Chapter Text
The hitting of the hard rubber against the worn linoleum echoed throughout the hall before the dark, curly haired head passed the ball in a clean pass to her teammate. With his good build, it didn't take much effort for the young man to get down on his knees and then jump up. The rods groaned under his weight as he clung to the basket and fired the ball through it. There was a roar through the hall as well as the unmistakable sounds of the whistle.
"All right. That's all for today. Go get changed”, announced the tall, slim man and then turned to the two friends, who boxed each other and went to the gender-segregated changing rooms.
"Jane, please wait a moment," he said. Jane's smile faded and she exchanged a look with her best friend. He gave her imperceptibly to understand that he would wait if she wanted him to. She waved it off and so he left her alone with the trainer.
"What's up, Coach?" The student tried to make it sound casual, but her composure disappeared and she symbolically crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Jane, I really appreciate your performance in the game and I'm really glad to have you back in the team. But sport means playing in a team, you shouldn't have forgotten that over the weeks."
She shifted her weight from one leg to the other, about to contradict him. "Didn't you see that-"
He interrupted her: “Jane, Barold is not your only team player. You are friends, I know that. And in your opinion, certainly the best on the team. Even if you want to win, basketball is not about that, but- "
“It's about the ability to work in a team, I know, Coach,” she said resignedly. He reached out and touched her arm, making Jane squirm under the feeling of his fingers brushing over skin.
“Then work on it. That's important." His grip tightened a little, as if to symbolically emphasize his words.
She nodded, had nothing more to add and, after he had finally let go of her, headed for the changing room.
“And Jane, you can smile a little, it makes you less intimidating. And don't harm your pretty face either." He showed her a row of pearly white teeth before turning away.
"Okay," muttered Jane, more disturbed, taking one breath and pulling open the heavy doors.
The smells that hit her at once made her want to turn around and go out again. She decided that what was in store for her was no better, so she pulled herself together as she walked to the changing room benches.
"Mark looks really amazing in his pants," said a team player whom Jane did not like and then turned to the curly haired girl. "Don't you agree, Jane?" When she turned to her, Jane's eyes were practically glued to the girl's uncovered chest as she pulled on her bra.
"Hmm? I do not know. Didn't pay attention", she replied as she pulled the shirt over her head and threw another one on in no time. Not giving the other a chance on her body or the part she was ashamed of.
"And what did you watch out for?" The other girl was well aware of where Jane had been staring when she was undressed and she didn't mind teasing her with it. It was no secret that Jane Rizzoli preferred girls as her lovers, which made her a popular target for spitefulness.
"To the ball. Unlike you," Jane replied bluntly as she undid the braid and let the long, raven-black curls fall onto her shoulders.
"You never give anyone a chance to get their hands on it," said Wendy McKey, a girl Jane didn't like any more than she did. They had once been very good friends up to seventh grade.
"I'll try," she managed through clenched teeth. Jane had no interest in wasting her time here, so she hurried to put on the worn Converse before grabbing the rucksack with the carelessly stuffed gym clothes and leaving.
"Since when have you been taking that long?" Asked Frost when he caught her outside the door.
"Was stopped."
"From the lovely girls or the coach?" He gave her a knowing grin and got her fist thumped against his shoulder in response.
She snorted as she shouldered the backpack again. "Guess from both sides."
"What did he want from you then?"
"He wants me to smile a little more, that makes me even more irresistible." She emphasized the last word, making it sound even more lascivious with her already deep voice.
"Oh, as if that were possible," said Frost, playing the game as he huddled closer to her side.
“Forget it, Frostie. I already got a gag reflex when he just touched me. "
"You mean he's hot for you?" It sounded casual, but now Frost was listening. He had already noticed that the coach, even before Jane missed out, had an eye on the beautiful half-Italian. And he didn't like that at all.
She tried to distract him: “If there was anything hot for me in his pants? Didn't pay attention. But that would be a bit of a pity for him, wouldn't it? Hasn't he just become a father for the second time? Shouldn't he concentrate on other things? "
Frost sensed that she was trying to avoid the subject and so he didn't bother. "You did provide yourself with good information while you were away."
“I just have my sources. And I wasn't really gone. The six weeks without basketball didn't mean that I didn't run into him in the building."
"Speaking of which. Did it hurt today? I mean to have seen you flinch after jumping."
"I played as cleanly as always." By now they had reached the bike racks and Jane bent down to unlock the lock on her bike. He was right in his remark; it hurt her as hell. But she tried not to let it show.
"Jane, I'm serious, it won't do any good. Go to the doctor if it hurts or in the end something will get worse."
"Frost don't." His hand was suddenly over her right groin and her intestines contracted as he pressed into the scar tissue.
"Look how-"
"I said it was enough!" Immediately his hand was gone and he took a step back, ashamed.
"Sorry." He scratched his head, not knowing how to fix the situation. "Are you going to come along for gaming?"
"I would really like to, really. But Ma gives me hell if I don't watch me swing my ass for tutoring. Then the white smock wearers have more to mend than last time. "
"Why is that?"
“By chance she had a cleaning attack in my room and turned my whole desk upside down. And found something quite by accident. So when I got home I was amazed when my room was sparkling clean, don't get me wrong, I didn't expect that. But at the same time she waved my D minus from the last math test at me. "
"The one I wasn't much better at?" The curly haired girl nodded audibly, but avoided looking at him. “But Jane, that's crap. How can she expect you to find your way back to the subject after such a short time? And then also with math. Lord God, you missed half of it and if you only saw what I brought you. It was clear from the start that you would break in. "
“Not for her. Anyway. My parents put a lot of money in there, so I should watch before I miss this today. "
"Wait a moment. How can you finance that? "
Jane sighed and paused to pull her bike out of the stand. Frost knew about their situation and the circumstances in which they lived, so it didn't need any secrets. She laid the cards openly on the table: “Since we got the second mortgage on the house, we can't just afford Frankie's braces. See ya, Frost." It became more and more uncomfortable to talk to him about it and so the girl swung herself on the saddle and finally kicked the pedals. She curled around the building, down the street, at tremendous speed.
There was no time left to freshen up properly or to take a detour home and eat the meal that was waiting for her there. Jane hurried so fast that her thighs began to burn. She couldn't see whether the road she was crossing was green or red. She didn't notice that there was even a traffic light on the post before she heard a loud horn and screeching tires next to her.