With one final kick of the ball, he bounced it up, off his forehead, and effortlessly caught it in those hands that had me wondering what else he could do with them. This guy certainly had some talents.
Sauntering over to us, he grinned a captivating smile, and I swear my knees buckled. Reaching Marianne’s side, he dropped a long arm around her shoulders and ruffled her hair. “What’s up?”
“Luca.” She swatted his hands away. “Behave for a minute, would you? Meet Elise McCoy. She’s the teacher of this rowdy bunch.”
“Hi,” I replied stupidly.
“Hey, Miss McCoy.”
Thank God he wasn’t in my class. Hearing his raspy voice say my name was doing all sorts of things to my insides.
Sticking out my hand between us, I waited for him to shake it. After a second’s hesitation, he wrapped his huge paw around mine, completely dwarfing it. I was so tiny next to him, but for some reason I liked it.
“Luca.”
I don’t even know how long we stood there staring at each other, forgetting the world around us even existed. And for a few seconds it felt like it actually did. Right up until Tara screamed, bringing me right back to reality.
Dropping his hand, I spun around to find Tara with Jamie pinned to the ground, her foot on his chest.
“Tara!” I chastised her. “Let him up.”
“But, Miss! He pulled my hair!” Tara refuted.
“Do you two want to sit over there under the trees and watch this afternoon, or do you want to apologise and join in?” I asked.
Being a teacher wasn’t all reading and writing. There was also a healthy amount of refereeing included. They mumbled insincere apologies before going their own ways.
“Okay! Everyone. Over here please.” I waited a few minutes as they ran over from every direction, shouldering and elbowing for the front spot. It was like herding cats. When the stragglers arrived, Nerilee, Piper, and Ann, it was finally time to get started. “I’d like to introduce…”
“Miss! That’s Luca Conti!” Jeff yelled excitedly as he used his elbows to push his way to the front.
“It’s Mr…”
“Luca’s fine,” he interrupted.
I might not have recognised this guy, but some of the kids did. I was in for one hell of a crazy afternoon.
Chapter Three – Luca
I’d been kicked in the shins more times than I could count, my arms were aching from having kids hanging from them, and my cheeks hurt from smiling. Most of my teammates hated school clinics around town, but I didn’t mind them. Sometimes it was easy to forget why I started playing the game in the first place, but seeing the excitement and enthusiasm on the kids’ faces was just the reminder I needed.
Then there was the teacher.
While I’d been running around, sweating my balls off, running dribbling and kicking drills before taking my turn in the goals pretending to be a keeper – something I most certainly was not – Miss McCoy stood on the sideline, arms folded, propping up her very impressive rack. She was dangerous. Those black leggings hugged her curves and made her hips look like the perfect size for holding tight. She was a tiny little thing – at least she was a shorty compared to me – but she could very well be my perfect fit. Talk about hot for teacher. She gave those words new meaning.
The bell rang, and the kids seemed to get a second wind. There was no wearing them out it seemed. As I headed away from the chaos, chasing down all the abandoned balls, I heard Elise trying to herd the kids. She had patience, I’d give her that. Less than two hours listening to their constant chatter, and I was ready to call it a day. And she did this every single day. Woman deserved a medal. Or at the very least a glass of wine.
“Luca! You ready to head out?” Marianne asked.
“Yeah, I guess,” I answered, surprised by the lack of energy in my voice. Usually I was more than ready to get away from the mayhem and back to my nice peaceful reality.
Grabbing the bag of balls at my feet, I swung it over my shoulder and headed for my car. By the time I got back to the club, I had a million questions, and number one on the list was when we could go back to Westview Primary School for another visit. Miss Elise McCoy had me intrigued.
“Hey, Conti?” one of my teammates, Harry, called out across the locker room.
“What’s up?”
“Heard you got stuck on school duty again today. How was it?”
