Her Playbook Lesbian Story

03: Cold Shoulder in a Dark Lobby

03 Cold Shoulder in a Dark Lobby

Elle returned to her apartment after the open gym reviewing in her mind the progress that was made on the court. Her thoughts drifted to Mac, the new Libero from Pittsburgh, and his sister Payton. She knew after watching Mac play for just a short while he would be a true asset on the team. She wondered how involved Payton would be and found herself quite flustered by thoughts of her in the gym.

In the quiet isolation of her apartment, Elle was able to face herself a little more honestly. Thoughts tumbled as she drug her fingers through her hair.

"She's a bit annoying ..."
"A distraction ..."
"Fuck sake, she's cute. And she's gonna be in your gym."
"Come on Elle. You have got to focus. This is a player's sister."
"She's going to be around the gym ... matches ... team events ... fuck."

Elle' inner voice droned in an annoying manner and she tried to tamp down the thoughts, but they were there and it was making her grind her teeth with frustration.

"She looked so ... kissable ... damnit ...
"She's got that whole girl-next-door, tom-boyish thing working for her."
"Oh FUCK, you've got no chance. "

Elle growled and tried lying out loud to ease the painful truth. "She's bad news. She's going to disrupt your entire season. And she knows it too. She was teasing you on purpose." Elle spiraled quickly into thoughts that were unsettling, honest, and ultimately pathetic.

"She's adorable."
"It wouldn't take long before she figured out you are damaged goods."
"I'm never gonna sleep. Get out of my head."
"What would Becca say?"
"Fuck! I am seriously fuck up. I wish she would just go away."

Elle paused unpacking the last jarring thought. She wasn't entirely certain who "she" was. Elle's mind continued to spin and jump in the most annoying ways until she drifted off into sleep that was restless and anxious.
----

Payton and Mac returned home from the open gym and Pay immediately pulled out her laptop and searched for the school athletics website. She found it with relative ease and began datamining the pages searching for information about Coach Walker. She found a couple of team pictures and headshots, a summary of last season's record and standings, and a staff page with her CV.

"Hey, what are you looking at?" Mac moved past her in the kitchen. Showered and ready to wind down, he started searching for food.

"I'm just trying to get some more information about the team and the season. Calendar, travel, stuff like that." Payton responded lightly but she could feel Mac roll his eyes and cringe. She tried to redirect Mac's thoughts. "Have you looked at this? What's your course load like? It looks like they have games or tournaments three times a week. Is that normal?"

"Yeah, that's normal. My classes are easy, just AP Stat to worry about and three study halls a week. So, no problem." Mac sat down next to pay and shifted the chair closer so he could examine the screen as he ate. "So, what are the highlights?" Mac sat across the table and listened as demolished a bowl of Cheerios.

"Well, there's a few different social media feeds for the team and something called 'Remind.' You better follow. I will too. It looks like updates come through there." Mac nodded and pulled out his phone.

"The team has had a winning record in the last two seasons. They've advanced into district playoffs but did not make it to state rounds. Coach Gore is a math teacher at the high school but it looks like he teaches 9th and 10th grade math. Coach McFee is a college kid in school for Special Education. Coach Walker is originally from Australia but played Libero at U.T. Austin."