Disclaimer: TC Williams High School and its environs belong to the city of Alexandria, VA, and I suppose Herndon High School belongs to the city of Herndon, VA. The original Titans and the Basses belong to themselves, while the fictitious characters from the film Remember the Titans belong to Disney. "Nights In White Satin" is a 1972 song by the Moody Blues, while "Where Is the Love" is by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway.The VW Bug belongs to Volkswagen. The hickey scene was inspired by the Susan Elizabeth Phillips novel This Heart of Mine. I only own Tamsin, Jonathan, Brian Richter & the Tremors, Russ Gruber and assorted TC Williams students and personnel.
Technical Notes: What happens to Ronnie in this chapter was inspired by one of the factors that kept the real Ronnie Bass out of the NFL.
1-12-03: Revisions have been made to the football scene in this chapter to incorporate Livia Liana's additional input. Thanks, Livia, for looking out for me even after I've posted!
Author's Notes: Thanks to Livia Liana for the in-depth football beta read and encouraging review. Thanks also to Joyce and the repeat reviewers. (Don't worry, Lela, Tamsin's mother will be coming out to clear things up later in this story. You'll have to wait until then, though…)
Chapter Seven — Nights In White Satin
On November 18th, Homecoming Saturday, the Titans hosted the Herndon Hornets. The stands were a blaze of red and white as the home crowd turned out in full force to support their football team.
The TC Williams High School band struck up a lively tune. "All right, let's get out there!" Coach Boone clapped his hands briskly and the Titans made their trademark entrance to rousing cheers from the bleachers.
As they took the field, Ronnie searched the stands and found Tamsin seated in her usual spot in the very front row. She gave him a little smile and wave before averting her eyes. She really didn't like watching the warm-up.
The Hornets won the toss and chose to receive the kickoff. "Get to it, boys!" Coach Yoast yelled as the defensive line prepared to take the field.
"No mercy, no mercy!" Gerry added.
"Try not to break anything, man," Ronnie joked to Ryan. "Bandages don't go well with a tux."
The defensive linebacker shoved on his helmet and grinned. Miranda had agreed to go with him to that night's Homecoming Dance just the day before. Ronnie thought it was rather callous of her to keep Ryan hanging like that for so long — if that had been him, he would have looked for another date long ago — but there was no raining on the other boy's parade. "Aw, heck, Sunshine, white goes with anything!"
The Titans started the game with a bang as Big Julius intercepted the Hornets' very first pass and carried the ball through the Herndon offense all the way to the end zone. After the kicking team drilled in the extra point, the score stood at 7-0, Titans. "First blood!" Boone exclaimed. "Good work, boys!"
Ronnie and the rest of the Titans' offense came on after a Herndon timeout. He stole another look at the bleachers before squatting down behind Blue. "All right — READY!" he bellowed. "RED 10! RED 10! Hut-hut!"
The ball was snapped and Ronnie pitched it to Alan, who slipped through the Hornets' defense and ran thirty yards before they could catch up with him. As three Hornet linebackers closed in on him, Alan threw a blind lateral pass to one of the halfbacks, whom Boone had lured away from the basketball team.
"Hey, Frederick!" Ronnie heard Blue call as Jim Frederick leapt into the air and came down running with the ball in his possession. "Don't dribble it!"
With the ball tucked safely under his arm, Jim neatly dodged a charging Hornet, practically jumped over another and landed on his rear just inside the Titans' goal line. The whistle blew and the stands went wild. 14-0, Titans.
The Titans never looked back from that early lead. Ronnie threw complete to practically all his receivers and, after a successful field goal, they widened the gap to 17-0. They were leading 24-0 when the Hornets scored their first touchdown early in the second quarter.
Big Julius and the rest of the Titans defense, however, were determined not to let the Hornets score again. When they weren't completely smothering the Hornets, they were forcing turnovers, and the ball never remained in Herndon possession for long. A Hornet field goal attempt failed, and the score stood at 24-7 in favor of the Titans going into the second half.
"All right, guys," Ronnie told his teammates in the huddle, "Boone says to slow things down. We are to score when we can, but we've got Herndon playing our game, and we get to set the pace. Got that?"
"Slow's good," Blue said. "At least we get to save our energy for the dance later, eh, Sunshine?"
He chuckled along with the others. "Shut up, man. Let's go."
They broke the huddle and took their positions at the line of scrimmage. "BLUE 14!" Ronnie called. "BLUE 14! Hut-hut!"
The ball was snapped to him and he pretended to look for an open man as the Titans' receivers ran their patterns against the defense. Ronnie then began to run for the end zone himself.
He seemed to have misjudged the Hornets, however, and they started after him a bit too soon for his comfort. Russ Gruber, Herndon's All-American center, was pounding after him when Ronnie ran out of bounds to stop the clock. Gruber and his teammates, however, couldn't or wouldn't stop, and there was a pileup on the sidelines.
Ronnie knew that there was something wrong when he went down. Besides the familiar aches from having five or six big bruisers knock the wind out of him, there was also pain slicing through a place that made his blood run cold.
"Sunshine?" His teammates' concerned faces popped into view. "What's up, man?" Blue asked. "Is anything wrong?"
He took a deep breath and tried to keep the nervousness out of his voice. "Something happened to my left knee." Relax, he told himself. Forget about the horrified looks on their faces. Football injuries happen all the time. Rev was injured last year and he survived. Sure, he's not playing anymore this year, but he's still alive and that's what's important, right?
Presently, Dr. Weston, the Titans' team doctor, arrived on the scene. "Sunshine says it's his knee, Doctor," Alan reported. "His left knee."
Dr. Weston made sure the rest of Ronnie was still working properly before focusing on the knee. He prodded and bent it gently, drawing a hiss from the injured boy. "Nothing's broken or dislocated, thank God," the doctor announced, "but there seems to be a strain. I'm afraid you're out of the game, son."
Ronnie nodded slowly as his teammates helped him to his feet. At least we're leading. Leaning on Eddie, he limped to the Titans' bench to applause and cheering from the home crowd.
He smiled and waved up at the bleachers, but Tamsin wasn't looking at him. She and Sheryl seemed to be yelling at someone across the field. Judging from the outraged expressions on their faces and the amused one on Emma's, they looked to be demanding Russ Gruber's head. The thought cheered him.
However, Matthew Furness, the Titans' second-string quarterback, needed more than that to cheer him up. "I-I can't!" was all the black sophomore could say.
"Sure you can!" Ronnie told him as his leg was propped up and he was given an icepack.
"B-but I'm not ready!" Matt was probably feeling the same way Ronnie had that night long ago, when he had been forced to step into Rev's shoes; but instead of trying to calm himself down, Matt looked like he was well on his way to a heart attack. Ronnie feared that he would either have to talk firmly to the guy or slap him silly. You're the colonel, Boone had told him. You've got to command your troops.
"Get a grip on yourself, Matt!" Ronnie barked, trying to sound as authoritative as possible while seated on the bench with an icepack on his knee. "You think Boone was ready when he and his twelve brothers and sisters lost their parents in the same month? You think I was ready when I had to take over at QB? No, man, we had to step in and just do the best we can. You've got to do the same."
"B-but I can't read defense!" the other boy sputtered. "I haven't played a real game since junior high!"
Having used up all his bluster feeding Matt the line about Boone's brothers and sisters, Ronnie switched to the "kindly big brother" routine. "Sure you can read defense. We looked through the Herndon films together, remember? You picked up that blitz signal faster than I did. And hey, you won't be alone out there. The other guys won't let anyone touch you." He thumped Matt's shoulder pads consolingly. "You have to go talk to Boone now. Just do what he tells you and you'll be fine.
"It'll be cool," he told the nervous second-string quarterback. "Trust me."
* * *
With intensified defense and Matthew Furness finding his legs after a shaky start, the Titans managed to hang on to their lead and eventually won the game, 34-28, giving TC Williams High School something to celebrate about at that night's Homecoming Dance.
"Are you sure you're all right, Ronnie?" Mrs. Bass asked as she and her husband drove him back to school for the dance.
"I'm fine, Mom," he assured her. Ronnie was feeling much better now that he knew that it was only a mild knee strain and that he would only be out for about two weeks. "Dr. Weston gave me something for the pain."
"Where are you supposed to meet Tamsin again?" Col. Bass wanted to know.
"She said she'd be waiting just inside the entrance from the parking lot," Ronnie replied.
His father turned down the street leading to the school. "I don't see why we couldn't have picked her up and given both you kids a ride," he grumbled. "It's the proper thing to do."
Mrs. Bass sighed. "Her uncle is chaperoning the dance, Bill," she said patiently. "So, since he was already going, the girl decided to save us a trip and arrive here with him. And since Mr. Graham already brought a car, they can give Ronnie a ride home after the dance is over."
"I still think it's highly unconventional," Col. Bass insisted in a repressive tone of voice that made Ronnie grin. His father was a cool guy in many respects, but still pretty puritanical in others. He was especially uptight about good manners and right conduct.
"But very practical," Mrs. Bass told him as they entered the school parking lot.
Her husband grunted as they parked near Mr. Graham's VW Bug, right by the entrance into the school. Ronnie's grip tightened on the corsage in his lap. The plastic florist's box was faintly slippery and a little cold from the refrigerator.
Col. Bass opened the car door for his wife, then helped Ronnie out of the car. "You sure you don't need a cane?"
"No, Dad," he replied as they walked to the double doors leading into the school building. His knee still felt a little tender, but he wasn't limping as badly as he had been at home. "Dr. Weston said I just had to take it easy for a few weeks, that's all."
"He also said no dancing," his mother reminded him.
"Yes, ma'am," he replied before following her inside through the door his father was holding open.
Sure enough, Tamsin was waiting inside with Mr. Graham. "Goodness, Tamsin, look at you!" Mrs. Bass was exclaiming when Ronnie and Col. Bass walked up to them. "That's a very distinctive dress you have on."
"Thank you, ma'am," Tamsin replied with a shy smile. Unlike the frilly prom dresses Ronnie had come to expect at formal dances, her dress was simple, accented only with a sash at her waist, but the rich, dark blue of the material emphasized the paleness of her skin. A matching wrap covered her shoulders.
Mr. Graham grinned at Ronnie then. The teacher was wearing a smart black tuxedo not unlike his own. He, too, wasn't wearing a ruffled shirt. "Hey, Sunshine. How are you doing?"
"Fine, thanks, Mr. Graham."
"How's the leg?"
"Dr. Weston said it was a mild knee strain. I'll be out for a few weeks." His mother nudged him in Tamsin's direction and he blushed self-consciously. "Hey, Tamsin," he greeted her. "You look beautiful."
She smiled at him, not blinking when the flashbulb of Mrs. Bass's camera went off. "Thank you."
"I, uh, got you this," he said, holding up the corsage box.
More flashbulbs went off as Mrs. Bass and Mr. Graham took picture after picture of him fastening the white rosebuds to her wrist, and of Tamsin pinning a red carnation to his lapel. "All right, can I have a picture of the two of you, please?" Mr. Graham asked.
"Just one picture," Tamsin pleaded. Ronnie, too, wanted the photo session to be over quickly so his parents could disappear before any of his friends happened by.
Mr. Graham grinned at them. "If you want only one, sweetie, you'd better not blink!"
They had to pose three times, however, before he and Mrs. Bass were satisfied. "Thank God that's over," Ronnie muttered after they were finally released. They took advantage of Mr. Graham's accompanying the Basses to the parking lot to escape to the gym, where the dance was being held.
"Sorry about that," Tamsin murmured back. "Uncle Jon promised my mom he'd send pictures."
"Don't worry about it," he assured her. "At least no one saw us."
"Heyyy!" Gerry called out, grinning, from just outside the gym. Big Julius, Emma and Sharon were standing with him. "Photo session all over?"
Tamsin made a face as the boys laughed. "Yes, thank you for asking."
"Hi, Tamsin," Emma greeted her with a smile. "You look great."
She smiled back at her friends. "Thanks. So do both of you." That night, Emma was wearing a dusky pink dress, while Sharon was in pale green.
"Well, now," Big Julius said, offering his arm to his girlfriend, "what do you guys say we bring these ladies inside and show them off?"
"Sounds like a plan," Gerry agreed, smiling at Emma.
They entered the gym, which had been decorated with balloons and crepe paper streamers in the school colors, and grabbed a table near the dance floor. Ronnie had just eased himself down into a chair when Petey and his date arrived, followed closely by Alan, Ryan, and their dates.
Miranda, dazzling that night in an off-the-shoulder dress of light blue shot with silver, made a beeline for Ronnie. "Ohhh, Sunshine, you poor thing!" she cooed, sitting down beside him in the chair Tamsin was just about to take.
Tamsin raised a startled eyebrow at Emma and sat down next to her friend as Miranda fawned over Ronnie some more. "How bad is it?" the redheaded girl asked.
"Not bad," he assured her politely. "I'll only be out a few weeks, that's all."
"You're only saying that so I won't worry," she pouted.
"What's he supposed to say?" Tamsin muttered. "That he's in absolute agony?"
Miranda looked in their direction when Emma giggled. "Oh, hi, Emma, hi, Tamsin," she said with a cool little smile. "I almost didn't see you there."
"Nevertheless, it's lovely to see you," Tamsin replied sweetly and quite a few of the people at their table snickered.
"Someone sounds jealous," Petey murmured in her ear.
"Oh, please," she whispered back, waving away the apologetic look Ronnie shot her from across the table, "I know it wasn't the most polite reply, but really, what can you say to a remark like that?"
"You've got a point, sweetness." He chuckled and nudged Ryan. "Hey, Ry, what's up?"
"Nothin' much, man," the blond boy replied.
"That was a nasty cut you got at the game this afternoon."
"It's not as bad as it looks." Ryan grinned and touched the small bandage across the bridge of his nose. "Besides, chicks dig scars."
"No, they don't," Liz Lindros said as she walked up with Robin to say hello to Tamsin and Emma.
Ryan gaped at her in feigned shock. "Why, Liz, what a delightful surprise!" he exclaimed. "Someone actually asked you to Homecoming?"
Liz smiled coolly. "Funny, Ryan, but I wouldn't make fun of that kind of thing if I were you."
Tamsin laughed, but quickly covered it up. Her friend had gotten Ryan good that time, but she didn't find being abandoned by one's date all too funny at the moment.
"Hey, you two," Eddie said from across the table, "behave."
"As my almighty older brother commands," Liz retorted with an elaborate bow.
Robin chuckled. "Come on, Liz, let's go find a table."
Ryan scowled after them as they walked away. "So did someone ask her to Homecoming or not?"
* * *
Brian Richter & the Tremors were playing that night. It seemed to Ronnie that they were the only band in Alexandria: they were also at last year's prom, and at Miranda's birthday party this past summer. They weren't so bad, though, he averred. At least they had a repertoire wide enough to make both Blue and Alan happy.
"It's too bad you can't dance tonight," Miranda sighed.
"Yeah, too bad," Ronnie mumbled. Across the table from him, Tamsin was watching couples whirl past on the dance floor with a faintly longing expression on her face. At least she didn't look like she was mad at him, he thought. Then again, she hadn't looked at him all night.
He couldn't blame her. Miranda had been glued to his side all that time and didn't look like she was planning to leave any time soon.
Maybe she needed a little hurrying along. "Say, Miranda," Ronnie ventured as the band launched into "Where Is the Love," "that's a real good song. Why don't you and Ryan dance?"
"But I can't just leave you here all by yourself!" the redheaded girl protested.
"I'll be fine," he told her. "You, on the other hand, are here with someone."
Miranda laughed. "Oh, Ryan doesn't mind; do you, Ry?" she cooed.
Ryan, sitting on Miranda's other side, gave them a smile. "'Course not." But as Miranda turned back to him, Ronnie saw him stifle a yawn.
Ronnie groaned silently. This was terrible. His teammate was obviously having a rotten time and Tamsin probably thought he was ignoring her on purpose. Why wouldn't Miranda leave him alone? "But, Miranda, Ryan's been sitting on his behind all night, and I know for a fact that he's a great dancer."
"You're no slouch yourself."
Good grief.
"Hey, Tamsin, wanna dance?" Gerry asked as he rolled past, a wide grin on his face and his Homecoming King crown askew on his head.
He spun his wheelchair around in crazy circles and Tamsin laughed for the first time in about twenty minutes (by Ronnie's watch). "You'll have to ditch your present passenger first," she joked back.
"Darn it, Gerry," Emma squealed from her boyfriend's lap, "my shoe is falling off!"
"Whoops," he apologized, the grin never leaving his face. "Sorry about that, sugar."
Ryan got to his feet after Gerry and Emma wheeled away and walked over to Tamsin. "Want to dance?" he asked her just as the Tremors struck up a Jackson 5 tune.
Tamsin blinked. "Pardon?" She'd been busy watching Gerry and Emma that she wasn't quite sure whether she had heard correctly.
"I'm asking you to dance."
"With you? Now?" She blushed, hesitating, then finally nodded decisively after glancing at Ronnie and Miranda. "Sure," Tamsin said, removing her wrap and flinging it over the back of her chair. "I'd love to."
Ryan was a good dancer, she thought after they had gone through a couple of fast songs, and he wasn't afraid to make up crazy new steps. Liz Lindros was always going on about what a jerk he was, and he definitely was on the cocky side; but thanks to him, Tamsin was actually having some fun.
They eyed each other awkwardly when a slow song came on. "Uh, we can sit this one out if you want," Tamsin said, smiling reassuringly. "I mean, this kind of thing is mainly for serious couples, anyway."
Ryan grinned back. It seemed as if dancing was cheering him up, too. "Who cares if we're not a serious couple? I say we dance. It sure beats sitting around all night."
"You can say that again."
They had barely begun, however, when there was a tap on her shoulder. "May I cut in?"
Tamsin smiled graciously at Miranda, who was standing behind her. "Of course. Thanks, Ryan," she told the blond boy as she stepped aside for his date.
"Anytime," he replied with a grateful grin as Miranda wrapped herself around him.
Tamsin started toward her chair when Big Julius charged up to her. "Hey, Tamsin, wanna dance?"
"Aren't you here with someone?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Sharon said her feet hurt." Sure enough, his girlfriend was seated at their table, rubbing one foot. "To tell you the truth, she ain't got much stamina for a sister."
Suddenly, Sharon winked at her. Big Julius grinned down at Tamsin, obviously in on the plan. "Unless your feet hurt, too, and you need to sit down," the black boy said innocently.
"I most definitely do not," Tamsin declared. She knew she should be getting back to Ronnie since Miranda was otherwise occupied, but she didn't want to sit down again so soon. "I'd love to dance with you, Julius." Let Ronnie be the wallflower for a change, she thought as she stepped into Big Julius' arms and shot Sharon a grateful look. "Thanks for asking me."
"Well, seeing as your real date can't dance tonight, the rest of us guys have to step in and make sure no one steals you away."
* * *
By the time Tamsin excused herself to go to the girls' room almost an hour later, she had danced with Eddie, Rev and Petey, aside from Ryan and Big Julius. If Ronnie put his friends up to it, she thought as she freshened up her lipstick, he deserved to be forgiven for staying away from her all night.
Then again, being stuck with Miranda for any period of time was punishment enough.
"For a girl who barely danced with her date all night, someone sure is having fun," Jeannie drawled from behind her.
"There's no harm in having fun," she replied with a sugary smile.
"It's hardly the way to repay Petey after all the trouble he went through to ask you to Homecoming."
"Oh, don't worry about him," Robin said. "He's having a great time. Even danced with me once."
"Well, what kind of a date is Tamsin if she can't keep Petey entertained?" Sally Jane asked.
Tamsin scowled. "I don't measure my womanhood by how well I can 'entertain' a guy. Besides, what kind of a date would Petey be if he expected me to baby-sit him all night?"
Robin laughed. "Baby-sitting is a great way to describe it."
"Tammy, I can't believe you!" Jeannie exclaimed. "What you do tonight will affect your relationship forever! How will he ever take you seriously if you ignore him all night?"
"So what am I supposed to do?" Tamsin asked. "Get him punch when he's thirsty?"
"That's a good idea," Sally Jane said. "And you might want to dance with him more often."
"Then I'll rub his feet when he gets tired?" she pressed irritably. Her head was beginning to hurt again.
"That's a great way of showing that you care," Robin told her with a straight face.
"Don't encourage her, Robin," Jeannie admonished when Tamsin snickered. "Sally's and my point is that it would be great to be more attentive."
"Why don't I just give him a nice good night kiss when he brings me home?" Tamsin suggested. "That's really all guys are after, anyway. Well, that's not all they're after," she amended thoughtfully, "but that's all they'll get from me."
"Oh, Tammy, one measly kiss isn't going to fix things!"
Tamsin rubbed at the spot between her eyebrows. "Things don't even need to be fixed," she said in a tired voice, returning to the point Robin made ages ago. "He's already having a good time as it is."
"But he's not having it with you!"
Good grief. Tamsin shoved her lipstick back into her purse, all patience gone. "Fine," she bit out. If the only way to stop the inane prattle was to take their advice, then so be it.
"Where are you going?" Robin wanted to know.
"I'm dragging my date into a broom closet," she replied tersely. "That should be attentive enough, don't you think?" Tamsin charged out of the girls' room, almost knocking over someone on her way in, and plunged into the crowd on the dance floor.
Ronnie saw her coming. She was striding purposefully toward the table, dark braid swaying behind her, bare arms swinging as if she was going to elbow anyone who stood in her way. He could swear he saw steam coming out of her ears. It would have been funny if he didn't have the feeling that her current state had something to do with him.
Tamsin walked up to the table and threw her purse onto it like a hat into a ring. "Come with me."
"Where are we going?" he asked her retreating back.
She didn't answer, just kept walking. Ronnie rose to his feet and followed her as fast as he could, past dancing couples and half-empty tables. "Uh, Tamsin, where are we going?" he asked again.
Again, she didn't answer. She stalked out of the gym and turned left, down a dark, quiet corridor. Her behavior confused him, but he limped after her nevertheless. "Hey, Tamsin, I'm having trouble keeping up with you…my leg…"
Tamsin finally stopped when they were a good way down the corridor and the noise and music had grown considerably fainter. There was a rustle and a cloud of jasmine perfume as she whirled around to face him. "I need you to bite me."
Ronnie blinked. "What?"
"I need you to bite me," she repeated. "Give me a hickey."
His eyebrows met in a perplexed frown. "Do you even know what a hickey is?"
"Of course I do. I'm not stupid."
"Now, why the heck would you need one?"
"Because it has been brought to my attention that I have been neglecting my date shamefully," she told him crisply. "If you give me a hickey, then it means you got some action and the girls in the bathroom will finally shut up."
Ronnie folded his arms and frowned in her general direction. "You want me to give you a hickey so you can brag to them that you scored."
"No, I need a hickey so they'll know that you scored," she explained, as if her take on things made more sense.
"Tamsin, this is nuts. You barely speak to me all night, and when you do, you ask me to bite you."
"My barely speaking to you all night isn't all my fault," Tamsin pointed out. "And at least I'm asking you to bite me, not telling you that I hate you and to take me home and never call me again."
He chuckled briefly. "You've got a point. So you are sort of having fun?" he asked. "Even if we didn't hang around each other much tonight?"
"Yes." She sounded much calmer now. "Thank you for getting your friends to dance with me."
"Oh, I didn't ask them to do that," Ronnie admitted, grinning in the darkness. "They thought it up all by themselves."
"You've got some really good friends, then."
"Yeah." He stepped closer to her. "So, about this hickey…"
Tamsin gave a small cough. Now that she had calmed down a bit, she realized that dragging him into a dark corridor probably wasn't the best way to handle things. "You don't have to give me one if it makes you uncomfortable."
Ronnie touched her arm, making her jump. "Oh, I'm not uncomfortable. Just surprised."
"What are you doing?" she asked when his hand wandered upwards to her bare shoulder. She blushed as goose bumps spread over her skin.
"Trying to find the right spot for your hickey."
"You'd better keep those hands where they're acceptable."
"Yes, ma'am." He bent toward her and his lips brushed her hairline.
There was a clean, minty scent coming from his shirt. "You're way off aim."
"In case you didn't notice," Ronnie chuckled, finding her cheek, "it's kind of dark and you're kind of short. And besides," he added as he moved to the other cheek, "I'm just getting warmed up."
Tamsin sucked in her breath as his free hand cupped her chin, angling her face up toward his. "I don't think—"
She had intended to tell him that maybe a hickey wasn't that good of an idea anymore, but when their noses bumped and his lips settled over hers, the words evaporated on her and she couldn't think at all.
Whoa. Ronnie put his arms around her, drawing her closer. He felt her stumble slightly and clutch his arms for support. She kissed him back carefully, as if she was afraid of making a mistake. There was no worry of that, he thought dimly as he deepened the kiss. This was Tamsin and he didn't care about mistakes.
She made a small noise in her throat and she slipped her arms around his neck, enveloping him in jasmine.
Suddenly, there was a discreet ahem. Tamsin backed away and Ronnie slowly became aware that there was a third person in the corridor. If the silhouette was anything to go by, then the newcomer was Coach Boone. Great.
"Go on inside," Ronnie murmured to Tamsin. "I'll follow in a while."
"Alright. Excuse me," she mumbled, half to him and half to Boone, before walking quickly away.
"That you, Sunshine?" Boone asked after a moment's pause.
"Yeah, Coach." Ronnie was pretty sure you couldn't get kicked off the football team for sneaking away to make out in a dark corridor, but you could never tell with Boone. Or Coach Yoast, for that matter, he amended wryly as he tried to wipe his mouth free of any traces of lipstick. Yoast probably would have delivered a stern lecture on chastity before benching him, even though coming out here had been Tamsin's idea.
At least it hadn't been Mr. Graham who had caught them.
Ronnie heard a soft chuckle come from the coach's direction. "I heard laughter was the best medicine," Boone remarked in an amused voice, "but that stuff's pretty good, too."
He grinned. It was dark, anyway, so no one could see him. "Yeah."
"Go on back inside, son. I think the coast is clear."
"Thanks, Coach."
Ronnie returned to the gym in time to hear Miranda's shrill scream.
"You bitch!"