“I’m not!”
“Cooper, you can’t even skate.”
I shrug. “But I could have if I tried.”
“No, remember that time I got you to go ice skating with me? You literally cannot skate. You held onto the wall the entire time and then nearly cried about how scared you were afterward.”
“That’s just a lie Natalia tells.”
“I was there!”
I roll my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest. Amara’s eyes follow the movement.
“Either way. If I could skate, I would absolutely have played hockey.”
“Not basketball?”
“Not tall enough.”
“Really?”
“Pretty sure most of them are at least six foot seven.”
She grimaces. “Yeah, you’re right. You’re pretty short.”
I roll my eyes, fighting a smile. “I’m an entire foot taller than you, Sweetheart.”
“No,” she chuckles. “You’re ten inches taller. There’s a difference.”
“Two inches is nothing.”
“Clearly it is, since those two inches are keeping you from playing basketball.”
I glare at her, fighting the laugh from escaping with my life.
“What would you have been doing?” I ask her in return.
Her smile disappears, and her eyes turn a little glassy. “I don’t know,” she says simply, making it clear she doesn’t have any intention of continuing the conversation.
Realizing that that’s all I’m going to get, I fall silent, picking up the remote and putting it on the next movie we have up.
I think I’m getting better at reading her. At knowing when to shut up, and sit back and listen to her. Not everythingneeds a response, and pushing her will only make her shut down even more.
And despite all my faults, I’m pretty proud of myself for it.
CHAPTER 30
COOPER
Playing in Denver is always a challenge. The air is thinner, making it harder for us to breathe. This isn’t helped by their defense absolutely sucking, which has us racking up points and running much longer distances.
Not only do they suck at playing football, but they’re also just not good people. There is not a single game that goes by here where we do not walk away with at least a couple of people injured.
The game starts out great. Crosby gets a touchdown, then I do. Then Leo gets sacked, the douchebag linebacker shoving him back down as he tries to get up.
Of course, this starts a fight.
The next snap gets dicey, and with it being fourth down, we know we need to give them an attitude adjustment.
