Page 64 of Hometown Halftime

“Well,” Kinsey mutters beside me, “this is unsettling.”

Haddie sweeps forward. “Kinsey, honey, this is just darling.”

“Haddie,” Kinsey says, toeing the line between polite and scared. “Glad you could make it.”

“Oh, we wouldn’t miss it. The entire bunco club bought tickets the second we saw the flyer. Community support matters.”

Behind her, they all nod in unison. It’s frightening.

One leans around her. “Coach Stretch, I’m so excited to see you lead the class.”

I blink. “Coach…what?”

Kinsey presses her lips together, shoulders shaking.

Haddie waves it off. “Just a little nickname we came up with for you.”

“I don’t remember approving that.”

“We didn’t need approval,” she says cheerfully.

Knox chokes behind me, trying to cover it with a cough.

I lean toward Kinsey. “Are they here to support rugby or watch me do downward dog?”

She doesn’t even look at me. “Both.”

It’s at that moment that Eli Cox walks through the door. He’s tall and lanky, his grey hair gelled back above his ears. I remember him because five years ago, an indecent exposure incident prohibited him from ever attending the annual Christmas tree lighting again. After the door closes behind him, he takes off his long coat to reveal that he’s only in skin-tight bike shorts, not even wearing a shirt. I look away when I see all the grey chest hair.

The instructor, Lila, gasps before running over to him.

“Uh, Eli, we have a dress code.”

He scoffs, sweeping his arms down his body, and declares, “I covered all the important bits.”

Cam shakes his head and joins them, grabbing Eli’s jacket. “I got this, Lila.” He claps Eli’s hairy shoulder. “Come on, Eli, let’s take a walk to warm up.”

Eli shrugs and follows him outside. There’s a collective sigh of relief throughout the room.

The instructor, Lila, positions herself at the front of the room, her voice bright and optimistic. She must not realize the group that has gathered here is about as crazy as they come.

“Welcome, everyone! Find a mat and settle in, we’ll begin in just a moment.”

Haddie’s entire group moves with military-level purpose. They claim the front two rows like they’ve been planning this operation all week, unrolling their mats with sharp snaps, water bottles placed with care. Every single one of them ends up directly in front of me.

Knox passes by on his way to claim a mat, leaning just close enough to murmur, “You should’ve worn something baggier, Weston. Got the over-sixty fan club lined up like it’s your debut.”

“Appreciate the support, Coach,” I mutter.

“Always.”

Brynn smacks his arm. “Behave.”

He grins. “I am behaving.”

I step onto my mat beside Kinsey, who is clearly enjoying herself.

“You’re having entirely too much fun with this,” I say under my breath.