42 to 38. That was the final score. 42 to 38.
They had lost by four points. It wasn't just the last game of the season for the Lady Bearkats but also the last game Shelly would play. She was a senior and would graduate in a few months. She had been good enough to play basketball from the eighth grade right through high school but she was nowhere near college caliber.
Nope! She would wash her uniform over the weekend and turn it in Monday, as would the other twelve girls scattered over the large school bus. It seemed fitting for some reason. Even before the season started it was common knowledge they wouldn't be good enough to advance past the regular season so they all pretty well knew months in advance that tonight would be their last. Their season was a lot like these little West Texas roads... it went nowhere.
Shelly looked out the window and into the darkness. This was just another of the disappointing things she had absorbed in the past few months. Three months before she had turned eighteen. Her family had paid no attention. Over the Christmas holidays she had lost her virginity to a handsome young Marine splendid in his dress uniform. Brandon had graduated three years before her and, like most others, had vacated the town as soon as he could. Only a Christmas wedding brought him back.
It had been quick. The days of foreplay had been wonderful. The act itself had not. Within thirty minutes they were both more concerned about their clothes than the bonding that had just happened. He left town. She held her breath for a month then let out a sigh of relief.
Somehow, that experience had turned out to be as flat and unimaginative as everything else that happened out here. Just once...just once she'd like a surprise, something out of the ordinary to happen to her. Good or evil, just a "happening" to be able to look back to bond her to her adolescence.
It certainly wasn't going to come from her family. She was the last of four kids. Instead of being spoiled or "babied" she was instead sort of set aside. By the time it was "her turn" her parents had already made their run. They cared but they didn't get involved. They wanted to know how her date was but weren't interested in meeting him. They wanted to know how her game went but only attended a few of them in five years. They'd already drug themselves all over West Texas with her three older athletic siblings.
Shelly sighed and stared into the west Texas nothingness. It was a long drive back. Too bad their last game had to be a road game over 100 miles away but that was just the way it was with small schools in western Texas. After five years you certainly got used to it. Shelly's attention turned to the front of their bus. As usual, Mr. Callahan (They couldn't call him Robbie in public like they did in private) carefully guided the bus through the night.
Robbie wasn't just the assistant coach. He was also the bus driver, equipment manager...whatever Miss Payton wanted him to be. He loved it!
And everybody knew that head coach Anita Payton loved having him. She was lucky as hell to get a twenty four year old teacher and coach that gave as much to his students as he did. He wasn't married so it really freed him up to be very unselfish for the team.
Anita Payton. Everybody said she was gay. Around there if you weren't married by the time you were twenty two everybody thought you were gay, too. As far as Shelly was concerned there wasn't a day in her last four years that Anita had not been there for her. Robbie Callahan was just like her. Nothing too hard, nothing too large, nothing was unimportant as far as the kids were concerned.
She felt a little shove.
"Move over."
A smiling Anita squeezed into Shelly's little domain. She'd started at the back and worked her way up, consoling and thanking each girl for their sportsmanship and leadership. Shelly was last. She'd ride the rest of the way in with her senior. She knew that the trip home would be the hardest for Shelly. For Anita the past few years had been a job, her means of livelihood. For Shelly it was four years of hard work to only mire in mediocrity and play on losing teams.
Their talk was casual. Once you got away from sports there wasn't a lot in common between an eighteen year old and a thirty five year old in a town with less than a thousand people.
Both Shelly and Anita had talked themselves out in a very short time. Anita had one last comment.
"What do you want of life, Shelly? If you could change your life this very night what one thing would you want?"
"I wish that at least one significant thing would happen to me to make me remember any of this. Just one."
Anita laughed.
"Just one?"
"Just one."
Anita gently stroked her hand.
"Be careful for what you wish, Shelly Matlock. Be careful for what you wish."
Shelly nodded and prepared to doze. In addition to their games each of the girls had also put in a full day at school. They were experienced school bus travelers. Each had a blanket and a pillow to make them comfortable and all but Shelly had long ago headed for the back of the bus to slumber in the drone of the diesel engine.
Before Shelly closed her eyes she glanced at Robbie behind the wheel just a few feet away. She smiled. Now THAT"S what she'd like to happen to her.
She slipped into a pleasant slumber. But it wasn't just her body that slid into the temporary coma. She smiled and mentally invited Robbie Callahan to join her. It was easy enough in her dreams and it certainly wasn't the first time.
Robbie was a teacher, six years older then her, and totally out of bounds...in reality. In Shelly's dream he was not just available, she was his wildest dream. A burning desire that only she could possibly quench.
Through the sleep induced haze the two of them were in his car out on the Old Smith Road. To be as flat as the county was you could see for miles from there. It wasn't just the stars and fireflies that were so obvious. So were any headlights warning of an impending intrusion. You could see them from miles away, giving a partly undressed couple plenty of time to recuperate and make an escape route on any of the dozens of dirt roads crisscrossing the countryside.
After thirty minutes of lively talk and an uncountable amount of smothering kisses, Shelly could detect Robbie touching her ever so slightly on the leg. Although she may have really wanted it, she was caught by surprise and didn't move, sitting very still and forcing her eyes out the window. The touching became more brazen until he finally put his hand fully on her leg just about the knee. Shelly didn't know what to do. She decided it would be best if she just pretended it wasn't happening. She was sure it would go away.
But she was wrong. Maybe her lack of response made him think she was okay with it and encouraged him because he slowly started an upward exploration of her left leg. Shelly's short skirt slid upward as his hands slowly advanced, touching her leg both on the inside and outside, his bare hand making small circles on her skin.
His advance was slow and deliberate, making it harder to ignore. At times there was a hesitation and his hand left her leg. Shelly realized he was stopping to unbutton her skirt as he went up. Her breathing increased and her heart was pounding. She couldn't believe it! His advance up her young leg took forever. Finally, with her dress separated way up and his hand well under it, he touched her over her thong.
Robbie!!
That's when Shelly reached down and grabbed his wrist. That opened the unspoken dialogue. They both knew she was not going to allow it to happen and they were to determine where this was going. She didn't fight him so much but instead put steady pressure on his wrist, trying to force him away from her and let him know he was not to do it. He never got rough or pushy, but just continued the pressure, slowly caressing her pussy with the tips of his fingers through the flimsy cloth. She avoided eye contact, keeping her eyes to the right and out into the moonlit countryside.
The next ten minutes or so seemed like hours, with Shelly trying to ward off his advancing, ever exploring hand. She turned her head to him several times and whispered "No, Robbie. No." It fell on deaf ears and his massage continued. Finally, Shelly started to relax her hand, both out of exhaustion and the realization that she was not in a position to fight this too much. She really adored him and had no intention of making a big scene.
