Modern Love - A Collection of Romantic Shorts

Wrestling with Love - II

"Coach?" Raymond Fletcher said, capturing the larger man's attention from the doorway of his office.

He and Drake stepped over the threshold as Mike looked up and gestured for them to enter. The two teens licked their lips, their expressions nearly identical as they moved to sit into the chairs their head coach pointed to. They were both in agreement, but neither was certain exactly how to start, now that they were in the small room.

"What's going on, boys?" Mike asked, concern apparent. As far as he knew, everything was set for their graduation, so Mike couldn't imagine what would bring them to his office.

"We wanted to talk to you," Drake opened.

"Alright," Mike said, leaning back in his chair as he faced his now former athletes.

The boys had never been champions, but they'd always placed at State. Although Da was right that they hadn't had the same love for the sport as their father had, they'd nevertheless put in the effort. The varsity team would have big shoes to fill in replacing the energy these two had brought to every practice, every match, and every tournament.

The silence stretched for a full minute as the twins looked at their coach. After that, they turned to each other and did a round of Rock, Paper, Scissors. When Raymond lost, he punched his brother in the shoulder and then turned back to their coach.

"We know you have a thing for mom," he said baldly, causing Mike to choke on his spit. He came up from his leaned back position suddenly as he looked at the twins with wide eyes. If he'd thought to hide it, his instinctive reaction hadn't done him any favors.

"Um," he started, but Drake shook his head.

"We don't mind," Drake said, leaning forward in his seat. "In fact," he said. "We're kind of hoping that you'll do something about it."

Mike's eyes danced between the two young men as he tried to formulate a response. He swallowed several times as the heat raced up the back of his neck. Ray and Drake, however, didn't give any sign of allowing him to avoid the conversation. Met with the steely determination of youth, Mike sighed, a clear acceptance of the truth.

"And what is it you two think I should do?" Mike asked in resignation. The teens shrugged.

"Buy her flowers?" Drake suggested.

"Or make her a cake?" Ray offered.

"Dude," Drake said, looking at his brother. "A cake? No wonder you never get any chicks," he stated.

"Shut up, asshole," Ray ordered. As he scowled, Drake looked back at his coach.

"It's not like you can slide into her DMs," Drake muttered. Ray scoffed.

"Like she'd even know what DMs are," Ray grouched, which was enough for Mike to know not to ask.

"Okay," Drake said. "So, we don't really know how you get a date the old way," he admitted.

"The old way?" Mike questioned and both teens nodded, seemingly unaware of the insult.

"But," Ray continued. "We know mom's happiest when you two hang out after wrestling," he stated. Drake nodded in agreement.

"I don't know, guys," Mike started. "Your mom has always been a sports fan. It's not necessarily me," he said, hating to admit it, but needing to.

Both boys gave him the exact look Drake had just given Ray over his suggested means of wooing their mom. They kept giving Mike the look until he he blew out a breath. Even if they were right, Mike wasn't sure it was enough.

"What if it's too soon?" Mike asked softly. The boys' eyes shadowed as Ray answered.

"Dad was sick for a long time," he responded. "They had time to talk and accept it," he said.

"She misses him," Drake added. "But we wouldn't be here if we thought she wasn't ready."

"No offense, Drake," Mike returned. "But only your mom can decide that."

"Well," Ray replied. "Do you really want to find out we're right when you see her with someone else?" he challenged.

"There's someone else?" Mike asked, his eyes flickering with emotion.

"Not yet," Drake answered. "But her friends were talking to her about it the other day," he explained.

"And she didn't tell them no when they suggested she post her profile," Ray said grimly.

Mike looked to both boys with surprise and they nodded. Neither one wanted their mom unhappy, but they'd rather she be happy with someone they both liked. Coach was the perfect answer, not the least of which because he could keep an eye on her when they moved out shortly. Coach Mike was a beast of a man. No one would touch their mom if he were around. Better, both knew that he'd felt strongly about their mom for a while. He wasn't in it to get laid, which is what they feared would happen if she signed up for one of those dating sites. 

"Alright," Mike said, nodding firmly. Drake and Ray smiled, seeing the determined look in Coach's eyes that would come on when he was prepping the team for a hard tourney. Satisfied, they stood up and walked out, closing the door behind them and leaving Mike to his planning. 

Mike barely noticed when the teens left. If Da was willing to put herself out there, then he had to do something now. Her boys were right - the last thing he would be able to take was watching some other man with her, not if he had a shot. 

Leaning back in his chair, Mike stared at the ceiling. He'd spent so long trying to avoid Da knowing how he felt that it was almost second nature, now. In order to get things moving in the right direction, he had to fight the instincts he'd developed as a matter of self-preservation.

Firming his lips, he glanced at the clock and noted that it was five minutes to the end of the day. The boys had swung into his office during his free period, their approaching graduation meaning that they no longer had classes. It being the middle of the afternoon, Da would be arriving home from her job at the bank any time now. 

As the minutes passed, Mike made a plan. First, he needed to go home and get cleaned up. While he wasn't a slob, he wanted to put some effort into how he appeared when he showed up on her doorstep. Second, he needed to get the boys to disappear. Although they were good with him approaching Da, he didn't really want to make this a spectator sport. Third, he needed to make some reservations and get some flowers.  Even if Da said no for tonight, he wanted to make an impression. He could always cancel the restaurant if she shot him down and the flowers would a reminder of him on her kitchen table for days. They'd help keep him in her mind, which couldn't hurt. 

When the bell rang, for the first time in years, Coach Mike Greeves left the campus. He didn't stay after hours to finish up prep work for his history class. He didn't linger when the cheer coach looked like she wanted to talk to him. Rather, he walked right out to his Dodge and drove straight home, his Blue Tooth engaged as he set reservations and called the florist.