The Safety Pin Affair

t w e n t y-o n e - you're awfully confident today

no more waiting,
we can save us from f a l l i n g . . .

▪️▫️▪️

Josh's P.O.V.

"Okay boys, that's it for today! Wrap it up! Remember to come early tomorrow because we have a lot of warming up to do," Coach shouted, his voice echoing throughout the wrestling room.

I let go of Dominic and helped him up off the floor, patting him on the back as an exhausted thank-you-for-letting-me-kick-your-ass. I stretched my arms and legs out a bit, then headed over to where my stuff was on the side. My friends yelled goodbye to me from across the room as I gathered my things, and I waved back with a tired grin.

It's Wednesday night and wrestling practice just ended. We've been back at school for a week and it feels like it's been a month since winter break. And since then, from the kiss on New Years to our first real date, I can't concentrate on anything but Victoria.

She's consumed my thoughts. I feel like I'm drowning in the sea that's held in her eyes.

And I think it's pretty obvious to everyone around me.

"Josh!" Coach yelled.

I had my bag over my shoulder and was ready to head downstairs to the locker room to change, but he caught me before I could leave.

Shit.

I turned around and walked over to him, where he's standing off to the side by the door to his office. Clipboard in hand, chewing on a pencil, and his Ridgeway Falcons baseball cap a little crooked on his balding head.

"Yeah, Coach?" I asked as I approached him.

He finished writing down whatever he was scribbling on his clipboard, then looked up at me. His mouth opened into a sort of sideways, curious smirk, and he gave me a thorough once-over before finally saying something.

"What's going on with you?" He nodded at me and raised an eyebrow.

He crossed his arms as he waited for my response, setting his feet shoulder-width apart into his power stance. I sighed, ruffling my sweaty hair around. But I guess my sigh sort of answered his question because then he just chuckled a little.

"I'm sorry. I know I've been off lately. There's just a lot on my mind right now," I summed it up briefly with a shrug.

"Hm," he grunted, a knowing look in his green eyes. "If I woulda known any better, I'd say it was about a girl."

My flaming red cheeks gave that away as soon as he said it. He laughed again, patting my shoulder in a fatherly way. I went to speak up for myself and explain it all, but he beat me to it.

"Josh, I was a teenager once too, if you can believe that. It was way back when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth, but it happened. And I know what you're going through," he said, attempting to help like any adult would. I appreciate it though, because Coach is pretty much like my second father.

He knows a lot about me and I know he'll always have my back. With all the shit that goes on at my house within my own family, it's nice to know I have another adult that I can rely on for anything.

"So when you were eighteen, you tried anything you could to win over the most stubborn girl in school?" I joked lightly, but poked at the seriousness of my situation.

He laughed and shook his head. "Well, no. Not quite, but similar things have happened. I used to be a ladies man, you know," he smirked.

"You only tell us that every day," I rolled my eyes with a grin.