For Hating Me You Sure Are Possessive

20: Nascar?

"I took it off." I blinked again as though expecting him to disappear.

We stood looking at each other for a moment or two before he said "Well go get it."

I obeyed too surprised to think it over. I jogged through the house to my room and slipped on my socks and some boots then snatched up my basketball shoes and the uniform. I glanced around then jogged back out. Coach Matthers stood holding open the passenger door for me and I climbed in without a word. In fact we didn't say anything until we were on the highway.

"Why do you let them push you around?" he asked looking over at me pressing harder on the gas as he weaved through traffic skillfully.

I shrugged. So he'd guessed the truth without me telling him. "I don't."

"One word from head coach and they'd-" he started to say but I cut him short with a stern 'no.'

"Coach there's no reason for me to fight it. It'll stress things more. If I just ignore it then when we're on the court they won't act to spite me."

He sighed and rubbed his ruggedly handsome face with his right hand, his left clenching the steering wheel as he weaved through a maze of traffic. "You're a lot better at accepting it than I'm comfortable with."

"Well it's my fault too. I should have known better than to rely on getting rides from them. I didn't have a backup plan and that's my own fault." I gave him a reassuring smile. "So really it's more I'm an easy target than them ruthless dart throwers."

Coach Matthers chuckled and shook his head. "Such a forgiving target at that."

Or I just like being stuck with things. I would have said it were I with Mavers but I wasn't and so I shrugged and looked out of the hummer window. I had to do it to hide the smile that threatened to creep onto my face. I'd be able to show them they needed me. First real game of the season and I would prove that I had worth on the team, I was sure of it. "Thanks Coach."

I could feel him look over at me as he stepped particularly hard on the gas and surged onwards. "For what?"

"Coming to get me when I hadn't even considered asking for help."

His smile comforted me as he pulled to a stop at the end of an off ramp waiting for his turn. "No problem Kara." He took a sharp turn and revved the engine as he pulled the car up to speed once more.

"Where did you get my aunt's number by the way?" I asked casting a bewildered look over towards him. I'd been trying to figure out how he might have known her and couldn't come up with anything.

"It's on the player sheet." He responded. "I didn't know whose phone you were calling from so I just went by the sheet." He explained then added "It has terrible reception by the way."

I laughed. "Yeah it does. Couldn't even tell it was you calling and that's saying something. From all the yelling at me you've done these past two years I know your voice pretty well." I gazed out the window at the trees whizzing by. "I'd called on my cellphone the first time. That's why it was clearer."

Coach nodded and motioned towards the backseat with his thumb. "We'll just make it if I keep up the speed I'm at." He started and looked over towards me as he followed a long curve in the road. "Hop back and get into your uniform, shoes and everything. There will be no time when we get there. We're already hard pressed on time."

I considered a rebuttal but decided it wasn't really worth it. He was right, we were already pressed on time. I climbed over the center console and into the back seats. I shimmied out of the jogging pants and into the uniform shorts without difficulty.

It wasn't until after I pulled off my wife beater that Coach Matther's sudden turn sent me tumbling headfirst into the passenger side door in the back. I crumbled against it and wound up in a heap on the floor in the back. I sat up slowly just as he looked back at me alarmed.

"God are you okay?" he asked, obviously worried. I broke out laughing and he followed suit as he saw me sitting there in a tumbled heap with my hair over my face and the sweat pants from earlier draped over my shirtless shoulders.

"Yeah yeah just drive you maniac." I commented as I eased myself up and pulled the uniform down over my head. I maneuvered my way back into the front seat and pulled my hair back into a pony tail as skillfully as I could. "Where did you learn to drive?" I asked as he took another sharp turn seconds after I'd put on my seatbelt, thank god.

He shot me a toothy grin. "Nascar."

I rolled my eyes and pulled on my sneakers, tying them up neatly. "Oh ha ha."

As if to prove a point he stomped on the break and turned the wheel sharply, then suddenly released the break in a split second as the hummer turned 180 and fit perfectly into a tight spot. "Ten out of ten." He appraised his impromptu parallel parking job and quickly pulled open his car door.

I climbed out silently thanking the ground for being so safe and jogged into the open door to the school he held for me. "That was overkill you know." I huffed at him as he nodded his head in the direction to go and I followed, jogging at an even pace behind him in his classic Coach jogging outfit type of getup. I had to admit he did look good in it.

We made it into the gym just as the buzzer marking the beginning of warm-ups sounded. We'd made it! I beamed up at Coach Matthers seething happiness and he returned it full force and I could sense he too was debating a high five. "Never hang up on me and I will drive more refined." He responded with a wink and jogged over to the other coaches after giving me a soft patting push on the back towards the court with the other girls.