Chapter 222

June 13, 2018 (Wednesday)

Dear Ms. Diary,

After practice, Civ, with Liya backing her up, invited Seamus to join us at home for lunch.

Seamus looked back and forth between the girls, then asked, “Really? I’d like that.”

Civ responded, “Yes, really. But we’ll have to leave you upstairs with some of the staff while the rest of us shower.”

“That’s cool. Thanks.”

Liya and Brett rode with him to the house, having him park on the street in front, and gave him the nickel tour while the rest of us walked home. We did a quick shower with assigned buddies; donned atypically expansive clothing – for most, a T, a panty, and a short; and joined the three of them upstairs, where Meka explained about one of our teammates.

“Seamus, can you keep a secret? And let me warn you that when I tell you that the secret is possibly a matter of life and death, I’m not exaggerating.”

That set him back on his heels, but he recovered, and asked, “Does it involve the team?” When she nodded at him, he responded, “My answer would be ‘yes,’ regardless, but it’s ‘Hell, yes,’ if it involves the team.”

“Thanks, Seamus. We’ve always considered you one of the best guys we know beginning from the other girls’ first time in the pickup games, and I’m glad to see that you’re keeping up our expectations. In that case, let me ... reintroduce you to someone.”

When Padme came in the doorway, he did a double take, then exclaimed, “Padme! Are you okay? How’re you doing? How’s your sister?”

“May I hug you?”

“What? Yes. Yes, of course.”

As Padme stepped into him, Seamus hugged her back.

Some ten seconds later, Padme stepped back and answered, “I’m...” She breathed deeply, then continued, “I ... miss my mom, but I’m otherwise better than I could have expected. Please don’t tell anyone I’m here. The police still haven’t found my father and our lives are in danger until they get him.”

“Of course, Padme. I won’t tell a soul. Your secret is safe with me.” He looked at her intently for a few seconds, then asked, “Is the ... new hairstyle just to hide you better?”

“Yes. I don’t really like it, but I’ve become used to it. If and when I can, I’ll probably get it re-colored, so I don’t have to wait for it all to grow out.”

“Good. While the ... color works well for you, I liked your hair better before. And that brings me to a question that I’ve wanted to ask for ... for as long as I’ve been helping with the team. So many of you, a much larger percentage than I see in girls otherwise, like in school, have really long hair. Is there a reason for that?”

Padme chuckled and replied, “Yes, and the reason is that everyone – even those who don’t have long hair – love Beth’s and Rhee’s hair, particularly Rhee’s. It’s somewhat of a pain in the shower, but it ... feels so good on my ... back ... and butt. Of course, I lost a foot or so to this new hairdo, so it doesn’t reach my butt anymore, but I still like it long. Kaira lost even more of her hair, and it’ll be a long time before hers is long.” She looked up through her eyelashes at him and asked, “Why do you ask? Do you like long hair or do you prefer short hair?”

He shrugged, then said, “I’d tell most people that hair length doesn’t particularly matter to me, but I’ve told myself that I won’t mislead any of the team ... staff or players. I ... have a thing for long hair.”

Padme cackled, then stated, “Then you must love hanging with the team! There’s an incredible number of cute girls on this team – it was different on my previous team, and most of them have long hair. How do you manage?”

Seamus blushed, and Padme cackled again in response.

Meka said, “You probably shouldn’t put one of the team managers on the spot like that, Padme. He has no safe answer to that question, given how society has responded – and rightly so – to various abuse situations in girls’ sport.”

Padme snapped her head to look at Meka as she spoke, then turned back to Seamus and told him with a contrite mien, “I’m sorry. I was just having fun, but I understand. You don’t have to answer.”

We had decided on home-made pizzas, both for something more pizzazz-filled than sandwiches, and the camaraderie that generally came with making them. We were not disappointed, and Seamus seemed to enjoy himself. Various of us girls – including Brett – took turns explaining the system to him and helping him learn to make them; I explained dealing with the dough.

As frequently happens, we wound up not sitting to eat, instead making and eating pizzas in a continuous stream while various conversations happened around the kitchen. At one point, Meka and I watched as Maren convinced Seamus to take a bite of the slice she had, and then bites of the slices in the hands of Padme, Civ, and Heather. That metamorphized into a new game in which those four insisted that everyone could eat only from pizza slices in the hands of others. While it did cause a bit of spillage the gambit was surprisingly effective at getting Seamus more comfortable with all of us, and all of us with him. He spent the next 20 minutes with at least a smile, often a grin, on his face as he watched, fed pizza to various girls, and ate pizza out of the hands of various girls.

As we all were making short work of cleanup, Seamus stated, “Thanks, all. This has been one of the most memorable meals of my life.” Most of us gave him verbal “You’re welcomes,” but he held up his hands and asked about something that I had been pondering for a while, “Would it be possible for ... you to host a ... team party here. I see there’s a pool, and I’m sure all the other girls would love a party here.”

Liya responded, “Possibly, but our parents must be involved. While it might be a bit much to invite all the parents of all the players and staff, having at least a few others would help in providing oversight. Additionally, the pool, while a great attraction, also provides the single greatest possibility for disaster, and our parents would have to consider that carefully.”

A nodding Seamus responded, “I understand that. I’m a certified lifeguard, and I’d be willing to do that in a ... semi-official capacity were your ... family to agree to a party here. I’d also suggest that all parents know of the presence of the pool beforehand and that we ... put the fear of ... Coach into them before anyone dips even a toe into the water.”

Civ stepped between two others to reach him and asked, “May I hug you?”

Seamus looked at her, then nodded and put his arms around her shoulders as she stepped into him and put her arms around his waist. She held the hug for, perhaps, five seconds, then stepped back.

“I ... and a lot of the team are happy you decided to help us. If you’re a lifeguard, then you could have spent the summer making money at that job, rather than volunteering for the team. Thanks.”

He held up both hands in the stop signal, responding, “Thanks for your words, but the team’s organization found some money to pay me something, so I didn’t entirely give up making money this season.”

Meka asked the leading question for his benefit, “But they’re not giving you all that much. Right?”

“Well, no, but I would have gladly done it only for the experience, which will be good for my hoped-for career of being a coach. It also gave me the chance to see this team be what it is, the best 12-15-year-old girls’ team in the state, perhaps the country!”

That got him hugged hard by Civ and Padme.

Seamus departed a bit before 1:30, after which Padme said, “He’s even a nicer guy than I thought, and it ... seems like he ... cares very much for the team. Like Civ said, I’m glad he decided to help out.”

Rhee grinned, then said, “And, I’ll bet, you think he’s a great-looking guy.”

She ducked her head, but then picked it up and responded, “He’s a good ... assistant coach or team manager. And, yes, Rhee, he’s a bit dreamy. Don’t try to tell me you don’t think that. I know you’ve got Brett, but that doesn’t mean you don’t realize how attractive Seamus is.”

“I never said I didn’t think that. Some of us have discussed that very thing.”

“But you wouldn’t object to ... him being involved here.”

“Do I look crazy?”

Padme grinned at Rhee, answering, “Sometimes, yes! I’m glad I’m not an opposing center back when you get that look.”

There was much laughing.

Other than Celeste and Katie, who were both working, we spent quite a bit of the rest of the afternoon in the pool, although we had a clothing discussion before that, which was summarized by something Brit said about midway through.

“It doesn’t seem fair that most of us get to swim naked while Brett and the young girls cannot. We should either all be naked, or all wear some sort of suits.”

Despite a deep blush, Maren suggested, “What about we all match ... Brett’s coverage. I realize that that would entail Padme and me being topless in front of him, but my three parents have allowed Civ and me to be naked here if we want and I think Padme wouldn’t object.”

Many of us turned to look at Padme, who responded, “I wouldn’t object,” which earned her a hug from a naked Kaira.

I stuck my oar in, saying, “Unless anyone objects, we’ll do that. However, I think we can give Kaira dispensation to continue her always-nude-in-the-compound lifestyle since she’s still getting used to it. Everyone else must wear either a real swimsuit bottom or, at least, something much more substantial than our minimal thongs or diaphanous panties. The idea is to cover the naughty bits between our legs, not expose them.”

There was much chuckling.

Both Padme and Maren were a little self-conscious at first, but with the camaraderie engendered by the games we played – such as Marco Polo – and the fun we had, they both became comfortable quickly.

I was Maren’s partner in the post-swim shower, so I took the opportunity to ask her quietly, “Will toplessness be your normal attire here from now on?”

She shook her head and said, “It was ... nice, but I’ll probably be topless only in the pool. I’d say ‘always be topless only in the pool,’ but I don’t know what future situation would come up in which I’d consider it okay to be topless in front of Brett.”

“I’m proud of you, Girl, and again I’ll say that I’m so very glad you joined us. I’ll also tell you for the first time, although I’ve thought it quite a few times before, that I think you’ve become ... somewhat critical for us, for the LA. I don’t know how it happened, but you’ve stepped up big with us, and have become someone I didn’t expect when we first met you.”