Mike nodded. “Hey, we’ve got our first scrimmage next Saturday. Afterwards, we’re going out to celebrate the start of the season. Just dinner at a local place, nothing fancy. Brenda will be joining us if you’d like to come.”
“Uh …” My eyes traveled around the empty room. “Let me think about it.”
“Fair enough. Thanks, again.” He nodded, patting me on the shoulder before heading out of the lecture hall door that the other coaches had passed through a few minutes prior.
I looked around the room again, both relieved and slightly disappointed to see that it was empty. While I had told myself I wasn’t looking for Tyler to hang around, the little pang in my chest told me that I might’ve been lying to myself.
Just as I was picking up my briefcase to head out, my phone chimed with an incoming FaceTime. It was Leslie. Knowing I had some time before I needed to be back at the office for an afternoon conference call, I placed my briefcase back on the desk and answered.
“You’ve barely been gone twelve hours and are already calling. Missed me that much?” I answered.
“You know it,” she responded, giggling. “I had a great time this weekend. I missed hanging out like we used to. With me in LA and you in Williamsport.”
I pouted. “I miss you, too. This weekend was fun, wasn’t it?” After our Friday night outing, Leslie and I had met up for a Saturday morning hip hop dance class, then had brunch, featuring bottomless mimosas where we talked and reminisced on our college days. We parted ways Saturday afternoon because she’d had a packed schedule with her husband for the rest of the weekend. They’d just left the previous evening.
“It was. We need to do it again and soon. And maybe then you’ll tell me what’s going on between you and Tyler Townsend.”
My eyes widened as Leslie looked on through the screen with thatgotchaexpression.
“What are you talking about?”
“Hmmm, bitch, don’t give me that dumbfounded look. I may have been preoccupied with Jerry’s whining ass but I saw what was happening on that dance floor Friday night.”
“It was a dance floor. There was dancing that was happening. That’s it.”
“Yeah, dancing hot enough to damn near burn the rubber off a pair of tires.”
“What? That doesn’t even make— Never mind. There was no—”
“Don’t deny it.” She held up her hand. “I’ve got twenty-twenty vision. And the fact that you’re purposely avoiding answering my questions proves it even more. Have you two gone out on a date yet?”
“No.” I shook my head. “You know my rule about dating men with beards. Shit. You do remember what happened the last time I dated a man with a beard, right?” I rolled my eyes.
“Girl, you are insane.”
“I’m not. And he’s got a red beard. You know what they say about those damn redheads.”
“No, what?”
“They say we have no soul.”
I startled so much I nearly dropped my phone as I whirled around to see Tyler hovering over me.
“Though, I like to think of my beard as more of an auburn as opposed to red,” he stated, running a hand through that very beard.
I scrunched my lips up and stared down into the screen of my phone. “You were facing that direction. You couldn’t have told me he was there.”
Leslie was too busy giggling to even answer.
“I’m hanging up now. Bye!”
“B—” Her parting was cut off when I hit the end call button.
“Do you always eavesdrop on personal conversations, Mr—” My words caught in my throat when he angled his head as if daring me to finish my sentence the way I’d intended. I had half a mind to do so but what came out was, “Tyler.”
A satisfied smirk appeared on his face. “Only when the conversation is relevant to me.”
“It wasn’t relevant to you. It was a friend of mine askingmea question about my life.”
