Neighborhood Dad

Thanks for reading my chapters as well as all the votes and comments.

Knowing I've got thousands of interested readers waiting for the next chapter has been a needed kick to the butt. I've already gotten Chap. 10 written, too.

Lil Henry

*****

Back in the locker room, I gave the girls brief congratulations, then retreated to my office so they could shower and change.

As I sat down in my chair, all kinds of thoughts rushed through my mind. Things we could have done better, lucky bounces that could have gone the wrong way, how far this team could go if they continued to improve.

It's funny, I thought. When I first took over the team, all I could think about was how sexy these young women looked. I never thought I'd make it a week without either having a heart attack or getting fired for groping one of them in a fit of desire.

Getting an assistant coach helped some, but the real reason my hormones had been in check was sitting out in the bleachers. When Randi and I had sex, I felt satisfied in a way that no amount of masturbating could ever do.

Staring at the girls in practice, then jerking off later didn't really scratch that itch. If anything, it seemed to make things worse. Fantasizing about Autumn, Kim or Carrie when I was alone just made me want to see more of them - to stare longer and risk being caught perving on them.

Having sex with a real person, and especially Randi, cut out all that fantasy crap - for a while.

Over the past week, I'd felt those urges coming back. It had been too long since the night of Paige's birthday party.

It wasn't so bad when the girls were running drills. The fast movements kept me focused on coaching. But I tried to find excuses not to look at the players when they were stretching because that was just unfair. Those young, firm bodies moving slowly and seductively.

Just the day before, I'd fought with myself a few times. Wanting to stare too long or to daydream right in the middle of practice. The worst was after practice when I was in my office. I kept imagining what was happening on the other side of the wall.

Is Kim pulling off her sweaty panties at her locker? Is Autumn leaning her head back in the shower so the water bounces off those perky breasts? What about the soap suds being massaged into Lori's magnificent ass - no, not that. Don't think about Lori like that, no matter how muscular and shapely and - dammit, stop that.

The door of my office opens directly across a narrow hall to the outside door. If I open my door and step across, the door blocks my view down the hall to the dressing area. I make it a point not to come and go when the girls are in the locker room, but even if I did, the door and the angle would stop me from seeing much, if anything.

But was that exactly right? Maybe if I opened the door, but didn't step straight across to the outside door? Could I see between the inside edge of the door and the jam? Maybe I should step out my door, then pretend to dig around in my pockets looking for something, or maybe carry a bunch of papers with stats on them and pretend that I'm busy reading them. The door could start to close, and I'd just happen to be standing there innocently with a clear look toward the long bench in front of the closest lockers.

I knew that was a crappy plan for trying to steal some deposit material for my spank bank, but sometimes the hormones talk so earnestly that you start to believe they've got a good point.

Yet, here I was in the present time, sitting at my desk with no urge at all to risk sneaking a peek. And why? Because Randi had smiled at me, and all seemed right in the world.

It was crazy, I knew that. A middle-aged man so smitten with someone barely more than a child.

A knock at the door broke my concentration. It cracked open a foot, and Paige's head slid into the opening.

"What are you doing hiding in here? Let's get out and celebrate! Everybody's finished changing now."

The boys' game was still going on, so we hung around a bit to watch them play. However, they weren't doing as well as the girls, and none of my players wanted to stay for the rest of a blowout.

The girls insisted on going to Richie's Diner because they have the best milkshakes in town.

Richie's is one of those retro places with the posters on the wall of Elvis, Marilyn Monroe and James Dean - all people who were long dead before any of these kids were born. And yet, the teens thought it was the coolest place in town.

Richard, the owner, called it Richie's to give it a Happy Days vibe, and there was a print of the Fonz on the wall above the big corner table where most of the girls rushed to sit.

Oh, in case I forgot to mention it, Ricky was Richard Jr., the son of the owner, so we always got a good deal when the team showed up.

Ricky and I slid a freestanding table over to the corner booth. Ricky and Paige sat down at the table to keep me company while Lori, Tessa, Autumn, Kim, Crystal and Carrie crammed into the big C-shaped booth.

There was one empty chair at our four-seat table, but then I heard the chair legs squeak back on the floor.

I turned to find Randi standing over me. She slid gracefully into the seat as she said, "Mind if I join the winners?"

"Heck yeah, the more the merrier," said Paige.

"And the bigger the tab, right, Ricky?" I said with a smile. What can I say, despite my firm desire to hate his guts, Ricky did seem to be a good kid who just so happened to worship the ground that my daughter walked on.

"It gets kinda busy in here after a game," he said apologetically. "Let me get everybody's drink order while the waitress is busy."

As Ricky polled the girls, Paige turned to Randi, "Look at you, showing up for a ball game. I didn't think you cared for sports."

"I watch some, but I haven't had much free time lately. My mom has been down with a cold and bronchitis, and my dad is always away on business, so I've been kind of running the household."

"In addition to going to school, homework, working a part-time job," I added.

"Oh yeah, I've been pretty wiped out lately, but Mom is feeling better now, so I'll have more free time."

"Great!" exclaimed Paige. "You've gotta come by and try the hot tub when it's freezing cold outside. It is so awesome that you can see your breath when you go out after dark, but then the water is all warm and comfy."

"I was just thinking about how I need to come by," she said to Paige, but with a quick glance to me. "And not just for the hot tub."

"Well yeah, to see me, of course!" said Paige.

"Oh, that too, but I was thinking about taking your dad up on his offer."

I was confused. "What offer?"

"You see, I've been working and saving back a little bit of money each week. Now I've got $150, and I want to buy a guitar. Your dad said he'd show me a thing or two if I wanted to learn, so now I'm gonna start."

"Definitely!" Paige blurted out. "He's tried to show me before, but I'm useless with a guitar. And I know he'd be really psyched to have someone he could play around with."

Randi gave me a knowing look on the phrase "someone he could play around with" and I felt a blush coming on. Luckily, Ricky had worked his way back around and was asking Paige for her drink so my daughter didn't see me turn red.

Randi did though, and I felt her reach over and give my thigh a brief squeeze before returning her hand to her own lap.

Some other kids from school showed up and dragged another table over to us. The crowd was loud, and everyone was so close to us that I didn't feel like I could spend any time talking to Randi.

But that was okay because she'd be visiting soon, and we'd have plenty of time together.