1 Sunshine Hunter (2 page)

He groaned, turned to face the onlookers, and threw his hands in the air as if to say, “
I tried. What are you gonna do?
”

“Great game, Susan,” he said walking toward me. “I thought you’d go down with all of the ceiling shots I was sending your way. You still need to work on those. How about we grab another round after work tomorrow?”

“That’s good for me,” I told him. “I’ll book the court time when I get behind the desk. Thanks again for the lesson.” We shook hands, and Husky opened the door for us to leave the court.

“Who’s teaching her to play like that?” Husky asked the crowd. Everyone laughed as they started to disperse and move on to other areas of the club.

The cool, air-conditioned lobby was a welcome relief after feeling so overheated on the court. I looked around for the hot guy who had been watching, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey, Susan, good job taking it to Husky. Those aces were awesome. I’m working with him again tomorrow, so we should both be in good shape for State.” This was coming from my friend, Samantha. Not only did we both play in the club’s ladies’ league, but we were doubles partners when we went to tournaments or played at other clubs. This would be our first time to play at the state level in the fall, and we were both excited and working hard to
ward making a good showing. Additionally, we wanted to make Husky proud as he was investing a lot of time and effort to help us.

“I know. I can’t wait,” I told her with a big smile. “I’m thinking about gettin
g a new racquet and a couple new outfits. Want to go shopping this weekend?” I loved to shop, and finding fun outfits to wear on the court was my passion at the moment.

“I can’t,” she said. “Larry’s having the guys from
Barney’s over Saturday night, and I promised I’d make them a feast, so I’m cooking all day Saturday.”

Larry and Samantha were
cute together. They had been married for almost 13 years and still acted as though they were dating. They would do anything for each other, and this was one more example of how great their marriage was. Larry worked for a Barney’s Beverage which supplied all of the beer and wine for the club, and Samantha was actually looking forward to making his guy’s night a success. She was older than me by about seven years. Her build was stocky, and racquetball only seemed to make her more muscled rather than trim. Her long, curly black hair was almost always pulled back and piled on top of her head with a couple of clips sticking out.

“Ok,” I said. “I have to grab a shower before working the front desk for a couple of hours. Are you staying until closing?”

“Yep, Larry and Husky have already headed upstairs to work on a case of beer, so I’m going up to join in. See you later.” With a little wave, she turned and headed for the staircase off the main entrance.

The second floor of the club had two hallways, one on each side of the building, so scorekeepers and onlookers could stand and watch the action through the 5-foot open space at the top of the back of each court. There was also a weight room, the men’s locker room, and a pu
b. It was a small pub with five tables, a leather sofa, a bar with four stools, and a television set in the corner. The far wall had a small window with a view onto one of the courts. There was always some type of action going on in the pub in the evenings whether it was a party, card games, or members winding down. In our club, nobody in the pub was ever shy about having a good time.

The women’s locker room was on the first floor. I grabbed a quick shower, gave my hair a fast blow dry
, and let it fall loose. A little mascara and lip gloss were all I needed for makeup as my cheeks were still flushed from the hour on the court with Husky. I dressed in a club shirt, my favorite Rag & Bones jeans, and strappy sandals with 3-inch heels. I was settled behind the front desk just in time.

The front desk is actually a large counter
which runs the length of the wall between the two hallways serving as entrances to the courts as well as the women’s locker room. For the next two hours I sold beer, soda, juice, hot dogs, and snacks. I handed out locker keys and white towels to club members and their guests, answered the telephone, and booked court times. It was hard to categorize this as a job. I loved chatting with the members, and it always felt like fun, never like work.

Jerry was the night clerk. He d
idn’t talk much and seemed quite the loner. He was a musclehead and spent most of his time in the weight room. He was twenty, blonde, extremely beefy, and I was pretty sure he was taking steroids. He had a regular male visitor on Thursday nights who didn’t use the club, but stopped in only to see Jerry at the desk for a short time. The stranger would sit on a stool, drink a beer, and give Jerry a package before leaving. It was none of my business, so I never asked who the man was or what was in the packages. I decided if it was something illegal, they wouldn’t be doing it out in the open for everyone to see. With his muscle and brawn, Jerry was a good choice to close the club every night at 1:00 A.M.

He was right on time to take over
for me at 10:00. “Thanks, Jerry,” I told him. “There are only a couple more games scheduled tonight, and things are pretty quiet. I’m going upstairs to the pub if you need me for anything.” He gave me his usual blank stare and nodded his head.

The lights in the pub were lower than in the rest of the club. The television tuned to a baseball game in extra innings provided the ambiance tonight.
I waited a moment as my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. I walked past the bar, picked up the glass of White Zinfandel Ron had placed on the counter for me, and turned to face the room.

There were two tables of card games underway. Euchre was being played at one and pinochle at the other. Samantha, Larry, and Husky were at the euchre table, and I was surprised to see the fourth player was the hot guy who had been watching our match earlier.

Husky called me over. “Susan, come take my seat. I need to hit the showers.” He stood up and put his hand on the stranger’s shoulder. “This is Mick Raines. He’s a hotshot in the office at Raines Construction. He tells me what to do.”

“No one can tell you what to do, Husky,” said Mick
, laughing.

“Well, that’s true,” Husky chuckled. “This is Susan Hunter. She’s a hotshot on the court.”

I could feel myself blushing as I reached out to shake Mick’s hand. There was a slight flutter of excitement in my stomach as my hand slid into his.

“Mick’s been looking over the club and trying to decide if he wants to join. Help him make up his mind,” Husky told me.

I sat down in the empty seat. “Well, have you liked what you’ve seen so far?” I asked him with a smile.

He looked at me with
gorgeous eyes, smiled with the amused look I had seen earlier, and said, “I think this place is great, and I’ve really enjoyed the action on the courts.”

Sparks shot through my body. I nearly melted into my chair. I felt my face flush and my heart started to race. “Well, we try to put on a good show,” I blurted out.

Ack! Why did I say that? I didn’t want to flirt with him, and I certainly didn’t want to sound like a showoff.

“Well, well. Look at this,” Larry said with a huge
grin on his face as he started to deal the next round of cards.

I could sense
Samantha kicked him under the table. He hung his head and continued to deal the cards, but the smile didn’t leave his face.

Samantha and Larry had been after me for months to start dating again after my last relationship h
ad ended badly. Louie and I dated for nearly two years, and I was sure we were headed for the altar. I stopped by his house late one night and found him getting out of the shower. That would normally have been a good thing until I saw another woman was waiting for him in his bed! He whined and said he didn’t know I was stopping by, and he hadn’t done anything – yet. I suspected it wasn’t the first time he cheated on me, and I broke it off. Samantha and Larry had both been there for me while I cried, got angry, grieved, and finally started throwing myself back into work and racquetball.

Now, Larry couldn’t help being
delighted to see some life in me again. The obvious attraction between me and Mick was palatable.

“Well, I think you’ll
love it here, Mick,” said Samantha to the rescue. “Everyone is nice, you’ll never have any trouble finding a match, and the parties are great. What’s trump?”

“Hearts,” responded Larry. “Mick, do you play racquetball?”

“Actually, I’m a handball player,” he said. “I’ve heard there are a couple of good players here, and if I can get enough court time with them, I’d like to join.” He looked at me and asked, “Susan, can you use that incredible backhand in a game of handball?”

Handball is played on the same courts and has the same rules, but there are no racquets – just hands with gloves. “No handball for me,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m strictly working on my racquetball game. Sam and I are signed up for State Tournament in the fall, and I don’t want to play anything that will affect my rhythm or swing.” I smiled at Samantha and said, “Husky is counting on us to bring a couple of big wins home for the club.”

“State Tournament, eh?” Mick asked looking between me and Samantha. “Husky said I should run down to watch him play. Maybe I’ll make the drive to see how all of you do. Might be fun. Trump!” he called as he played the jack of hearts to take two points for him and Larry.

The next two hours flew
by as we all made small talk. Two glasses of wine was my limit on a work night, and both were long gone. I stood up and said, “I hate to leave before closing, but I have to be at work early tomorrow for a meeting, so I’m going to take off. It was nice to meet you, Mick.”

“Oh, the pleasure was definitely mine,” he sai
d. “I hope to see you again.” The amused look was back on his face. I felt more sparks. I had to hurry up and leave before I said something I would regret.

Samantha st
ood up to give me a hug with an extra squeeze. I could tell she liked Mick and was happy I had enjoyed his company. “See you tomorrow, Susan,” she said. “Let’s play a game together before our lessons with Husky.” Larry echoed the goodnight, and I left the pub to get my gear and head for home.

There had been a lot of
surreptitious glances between me and Mick, and I wondered if there was going to be something more there. I could only hope.

“Susan, there’s someone here to see you,” said Angela, a pretty brunette with a bob haircut.

Mrs. Jackson had just finished weighing in at 155 pounds and was sitting down for her consultation with me, when Angela,
my assistant manager, stuck her head through the doorway with the announcement.

“And that someone is a hot guy,” she said
while making fanning motions with her hands as if to cool herself off.

I frowned and shot Angela a reproving look. I turned to Mrs. Jackson and said, “Excuse me. I’ll only be a moment. It’s probably a salesman. Let me see what he’s selling, and I’ll be right back.”

Slimmers Weight Loss was a women’s only center in a professional building on the east side of Carbide City, so it was somewhat unusual to see a man come through the door other than an occasional salesman or a deliveryman. Even though I was the manager, it was even more unusual for someone to ask for me by name.

I walked into the waiting area and was shocked to see Mick standing there. It h
ad been over a week since I met him at the racquetball club, and I assumed he had decided against joining.

My greeting to him was rather brusque as I asked, “Mick, what are you doing here?” I grabbed him by the arm and ushered him out of the center and into the hallway. “You can’t be in here, and I’m working! How did you know where I worked? If you wanted to talk to me, why didn’t
you come to the club?” I was noticeably agitated, but I could see he was distressed at causing me discomfort.

“Susan, I’m sorry,” he said apologetically. “I didn’t know. I asked Husky where I could find you, and he told me. I haven’t had an evening fre
e to go to the club, and I had to see you again.” He lightly grasped both of my arms, looked into my eyes and said, “I can’t seem to get you out of my mind.” He smiled and finished the thought with, “Not that I’m trying.”

I think I started to melt. I know my knees went weak. Thank goodness he was holding me by my arms
, or I might have fallen down. I tried to say something, but no words came out.

“I have tickets to Smokey Joe’s Café at the Carbide Dinner Theater for Saturday night
,” he said. “Come with me. I want to see you again.” His smiling eyes were back, and so was my voice.

“Ok?” It came out as more of a question than an answer. I tried again and said, “I’d like that.”

He let out a small laugh. “How about if I pick you up at the club? Say, around 6:30?”

“Perfect,” I squeaked
.

He smiled, squeezed my arms lightly before letting them go, and turned to walk down the hallway. I took a few second
s to watch him walk away and gather my composure before dashing back into the center and leaning against the wall.