think it’s one of those Halloween sprays.
MEL: I’m sure it’ll wash out.
And then, to change the subject:
MEL: Thanks for pushing us. You’re a great coach. And this has turned into such a great night.
MEL: More soon!
Mel clicks off her phone and her eyes adjust to the dark. She’s excited to find the girls and let them know that Coach is pleased with their efforts. But when she looks up, she sees Gordy sitting on a table directly opposite her, piles of neatly folded towels on either side of him.
“Hey, Mel.”
Her hand flies to her chest. “Jeez, Gordy! You scared me!”
He reaches over and clicks on the light. “I didn’t mean to sneak up on you. You were just so focused on your phone.”
Mel tucks her phone into her back pocket. “We just stopped by to say hi.” She hops down off the washing machine. “So … hi.”
Gordy hops down too. “Is that Phoebe’s dog?”
“No. She’s just taking care of him for a while.”
“Well, it seems like you girls are having fun.”
“We are.” Mel tucks her hands into her varsity jacket and rocks back on her heels.
“Cool. I’m glad things turned around from last night. It sucked hearing you that upset.”
“I wasn’t really upset,” Mel says. “I was just … too in my own head. I shouldn’t have called you.”
She tries to walk past him but Gordy stops her. Just a gentle touch. “No. I’m glad you did. We’ve barely had a chance to talk for the last few weeks. I missed you. And, well, I want you to feel like you can talk to me if something’s bothering you. I know things on your team can be … intense.”
Mel presses her lips into a line, refusing to confirm or deny Gordy’s assessment. He might be glad she called, but Mel deeply, deeply regrets it.
“We’d better get going.”
“Okay. Good luck tomorrow. I’ll be cheering for you.”
Mel stops. “Sorry. Do you mean ‘cheering’ in a general sense?”
“I don’t think I understand what you’re asking.”
She’s annoyed that he’s not getting it. Or pretending like he’s not. “Are you planning to come to my scrimmage tomorrow?”
“Oh. Yeah. Why?”
“Because you’ll distract me.”
“I never seemed to distract you at your summer league games. In fact, wasn’t the first game I went to where you scored four goals?”
“Summer league is one thing. This is our season. This is for real.”
“But it’s just a scrimmage, right?”
Gordy should be able to read her face right now. She isn’t playing around. “I need to be completely focused tomorrow. I’m the captain. And this is the team that beat us at states last year.”
Gordy clears his throat. “I get that you need to focus on field hockey. I’ve given you a lot of space these last few weeks. But … I mean, we can still talk at school on Monday, right?”
Mel swallows hard. She could just let things happen naturally. Gordy has his own life. His friends, his interests. And Mel has field hockey. But Coach already brought Gordy up to her today and she’d told him they were done. The last thing she’d want is for Coach to think she was lying. Especially about that.
Before she can say anything, Gordy grumbles, “If it’s an official team rule, just let me know. Then I don’t have to take the fact that you’re blowing me off so personally.” His voice is impatient. Annoyed. And it catches Mel off guard. “Because I’ll know it’s not you. It’s your coach.”
“Coach doesn’t have rules like that.” He doesn’t.
“Well, how come since he came back you’ve barely talked to me? What else am I supposed to think? And, you know, I remember my friend Dave’s older sister Becks saying Coach was a complete psycho.”
“Becks Altiero? Please. She was pissed because Coach stopped playing her.” Mel’s phone buzzes. She hopes Gordy doesn’t hear it. She tries not to react. “And of course we can still talk on Monday,” she says breezily, hoping the lie buys her a way out of this conversation. “But hey, it’s late, the girls and I should get going. Thanks for letting us stop by. This was fun.” She steps past him.
“Was that him just now?” he calls after her. “Why is he texting you at two in the morning? I mean, you see how weird that is, right?”
Mel walks as fast as she can. Instead of grabbing her teammates, she heads out of Gordy’s house. Her heart is in her throat.
COACH: So where are you girls right now?
MEL:
COACH: C’mon.
COACH: Tell me.
COACH: Unless