Chapter 10

Lee, Amanda, and the boys made their way back into the hotel room, talking excitedly about the game. The boys tossed their gloves in the corner by their bed and started to take off their cleats. Jamie suddenly asked, "Hey, Mom. Do you think we can go down to the pool? It sure would feel good after being in the heat all day."

Amanda mulled it over for several seconds and replied, "I think we can do that, but you two need to jump in the shower and get all the dirt off you first."

"Oh, man, Mom. Why do we have to take a shower? We can rinse off in the pool."

"Because you don't want the pool to get dirty. You don't have to take a long shower. Just rinse all the dirt off of you."

"Okay," they groaned.

Twenty minutes later, they were headed down to the pool. Philip and Jamie were in their swim trunks, Lee was in his blue trunks and a simple gray t-shirt, while Amanda was in a modest lavender one-piece suit with a wrap around her waist. As they got on the elevator, Lee asked, "So, what time do you guys play tomorrow?"

Jamie quickly answered, "Since we are in the winners' bracket, we don't play until the afternoon, but we play back-to-back games. If we win both, we will be in the Championship game. Coach wants us at the field by eleven-thirty."

"It will be nice to be able to sleep in a little," Amanda stated.

They exited the elevator and headed towards the pool. The boys threw their towels and ran for the water. Lee quickly grabbed the towels before they fell on the floor and shook his head. Lee pointed to two open lounge chairs. Amanda sat down and settled in. She reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle of lotion. "Lee, can you put some sunscreen on my back and shoulders, please?"

Lee waggled his eyebrows, "It would be my pleasure." Lee moved over to Amanda's chair, and she passed him the bottle. He squeezed some lotion into his hand, rubbed them together, and started to massage it into her skin as a small moan drifted past her lips.

Across the pool, Barbra Anne and Janice were sitting in silence. They'd both noticed when Lee and Amanda made their arrival. As the two women continued to study the couple, they watched as Lee's hands sensuously glided up and down Amanda's back. Janice bent over closer to her cohort and quietly whispered, "I don't think that is for show. They appear to be really happy. Why can't you just admit that her guy is hotter than yours? Why do you have to be so jealous?"

Barbra Anne glared at Janice. "I am not jealous!"

"You could have fooled me," Janice snidely responded.

Lee moved back over to his chair as Jamie came running up to the two of them. "Jamie, slow down. You're going to slip and hurt yourself." Amanda admonished her son.

"Sorry, Mom. Hey, Lee. The other guys are going to have chicken fights with their dads. Will you be my dad?" Jamie tried to backpedal a bit after he realized what he just said. "Philip teamed up with Bobby's uncle. I need a partner."

Lee smiled proudly. "Jamie, I would be honored to be your partner. Just give me a minute, and I'll be right there."

"Thanks, Lee." Jamie sped off for the pool, yelling, "Wait for me, guys! I got a dad!"

Lee stood and smiled down at Amanda. He pulled off his t-shirt and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "I really like how that sounded." He quickly kissed her cheek and jogged towards the pool.

Amanda watched as Lee jumped into the pool and placed Jamie on his shoulders. She beamed as she whispered to herself, "So do I."

Lee pushed himself out of the pool, grabbing the attention of every woman at the pool, except the one he wanted to. His soaking wet trunks were clinging to his taut body. He walked over to where Amanda sat, grabbed his towel, and dried off his face. He shook the water out of his hair, causing droplets of water to cascade over Amanda.

"Hey! Watch it, Lee. You're getting me all wet."

Lee stopped and eyeballed her with his teasing grin, leaned over her with a hand on each armrest of her chair until he was only inches away from her face. "I thought you liked it when I got you all wet."

Amanda blushed and responded, "I do like it very much, but that is different, and you know it."

Lee kissed her and smiled. "The boys sent me on a mission. I'm supposed to get you in the pool."

"Oh, I don't know. I'm enjoying myself right here." She turned her head and spotted her sons. They were both standing in the pool and waving their hands, telling her to join them. "Okay, I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Don't take too long." Lee straightened up his body and returned to the pool. He and the boys were goofing around when he noticed Amanda stand up and remove her wrap. He watched every move she made. She was so beautiful as she glided into the pool using the steps. She slowly pushed through the water towards Lee. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Coach Harris watching her every move with great attention. The green-eyed monster started to rear its ugly head until Lee felt Amanda touch his arm. Lee gazed down into her beautiful face.

"Lee, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm just fine. Now that you're here." Their moment was interrupted by Philip.

"Mom, come here. See what I can do." They joined the boys with Lee glancing over his shoulder at Coach Harris.

The four of them enjoyed their time in the water, cooling off from the hot August day. While they were playing, Jamie splashed harder than he intended to, and water covered his mom's face. Everyone immediately stopped, waiting for her reaction. She glared at him, causing him to stutter. "I'm ssor, sor, sorry, Mom, I didn't mean that."

Amanda put her hands on her hips, jutted them to one side, and menacingly scowled at Jamie. After several long seconds, her lips turned upward, and quite unexpectedly, she splashed water in his face. "Turn around is fair play, huh?!" They all relaxed and joined in on the fun.

Lee grabbed Amanda's waist from behind and hollered, "Get her, boys." Philip and Jamie didn't waste any time and began to splash her.

She held up her hands to ward off the water and yelled in surrender, "Okay, okay. I give, I give!" They all stopped, but Lee didn't let go. "How about we all get out and dry off a little, so we don't get water all over the hotel? Then we can go get changed, get something to eat, and walk around the area for a while."

"Okay, I am getting really hungry anyway," Philip answered. The boys went over to say their goodbyes to their friends while Amanda turned in Lee's arms. They stared into each other's eyes, and Lee leaned down to kiss her. Philip nudged Jamie as they watched them kiss. Philip whispered in Jamie's ear, and Jamie hurried to the side of the pool and got out. Jamie nodded to Philip as Philip started to sneak up behind them. All Lee and Amanda heard was "Cannonball!" as Jamie jumped in and soaked them. Philip swam by and said, "Knock it off, you two, I'm hungry." Philip and Jamie high-fived and laughed as they quickly climbed out of the pool. Lee and Amanda jumped apart, laughed, and followed the boys up to the chairs to dry off.

Lee, Amanda, and the boys toured the streets of Richmond after their supper. Jamie was busy taking pictures of everything when he called out, "Hey, look at that. There's some kind of a river down there." Everyone joined him to peer down the sidewalk.

"Look at all the lights," Amanda cooed, "Maybe we can go and check it out sometime this weekend before we leave.

They continued their stroll down the sidewalk. Lee and Amanda walked hand in hand, watching the boys explore their surroundings. All of a sudden, Philip yelled back, "Mom, Lee, there's an arcade. Can we go in, please?"

"Okay, but not for very long. You need to get your rest tonight for your games tomorrow, so we need to get back to the hotel at a decent time, " Amanda reminded them. She watched Lee and the boys play games for the next hour. She almost didn't want to interrupt them, but she knew they needed to call it a night. "Fellas, it's getting pretty late. We need to head back to the hotel now.

"Do we have to, Mom?" both boys begged.

"I'm afraid so."

Lee added, "Come on, guys. You don't want to be too tired for your games tomorrow, now do you?"

They both nodded as they all headed back to the hotel for the night.