Soccer Mom Gets Some

He tapped off his phone, disgusted. Hannah was unreliable at best, and she was damn near inaccessible since she started dating her new boyfriend. He hated leaving the girls with her on the weekends. He was bored without them at home, honestly.

He dropped his lawn chair in the grass at his feet. Eight soccer fields, and Hannah forgot to mention which field Laura was playing on. He glanced around the fields, hoping to see a familiar kid from the team, or maybe a parent. He was terminally awkward around other parents, which didn't help much during t-ball season. To make up for it, he proudly wore the mantle of "team dad" and tossed the ball around with the girls during practices and first base coaching.

He wished he wasn't awkward around her, though. He called her Big Pink in his head, because she was a tall, curvy woman with pink streaks peeking through her brunette waves. She was always early with her daughter, sitting in the bleachers with a book that she never read, because once the games started she would inevitably be cheering on the team relentlessly. It was nice to see, especially since Hannah only made it to one or two games.

He and Big Pink chatted sometimes, about the kids, the coach, once their daughters were the only two to show up during a rainy game that wasn't bad enough to call off. He thought she might be doing the single parent charade too, she sometimes had a younger son with her, with the dad coming for a handful of games, and never wore a ring on that left hand. Because yeah, he looked.

He looked around again, shading his eyes, the sun was finally peeking out behind the rain clouds that were covering the sky when he left the house. And then he saw her, Big Pink, streaks faded a bit in the weeks since t-ball ended, but with a glowing smile and cheering on the sidelines. His stomach lurched a bit, and he couldn't tear his eyes away from across the fields. Until his phone buzzed, Hannah with her impeccable timing. "almost there, laura's going to be at field 5. sry."

He didn't believe in fate or anything like that, but it was certainly on his mind. He spotted the numbers on the goal nets, and Big Pink was at field number 5. He picked his lawn chair up from the ground and made his way to her. He didn't want to call her Big Pink anymore.

**

"Hey. Anna's mom, right?"

She turned away from the field and was face to face with a pair of hunter green athletic shorts. She tilted her head up and froze. "Yeah, hi, Sydney's dad, right?" He smiled, and his ice blue eyes sent pleasure shocks through her belly.

He laughed. "I guess that's what we'll be known as for a few more years." He pulled his lawn chair out of the shoulder carry bag. "Mind if I set up here? My daughter's game is the 10 o'clock."

"No, of course not. Please." She waved her hand haphazardly and couldn't help but watch his tattooed, muscled arms unfold the chair and set it a few feet from me. He was the highlight of t-ball season this year. She jokingly called him Hot T-Ball Dad to her mom, who was hoping Jessica would find husband #2 among the dads at the baseball diamonds. Jessica just walked out on her husband, finding a new one certainly wasn't a priority. She just wanted to make it through the summer. Hot T-Ball Dad was fun to look at, dark blonde hair, scruffy beard. He was fun to talk to, at least for the moments before and after games. "You can call me Jessica," she told him.

"Yeah, that's much better than calling you Anna's mom," he said, eyes not leaving her face. She flushed a bit under his gaze. "I'm Jim."

"Nice to know your name, Jim." She smiled and turned back to the field, just in time to catch Eddie kicking the ball out of the goal. "Great save, buddy!" she called out.

"So this is your son playing?" he asked her. "He play last year?"

"Yeah, Eddie, he's number 2 out there." She pointed him out. "It's his first year, just feeling it out. He wasn't interested in playing t-ball, but he was watching a lot of the World Cup last summer with his dad, so we decided to give it a try." She glanced at her hand, wondering if Jim would notice the fading tan line where she used to wear her wedding band.

"Cool." She noticed him checking his phone, and watched him wave to a woman with two girls, followed by a short stocky man. She recognized his daughter Sydney, and what she guessed was Jim's kids' mother. "And here's my athlete," he said, glancing over towards her. "Having a good summer since the last time we saw you guys?"

"Yep, quiet mostly. You?" she answered him.

"Yeah, spent a lot of time at the splash kids. The girls love it there."

"Oh, so do mine."

"Yeah?" She looked at him, noticing a glint in his eyes. "We should meet up there, that'd be fun for the kids." He looked a little nervous, especially as the girls came closer.

She nodded. "Yes, that'd be great. Here, I'll give you my number." She reached for his phone, then pulled her hand back.

"I still have the roster from t-ball, is that your number on it? I'll get it from there." He nodded, sure of himself.

"Yeah, that's, yeah, it's mine on there. That's smart of you, I forgot about the roster," she told him honestly. He smiled, and she noticed him flexing his hand slightly, his strong forearm tensing. She always had a thing for forearms, and wondered what it would be like to be under his arms. She shook her head to erase the smutty thoughts from her head. Reading way too many romance stories, she told herself.

**

To his surprise, Jessica texted him the next day. It was in the mid 80s, sunny and a little humid, and she was taking the kids to the splash pad, and "wanted to extend the invite," with a little smiley face emoji.

"Hey girls, who wants to go to the splash pad?" They barely looked up from their tablet. "Okay, we're going to the splash pad. Turn it off, go put suits on."

"Do we have to?" Laura whined as she rolled on the floor, away from the tablet.

"It's too hot," Sydney added, pulling herself up to kneeling on the floor.

"That's why we're going to the splash pad, because it's hot." Jim rolled his eyes at his daughters. "Go. Now."

They continued their various complaints but they made their way to their bedrooms. Jim texted Jessica. "We're in. be there soon. Thanks."

It was another ten minutes before they were actually in the car. They couldn't find towels, then they wanted snacks, then Jim couldn't find sunscreen. He was getting antsy and a little nervous about meeting up with Jessica. He didn't get nearly enough time to talk to her at the game. As soon as Hannah walked up with the girls, he was distracted until their game ended, and they waved to each other as she packed up Eddie's soccer gear.

He tapped out a rapid tattoo to match his thumping heart on the steering wheel as they drove to the park. The girls sang along to whatever Taylor Swift nonsense was on the radio. He couldn't help himself to think about Jessica, in the pool, wearing a wet bathing suit to clung to all her soft, rounded curves. He felt himself harden, and he inwardly cringed, hoping he wouldn't embarrass himself by getting a boner like some kind of desperate teenager in front of her.

He heard the shrieks of the splash pad patrons before they pulled in the parking lot. It didn't look too busy, maybe fifteen or twenty kids were splashing and running through the fountains. He took his time getting the girls out of the car, trying not to look around too eagerly.

"Look, Dad, Anna's here!" Sydney yelped. She ran towards the gate, and Jim wished he could look as excited as she was.

"Slow down, let's drop our stuff at a picnic table first before you go running." He spotted Anna and Eddie aiming a water gun at a skinny boy, and skimmed over the scattered picnic tables to find Jessica. He spotted her, just as he hoped, in a tight black bathing suit, with her hair pulled on the top of her head in a messy bun. He walked towards her, and he watched her as she found him in the crowd. She smiled and waved him over.

"The kids will be happy to see the girls. They were just telling me they couldn't find any new friends here," she laughed. "I hope I didn't interrupt any plans for you."

He set down a grocery tote bag with the girls' towels. "No, not at all. Just another afternoon of them crying that they want to watch TV, then fighting over whose turn to watch what. You know, the typical." She laughed again. He half hoped she wouldn't keep laughing like that, because he could feel himself hardening again. He tried to adjust himself as he sat down. "Nice day," he remarked.

"It's a gorgeous day. I didn't want to stay inside, that's for sure." He nodded as he pulled out the sunscreen, and started applying it to his arms. If he was wearing a t-shirt, he wouldn't bother, but in a tank top his poor shoulders usually burned quickly. He glanced at her, realizing she was watching him, and saw her teeth bite her lower lip, jolting his cock. He almost dropped the sunscreen, and she shook herself out of her reverie. Leaning down, he smiled to himself.

"Do you need some?" he asked innocently, holding the bottle out to her.

"Nope, we're good, thanks," she said, and he saw the flush across her cheeks, down her neck and settling on the tops of her breasts. "I'm mean, I'm good." She busied herself, picking up the phone, pointedly pretending to ignore him until he was done with the sunscreen.

"Yeah, you are," he said under his breath, hoping she heard him. If she did, she didn't act like it.

Anna ran over to her. "Mom! Sydney is here!" she screeched.

"I saw! Remember her dad from t-ball? He's here too," she said, pointing to Jim.

Jim waved as she quickly glanced at him. "Okay Mom, I'm going back, we're playing MERMAIDS," as she ran back towards their little clump. Sydney and Laura were certainly preening like mermaids, and he saw Eddie still manning a water gun.

"So, what um, what school are they in? Are you guys in public or private?" he asked. Is that a thing that parents ask?

She didn't seem fazed. "They go to St. Mary's. Eddie is in kindergarten, Anna is in second grade. What about yours?"

"They go to Oak Park. Sydney is in the STEM program, she loves it." He tapped on the table a little nervously. What else do parents talk about?

"That's cool. I've heard such great things about it." She looked away, keeping an eye on the kids. She apparently caught sight of them, and turned back to Jim. "So besides being team dad, what else are you into?"

He was relieved to stop doing the parent chat and pivot to normal small talk. "Not too much anymore. Sports, I used to go to more baseball games downtown, you know, before the kids." She nodded knowingly. "I play for a beer league softball team in the fall. I uh, watch a lot of TV, some movies. A little bit of a homebody."

"Watch anything good lately? I'm always looking for something new to watch." And away they went, doing the small talk thing, and he fell comfortably into the swing. He would occasionally glance towards the kids, but Jessica was playing it so cool, completely unbothered when they screamed at each other, only calling them to slow down or be careful when they were within earshot. He noticed her twisting a curl that was dangling behind her ear, that must have fallen from her bun. He wanted his fingers around her curls, to trail them to her sweet mouth, all over her lush body, to see where else she was pink and soft.

He stretched his legs under the table, and taking a breath, he found her ankle with his. She didn't flinch, she was looking at her phone. He made the move to slide his ankle up her calf, up and down, watching her for her reaction. She had looked up, and looked a little surprised, but didn't tell him to stop. She smirked a bit, holding back a smile. While they were talking, their hands had moved closer to each other. Nonchalantly, she stroked her finger in his open palm, up and down each finger slowly. Each stroke send shivers into his arm, through his spine, and he was afraid he'd be rock hard and unable to get up from the table.

His mind raced at the same pace of his heartbeat. He couldn't get enough of her pouty lips, her crackling eyes. He wanted more of their bodies touching than just her fingers and his ankle. Jim was speechless, just watching her as their fingers danced together, hoping they were foreshadowing what would be in his & Jessica's future.

"So," he started, licking his lips. He saw her tremor, and she looked down at the tabletop.

"So," she said. He couldn't believe the heat that was running through him. He wanted his lips to join the fun his hands were having, he wanted to surrender his mouth to hers. He could barely think straight, just picturing her, open and at his mercy, moaning pleasure.

"I want to see you again." It finally poured out of him. "Without the kids."

Her mouth opened in an "oh" shape and he groaned. Her eyes widened, and she blushed again. He wanted to see what other parts of her blushed. "Yes. Let's do that. When ... do you just want to text me?"

"I don't have the kids Tuesday to Friday, just name it." He knew his eyes were boring into her, but he couldn't stop himself. He felt magnetically attracted to her, she was a pole and he was hovering around her.

"That's good, yeah, I'll have to ... yes. I'll make it work." She declared. She bit her lip again and Jim grabbed her hand.

"I can't see you do that again. Please," he begged.

He didn't think she could blush a darker red. "I'm sorry, I don't even realize I'm doing it. It's almost a nervous tic." She made to move her hand away, but he trailed his fingers up her arm instead.

"It is driving me crazy," he growled. He didn't even know he was capable of growling. He softened his fingers, tracing the veins he could see under her skin. He bent his head down, and pressed his lips to her wrist.

Suddenly she snatched her hand away. "Hey, Anna, what's wrong honey?" He snapped to attention as Anna came running over. She looked distracted, so it didn't appear she noticed anything untoward between her mom and her friend's dad.

"I'm just done here. Can I play on the playground?" Anna rooted around in the beach bag on the table, pulling out her towel and a pair of shorts.

"Sure, dollface. What about Eddie?" They looked over to see Eddie in what they assumed was his new permanent position as water gunner.

"I can keep an eye on him, if you want to go with Anna to the playground." Jim volunteered. The playground was only a few yards away from the splash pad. Jessica smiled, a little distractedly, standing from the table.

"That's great, thanks, Jim. Anna, you ready?" Anna nodded and started walking over to the gates leading to the playground. When she was far enough away, Jessica leaned down to Jim, maybe purposely dipping her cleavage into his eyeline. "I want to keep driving you crazy. You better text me."

**

He texted her and didn't stop. It started polite, "thanks for hanging out, the kids had a great time." Then she responded, "I think we can have a better time." She usually wasn't this brazen, but she was just looking for fun. He was good looking, he was at least a little attracted to her, and he was single. The holy trinity.

"I think so too," he came back. "Wednesday? Wear your hair down." She checked her calendar. Finally, a night this summer where the kids didn't need to be driven to camp or sports or some other distraction, and to top it off, they'd be going to their dad's. Well, their grandparents, where their dad happened to live.

"and what about you? what should I tell you to wear?" she responded. Her phone buzzed quicker than she expected.

"As little as possible." Accompanied with a thirst trap. Bare chested, with blonde chest hair trailing from him pecs to his navel, a solid chest that hinted at abs and cut lines around his hips, and that's where the photo was cropped - it hinted at maybe very low-slung pants. She would have rolled her eyes if she wasn't so lit up.

She considered sending a photo back to him. The kids were distracted, she was going to sneak it. She took her phone with her to her bedroom, and locked the door behind her. She pulled the hair twist out and shook her hair down. She took off her shirt and considered her bra. A little lacy, more bralette than push-up. Good enough. She wanted her photo to be a little aesthetically pleasing, if she was going to bother to send salacious photos to a near stranger, she wanted to be proud of the result. She laid down on the bed, arranged her hair into a wild mane and partially covering her breasts, and took a photo of her top half, with a peek at her teeth biting her bottom lip.

She took a deep breath and hit send. "like this?" she added, a few seconds later. The telltale gray dots popped on the screen, so she knew he received it. Then went away. And returned. As she was putting her t-shirt back on, and fixing her hair again, when her phone buzzed.

"if I told you that you have a good body would you hold it against me?" She couldn't help but laugh. She'd let him do more than that.

**

She wasn't sure what to expect when she arrived at his house. It had been a long time since she had anything resembling a one-night stand, which is kind of what she thought tonight would be, if not turning into some sort of friends with benefits. She didn't want to project on him, she told herself she was the queen of playing it cool.

She went to knock at the back door, but then spotted Jim sitting on his back deck, facing away from the door and towards the rest of his compact yard. "Hey there," she called out.

She watched him turn and give her a lazy smile. "Hey. Good to see you." He shamelessly looked her up and down. She had her hair down like he asked, with a low-cut v-neck t-shirt and a midi skirt. She thought she would surprise him with the same bra that she wore in the photo. She looked at him, just as boldly, up and down. He wore a tight henley that showed every muscle in his chest, with khaki shorts and bare feet. "You want a drink? I've got beer, shandy, hard seltzer?" He stood and gestured vaguely towards the house.

"Sure, that sounds good." He nodded and stepped into the house, returning quickly.

"You didn't say what you wanted?" he asked, still with that lazy smile.

"Oh!" she laughed. "A seltzer? Any flavor is fine."

"Okay, cool." He came out with a cherry flavored seltzer. As he was handing it to her, he asked, "did you start watching the new season of Umbrella Academy?"

She popped the can open and took a sip. "No, I haven't gotten the chance. Have you? If you didn't tell me, I didn't even know the new season was out."

"Cool. Want to watch it? Can't beat it, having an empty house, no kids to interrupt ..." he trailed off, licking his lip, his eyes locked into hers.

"I hate when kids interrupt ... my shows," she said. "Lead the way." She stretched her hand out to his, and as soon as he interlaced his fingers with hers, tingles shot into her core. She let out a soft gasp at the contact.

"Are you okay?" Jim had turned to the house, but now he twisted to examine her, a crease in his brow.

"I'm sure I'll be better in a moment." She squeezed his hand in hers, and let him walk her into the house, a normal little bungalow, the deck opening out from a dining room, and from there into a living room with a sectional sofa and TV. He sat her on the sectional as he busied himself finding the remote, turning on Netflix, putting her drink on a coaster, and finally settling about twelve inches away from her on the sofa.

"Ready?" He looked to her, remote pointing at the TV.

"Yep." Was she reading this wrong? Did he really want to watch TV?

"Great." He clicked the show on, and as the "last season on" trailer blasted, he tossed the remote on a side table and closed the gap between them. "What about now?" he asked, bringing his hand to her chin.