Spiked! Part 13
Title: Spiked! The VolleyVerse Part 13
Author:
texankate
Pairings/Characters: J-squared, Chris/Steve, Usual Suspects OFCs, OMCs.
Rating: Up to NC17 in places
Disclaimer: If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumber'd here While these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, No more yielding but a dream,. In other words: complete and utter fiction. I own nothing but my twisted and sordid little brain. I even had to borrow my disclaimer.
Warning: Angst, drama, character death. Flagrant disregard of USVA reality.
Summary: When Jensen meets Mac's new volleyball coach, he falls head over heels in lust. Can they overcome misunderstanding and tragedy and find their way to each other?
There were good and bad things about dating the coach, Jensen found. The bad things included having to be up at the ass-crack of dawn on tournament weekends. If the girls had to be there at seven, Jared wanted to be there by six-thirty. Plus, they had to stay late and gather up equipment after tournaments and practices. On the positive side, Jensen got to see Jared in shorts and athletic wear on a regular basis, and even though he loved Mac, having Jared to ogle during the games made the tournaments a whole lot more fun.
Jared also got advance copies of the tournament pools and schedules. That was how Jensen found out, three days in advance, that Volcano Volleyball would be in a pool with Dallas Life in the Molson open.
"Has Mac seen this yet?" Jensen asked, flipping the schedule closed.
"Nope. How do you think she'll react?" Jared asked, pulling Jensen down on the couch beside him. He buried his face in Jensen's neck, sighing happily.
"I think she'll look forward to kicking their asses. Just make sure she doesn't get arrested for assault, 'kay?" Jensen asked, relaxing into Jared's embrace.
"She never did show me how to throw a punch," Jared said, a thoughtful look on his face.
"Don't worry. If the mean bigots pick on you, Mac and I will defend your honor," Jensen promised.
"My knight in shining armor," Jared beamed.
"Wait, I thought I was the princess and you were the knight?" Jensen said.
"We're an equal partnership," Jared explained. "We're good at switching off."
Jensen smiled fondly at how well they had switched off the night before. "You're right. Can I be the knight again tonight?"
"Only if you call me a pretty, pretty princess," Jared said with a little snort.
"Okay, back to the subject at hand. Are we gonna tell Mac?"
"Kind of have to," Jared said. "I'll announce it at practice tonight." He started nibbling on Jensen's ear.
"What's their record like this season?" Jensen asked, baring his neck to give Jared better access.
"They're good," Jared admitted. "They placed first in their last tournament." He reached down and tugged on the hem of Jensen's tee, pulling it up and off of his boyfriend.
"And we are?" Jensen asked, moving to straddle his boyfriend.
"Better. We'll totally kick their asses," Jared promised. "Fuck, Jen."
"Good. It's kind of petty, but I really want to rub their faces in it," Jensen said.
"I'll do my best," Jared said. "In the meantime, wanna rub your face in something else?"
Jensen sat back. "Dude, seriously? What the hell kinda line is that?" He smirked at Jared.
"Sorry, blood's not really in my brain at the moment," Jared said with a bright blush.
"S'okay,' Jensen said, reaching down to unbuckle Jared's belt. "I totally want you for your body, anyway."
"Good to know," Jared said. He whimpered as Jensen's hands migrated below the belt.
Mac took the news fairly well. Jensen was a little disturbed by the wicked gleam in her eye, but for the most part she acted fairly sane and normal. All of the team knew about her history with Dallas Life, and they swore that they'd play as hard as they could to take the other team down. Jensen loved how protective the girls were of one another. Just another thing that made them feel like family.
The trouble started with the first match. Life was refereeing the game between Volcano and a team from Carrolton called Texas Twister. At first, Jensen was happy to see the evil Stacy working on the opposite side as their team. Until, that is, she started making calls.
Halfway through the game, the head referee, the professional, called the Life team over to admonish them for the string of bad calls against Volcano, the last one being a ball called out that had actually landed at least a foot inside the boundary.
"I don't know if you're just lazy or blind, but I will not have that on my court," the older woman said. "I refuse to entertain the idea that someone would purposefully try to make bad calls and hurt another team," she added, glaring at both Stacy and the Life coach. She switched out Stacy for one of the other girls, and continued the game. Things went quicker after that, and Volcano handily beat the Twisters 2-0.
Mac was fuming when she came off of the court. "I can't believe she tried that," Mac railed. She dropped down in the chair next to Jensen. "I swear, I'm gonna…"
"You're not going to do anything but play some kickass volleyball," Jensen said, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "And when you cream them, then we're going out to celebrate."
Mac looked around, making sure no one else could hear her. "But what if we don't cream them?"
"Then we go out and commiserate. And tell ourselves that no matter the score, we're better people than they are," Jensen said with a shrug. "Either way, we love you, kiddo. Doesn't matter how the game goes. Though, I will admit, I'd really love to see the look on Stacy's face when y'all kick their asses."
"Well then, that's what we'll do," Mac said.
"You know, Mom and Dad are looking down right now, and they are so proud of you," Jensen said, squeezing her tight.
"Thanks, Jen," Mac said, eyes watering just a little. "And I know they're happy about you and Jared. They would have loved him as a son-in-law."
Jensen blushed. "We're not married, Mac. We live in Texas, so we might never be married. Even if that was something we both wanted."
"Who cares what the government thinks," Mac said. "And you two would totally dress up, buy a fancy cake, and marry each other, given the chance. I see how you are together. You've never been this happy, and he's just walking on air. But I guess if he can't be a brother-in-law, he's my brother-in-love."
"I like the sound of that," Jared said, flopping down beside Jensen's chair. "Hey babe." He gave Jensen his 1000-watt smile.
"Hey you," Jensen said. He wanted nothing more than to pull Jared in for a kiss, but while the Volcano players and parents would have whistled and clapped, Jensen wasn't sure about the reaction from the other folks. He didn't want to do anything to harm Jared, or the team.
They sat down and rooted for the team playing against Dallas Life, but unfortunately their nemeses rolled over the other team. Jared had his clipboard out, making notes and trying to find weaknesses. Jensen couldn't quite keep his hands to himself, letting his fingers rest on Jared's shoulder, and every once in a while playing with his silky curls.
The next game Volcano had to ref the Twisters versus Life. Jared made sure that Mac didn't have to be on the court, but she did have the dubious honor of keeping score. Jensen could see the pained look on her face every time she had to mark down another point for Life, but she did her job without much complaint.
They had the next game off, right before a double header. Jared took them outside to warm up while the rest of us stayed inside to watch. Miraculously, Life had little trouble refereeing the current game, since Volcano wasn't playing. The two teams were pretty closely matched, and it ended up going to a tie-breaker. One of them finally won, and while the Dragons stayed on the court for their next game, Volcano filed in and finished their warm-ups.
Mac and company handily defeated the Dragons. But even then, Jensen could tell that half of their attention was on the next game. Once the Dragons shook hands and left the court, the Volcano players huddled up to discuss strategy.
Once the game started, it was easy to see how closely matched the two teams were. There were no five point runs, just a series of side-out after side-out.
Jensen saw the girls from Life talking smack to the Volcano team, but every time the girls got angry, they'd look up and see Jensen and their parents making goofy faces or hear them yell out words of encouragement. By the skin of their teeth, they managed to win the first of the two games.
During the switch, one of their opponents muttered something to Jared as they passed by. His head snapped up, and several of the girls looked like they were about to charge back under the net. Jared just laid his hands on their shoulders and directed them to their bench.
Their luck didn't hold in the second game. Even though Mac scored three points in a nice run, Life managed to beat them by two, bringing up a tie-breaker.
Jared and Sandy pulled the girls over for a huddle, not yelling or screaming, just offering support, guidance, and advice. They took their places on the court and waited for Life to serve.
Like the first game, the tie-breaker was intense, point traded off for point, no one clearly dominating. Nothing broke open until they switched halfway, and Volcano was facing their families again.
Desperate times called for desperate measures. During the changeover, several of the mothers dug down into their purses and pulled out their makeup bags. So when Mac, Jared, and the rest of the team turned to face their supporters, Jeff Morgan had a Plum Dandy colored Volcano Volleyball logo drawn on his cheek. State Trooper Rob Lee had a Jazz-y-Razz colored logo on one cheek, and a volleyball sketched with Black Funk and Pop Blue colored eyeliner on the other. Dr. Edward Hill, respected professor of theoretical physics, had his daughter's name and number drawn on with lipstick and highlighted with Sugar Shock lip gloss. On and on it went down the line of fathers and mothers, until they got to the end, where Jensen had the logo and Mac's number written in Capricious, and 'I heart Coach P.' written in 'Lasting Lust.'
Jared and the girls took one look at their dedicated fans and burst out laughing. When Stacy and her friends looked around, Jensen blew her a kiss and batted his eyelashes. The Dallas Life parents and coaches complained loud and long, but the head referee, who'd already had enough of Dallas Life, merely told them to grow a sense of humor.
Knowing that they had their families behind them, win or lose, and knowing that their dads and brother would gladly make fools of themselves just to make them laugh, the girls huddled up and focused on their game with intensity. They battled Life, losing a point here, making a great side-out there. The fought and fought until they had Life at match point.
Life served, a booming hit that sailed all the way to the back row. Kaylee Morgan dug down and bumped the ball to Mac, who managed to set to Antonia, who hit the ball to a dead spot on the Life side. The opposing libero managed to dig down, passing the ball to their setter, who passed it along to their outside hitter.
She didn't manage to hit the ball to the back row. Instead Mac managed to block, sending several of the girls chasing. When Abbey managed to pass it back towards the net, the outside hitters hadn't made it back into position. Mac made her approach, pulled back her arm, and leapt into the air, swinging her arm at full speed. Jensen watched as the life players scrambled to meet what they expected to be a long ball. Instead, Mac pulled her swing, barely tapping the ball over the net. Several of the Life players dove, but the ball hit the court, just beyond the reach of Stacy's fingers.
The Volcano supporters erupted, jumping up and down and patting Jensen on the back. The girls all rushed onto the court, followed closely by Jared and Sandy. They hugged one another and cheered for a few moments, then lined up to shake hands.
The Life coach made her team line up, though they barely touched the Volcano team. Stacy couldn't miss out on one last dig, and Mac spun around ready to do some damage. Jared held her back, while the head referee stepped down from her perch.
"Young lady, that is enough of that," the older woman snarled. "I cannot abide such language on my court. You will either apologize, or you will never play USVA volleyball again."
Stacy turned around and stalked off of the court, heading straight for her parents. Her coach rushed after her, but Stacy's family helped her pack up her gear, torn between yelling at the coach, yelling at the ref, and yelling at their daughter.
Jared hurried off of the court, loping up to Jensen. "You don't mind a slight PDA, do you?" he asked, mischievously.
"No, why?" Jensen asked.
"Well, if she's never going to play again, she should at least go out with a bang, right?" Jared asked. He pulled Jensen to him and, in a move that was straight out of Gone With the Wind, dipped Jensen low and planted one on him.
As Jensen had predicted, Volcano Volleyball met the scene with hoots and hollers. When Jared finally let him come up for air, he was met with shocked, and a few poorly disguised lustful stares from Dallas Life. When Stacy and her parents stalked by, Jensen gave her a cheery wave, then laughed as she screamed out another insult.
With that, the team poured off of the court and threw themselves into the congratulatory arms of their families. Jared sent Sandy to find out when their games started the next day, so Jensen helped him gather up their gear while Mac and the girls chattered away.
"Now remember," Jared said, when he had them all gathered together. "We still have games tomorrow. This was a big win, but we're not done yet. I want you all to get home and get some rest. I promise, if we do well tomorrow, we'll celebrate. Now let's concentrate on our game. This is the last tournament before regionals, so let's not lose focus."
"So you guys head home and get some sleep. See you bright and early tomorrow morning," Sandy said. "First game is at nine, so we need you here by eight."
A few last pats on the back and they were all trudging out of the sports plex. They loaded their gear into Jared's SUV, and climbed inside.
"How about we pick up a pizza and head home," Jensen said.
"Screw pizza. We have to celebrate!" Jared argued.
"I thought we weren't supposed to celebrate until after the tournament," Mac said, leaning forward from the back seat.
"That's for the rest of the team. For us? We beat the crap out of our enemies, without it ending up in assault charges. Stacy will never play USVA again, if Madge has anything to say about it. And Jensen has 'I heart Coach P.' written in lip stain on his forehead, marking him as mine for at least twenty-four hours. That? Is cause for celebration," Jared said, grinning madly.
"I can't believe that ref was so hard on Stacy," Mac said. "I like that old gal."
"Well, Stacy picked the wrong ref to spout off in front of," Jared said, still grinning. "Madge is good people. When I first started coaching, and my old club found out I was gay and fired me, Madge made a point to shove me in the direction of Volcano."
"She likes the way you look in track pants, huh?" Jensen said. "Should I be jealous?"
"I wouldn't if I were you. Her partner, Josie, tends to beat the crap out of anyone who is mean to Madge," Jared said.
"So, it's like a little sisterhood, then?" Mac teased. "All you gals stick up for one another?"
"Shush, you," Jensen said. "Now, I agree. Let's celebrate!"
"Pizza and a movie?" Mac requested.
"And an early night," Jared said.
Mac settled back into her seat with a contented sigh. She slipped on her iPod headphones and turned up the music.
"I especially want an early night," Jared said in a loud whisper. "Something about you marking yourself up for me has me very much in the mood to mark you in other ways."
Jensen shifted uncomfortably at those words, hoping to hide the growing erection in his jeans. "Something that I can't get rid of with a little makeup remover?"
"Damn straight."
"Coach Padalecki, I like the way you think."
Author:
texankate
Pairings/Characters: J-squared, Chris/Steve, Usual Suspects OFCs, OMCs.
Rating: Up to NC17 in places
Disclaimer: If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumber'd here While these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, No more yielding but a dream,. In other words: complete and utter fiction. I own nothing but my twisted and sordid little brain. I even had to borrow my disclaimer.
Warning: Angst, drama, character death. Flagrant disregard of USVA reality.
Summary: When Jensen meets Mac's new volleyball coach, he falls head over heels in lust. Can they overcome misunderstanding and tragedy and find their way to each other?
There were good and bad things about dating the coach, Jensen found. The bad things included having to be up at the ass-crack of dawn on tournament weekends. If the girls had to be there at seven, Jared wanted to be there by six-thirty. Plus, they had to stay late and gather up equipment after tournaments and practices. On the positive side, Jensen got to see Jared in shorts and athletic wear on a regular basis, and even though he loved Mac, having Jared to ogle during the games made the tournaments a whole lot more fun.
Jared also got advance copies of the tournament pools and schedules. That was how Jensen found out, three days in advance, that Volcano Volleyball would be in a pool with Dallas Life in the Molson open.
"Has Mac seen this yet?" Jensen asked, flipping the schedule closed.
"Nope. How do you think she'll react?" Jared asked, pulling Jensen down on the couch beside him. He buried his face in Jensen's neck, sighing happily.
"I think she'll look forward to kicking their asses. Just make sure she doesn't get arrested for assault, 'kay?" Jensen asked, relaxing into Jared's embrace.
"She never did show me how to throw a punch," Jared said, a thoughtful look on his face.
"Don't worry. If the mean bigots pick on you, Mac and I will defend your honor," Jensen promised.
"My knight in shining armor," Jared beamed.
"Wait, I thought I was the princess and you were the knight?" Jensen said.
"We're an equal partnership," Jared explained. "We're good at switching off."
Jensen smiled fondly at how well they had switched off the night before. "You're right. Can I be the knight again tonight?"
"Only if you call me a pretty, pretty princess," Jared said with a little snort.
"Okay, back to the subject at hand. Are we gonna tell Mac?"
"Kind of have to," Jared said. "I'll announce it at practice tonight." He started nibbling on Jensen's ear.
"What's their record like this season?" Jensen asked, baring his neck to give Jared better access.
"They're good," Jared admitted. "They placed first in their last tournament." He reached down and tugged on the hem of Jensen's tee, pulling it up and off of his boyfriend.
"And we are?" Jensen asked, moving to straddle his boyfriend.
"Better. We'll totally kick their asses," Jared promised. "Fuck, Jen."
"Good. It's kind of petty, but I really want to rub their faces in it," Jensen said.
"I'll do my best," Jared said. "In the meantime, wanna rub your face in something else?"
Jensen sat back. "Dude, seriously? What the hell kinda line is that?" He smirked at Jared.
"Sorry, blood's not really in my brain at the moment," Jared said with a bright blush.
"S'okay,' Jensen said, reaching down to unbuckle Jared's belt. "I totally want you for your body, anyway."
"Good to know," Jared said. He whimpered as Jensen's hands migrated below the belt.
Mac took the news fairly well. Jensen was a little disturbed by the wicked gleam in her eye, but for the most part she acted fairly sane and normal. All of the team knew about her history with Dallas Life, and they swore that they'd play as hard as they could to take the other team down. Jensen loved how protective the girls were of one another. Just another thing that made them feel like family.
The trouble started with the first match. Life was refereeing the game between Volcano and a team from Carrolton called Texas Twister. At first, Jensen was happy to see the evil Stacy working on the opposite side as their team. Until, that is, she started making calls.
Halfway through the game, the head referee, the professional, called the Life team over to admonish them for the string of bad calls against Volcano, the last one being a ball called out that had actually landed at least a foot inside the boundary.
"I don't know if you're just lazy or blind, but I will not have that on my court," the older woman said. "I refuse to entertain the idea that someone would purposefully try to make bad calls and hurt another team," she added, glaring at both Stacy and the Life coach. She switched out Stacy for one of the other girls, and continued the game. Things went quicker after that, and Volcano handily beat the Twisters 2-0.
Mac was fuming when she came off of the court. "I can't believe she tried that," Mac railed. She dropped down in the chair next to Jensen. "I swear, I'm gonna…"
"You're not going to do anything but play some kickass volleyball," Jensen said, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "And when you cream them, then we're going out to celebrate."
Mac looked around, making sure no one else could hear her. "But what if we don't cream them?"
"Then we go out and commiserate. And tell ourselves that no matter the score, we're better people than they are," Jensen said with a shrug. "Either way, we love you, kiddo. Doesn't matter how the game goes. Though, I will admit, I'd really love to see the look on Stacy's face when y'all kick their asses."
"Well then, that's what we'll do," Mac said.
"You know, Mom and Dad are looking down right now, and they are so proud of you," Jensen said, squeezing her tight.
"Thanks, Jen," Mac said, eyes watering just a little. "And I know they're happy about you and Jared. They would have loved him as a son-in-law."
Jensen blushed. "We're not married, Mac. We live in Texas, so we might never be married. Even if that was something we both wanted."
"Who cares what the government thinks," Mac said. "And you two would totally dress up, buy a fancy cake, and marry each other, given the chance. I see how you are together. You've never been this happy, and he's just walking on air. But I guess if he can't be a brother-in-law, he's my brother-in-love."
"I like the sound of that," Jared said, flopping down beside Jensen's chair. "Hey babe." He gave Jensen his 1000-watt smile.
"Hey you," Jensen said. He wanted nothing more than to pull Jared in for a kiss, but while the Volcano players and parents would have whistled and clapped, Jensen wasn't sure about the reaction from the other folks. He didn't want to do anything to harm Jared, or the team.
They sat down and rooted for the team playing against Dallas Life, but unfortunately their nemeses rolled over the other team. Jared had his clipboard out, making notes and trying to find weaknesses. Jensen couldn't quite keep his hands to himself, letting his fingers rest on Jared's shoulder, and every once in a while playing with his silky curls.
The next game Volcano had to ref the Twisters versus Life. Jared made sure that Mac didn't have to be on the court, but she did have the dubious honor of keeping score. Jensen could see the pained look on her face every time she had to mark down another point for Life, but she did her job without much complaint.
They had the next game off, right before a double header. Jared took them outside to warm up while the rest of us stayed inside to watch. Miraculously, Life had little trouble refereeing the current game, since Volcano wasn't playing. The two teams were pretty closely matched, and it ended up going to a tie-breaker. One of them finally won, and while the Dragons stayed on the court for their next game, Volcano filed in and finished their warm-ups.
Mac and company handily defeated the Dragons. But even then, Jensen could tell that half of their attention was on the next game. Once the Dragons shook hands and left the court, the Volcano players huddled up to discuss strategy.
Once the game started, it was easy to see how closely matched the two teams were. There were no five point runs, just a series of side-out after side-out.
Jensen saw the girls from Life talking smack to the Volcano team, but every time the girls got angry, they'd look up and see Jensen and their parents making goofy faces or hear them yell out words of encouragement. By the skin of their teeth, they managed to win the first of the two games.
During the switch, one of their opponents muttered something to Jared as they passed by. His head snapped up, and several of the girls looked like they were about to charge back under the net. Jared just laid his hands on their shoulders and directed them to their bench.
Their luck didn't hold in the second game. Even though Mac scored three points in a nice run, Life managed to beat them by two, bringing up a tie-breaker.
Jared and Sandy pulled the girls over for a huddle, not yelling or screaming, just offering support, guidance, and advice. They took their places on the court and waited for Life to serve.
Like the first game, the tie-breaker was intense, point traded off for point, no one clearly dominating. Nothing broke open until they switched halfway, and Volcano was facing their families again.
Desperate times called for desperate measures. During the changeover, several of the mothers dug down into their purses and pulled out their makeup bags. So when Mac, Jared, and the rest of the team turned to face their supporters, Jeff Morgan had a Plum Dandy colored Volcano Volleyball logo drawn on his cheek. State Trooper Rob Lee had a Jazz-y-Razz colored logo on one cheek, and a volleyball sketched with Black Funk and Pop Blue colored eyeliner on the other. Dr. Edward Hill, respected professor of theoretical physics, had his daughter's name and number drawn on with lipstick and highlighted with Sugar Shock lip gloss. On and on it went down the line of fathers and mothers, until they got to the end, where Jensen had the logo and Mac's number written in Capricious, and 'I heart Coach P.' written in 'Lasting Lust.'
Jared and the girls took one look at their dedicated fans and burst out laughing. When Stacy and her friends looked around, Jensen blew her a kiss and batted his eyelashes. The Dallas Life parents and coaches complained loud and long, but the head referee, who'd already had enough of Dallas Life, merely told them to grow a sense of humor.
Knowing that they had their families behind them, win or lose, and knowing that their dads and brother would gladly make fools of themselves just to make them laugh, the girls huddled up and focused on their game with intensity. They battled Life, losing a point here, making a great side-out there. The fought and fought until they had Life at match point.
Life served, a booming hit that sailed all the way to the back row. Kaylee Morgan dug down and bumped the ball to Mac, who managed to set to Antonia, who hit the ball to a dead spot on the Life side. The opposing libero managed to dig down, passing the ball to their setter, who passed it along to their outside hitter.
She didn't manage to hit the ball to the back row. Instead Mac managed to block, sending several of the girls chasing. When Abbey managed to pass it back towards the net, the outside hitters hadn't made it back into position. Mac made her approach, pulled back her arm, and leapt into the air, swinging her arm at full speed. Jensen watched as the life players scrambled to meet what they expected to be a long ball. Instead, Mac pulled her swing, barely tapping the ball over the net. Several of the Life players dove, but the ball hit the court, just beyond the reach of Stacy's fingers.
The Volcano supporters erupted, jumping up and down and patting Jensen on the back. The girls all rushed onto the court, followed closely by Jared and Sandy. They hugged one another and cheered for a few moments, then lined up to shake hands.
The Life coach made her team line up, though they barely touched the Volcano team. Stacy couldn't miss out on one last dig, and Mac spun around ready to do some damage. Jared held her back, while the head referee stepped down from her perch.
"Young lady, that is enough of that," the older woman snarled. "I cannot abide such language on my court. You will either apologize, or you will never play USVA volleyball again."
Stacy turned around and stalked off of the court, heading straight for her parents. Her coach rushed after her, but Stacy's family helped her pack up her gear, torn between yelling at the coach, yelling at the ref, and yelling at their daughter.
Jared hurried off of the court, loping up to Jensen. "You don't mind a slight PDA, do you?" he asked, mischievously.
"No, why?" Jensen asked.
"Well, if she's never going to play again, she should at least go out with a bang, right?" Jared asked. He pulled Jensen to him and, in a move that was straight out of Gone With the Wind, dipped Jensen low and planted one on him.
As Jensen had predicted, Volcano Volleyball met the scene with hoots and hollers. When Jared finally let him come up for air, he was met with shocked, and a few poorly disguised lustful stares from Dallas Life. When Stacy and her parents stalked by, Jensen gave her a cheery wave, then laughed as she screamed out another insult.
With that, the team poured off of the court and threw themselves into the congratulatory arms of their families. Jared sent Sandy to find out when their games started the next day, so Jensen helped him gather up their gear while Mac and the girls chattered away.
"Now remember," Jared said, when he had them all gathered together. "We still have games tomorrow. This was a big win, but we're not done yet. I want you all to get home and get some rest. I promise, if we do well tomorrow, we'll celebrate. Now let's concentrate on our game. This is the last tournament before regionals, so let's not lose focus."
"So you guys head home and get some sleep. See you bright and early tomorrow morning," Sandy said. "First game is at nine, so we need you here by eight."
A few last pats on the back and they were all trudging out of the sports plex. They loaded their gear into Jared's SUV, and climbed inside.
"How about we pick up a pizza and head home," Jensen said.
"Screw pizza. We have to celebrate!" Jared argued.
"I thought we weren't supposed to celebrate until after the tournament," Mac said, leaning forward from the back seat.
"That's for the rest of the team. For us? We beat the crap out of our enemies, without it ending up in assault charges. Stacy will never play USVA again, if Madge has anything to say about it. And Jensen has 'I heart Coach P.' written in lip stain on his forehead, marking him as mine for at least twenty-four hours. That? Is cause for celebration," Jared said, grinning madly.
"I can't believe that ref was so hard on Stacy," Mac said. "I like that old gal."
"Well, Stacy picked the wrong ref to spout off in front of," Jared said, still grinning. "Madge is good people. When I first started coaching, and my old club found out I was gay and fired me, Madge made a point to shove me in the direction of Volcano."
"She likes the way you look in track pants, huh?" Jensen said. "Should I be jealous?"
"I wouldn't if I were you. Her partner, Josie, tends to beat the crap out of anyone who is mean to Madge," Jared said.
"So, it's like a little sisterhood, then?" Mac teased. "All you gals stick up for one another?"
"Shush, you," Jensen said. "Now, I agree. Let's celebrate!"
"Pizza and a movie?" Mac requested.
"And an early night," Jared said.
Mac settled back into her seat with a contented sigh. She slipped on her iPod headphones and turned up the music.
"I especially want an early night," Jared said in a loud whisper. "Something about you marking yourself up for me has me very much in the mood to mark you in other ways."
Jensen shifted uncomfortably at those words, hoping to hide the growing erection in his jeans. "Something that I can't get rid of with a little makeup remover?"
"Damn straight."
"Coach Padalecki, I like the way you think."