Page 46 of Catch
She gave me a look. “Stop whining. You’ll be fine. Unless you run five miles, you’re not going to sweat this off. Trust me. I have children.”
“That doesn’t even make sense.”
“If you had them, you would know that it does.” She looked at the paint stick. “This is what we use. And it will wash off nicely with soap and water. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve dressed up as pirates or jungle animals. Okay. We’re almost done. Purse out your lips and don’t talk,” she said.
She didn’t seem bothered by being in my space. I was glad I’d made myself clear at the dinner party because I wasn’t sure I could behave. She leaned in until her lips were a breath away from mine. I froze out of desperation to feel her lips press against mine. She cupped my chin to keep me still. My body swayed slightly forward as though magnetically drawn to hers, as though the universe had plans for us, and for a moment we kissed. But it wasn’t a kiss. It was a reminder of our youth. I pulled away before it became a part of our future. I was fully prepared to pretend it didn’t even happen.
She pulled me back. “Sutton. I want this.”
Even though my blood pounded and I wanted her to fully kiss me, I stopped her. “This can’t happen. I can’t do this again.”
“But things are different now. Give me a chance to explain things, will you?”
God, those pleading blue eyes always made my knees weak. “Nothing good will come of this.” I was hyper aware that I didn’t say no.
A knock on the door separated us quickly. Emily, one of the trainers, poked her head in. “Oh, I thought maybe you needed some help.”
Parker held up the makeup stick and calmly said, “We’re doing a pretty good job over here.” She stepped away and pointed to me. “What do you think?”
Emily smiled and nodded. “Nailed it. It looks like you got this, Coach.”
I took the opportunity to step farther away from Parker. “I can put on my lip coloring but thank you.”
She respectfully backed away, too, as though it finally sunk in that she had been in my space too long. “Of course.” She gave me a quick up-and-down and smiled. “You look great. You’ll be a big hit with the kids.”
Parker left when Emily did. When she closed the door, I sprawled out in a chair to shake off the nervousness. Crowbar must’ve sensed my mood because he slid off the couch, stretched, and moseyed over to lick my hand. After thirty seconds of trying to understand what just happened, I gave up, knowing I had somewhere to be. I slipped the large dog head into position, careful not to ruin my awesome face paint job, and tapped my leg for Crowbar to follow. I attached a small saddle I made of two plastic pumpkins to Crowbar. He was going to be a hit. I’d been getting emails all week asking if Crowbar would attend the trick-or-treat event. According to Hayley, I was getting thousands of likes for every photo of him she posted. He had a bigger fan base than I did.
When I entered the cafeteria, Brandon saw me and immediately pulled his twins over to meet me. “You look amazing.” Brandon laughed.
I wanted to bark but the kids looked nervous about getting close to either one of us.
“How am I the only one who dressed up?” I asked.
He looked down at his Cheetahs windbreaker and khakis. “What do you mean? I’m a winning coach from the Cheetahs. That’s good enough.”
Everyone else looked professional in their pressed pants and Cheetahs shirts and I couldn’t have felt more awkward and out of place until Bill showed up. He was dressed as Aquaman and gave me a giant side-arm hug.
“At least I can count on Sutton.” His gruff, now hoarse voice sounded hilarious. I couldn’t stop laughing at his attempt to keep his long golden-brown wig from getting caught in his mouth or tripping over his oversized boots. It was the perfect icebreaker.
About half the players who stuck around were dressed up as well. Grayson was dressed in green tights, a green skirt, and a tight green T-shirt. I thought he was the Jolly Green Giant until I overheard him telling people he was Peter Pan. Parker’s costume made more sense now. She was Tinkerbell. Their daughters were dressed completely differently from them. The oldest, Violet, was dressed like Katniss Everdeen and had a small bow and a quiver slung over her tiny shoulder. Rose was dressed like a witch. They ran over to me and asked if they could pet Crowbar. They barely waited for approval before hugging him tightly. Thankfully, he loved children and accepted their awkward hugs and slight fur pulling.
“Be careful. Don’t hurt him,” Parker said.
“You look incredible.” Grayson laughed at us.
I playfully threw a piece of candy at him, ignoring the twist in my stomach at what just happened in my office with his wife. “Laugh all you want. Look at our line. Besides Bill, we’re the next best thing here. Isn’t that right, Crowbar?” He wagged his tail and gave a low woof.
“Good for you for dressing up,” Grayson said. I felt guilty at the easy camaraderie we shared.
“Uncle Matt. You need to come over and meet Crowbar,” Rose said. She adorably dropped the “r” off the end of his name. A nice-looking man kissed Parker on the cheek and knelt to talk to the girls. He had dark, wavy hair and twinkling eyes. I wondered if he was Grayson’s brother because Parker was an only child.
“Are you Coach McCoy?” he asked Crowbar. The girls squealed and laughed.
“No, he’s Crowbar and she’s Coach McCoy.” Violet pointed to me. “It’s a joke.”
He winked at me. I barked at him. He fist-bumped me and grabbed a piece of candy from the table. “Nice to meet you, Coach,” he said.
He wasn’t in costume. He was wearing a sweater, jeans, and chukka boots and had an air about him that screamed money. His hands were manicured and his watch was vintage. Expensive vintage. Maybe Uncle Matt was Grayson’s agent. “Nice to meet you, Matt.”
