Chapter 10

Ten

C hance loved the kids, the parents, not so much. Just last night he’d been on top of the world but now he was in front of entirely too many moms answering questions that he never saw coming.

They met at the fields to have the space for all the interested parents and Chance and a few of his teammates were here to discuss the upcoming clinic. Some parents were thrilled, others not so much.

The decision was made to not have any practices during the week next week so allow for the clinic so more kids could join and not have conflicts. Chance had thought it was a great idea. To his shock and horror, some parents were pissed about that.

“You can’t be serious that we are going to go an entire week with no practice. How are they supposed to learn anything from their last game?” One father shouted.

“This is an opportunity for the kids to improve their skills with professional players,” Chance explained.

He wanted to yell back that this was just rec league and the man needed to calm down. It’s not like there were scouts looking at these children, or it would impact their future in any way other than a missed practice or two.

“Please remember that all teams will not be practicing. It will be the exact same opportunity for everyone to learn and build skills, including teamwork,” Tori reminded the parents. “You also have the option not to participate, which is your decision. However, no team will be practicing.”

“That’s not what we paid for,” the man shouted again.

Tori took a deep breath before speaking again. “Mr. Scott, if you would like to pull Timothy from the program, we completely understand.”

Mr. Scott huffed but said nothing else.

“Thank you. I wanted to go over the different skills that we will be teaching the players.”

Chance and his teammates spent the next half hour demonstrating drills while explaining their importance. It was a pain to answer the questions, but many of them were valid.

Maddox took the microphone and helped Chance with the questions. They were unofficially doing this clinic as volunteers, but Sam had said if this went well they’d consider doing it more often as a fundraiser for parks and rec.

Right now, it was a tough sell because it was unofficial. They didn’t have the full team there, and a few touched on that.

A handful of reporters sat in the top corner of the bleachers listening to everything. His hope was that they reported this for the good they were trying to do and not the drama some of these parents were trying to make.

“Is that all they’ll be doing?” one mom asked. “It seems like a lot of time for just that.”

“This is just a brief overview. Parents are welcome to stay and watch the drills. Required to stay depending on your child’s age. Tori can answer any questions pertaining directly to what was in the sign-up form.”

“Mr. Lawrence, how do you think you’ll be able to control your temper with so many children running around?” a reporter asked.

Chance swore under his breath before lifting the mic again to answer. “I won’t defend my actions on the pitch. They were wrong, and I am taking the downtime to work on myself while also giving back to the community.” He hoped that was a good enough answer.

“So you don’t think your frustrations will play out on these fields?” she asked.

“I do not. I would also like to add I am in a therapy program to work on controlling my frustrations on the pitch. I have never and would never lash out at a child in that way.”

Tori took the microphone. “I would add that I’ve been working closely with Mr. Lawrence on this project and have seen no reason for concern. He has also worked with my own son and I trust him completely.”

Chance stood taller at her defense of him. The reporter appeared satisfied and sat down again.

“If there are no other questions, we have signup tents near the exits. Have a good night, everyone,” Tori closed out.

The parents began to exit the bleachers and thankfully headed towards the tents to sign up. Judging by the number of parents he saw, it would be a good turnout, even if they only had one child each.

“It would be good if you guys could stand over there and help answer any other questions. The parents may just want to talk to you,” Tori instructed.

Chance tilted his head to the guys, indicating they should do as she said. He lingered behind to talk to Tori.

“Do you think it went well?” he asked.

“I think the lines over there speak for themselves. It’s going to be a lot of work to pull off still, but I hope it goes well.”

“Me too.” He still had a few nerves over it.

“Go talk to the parents,” she pushed him away. “I need to clean up the sound stuff.”

He wanted to stay and help but left here there, wrapping up cords to one of the microphones. She would be able to handle it, he just wanted to spend more time with her.

Chance joined his other teammates in a throng of parents. Some wanted autographs, for which Chance was happy to do. They were the easy ones.

A few parents came up and surprisingly offered advice. Not on the clinic, that wouldn’t have been too outlandish. No, they actually tried to give their opinion on their games. Like they didn’t have a coach or that they knew better.

Those were mostly fathers. The mothers were a completely different issue. They’d come up under the guise of wanting an autograph only to flirt.

It was the same at games or anywhere the club did promotional things with the public, and he’d never minded it before. Tonight was a different story. He was taken, and he needed them to know it.

His eyes sought Tori for help, but she only looked on nervously. Chance motioned with his hand for her to come here, but she shook her head. There would be no help from that corner right now, it appeared.

A few more moms and Chance reached his breaking point. He wasn’t interested in them, and telling them so bluntly would defeat the purpose of trying to show he’d changed, but he was quickly losing his patience.

Tori came up behind them, speaking to Maddox first. Maddox was enjoying being hit on and had likely collected a ton of phone numbers for later. Chance would talk to him about it later. He needed to keep it in his pants until the clinic was over.

“What do you think?” said the woman in front of him.

He hadn’t been listening. He’d been watching Tori laugh with Maddox and contemplating the jealousy he felt.

“Sorry, what was that?” he asked her.

In a bold move, she reached one well-manicured finger out and pressed it lightly to his chest, trailing it down as she spoke. “I was saying I’d be happy to provide some release for you if you’re interested.”

Tori came closer and Chance reach out, pulling her in to his side. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head as he looked at the other woman.

She drew her hand back like she’d been burned. “I see how it is,” she said.

Chance only nodded.

Tori didn’t pull away, but neither did she relax. They had dated in public the other night. He didn’t see any issue with letting people know he was taken. Had he misread her?

As the crowd dwindled, Tori made her way through, answering the last questions before helping pack up. He went to her, intending to help dismantle the tent they were using but she stopped him with a palm to his chest.

“Would you mind explaining what that was?” she asked

Chance sighed. “I wanted them all to know that I was taken.”

“Do you think that you should have discussed that with me first?” she pressed.

“We went out on a date, in public, just a few days ago.” He decided not to mention last night. “I did not see an issue.”

“This is my job,” she sighed. “I think we need to talk, later.”

Chance nodded and backed away. Without knowing, he’d screwed up. Nothing good ever came from that phrase. He hadn’t dated seriously much, but he knew this for certain.

“You good?” Maddox asked.

Chance shrugged. “Not sure yet.”