People said my chapters were too short, so I waited until I had a couple of chapters ready and I put them both together. I hope 5,000 words are long enough to make folks happy.
And thanks a bunch to all the people who have stuck with my story. I have had 85,000 people view my first chapter, but some chapters have had only 11,000 reads, so I know my storytelling hasn't held some people's attention throughout the run. For those who have stayed with me, I hope the story continues to entertain you, dear Constant Readers.
Oh, and HUGE thanks for voting Chap. 12 as the highest rated Mature story for the month of June. Wow, that was humbling to see my name atop the list. Keep those votes coming!
Lil Henry
*****
I hoped that sex would become a regular part of my week after that evening in the hot tub, but Life had other plans.
Between basketball season heating up, Randi's job at the library and the frequent visitors at the house, there just wasn't a chance to be alone.
Still, I couldn't complain. I was busy much of the time, but it was a good kind of tired when my head finally hit the pillow each night. I had lost touch with much of primetime television. I made time for some college hoops, often with Paige and a teammate or two, and that was good enough for me.
Ever fill out one of those Nielsen ratings books? I did that before, writing down what I watched for a week. If I were chosen for a week during that time, most of the spaces would have been blank. And I didn't care.
The regular season ended, and the basketball team was tied for first place in the league. Then we won our conference tournament and advanced to the state playoffs.
Some of the girls had really improved over the past few months. I could see some of them getting Division II or III offers to go to college. Forgive me for bragging, but Paige had blossomed the most. She was our do-everything player. She had spent so much time banging with Carrie in the post that she'd developed into a decent inside player, but she was better off the dribble. And thanks to my assistant coach, Paige's free throw shooting was stellar.
While at the conference tournament, the other coaches and I got together for a meeting. We voted for the all-conference team and player of the year. The private school coach talked up his best player, but to my pleasant surprise the rest of the men and women in the room mentioned my team.
What a nice run East was on, they said. What a big jump Paige had made since last season. How one of the games we lost was because Paige fouled out and wasn't there at the end of the fourth quarter.
By rule, a coach isn't allowed to vote for his own player, so I voted for the private school's girl, but the rest of the votes came my way. Paige was named player of the year.
Lori and Tessa also made first team all-conference, while Carrie and Autumn made second team.
I even finished second for coach of the year, something I wasn't expecting at all.
That was one of the happiest days of my life.
Valentine's Day was probably the lowest point during this time.
I was working on a furniture story on the computer when Paige and Ricky came in together.
"Hey, pops."
"I'm in here."
"Look what Ricky got me," she said, holding a rose and a teddy bear with a heart-covered T-shirt. "Isn't he the sweetest?"
Ricky looked very embarrassed at the compliment - another reason why I liked the boy, he was humble.
"Your birthday was, like, three months ago," I said, unsure why she had gifts.
"Three months tomorrow, to be exact," she noted. "That's how long we've been dating. But this is for Valentine's Day. Don't tell me you don't know what day it is."
"When you're 38, you don't take much notice of such a pseudo-holiday."
"It has nothing to do with how old you are. If you had a girlfriend, I bet there'd be a dozen roses on the kitchen bar."
That thought stumped me. Was she right? If I were a man in a normal relationship, would I be carrying flowers and chocolates?
"I'm gonna get my stuff together for practice," Paige said.
"Mr. D, is it okay if I grab a drink out of the fridge?"
"Sure, Ricky," I said automatically.
What I was really focused on were the gifts in my daughter's hands. How many other girls at school had flowers or bears or chocolates or any number of presents to show how appreciated they were?
For weeks now, Randi and I had been in our unconventional relationship. We didn't go out to eat in fancy restaurants - heck, we didn't even eat alone together at the Sizzler. We didn't go to the movies unless it was in a group, and when we did go in mass Randi and I didn't sit side by side for fear of getting caught holding hands or whispering in the other's ear.
Randi didn't have any roses or stuffed animal. If she had received a gift - even through a third party - people would want to know why. Maybe her mother would ask questions, but certainly Paige and her friends would.
"Who is he? What does he look like? Why haven't we met him?" I couldn't put her through that scrutiny.
And yet, look at what she was missing out on. I saw the smile on Paige's face, but there would be no smile like that for Randi, and it was because of me.
She was young, beautiful, smart, funny and considerate. There had to be any number of guys in her school and the surrounding schools that would love to date her. Those guys could take her to dinner and a movie. They could buy her some cheesy necklace with a heart pendant. They could take her home to meet the family. What could I offer? I was just some pathetic middle-aged man trying to recapture long-lost feelings at the expense of her youth. She deserved first dates and homecoming dance and going off to college to meet cute hunks.
Since Paige had been dating Ricky, I could see how much my daughter had missed out on her first three years of high school. That was my fault. I was against her dating, and then she also felt obligated to spend time with me. I didn't want to hold another young woman back.
As much as I cared about Randi - and it was surprising to me just how much that was - maybe it wasn't in her best interest to be with me. Maybe as the adult in the situation, I needed to be the mature one and walk away. But could I? She had gotten so deep into my heart, could I let go? I had never used the L word with her, but if I were being honest with myself I had already fallen.
Practice that night was terrible. The girls were too busy gossiping about their day, and I was too distracted to keep them in line.
Later, I retired to my bedroom, saying I wanted to read, but I never made it more than halfway down the first page. I had too much on my mind.
I didn't have a chance for any heart-to-heart talk with Randi as Valentine's Day came near the end of the regular season. Then came the three-day conference tournament we won. Then after the coaches' meeting and the awards, I was flying too high to think about anything as depressing as walking away from Randi.
One night upon returning home with some snacks, I met Paige near the front door.
She had one towel wrapped around her head and another around her torso.
"Hey, Dad. It was so freezing cold running out to hot tub, but the water felt great." Then she spied the bags I was carrying.
"Are there any chips in those bags?" she asked with a widening smile. Where she was standing on the bottom step, she leaned over to try to see what I held.
"Nope, nothing in here but vegetables and carrots."
