Baby, You're All That I Want

Three

The gym was hot, humid, and sticky. The boys were practicing on the far court, while the girls had the court closest to the water fountains. I was currently leading the first practice of the season. The coach was currently looking after the boys. Hawkins' High had refused to hire a girls' basketball coach, as there just wasn't enough crowd interest in the sport. The board was a bunch of sexist assholes, but that argument was for another day.

We were stretching currently, preparing for the sprints we were about to do. My long wavy ringlets tied up in a ponytail, spilling over my shoulder as I leaned down to touch my toes. It wasn't until we were on our scrimmage game ¾ of the way into practice that coach decided to meander back over. I had just hit a three pointer from the top of the key, and called man to man defense in a press arrangement when he called for me to the sidelines.

I pointed at another girl on the bench to take my spot, and stood next to him. He crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm going to be honest with you, there is no support of girls' basketball." I opened my mouth to protest, but he held up a hand to show he wasn't finished. "I convinced the board, that the team this year is state bound. They agreed if you win the first few games, they will order new uniforms and keep the team going."

I nodded, biting my tongue. "Look, I agreed to coach this team because I see some real talent in you. Don't let me down."

He patted my back and walked away. I couldn't wait to complain to Hopper about this. He would have a stick up the ass of the board faster than they could blink. When the 2 hour mark was up, I called practice to an end. Coach made his way over to give a quick pep talk, before disappearing to the boys' side once more.

He was right about one thing, the team this year was nothing to scoff at. We agreed on a time frame to practice tomorrow, and dispersed from practice. I caught the tail end of the boys' practice, Steve was getting his ass handed to him by Billy again. I shook my head, he obviously was too stubborn to listen to anything I had to say.

Billy looked up and met my gaze, a whisper of the real guy peaking through as he looked at me. Tommy cat called me, snapping him out of his trance, and suddenly that shit eating smirk came back. Steve and I hadn't spoken since last week's gym class, and I wasn't keen on being the first to break the silence, so I put my head down and kept walking, ignoring the look he gave me.

Once I had switched out my gym shoes for a comfortable pair of slides, my aching feet free to breathe, I exited the locker room and headed to the parking lot. "Yo Hopper, wait up!"

I kept walking, receiving a chuckle in response. "You really are stubborn." he said with less niceness than before. I unlocked the beetle and tossed my bag in the back. Prepared to get into the drivers' seat when an arm stopped me by leaning against the roof, blocking me.

"Look, can we just cut this act out already?" Billy asked me, looking at me seriously. His demeanor could go either way, so I was reserved in my response. "I'm not sure what you want from me, Billy. I already told you that I'm not about what you're putting out there."

"It seems like a waste doesn't it? This attraction we have?"

"What attraction?" I scoffed. He rolled his eyes and leaned towards me. "Don't deny it, Hopper." He tisked.

"No, you don't Hargrove. I already told you I'm not interested in what you're selling. Just leave me alone, yeah?"

"What's it gonna take for you to say yes to me?" he quipped, a sparkle in his eyes. The challenge exciting him deeply.

"An attitude adjustment." I snapped, ducking under his arm and slamming the car door closed behind me.

He leaned into my open window, staring at me seriously, "I like when girls play hard to get." he smirked. I rolled my eyes, unable to stop myself. "You're going to be sadly disappointed when you finally accept that I'm not playing."