I didn't see Coach Mulligan again until after the weekend, for Monday training. He'd brought in new training equipment, which basically amounted to monkey bars. When we all looked at him quizzically, he explained how the drill worked: we were to jump, grab onto the bar and hang for a few seconds, before dropping down and repeating, until we got too tired to continue. The last one standing would get a prize - but he failed to mention what this prize was.
Ugh.
It felt like a punishment for losing the playoffs game. But I knew I deserved it, as I felt largely responsible for not being in the zone that day. So I made it my mission to outlast all the girls.
As we jumped, and hanged, and jumped, hanged, Coach wove between us, offering encouragement here and there, and correcting minor flaws when he saw them. When he got to me, he stood in front of me for a few seconds and watched me jump up. Looking me up and down as I hung there, he nodded his approval. As I dropped down again though, his brow furrowed momentarily, and he made his way round to behind me, and explained that I should bend my knees as I landed - to prevent possible injuries.
And then he put his hands on my waist.
Instantly, I felt a shiver run through me and goosebumps raised on my arms. His grip on my waist was firm, and squeezed me slightly.
"Ok Anna, as you drop this time, you shouldn't feel anything in your hips here. If you do, you're not bending your knees enough. Ok...drop!"
As I dropped, I felt him move forward. As I landed, his front was pressed against my back, and he had a very obvious message sticking into my midriff. I breathed in sharply, and looked over my shoulder at Coach.
There was the faintest trace of a grin on his face, and his eyes were fixed on me. He had meant it. Thats what he was telling me with his eyes. He had purposefully pressed himself against me, he had meant for me to feel his...thing.
I was at a loss as to what to do. My brain was screaming at me to move forward before anyone saw what was incredibly inappropriate behaviour - a Coach holding the waist of his young student, her backed up into him? But my body refused to move. My ass twitched in defiance of my thoughts, and I felt his rod flex against my lower back.
I bit my lip, begging myself not to do something crazy, and had a moment of clarity, seeing myself kicked out of college and sitting on the street with no dignity left. I clung to this moment, and forced myself to take a step forward. His member, loose in his shorts, slid down and dragged across the top of my ass before I moved fully out of his space. I dared not turn round, and soon enough, he had moved on, helping the other girls as if nothing had happened.
Breathing out shakily, I continued the exercise. Before long, most of the girls had dropped out, until it was just me and Ava (first year student, pretty with lots of piercings) left. Just as I was beginning to think I would simply have to stop before my arms fell out of their sockets, she collapsed to the ground, almost hyperventilating. I dropped off my bar, shocked I had won.
The girls clapped for me, and Ava grinned up at me once she had regained her composure.
"God damn Anna, you're a freaking machine!", she exclaimed.
I shrugged, trying not to let myself get too much of an ego, and failing massively.
"Right, Anna. Well done! And now for your prize." Coach smiled at me, and beckoned me towards his office.
"Start with shooting practice girls, we'll be right back once I've given Anna what she truly deserves!"
The sentence, while perfectly innocent on surface level, made me swallow hard. What did he mean by that?
I followed Coach up the stairs to his office, which was private due to the floor to ceiling frosted glass, covered in posters and flyers detailing future competition dates.
Once inside, I stood nervously in front of his desk, smoothing down my skirt. Coach stood leaned against the desk, which brought him down almost to eye level with me.
He smiled at me, "You look nervous Anna, cheer up! You just won a free dessert in the college cafe."
With this he handed me a small business-style card with a space to stamp to confirm when I used it. Embarrassed that I thought he had brought me up here to...well, I kept my eyes fixed down on the card.
I felt his presence near me, enveloping me.
"You're blushing...do you not think you deserve this?" He asked softly.
Still keeping my eyes fixed firmly down pretending to evaluate the card, I shook my head, my hair swooshing about at my neck.
"Well that's too bad, because I couldn't think of anyone better to win. You're the best out of any of those girls..." his hand was under my chin, raising my eyes to his.
As I met his gaze, I was enraptured once again by his cool blue eyes, seemingly penetrating into my soul. In that moment, it felt like he could see past my shell and into my deepest...darkest, desires.
