Free Someone Like You by Jennifer Gracen

text me to reach me. I’ll give you my number at the end of practice.”
    She walked to him and held out the clipboard, pulling the pen free from the clip. “Here, you can write it down now.”
    Standing before him, he realized she was actually a bit above average height for a woman—she had to be at least five-foot-six, maybe five-seven. But at six-foot-two, he still towered over her. He was the tallest of his brothers, and had been one of the tallest players in the league. His long legs had helped him in the sport, that was for sure. He dropped the ball and water bottle to the ground and held her gaze for a moment. They were dark blue with a hint of gray, like the ocean during a storm. She looked back at him from beneath long lashes, waiting.
    â€œYou have beautiful eyes,” he said plainly.
    Blushing, she blinked and looked away to the kids, seemingly embarrassed that they might have heard his open compliment. With a grin, he looked down at the clipboard. She had the team roster there, with an attendance record marked off by hand. With a red pen, even. He swallowed a chuckle. There were other papers beneath, and curiosity pinched at him. He wanted to see what else Miss Organization had going on there. But he quickly scrawled his cell number at the top of the roster and handed the clipboard back to her. “Text me or call me anytime.”
    She nodded and their fingers brushed as he returned the pen. The faint blush still on her cheeks deepened, and her tongue darted out to lick her lips, an innocent gesture that made his libido spark to life. His blood started to pulse as he realized he affected her. Her looks and words may have been sharp with him, but her body language told another story. He held her gaze for another long beat, then turned his eyes down to the kids. “Okay! So. All of you, just call me Pierce, okay? And just so you understand, Coach Abby and I are both your coaches. I’m not taking away her job. If anything, I’m going to be following her lead. What she says goes. All right?”
    The boys all said yes or nodded.
    â€œLet’s get started, then.” He looked to Abby, who was still staring at him. His eyebrow lifted, and the blush on her pale skin deepened again. Ha! Busted. And damn, so adorable. He felt the side of his mouth quirk up, he couldn’t help it. “What do you usually do first?” he asked.
    â€œUm . . . a few light stretches,” she said, blinking. She cleared her throat, and in a flash she was back to her cool, crisp, efficient self. “Let’s go, guys. Sit down, do the leg stretches.”
    They all did what she said, lowering to the grass. As the dozen boys leaned over their short stick legs, talking to one another as they stretched their muscles, Pierce moved to Abby’s side. “I’m sorry,” he said softly, so the kids couldn’t hear. “The e-mail thing. I didn’t mean to be late. Not a great first impression, huh.”
    She shrugged, not meeting his eyes. “I just thought maybe you’d changed your mind about coming.”
    â€œWhat? No. Abby, I want to do this. It’s going to be fun.” He slanted a wry look. “Sorry, but you’re stuck with me for the season.”
    She looked up then. “I don’t consider myself ‘stuck with’ you. That’s not . . . very nice. I’m not, like, pissy that you’re here.”
    â€œ Pissy? ” The grin burst across his face. “Oh, good.” He could barely contain the laugh threatening to escape.
    â€œWhat’s so funny?” she demanded.
    â€œI don’t know. The way you hissed out that word. You just . . .” Now he did chuckle. Her eyes narrowed a bit, and he swallowed the rest of his laughter and cleared his throat. “Why don’t I just follow your lead tonight?” he suggested. “You run the practice how you usually do; I’ll watch, and jump in here and there.