Vulnerable

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Reid soon became a fixture at all of our games. He stood on the sidelines alone, watching attentively. He came out with Sarah for drinks and snacks afterwards, occasionally contributing a comment to our boisterous conversations, but usually just quietly listening and laughing at our antics.

One game, we teased Sarah about our new enthusiastic fan. Jen joked, "Man, your husband sure is wrapped around your finger. I've had to drag guys kicking and screaming to come watch me play."

"Agreed," I added. "Gavin gets so bored that I don't even bring him anymore."

"No, he loves it!" Sarah said. "He used to coach my old team, and he loves watching and strategizing. It's so cute, on the way home, he always talks about different plays he'd want to try with our team."

I didn't think much of her comments, but later on during the game, the ball went out of bounds. By this time, I was so used to Reid grabbing it, that I just waited for him to toss it to me. I swear, I didn't even feel the tiniest swoon as I thanked him and turned to throw in the ball.

"Look for Ainsley coming over. That defender's no match for her."

I quickly took stock of the field. He was absolutely right. We had so many set throw-in plays that I hadn't even looked for Ainsley.

"AINS!" I called, and arced the ball to her feet. I threw Reid a grateful grin and ran back into the game.

That became our pattern. Every time the ball went out, Reid would grab the ball and pass on little tips and comments on strategy. Insightful ones, too. He had a really good eye for the game.

After one game, over beers, I mentioned to him, "As much as I'm enjoying having my own personal sidelines coach, you should actually help coach us."

Reid blushed as the attention of the table became suddenly focused on him. "Nah, you guys have a coach already."

Jim, one of our teammate's husbands and our coach, replied, "I'd be happy to have the help. I have to miss games when I travel for work and sometimes I leave the girls in a lurch. Plus it'd be nice to have another man on the bench to balance out all the estrogen." He winked at us. Jim was sort of a father figure to most of the girls on the team. He and his wife, Karen, were in their early 40s, whereas most of us were in our early to mid-twenties. They had formed the team years ago, and when their original lineup started dropping off, the rest of us were just ageing out of youth leagues. Now they were the only two of the OG Dolls left.

Reid shrugged. "I'll think about it."

"Just as long as you don't play favourites with Sarah and make the rest of us ride the pine!" Mel joked.

"Yeah, right!" Sarah laughed. "He's harder on me than anyone else. And I may be his wife, but I'm definitely not his favourite player on the team."

"Oh, I'm sure that's not true." Karen protested.

"No, it is!" Sarah assured her good-naturedly. "Allie and Ainsley are his two favourites for sure."

I felt an instant rush of pleasure and heat rose in my face, but I laughed it off. "Well who wouldn't love this killer combination? Ains brings the finesse, and I bring the brute force."

The girls all laughed, but Reid just flashed me his shy half-grin and said, "You have a strong presence on the field and you're  a real leader out there, Allie. Plus our playing styles are really similar. Sometimes I feel like I'm watching myself play."

This time I couldn't mask the blush in my cheeks. His compliment was so genuinely given, and it felt wrong to brush it off in my usual self-deprecating way. I ducked my head and dropped his gaze, which for some reason was making me feel strangely vulnerable, and mumbled, "Thanks."

For the rest of the night, I couldn't fight the small smile that came to my face when I thought about what he'd said. I loved the team and I gave it my all out there. It felt really, really nice to have someone else see that.

His words played over in my head as I drove home, and they were still on repeat when. I snuggled into my bed that night. I sighed contentedly, and for the first time, I fell asleep with Reid's words echoing in my mind.