CHPT. 3

After every last girl had finished their suicides and were doubled over panting like dogs in heat, Coach M finally took pity on them.

"Ok, everybody go get water. You've got a five-minute break starting now. Come straight back and you might want to do some extra stretching to stay loose," she said then walked out of the gym.

"You had to be late didn't you?" the other captain Alex said, trying to catch her breath and walking with Ashley to get water.

She was a senior as well and both she and Ashley had been on Varsity from freshman year on. They were good friends and fierce competitors.

Alex stood at 5'7. She had long black hair and green, fox-looking eyes.

Ashley teased her friend constantly, telling her that she had sexy, bedroom eyes. She drove all the boys… and girls for that matter crazy in the school. Everyone had always said she should model.

"What, you know how I oversleep sometimes," Ashley replied, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the bottom of her practice jersey.

"Uh huh, did some girl keep you up?" Alex asked, cracking a smile.

The brunette returned the smile. "Nah, not last night. I just couldn't sleep so I didn't pass out until like 3am."

Ashley was out to the world, gay and proud. And not a lot of people knew it, but Alex wasn't exactly straight either.

She had been strictly dickly, until Ashley got ahold of her that is.

It was just this past summer when Alex confided in Ashley and told her that she thought she might like girls, but wasn't sure.

Like any gay opportunist with two damn good eyes, Ashley happily volunteered to uh…explore her curiosity.

Long story short, they were still occasional fuck buddies along with being good friends, a strange but somehow functional relationship.

"Mhmm," Alex replied, not believing her co-captain for a minute. "Hey, who's that?" she added as the girls walked back into the gym.

A blonde stood at center court, chewing gum and dressed in balling shorts and a cut off tee, alongside the Coach.

"Must be the new girl," Ashley said quickly, sounding unimpressed as Miss Morton called the team to center court.

"Okay. Ladies, this is Spencer Carlin, the new addition to the team. She just moved here all the way from Florida. So be nice and respectful and let's all do our part to make sure she learns how things work around here. Let's start with names," Coach said.

The girls went down the line all introducing themselves.

"Keri." "Julissa." "Alex." "Ashley." "Sarah." "Kennedy." "Iesha." "Cierra." "Kelsey." "Amanda." "McKayla."

All eyes were on Spencer as she simply cracked a grin and said, "Nice to meet you all."

The blonde had the perfect smile, teeth as white as ever and the most natural looking and even tan Ashley had ever seen.

"Alright, now the pleasantries are over. Let's get to work. We still got over an hour left of practice. Lay-up lines, let's go!" Coach said, jumping straight back into the routine.

The rest of practice went by fairly quick, and to everyone's surprise Spencer was good…real good.

She might even give Alex and me a run for our money…Ashley thought as she watched the new girl sink a 3-point basket.

At the end, everyone met back at center court.

"Nice work today you guys. Practice tomorrow at the same time. Make sure you all throw your practice jerseys in the basket so they get washed. Oh and Ashley and Spencer, I need to see you too after," Coach Morton said. "Team on three! One, two, three!"

"Team!" all the girls called out in unison, and then broke for the locker room.

"Okay, Ashley and Spencer. The reason I held you two back is because I wanted to run a few things by you. Ashley, as captain I want you to be responsible for making sure Spencer finds her way here…getting to classes, fitting in, learning plays we run and things like that…" Miss Morton started off.

Greattttt…the brunette thought to herself, mentally rolling her eyes.

"Since you have such a difficult time getting to school on time, maybe having to help someone else will help you become more responsible. And you two even play the same positions, so that's even better right Ash?"

Ashley smiled and said, "Right you are," in a slightly sarcastic tone.

"Good. On that note, you two are dismissed, and Spencer, welcome to King High's girls basketball team," Coach said, shaking the blonde's hand.

On the way back to the now empty locker room, there was an awkward silence between the two girls, so Ashley finally decided to speak.

"So, what do you think of Coach so far?" she asked.

"She seems alright. Kinda strict though," the blonde replied honestly, holding the door open for the other girl to get into the locker room.

"Hah, yeah you're right on there. She's strict, but fair. You'll get used to her after awhile, and once you do she's pretty chill," Ashley said taking off her practice shorts, putting on her sweatpants, and turning to face Spencer.

The sight she saw at that moment definitely took her by surprise.

The new girl was lifting her new practice jersey over her head, and all Ashley could see was a black sports bra, a toned six-pack, and a small tattoo on her hip that said something in a foreign language.

The captain stood there with her mouth slightly open, completely having lost her train on thought and sense of self for the moment.

As Spencer put her cut off tee back on, she noticed the other girl's hazel eyes on her and her shocked expression.

"What? Something on my clothes or something?" she asked, apparently not noticing the real reason for the look.

"Oh, uh no..sorry," Ashley replied, shaking her head and coming back to life as she threw her tee shirt back on over her wife beater. "You need a ride home or you got one?"

"I've got my car here, but thanks," the blonde said, letting her sweat drenched hair down and brushing it.

"Sure. Where's your phone?" Ashley asked, putting her slides on and walking over to the other girl.

"Right here," the new girl said, pulling it out of her bag. "Why?"

"I'm gonna put my number in it so you can call or text me if you have any questions or want to talk. And you can put your number in mine," the brunette replied, typing her cell number into the phone.

"Oh, good idea. I appreciate it Ashley," Spencer said, typing her number into the other girl's cell.

"No problem. Now if you think you can find your way to the parking lot, I'll go head and leave," the captain said jokingly.

"Haha, yeah I got it. I'll see you tomorrow," Spencer replied, tying her hair back up.

"Alright, bye," Ashley said with a laugh and headed for her car, suddenly finding her mind temporarily occupied by the new girl she had just met…and she couldn't quite figure out why.

What the fuck was that? She asked asked herself, shaking her head and wondering who was that person had been in there; the girl stumbling over words, getting caught staring, and being exceptionally nice to someone she barely even knew.

Because it sure as hell wasn't Ashley Marie Davies.