His Jersey

S I X

Paul Coleman

"One more rep Paul, let's go." I let out a gush of air and pull the barbell towards my chest. Every muscle in my body aches but I'm determined to do one more. My fists tighten, my knuckles going white. I push the barbell up slowly, my arms flexing with every centimeter. Coach Carver spots me and helps put the barbell of 190 pounds onto the holders and I sit up on the bench, resting my elbows on my knees.

"Here." I look up and catch a red Powerade from Coach.

"Thanks," I pant. I untwist the black cap and chug down the ice cold liquid. Coach takes off the disks from the barbell and drops them onto the mat. I can feel the drops of sweat moving down my forehead, ending at my eyebrows. My shirt is sticking to my skin from sweat, good thing I remembered to bring spare clothes today before going to see my dad.

"I gotta go review the new plays of the week with Reynolds. You need to shower, you smell like shit." I watch him walk out, trying to calm my racing breaths. Coach Carver is the assistant coach for the team. He's in college and graduated from Copper Wright a few years ago.

Every day after football practice, I come into the weight room at the school and lift for a half hour to get a little more in than the other guys. I look at the clock and notice it's almost 6:30 pm, crap.

I get up from the bench and walk past the equipment with mirrors behind them. The sides of my shirt are cut down to my waist and there's a triangle of sweat coming through the back of my shirt.

Walking into the locker rooms, I walk straight to my locker and pull it open. I take off my clothes and shove it into my duffle bag. My body is hot and I'm not afraid to show it off. I work out every day and it pulls off at the end of the day. I walk to one of the showers and step in, shutting the door behind me. The locker room is always empty this late and I like it. I like being able to think in the quiet.

I pull down the rusty handle, water starting to shoot out with a soft humming.

I lean against the tiles and close my eyes, feeling the ice cold water running through my hair and down my sweaty back. I push off the wall and run my hands through my hair. I can't believe we made it into the tournament. The first one is Friday night and I know we will win. I try to block out everyone telling me about the scholarships, I just need to relax for the rest of the games.

Two small hands wrap around my waist and I instantly know who it is by her red nails. Turning around in her arms, I pin Jocelyn against the shower's door and we start making out. My fingers feel around the door looking for the lock while my eyes are closed. I slide the hinge left and lock the door once finding it. I smirk into her lips and grab the back of her neck making her moan. Trailing my hand down her waist, my head nudges her head to the side, and I start kissing her neck.

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I pull into the driveway, seeing my mom already in her car with an angry look on her face. The car is running in the driveway, her probably waiting for me like most nights. I take my keys from the ignition and I take my iPhone from the cup holder. I get out of my truck and walk to her car.

"Sorry, I'm late." I get into the passenger's seat of her car and turn on the radio.

Mom slowly pulls out of the driveway. "You should be, I don't like keeping your dad waiting." I nod my head understandingly and click the button above the arm rest for the garage door to go down.

Mom talks about her work day, but I honestly couldn't care less. I insert a 'yeah' and an 'mhm' every now and then so she won't get mad.