“Okay.” Cole’s cheeks reddened a little bit. Enough for me to notice.
“Who’s Alice?” I asked.
He stiffened immediately. “Nobody.”
“Doesn’t seem like nobody,” I said. “Since you’re sending payments to her for some reason.”
Cole’s eyes flashed with anger. “Did I do something to piss you off?”
All the frustrations I’d been feeling for the past few weeks boiled over in that moment, and I couldn’t help but snap back at him. “I’m not pissed off. I just don’t understand why you won’t tell me who Alice is.”
“Who do you think she is? A daughter I’m paying child support to?”
“I know it’s not that, because she’s in her twenties.”
Now Cole stepped forward with real anger in his gaze. “You opened the folder?”
“Of course not, I—”
“Unbelievable,” he interrupted. “You know, I expect all my teammates to snoop and whisper and gossip like teenagers, but I didn’t think I had to worry about that from you. I thought I could trust you, June.”
“Apparently youcan’ttrust me, since you won’t tell me who this mystery woman is!” I snapped back at him.
He opened his mouth, then closed it with a snap. “I’m going to leave before I say something I’ll regret.”
Cole stormed back into the locker room, leaving me more confused than before.
35
June
My anger faded as soon as Cole was gone, and was quickly replaced with a tight ball of anxiety that settled into my stomach.
Rhett poked his head into the room a minute later. “Is, uh, everything all right in here? We heard y’all yelling.”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I said. “Or else I’ll be accused of gossiping behind Cole’s back.”
“Oh. Uh. Okay.” Rhett looked like he wasn’t sure what to do, so he returned to the locker room.
Elias was staring at me through the glass. When we locked eyes, he gave me a brief nod, then returned to changing out of his workout clothes.
Later that night, when I was home and was on my third glass of wine, I texted Rhett about it.
Me: Sorry if I was curt with you. I asked Cole about an aspect of his personal life and he got really upset.
Rhett: Hey, I can take a punch or two. No problem. You okay?
Me: Not really, no. Can I come over?
Rhett: Bad timing. My sister’s in town, remember?
Me: Shit, you’re right. Sorry.
Rhett: We’re going out for dinner in a while, if you want to meet us for drinks before? I’d love for you to meet her. Or at least, I’d love for her to meet you.
Me: I think I’m in for the night. Thanks though.
Rhett: Hope that wasn’t, like, too big of an ask. Meeting family, I mean. I’m not trying to move too fast or anything.
