It was a hot, Saturday evening at the end of August. The first week of soccer practices had flown by. Coach Alex was determined to make the team better than ever, so he had pushed them hard through long days of drills, strength training, and cardio. With all the hard practices and school resuming on Monday, everyone was beginning to lose their initial momentum and start feeling the dread of a new term.
As team captain, Jake knew it would be his responsibility to check in with all the players. Especially for the underclassmen, the stress of balancing being on a demanding team with their coursework could be daunting. He remembered how when he started playing, the mentorship of his team captain Alex, now Coach Alex, had made all the difference on his experience of joining the soccer team.
At the end of Saturday practice, Coach Alex got the group into a huddle.
"I know I've pushed you really hard this week, guys, but it's clear you're making good progress. I can already see this is going to be a winning team, but only if you keep up the good work." Alex smiled as he patted the guys around him on the back encouragingly.
"Now before you go shower up, does anyone have any announcements?"
Jake cut in. "Hey everyone, as team captain I wanted to say that if you're feeling any stress about the school year starting soon, feel free to come chat with me. I'll be in the locker room for a bit after practice you want to talk - nothing is off limits."
"Thanks for doing that Jake," said Alex. "Now go have some fun tonight and enjoy your last weekend of freedom before school starts!"
The team cheered as they ran towards the locker rooms, anxious to grab dinner and begin their night off. Most of the guys quickly rinsed off, getting dressed in their normal clothes and heading out towards the dining hall. Coach Alex even was in a hurry that night, leaving soon after the rest of the guys.
"See you on Monday, Jake," Alex hollered as he left. "Don't get into too much trouble tonight!" He smirked, knowing Jake loved to party.
"Don't count on that, Coach," Jake replied with a laugh. "You only get to be a college senior once, right?"
Alex laughed as he left the locker room, leaving it seemingly empty and quiet.
Still wet from the shower, Jake walked over to his locker in a towel. He took his time, standing in the nude as he began to dry his hair, torso, and legs. He peered around to see if anyone would take him up on his offer to chat, but it didn't look promising. Since no one appeared to be around, he started to comb his hair, put on deodorant, and open his locker to grab his street clothes.
But just then, he heard a locker across the bank open. Still nude, Jake walked around the row to see who it was.
"Oh hey, Ethan. I didn't think anyone was still here."
Ethan was a new player. A sophomore, he had spent his freshman year practicing hard to get on the team, having barely missed the cut out of high school. He hadn't showered yet but was midway through removing his sweaty athletic clothes. When Jake got there, Ethan was wearing nothing but a white jock strap.
Immediately, Jake noticed his nice physique. Ethan had an average build, not too muscular but still showing some mass. He had short dark hair with some scruff on his face and chest that had been neatly trimmed. Jake couldn't help but think he was quite sexy. Still, he tried to focus on the situation at hand.
"Hey Jake," Ethan replied. "Didn't mean to be so quiet, I just got back after doing some more laps outside."
"No worries, man. Glad to see you putting in the extra mile," he replied, chuckling at his bad pun. "Did you want to chat or anything?"
Ethan looked a bit nervous, like he had something on his mind but felt a bit embarrassed about it.
"Well, I wanted to talk to you about something."
"Whatever it is dude, I'm sure it's not a big deal. Are you worried about being on the team or classes or anything?"
Ethan looked a little surprised. "Oh, it's actually not that at all. Everyone's been great so far and I registered for some easier classes this semester to let me focus on practice."
Jake was relieved. "Glad to hear that. So, what is it?"
"Well, I guess I wanted to ask you about something. On Monday, I got back to the locker room a little late because I did some running after practice that day too. When I got back here, I think I saw Coach Alex fucking you."
Jake was taken aback. He thought everyone had already left the locker room that afternoon, but they had left the blinds open.
"Fuck dude, yeah, sorry about that," Jake stammered as he tried to figure out what to say. "I didn't realize anyone was still around that day. But you're right, Alex did fuck me that day after practice."
"No need to apologize man," said Ethan, almost too casually. "Basically, I just wanted to give you a heads up to be a bit more careful if you don't want to get caught by the other guys on the team."
Jake breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks for being so chill, Ethan. I appreciate it."
