The Fox’s Tale

True to his word, Coach didn’t cut anyone and Ellery was right, the next day was harder. At least she wasn’t wearing shorts today, although her jeans and pink tee-shirt weren’t hiding her assets.

As she called out the stretches she walked between us adjusting shoulders, poking backs and making one guy walk out of the gym when she told him to unclench his ass or he’d never reach his toes. She lingered with the returning players giving them a little extra attention before moving on.

When we were walking our hands forward to do the lunges she yelled “Scott! You should have said something.” She grabbed him by his arm and made him sit on the ground. “Keep going everyone.”

Scott was a returning team member and I was reminded of how I’d been told she took a shine to the players. I couldn’t help but sneak a peek at what she was doing as I did my lunges.

“Sorry, Ellery, it happened last night. I thought it would be better by now.” Scott hid his face a bit as if he was embarrassed.

She didn’t respond to that, merely yelled “tape!” and Coach Murphy threw her a roll of athletic tape that she caught with one hand. Then she knelt down and wrapped his left wrist.

“Do your lunges, Scott. Everyone go ahead and pause while Scott catches up. If you are hurt or sick in any way for the love of everything holy tell me!”

She ruffled Scott’s blond hair as he finished his lunges. Scott was definitely a Shifter of some type, but he kept his scent masked. I hoped he wasn’t a skunk, but given his build I doubted it. Skunks tended to be short and Scott was easily six one.

“On your butts everyone, it’s time for your favorite: butterfly sit.” We were halfway through the second neck stretch when I realized that I was the only one on the court she hadn’t spoken to or touched. I couldn’t decide if that made me feel better or worse.

I looked up to see her rubbing Andy, the guy most likely to be Lee’s backup, on his lower back. Worse, definitely worse. After our laps, which were thankfully devoid of the pursuit, we did different passing drills from Monday and then Coach Hendrix brought out a small step ladder and set it at the free throw line.

“Gentlemen, one of the keys to a successful free throw is the ability to focus. Without touching you Ms. Sinclair is going to do her best to distract you from your shot. And fellas, for every shot you miss you earn an extra defensive slide for everyone. Grab a ball and line up.”

Ellery climbed onto the top step of the stool and straddled it facing where a shooter would stand. No one was willing to go first, afraid of what she was going to say or do.

“I’m waiting, boys. Don’t you want to play with me?” She looked over her shoulder and made direct eye contact with me.

“Screw it, I’ll go first,” said Sam, a redhead who I also knew from my English class. He’d been on the team last year as a small forward.

“Hi, Red,” she purred as he lined up. Just at the point of no return on his shot she said “do the curtains match the drapes?” Clang.

“God, Ellery, I hate you,” he said, turning pink.

“No you don’t,” she replied grinning. “Who’s next?”

I turned to Matt. “Your dad is a sadist.”

“You think this is bad? I’ve got four classes with her, and I can tell you, she can make anything sound sexual.”

Lee had accepted the challenge to go next. Ellery’s demeanor changed ever so slightly. Lee grinned at her as he lined up and said “nice to see you’re up to no good, Ellery.”

“You ever bother to call me, you’ll see how good I can be, Pooh Bear.” Lee’s shot almost went in, but rimmed out.

“Never change, Ellery,” he chuckled.

“I won’t.”

The next seven shooters also missed their shots after she said things like “is it cold in here? It feels a little bit nippy to me,``″ Too bad Coach said hands off,``″you could bounce a quarter off your ass,” and the worst so far “do you ever have an itch you just can’t scratch?” while practically moaning.

It was starting to look like going early would have been the wisest decision as with every provocative comment we all squirmed in line. When the tenth player missed the backboard completely after she blew on his ear we all groaned, the growing horror of defensive slides looming over us.

At long last Nick made the first basket and grinned like a fiend at Ellery. We all cheered and I was amazed that anyone could survive hearing “I could just lick you” as they took a shot.

My turn arrived and I steeled myself for what she might say. I lined up and she didn’t make a sound. I dribbled once, then twice and still nothing. I made the mistake of cutting my eyes to her as I squared up for my shot.

“So,” she murmured, “are you just going to stare at me or are you going to speak…Foxy?” She timed the last word to coincide with the upward arch motion of my shot. I pulled it, not even caring that I missed.

“What did you say?” I demanded, but all she did was grin at me. I felt my anger rising along with a degree of fear. She couldn’t know, could she? Only Shifters were supposed to be able to identify the species of other Shifters without being told. I stalked away, furious with myself for letting her get to me.

“Dude, what did she say?” Matt whispered. He’d missed his shot too after she’d asked if anyone had ever followed his happy trail.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

I fumed in silence with the rest of the players who’d taken their shots; unable to enjoy the spectacle of her flustering the rest of the players, or to celebrate those who managed to withstand the onslaught of Ellery. By the time it was over twenty of us had missed our shots.

When Coach Hendrix asked if those of us who had missed wanted a chance to redeem themselves I was one of the fifteen who raised their hands. Four of the others just shook their heads and the fifth said “I’d rather be horsewhipped.”

Coach Hendrix pulled out the card that Ellery had given him yesterday and chuckled. “Damn,” he muttered.

“I was right, wasn’t I?” Ellery was still on top of the step ladder, but she was no longer straddling it. She was sitting with her back to us playing with her hair.

“You were.” Coach Hendrix shook his head and then said “Alright, those who raised your hands line up. You five, thank you for your interest in varsity basketball, you may leave.”

I had no idea how she planned to outdo herself for round two, but before we started Coach had some words for us. “Missed shots on this round won’t add another slide to the tally, but made shots will erase them. You’ll get two attempts. This time, listen to what she tells you.”

A bunch of guys shifted in discomfort, but Lee grabbed a ball and walked up without hesitation.

“Hi, Pooh Bear.”

“Elly, you know I don’t like it when you call me that in front of the team.”

“You know I don’t like it when you miss your free throws.” She looked at his hands and her voice softened. “You grip the ball too tightly and for too long. Relax and kiss it off your fingers.” Lee took a deep breath; relaxed his grip, and shot, sinking his basket.

And so it went, with Ellery giving form corrections in a voice I found increasingly erotic. Sam got “you aim for the front of the rim Red, aim for the back” while Matt got “you’re normally automatic from the line, what’s going on with you?”

She paused and then said “Do you mind?” and gestured to his body. When he shook his head no she climbed down and stood right behind him.

“Normally I’d have you lay down for this, but under the circumstances this will have to do.” Hiding most of what she was doing with her body position she rubbed his right butt cheek.

“Your sciatic nerve is cramping your butt muscles. It’s making you tense up on one side so your shot is off. You need to stretch your glutes before bed and when you get up. I’ll teach you a couple. Or get yourself a girl who’ll do this for you. I know for a fact that Lindsey thinks you’re cute.”

She slapped his ass and climbed back on the step stool. “Don’t forget to breathe, Matthew.” He closed his eyes and took three of the deepest, longest breaths I’d ever seen, opened his eyes and sank his shot.

“How does it feel now?” she asked.

“Better.” He looked stunned. “I hadn’t even realized that was the problem. Thanks, Ellery.”

“No problem, sweet cheeks.”

When Ryan stepped up she climbed down again. “You fan your right elbow out on your shots.”

“No I don’t,” he protested.

She shot him a look of exasperation. “Yes, you do, Ryan. Come on, I’ll prove it.” She had him line up and then she stood beside him. “If you don’t fan it out you won’t hit me, but if you do your elbow is going to nail me in my boob.”

Ryan rolled his eyes as he lined up his shot. Sure enough his elbow flared out and drove itself hard into her left breast.

“Damn it!” she yelped as she staggered backwards. She stood there scowling at him for a few moments rubbing where he’d hit her. Ryan seemed to shrink into himself and I looked at the ceiling to control my body’s response to what she was doing. “Do you believe me now?”

He nodded mutely as she ordered him to turn around and then stood behind him guiding his arm through the motion and rubbing his right shoulder.

“Shit, no wonder it flared out, your right shoulder is in knots. You took a really hard hit in the last game of the football season didn’t you?” He nodded again.

“You need to get a massage therapist to work on this or your rotator cuff is going to get jacked so badly that you’ll need surgery.” She placed her right hand on the front of his shoulder lifting it up, and dug her fingers of her left hand into the muscles under his shoulder blade.

“Ah, Christ on a bike!” he cried.

“Hold still.” She worked her hand a bit more. “There. Give it a windmill and tell me how it feels.”

“Wow!” He wind milled it three times then grinned at her. “What did you do?”

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Just shoot the ball, Ryan. Imagine yourself as a fluid.”

He sank his shot. “Thanks, Ellery,” he said as he trotted off the court.

Whatever else she was Ellery certainly knew her mechanics and the human body. The guy in front of me, who I had taken an instant dislike to, snorted. “Who does she think she is?” he grumbled.

“Someone who is getting us out of defensive slides.”

“Yeah, the ones that she helped us rack up.” He glared at Ellery who was providing Andy with the gentle suggestion that if he built up his quads with squats he’d have more power in his shot. “If she’s so great, why doesn’t she play?”