he feels my presence. He seems so much taller than when I saw him in the café. He’s wearing black joggers and a white long sleeve t-shirt that accentuates the hell out of his back muscles. I inch closer, nervous to face him, especially since I’m running noticeably behind.
“You’re late,” he says, his eyebrow quirking and his arms folded across his chest. He stares straight ahead, not daring to look me in the eyes. He looks fucking furious.
“I’m so sorry, um… Coach. I had a…” He holds up his hand and cuts me off mid-sentence.
“It’s Coach Moore, and I don’t care about your excuses. Save them for after practice. Every single one of your teammates managed to get here on time today. They’re the ones who deserve my attention right now, not you. This week, we are focusing strictly on strength and conditioning. Next week, we will add field practice. Start with weight training and interval circuits.” He points at a whiteboard on the wall with instructions and reps for today's workout.
“You will stay until you complete the full circuit. If you slow down or try to stop, I will ask you to leave. I have zero sympathy for people who are late.”
What an asshole,I think to myself. Wide eyed, I stare at his profile in disbelief until he finally turns his head and looks directly at me. Correction:what a beautiful asshole.How do I still find him so attractive when he’s clearly a jerk? His golden eyes blaze with angry fire as he burns a hole through me.
“What are you waiting for, Rhodes? Get your ass out there before I send you home.”
Having enough of his piss poor attitude, I turn and walk towards the exercise mat. I hope he doesn't miss the “asshole” I mumble under my breath as I walk away. He may be my coach, but he doesn’t get to treat me like shit just because he has a fancy title.
As I start my pre-workout stretches, I notice Maisie’s looking at me with a troubled look on her face. I also don’t miss the judgmental glances I get from a few of my teammates, whom I’ve never met.Great first impression, Phoebe.
“What the fuck,”Maisie mouths, not so discreetly.
I shake my head and narrow my eyes at her, as if to say, “I’ll fill you in later.” I quickly go through my stretches and get to work.
Five, four, three, two, one.I count down in my head as I finish my last set of pushups. Exhausted, I let my body relax and rest my forehead against the mat. After five sets of ten pushups and a full-circuit workout, I’m beat. I feel the sweat pouring down my face, and I know my body is going to hate me tomorrow. I pushed myself extra hard today, hoping to finish with the rest of the team. Even with being late, I still finished only ten minutes behind the last person. Everyone is free to go after completing the workout, which leaves me alone with Coach Moore.