Hail Mary Read Online Free Page A

he’d been doing for years by pushing everything to the back of his mind and focusing on the task at hand.
    Approaching Mary’s classroom, he found himself excited about seeing her and wondered not for the first time what she thought of him. Quick as the thought flared, he suppressed it. No point in going down that road. He jangled his change and keys in his pockets and felt like a fraud in his suit. Sort of like Santa dressing up as the Easter Bunny except he sure as shit wasn’t bringing gift baskets and candy to anyone. He looked down at the folder Shalvington and the blonde in P.R. had put together for him including directions, details regarding the history of College Career Day, Mary’s classroom, and some talking points for the speech the blonde chick suggested.
    “Just in case you don’t have time to prepare any remarks,” she’d reassured him in the morning when he’d dashed to the front office to check in to see if there was anything else he needed before he left. Yeah, right. More like she and Shalvington didn’t think he could articulate anything on his own that wouldn’t embarrass the Tide. He was about a half hour early and realized he needn’t have worried about being late. But if he was doing this, he was doing it right. No late appearances. No fucked up, embarrassing speeches. He’d stayed up until two a.m. the night before practicing. His goal today was the same as every time the Tide’s defense took to the field. Three-and-out. Go in, get the job done, and go home.
    Taking Mary in before she noticed him, Michael thought that Walker’s high school boys and their hormones undoubtedly stood up and paid attention when entering her class. And who could blame them? Today, she looked fantastic. Her shoulder-length dark hair spilled softly on her shoulders and sparkled in the sunlight streaming through the windows. A red v-neck sweater clung to all of her curves while a straight black skirt hugged the bottom half of her feminine form and showed off gracefully chiseled calves that any adult male who considered himself a leg-man would appreciate. She had a body he’d always favored. Full in all the right places and perfectly feminine.
    This had to be the perfect job for her. She had endless patience and a self-deprecating manner. She was funny even though he had always ignored her jokes during their tutoring sessions and steadfastly refused to laugh for reasons he couldn’t recall. She never got frustrated explaining the ins and outs of differential equations. He was surprised she wasn’t teaching at a more prestigious school, or at least a private school with better pay.
    Whatever. He had no business wondering about Mary’s decisions that brought her to Portland and to Walker.
    She was bent over some notes on her desk when he entered her classroom and announced himself with a simple knock and “Hey.”
    Mary looked up and her smile sent a jolt of warmth to his heart along with a shot of lust to his groin.
    “Michael. Thank you for doing this. Come in, come in,” she proclaimed, straightening up and ushering him in. When he’d first appeared, Mary started making her way over to him while he hung back in the doorway, waiting, as though he was unsure what to do.
    Michael dropped his eyes to the right, fiddled with his blue-flecked tie, and swung his eyes back to Mary’s. “Are we in here?” he asked, taking in the details of Mary’s cramped classroom.
    “Oh no. We’ll be in the gym.”
    “What’s the format?”
    “I’ll introduce you first, then you’ll do your thing. If you have time, it’d be great if you took some questions afterwards from the audience. If not, we understand.” Mary’s eyes telegraphed her hope that he could hang around and answer questions. Nothing had ever seemed as important as pleasing her.
    “I can probably do that. I’m not sure how long my remarks are, but I can hang around for awhile. I cleared my schedule and Coach doesn’t expect me back today.” This