Team Manager COACH!
Chapter 12
EVERYONE WAS BACK at the high school in time to get changed and out to the stadium for the homecoming football game. Dennis was surrounded by his girlfriends and brought the volleyball cheerleaders into their group, surrounded by other volleyball players and cross country runners. The Team A cheerleaders got the fans enthused. There were still some noted bare spots on the field where the grass had not yet recovered from the mudfest two weeks prior. But somehow the atmosphere of celebration translated itself to action on the gridiron. The Wolverines rolled over the Wildcats for a homecoming victory 40-0.
Of course, the real reason to celebrate was the homecoming dance. There was a mad scramble for the restrooms in the high school so people could change from their outdoor clothes to dance dresses and suits. In Iowa, the guys didn’t go much for suits, preferring to not wear jackets, but most dressed in nice shirts and ties with actual slacks instead of blue jeans. Dennis came out of the coaches’ locker room in his most stylish black slacks with a black shirt and patterned tie. He even wore suspenders with the slacks instead of a belt. He stood in the hall waiting for his girlfriends, who had use of the girls’ locker room to change. The football team began to emerge from the boys’ locker room.
“Hey! There’s Dennis!” one of them shouted. “That’s where all the hot girls will be.” Dennis fought off a moment of thinking of himself as the small, weak geek he had been the year before. He didn’t pretend he could take on the whole football team, except in a footrace, but he didn’t need to cower in front of them. Instead, he smiled at them and shouted back.
“Way to go, Wolverines! Homecoming champions!”
Just at that moment, the girls’ locker room door opened and his girlfriends led the way out to join Dennis. Then girls in party dresses kept coming out of the locker room to join the parade down the hall in front of the football team. Daniella and Roberta claimed Dennis’s arms and the rest of his girlfriends coupled up behind him.
“Angelines! Angelines! Angelines!” the football team chanted. Several fell in beside their dates, or girls they wanted to date. None of the team, however, attempted to join one of Dennis’s girlfriends. When they got to the multi-purpose room that had been decorated by the homecoming committee, Dennis and the girls peeled off to the right and turned to face the door as the football team and their dates entered.
“The Wolverines have arrived victorious!” Dennis shouted. Everyone in the room applauded as the team and their dates arrived.
“Seems like a different world this year, doesn’t it?” Roberta whispered to him.
“You read my mind,” he answered.
“You have your work cut out for you tonight. You need to take my sister and me to the dance floor and make like we know what we’re doing when we dance. Then you need to do the same with every one of your girlfriends,” Daniella said. “We’re the only ones you have to take out two at a time, but the rest of the girls would love it if you did the same with them.”
And that was how Dennis spent homecoming. After each dance, he escorted his partners off the floor and picked up two new ones to dance with. Then he repeated with another two. Eventually, he had dances with individual girlfriends and then with the whole group gyrating with him. The girls made it obvious as they could that they were with Dennis.
The homecoming court was announced and applauded with the king and queen crowned. None of that affected Dennis and his girls. And when midnight rolled around and everyone left for home, the thirteen of them crammed themselves into four cars and drove out to Tori’s house where they went into the barn, stripped, and made love or cuddled for the rest of the night.
“It looks like dry weather for the next couple of weeks,” Randy said when he spoke to Dennis outside of church.
“That will be a relief,” Dennis agreed. “They reseeded the football field last weekend, but whatever sprouted was torn up pretty well Friday night. I don’t think anyone realized what a constant task maintaining the football field would be. It really needed at least the entire summer to get started instead of two weeks before the first game.”
“That’s true. How’s the cross country course?”
“It’s in pretty good shape. Bart mows it every Saturday morning but our race on it was canceled because of the rain. Our practices are pretty easy on the turf,” Dennis said.
“Are you planning to prep Abe’s field for winter?” Randy asked. The question was so unexpected that Dennis didn’t know how to answer.
“Um… I’m not sure I even know what needs to be done or if Mr. Abernathy would want me to do it,” he said.
“The men here in the church will check with him to see if he would accept the help. I wanted you to have the opportunity to join in. When we were all busy with our own farms and didn’t realize Abe needed help, you stepped in. He’s mentioned it several times when one of us has talked to him. He and Lila think you and your girlfriends are angels sent from heaven.”
“Angelines,” Dennis sighed. “If you can give me instructions on what to do and I can get it done on the next two Saturdays, I’d be happy to do the work. I really like him.”
“We’ll get it set up and I’ll come out to make sure you’ve got the system down next Saturday. You’re a good man, Dennis. Your dad would be proud of you.”
Dennis was getting used to leading warmups for everyone but the football players in the gym each afternoon. The coaches and team managers were always in the group and the cheerleaders continued to help him lead the exercises, often to music and routines they came up with. Workouts were exhausting and were followed by regular team practices. Other students found out the workout was open to anyone and more and more of the students joined in just for the exercise. When basketball season started in November, the boys’ teams might be in the best condition they’d ever been in. There were soon seventy-five people exercising right after school. A couple of other teachers decided to join the coaches as well.
On Tuesday, the volleyball team was dismissed after warmups to get ready for their game. Dennis traveled with the girls, but he mostly supervised and checked Shelby’s and Thoms’s work taping.
The Wildcats had revenge for Friday night’s football loss and dealt the volleyball team a 1-3 loss in four very tight games. They were exhausted by the time they boarded the bus for the trip back home. The cheer squad made their way through the bus, congratulating each team member and encouraging her to keep her spirits up. The cheerleaders were really becoming a part of the team.
“What are we writing this weekend?” Brenda asked as they drove to Boone for their Composition and Intro to PE classes Wednesday. Dennis opened his notebook and read the assignment.
“Five to seven-page essay, informative topic of your choice,” he read. “Use well-structured introduction, body, and concluding paragraphs. Organize using thesis statements and topic sentences. Use paragraphs as an organizational method. Incorporate effective transitional devices. Integrate relevant, credible supporting details, and evidence from source materials. Incorporate quotations from source material.”
“Oh, yeah,” Brenda sighed. “Piece of cake. We can use a PE topic, can’t we?”
“I think so,” Dennis said. “I was thinking of writing something along the line of clothing standards for high school athletics. Did you know, last night a representative of the ICCA showed up at the volleyball game and inspected all the cheerleaders on both squads? It was bizarre. She had a checklist of things that ranged from making sure they had no jewelry on to where their cellphones were stored. Then she gave each member of the squad a checklist of clothing and uniform rules. They are severe! The cheerleaders can’t even wear sports bras and sport shorts for practice anymore. They have to have no midriff exposed and if they wear shorts to practice in, the shorts have to be full and extend at least two inches below the butt ledge.”
“Oh, geez! Last year’s entire team would have been suspended months before they were,” Brenda said. “That fits right in with that crazy woman who was shouting at us for practicing basketball in skimpy uniforms a few weeks ago.”
“Probably related. There are posters up around town campaigning for decency and clothing standards for our youth.”
“What’s the world coming to?” Brenda laughed.
“You can say that again. There’s been a lot of controversy about athletic dress this year, like people complaining about Olympic volleyball players in bikinis. I think there’s lots of material to make a paper out of.”
“Don’t forget you need a thesis statement and then evidence to prove it. If you can get that, I say go for it. You could turn it into a blog post later,” Brenda said as she found a parking spot at the college.
“Um… I’m going to have somewhat limited time this weekend and we’re going to need every bit of it to get these papers done. I’m going to prep Mr. Abernathy’s hay field for winter,” Dennis said.
“What’s that involve? Do you need the girlfriend brigade to help?”
“I might. It’s disking and fertilizing this weekend and reseeding next weekend. All tractor work, I guess.”
“Poor lonesome you!”
The cross country meet Thursday night was at the Bulldogs. They ran around another par 3 golf course for the meet. Dennis felt a little stiff, thinking that he might have overdone the conditioning exercises on Wednesday. The cheerleaders had a new dance exercise routine that really worked the glutes.
This was a seven-school meet. Only five of the schools fielded complete teams for the girls’ run. Forty runners lined up for the start at 6:30. The top three competitors crossed the finish line within forty-five seconds of each other, a good minute and a half before the fourth place runner. Janice managed to stave off a challenge in the last 500 meters and won the race in 21:19. Her teammates came in fourth, fifth, eleventh, and fifteenth, giving the team a solid victory with 36 points.
Dennis lined up for the start of the boys’ run and spotted the same kid from the Eagles who’d beaten him just a few weeks ago. It was obvious that the kid recognized Dennis and grinned at him when they lined up next to each other at the start.
“Good luck,” he said.
“And good luck to you,” Dennis responded. “Let’s show these guys how to run a race.” There was instant agreement. A minute later, the gun sounded and they were off.
For all the talk, neither boy had that great a race. The Eagle had a phenomenal kick at the end of the race and left Dennis twelve seconds behind. The top two times were 17:49 and 18:01.
“I’d like to blame that performance on the condition of the course,” Dennis said to him. “I think it was because my running sucked.”
“That goes double for me. I’ve run under seventeen twice this season. It’s hard to admit that we just had a crappy day.”
“Everyone did,” Dennis said, looking at the final runner struggle in twenty minutes after he had. The Eagles might be complaining about a poor running day, but all five of their runners came in the first seven places for a solid first place team score of 20. The Wolverines managed to not place last—an honor reserved for the home team Bulldogs—but amassed a score of 147 for sixth place out of seven.
In spite of congratulating Janice on her first place finish, Dennis was especially hard on everyone in their workout Friday afternoon. In fact, the coaches dismissed all three teams—volleyball, cross country, and cheerleading—after the workout with no further practice for the night. The crew decided not to travel to the football game that night, electing to gather at the Armors’ for another study and pizza night. Teachers were already discussing end of first term of the two-term semester coming up soon. DMACC midterms were in two and a half weeks. Everyone had piles of homework.
They got to Natalie’s house late. Dennis spent the evening with his sister and read to her, then listened to her practice the song she was going to sing in church Sunday. When Peg went to bed, he headed over to his girlfriends’ house. They all dressed in ‘soft clothes,’ meaning mostly sweatpants and T-shirts. It was evident that most of the girls considered bras to be hard clothes and had discarded them. That meant hugs and cuddles were especially nice, if a little distracting.
Dennis was trying to outline his comp paper between snuggles with different girlfriends. Some, like Lana, just wanted to be held close. He didn’t press to fondle her breasts, though he could feel their tantalizing softness as she moved against him. Others, like Tori, wanted both his hands beneath her shirt while they kissed. They did, however, refrain from sex, at least until late at night.
When they finally turned out the lights, about one in the morning, Natalie had wormed her way into Dennis’s blankets and stroked him to full hardness so she could apply a condom. She kissed him deeply as she rolled atop him and slid down onto his shaft. They sighed as they kissed.
“I love you, Natalie. To the depth of my soul,” he whispered.
“Yes, lover. Yes. My heart and soul are yours.”
They moved slowly, enjoying simply being connected. Their loving kisses were sometimes playful and sometimes passionate. When Natalie finally rose toward her climax, Dennis was with her all the way. The peak left them both breathless. Natalie slid to his side, dislodging him. She had a tissue to wrap the condom in and tossed it in a wastebasket at the end of the couch.
“Can we do this every day when we get out of high school?” she whispered. “I miss you so much when we have so many things to do.”
“I miss you, too. I don’t know how life works after high school. It seems like all the adults I know are just as busy as we are—just with things that aren’t as much fun.”
“That calculus was fun?”
“Um… Well, no. I meant exercise and volleyball and cross country and cheerleading and basketball. And lunch,” he snorted. They kissed some more and then fell asleep in each other’s arms.
Sometime before dawn, Dennis woke up to the feeling of his hard cock slipping against a warm butt. The crack he was in was very well lubricated, telling him that Amy had prepared to receive him. He backed away a little until the tip of his cock lodged against her anus, then pushed. The head of his cock popped in and he heard her catch her breath. She wasn’t in a good position to kiss, but Brenda was in front of her lover and Dennis was satisfied to bury his face in Amy’s hair and kiss her shoulders as he slid deeper into her bottom. This coupling, too, seemed to take a slow climb until both were panting. Dennis could feel Brenda’s fingers rubbing Amy’s clit and sometimes his balls. He sank to his full depth and unleashed in Amy’s bowels as she shook with her orgasm. Apparently, her fingers had been busy with Brenda, too, as their girlfriend followed shortly after.
Dennis was up and out the door by 7:15, dressed in his ‘farmer clothes.’ He wore his bib overalls, long-sleeve work shirt, and boots. And his goggles. He’d be raising a lot of dust today. He met Randy at Mr. Abernathy’s farm at 7:30.
“Randolph, it’s good to see you,” Abe said as he came out of the house to join them. “You’ve done a fine job educating this young man. And you, Dennis, I really don’t know how to thank you for all you’ve done and are doing. You cleaned up the haying and mowing equipment better than it was at the beginning of the season.” They opened the equipment barn and stepped around the school’s sports field mower. Dennis looked at it critically. He needed to talk to Bart about maintaining and cleaning the mower. He supposed it would only be used a few more times this season, but it should be washed down after every use.
“Any special instructions you want to give Dennis, Abe?” Randy asked.
“I got the lime and fertilizer delivered by the co-op, so everything should be here. There are sacks of clover seed that will be delivered next week when they remove the lime pallets. I just…” Abe began hacking and coughing, finally catching his breath again. “Something isn’t right with my lungs, you know? I don’t know what poor Lila will do when I’m gone.”
“Now, Abe, don’t go borrowing trouble. The Lord will find us when he’s ready for us and not a moment sooner.”
“You are a comfort, friend. I need to go back in. I’ll leave this to you.” Abe turned and slowly made his way back to the house.
“I thought it was his wife who was ill,” Dennis said as he watched the old man move.
“I talked to him quite a while Monday. Seems he was using the excuse of his wife being ill to keep people from knowing he was sick. Lila’s not in great shape, but she’s better than Abe. I understand he’s going in for a heart procedure next week,” Randy said.
“Gosh. I really like him. Hope he gets better.”
“We never know. We just never know.” They went back to the tractor and Randy helped get the disk attached. “You were around when we did this on my hayfield. This one shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours this morning. You’re just cutting up the stubble into the soil. Then you’ll detach the disk and attach the lime spreader. We’ll plan on spreading about a ton of lime per acre. As you can see, the bags are fifty pounds each and come 48 on a pallet. You’ll need about 40 per acre. I think you can load an entire pallet in the hopper at a time, so slightly fewer trips than acres. We’ll set the spreader at fifty percent. If we had a really damaged field, we’d use two or three times that amount of lime per acre in more than one spreading. How much time it takes to spread the lime will depend mostly on how fast you can load the hopper. Let’s load the first hopper full now so you have an idea of how long it will take you.”
They pulled the spreader out to the pallets of lime and positioned it so he could easily back the tractor up to it and attach it. Then they set about ripping the tops off the bags and pouring the contents into the hopper. With two of them working, it took about ten minutes to load the hopper with one pallet of lime. Dennis checked the gas in the tractor and mounted up to start disking the field. He was in the field by eight o’clock.
When he’d finished disking and was ready to start spreading the lime, he sent a message to his girlfriends.
*Anyone available to lift heavy bags today? I could use help.*
The response was immediate. By the time he was in the field spreading the first load of lime, the girls were responding that they were on their way.
It was hot and heavy work, even though it was the second of October. The chill burned off by ten and Dennis was working in a T-shirt and shorts by noon. When he pulled in with the hopper, the girls had bags open and ready to pour into it. It took two girls to control the lifting and pouring of a bag, but they made a production line of it and were loading bags faster than Randy and Dennis had done it. He had a drink of water and a kiss and was off again.
Not all the girls were able to help, but enough were that it made the work go much faster. Dennis grabbed a sandwich from the lunch crew to eat while the girls were loading the hopper. The girls ate while he was spreading that load. At six, they stopped for a quick dinner and were back to work in twenty minutes. Just at that time, Lana rolled in with her dad’s small tractor. She efficiently hooked the disk to it and started going over the part of the field that had already been spread. They worked hard into the twilight, but by eight-thirty, the field had been limed and disked in. Dennis kissed each of his girlfriends with heartfelt thanks. Tori drove behind Lana back to her farm with flashers going to help make it safe. Drivers were pretty used to seeing farm equipment on the county roads in the evening, but you couldn’t be too careful. Dennis washed down the equipment and put it away. The girls had stacked the pallets and empty bags for the Co-op to pick up later in the week. Everyone went home to shower. Natalie, Daniella, and Roberta went home with Dennis.
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