“Jack, don’t ask me about that. It doesn’t matter,” she snaps, and I put my hands up in self-defense.
“You don’t need to bite my head off. I was going to apologize since you clearly don’t want to tell me about it.”
Meanwhile, I’ve spilled my deepest secret to her last week like it wasn’t a big deal. This is great. My new friend won’t open up to me at all, yet I can’t seem to keep my mouth shut around her.
Her shoulders slump, and she drags her hands over her face, peeking at me through them. “I’m sorry, I just don’t want to talk about that.”
“Don’t worry about it. I shouldn’t have asked,” I say, smiling at her in reassurance, but for the life of me, I can’t figure her out. Al’s moods are all over the fucking place. One minute, she’s smiling and laughing with me. The next, she’s shutting down, and I’m on the other side of the wall she puts up.
And even now, I’m the sucker who still wants to know everything about Alondra.
“So Johnny asked me if you were seeing anyone the other day,” Coop says, holding the door for me on our way out of the training facility as I take a long drink of my water, causing me to choke when it goes down the wrong pipe.
It takes a moment for me to clear my throat, my eyes watering as I bend over, coughing.
“Why the fuck would he ask that?” I croak out, looking at Coop who is watching me with an amused look.
“Said he saw you with some girl at the barn, and I thought he was messing with me because there’s no way you’d risk Coachkilling you to bring a girl there. Then Johnny said he saw you with her again around campus.”
Fuck, I thought Johnny was smart enough to keep his mouth shut about seeing her at the rink, but my friendship with Alondra isn’t a secret.
“What’d you tell him?” I ask, and he shakes his head.
“I said Alondra’s your tutor, and you don’t do girlfriends. Am I wrong?” Coop asks, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“I don’t do girlfriends,” I repeat, because my stance on relationships hasn’t changed.
Coop shakes his head, walking in the direction of the parking lot, leaving me to follow him.
“Al didn’t think anyone would be there,” I say, catching up to him. I’m tall at six three, but Coop is massive, standing at six five, and freakishly agile for his size.
“Have you forgotten her dad is our coach?” he asks, and I know I’m playing with fire by getting close to her.
“No.” Coop’s eyes slide to meet mine, and they say everything he isn’t. “I haven’t forgotten, Cooper. I didn’t know she was going to be there because it was the morning of our first game, and Johnny wanted to work on his backhand shots. Hell, I didn’t even know she could skate.”
“Now you’re being stupid. Coach’s kid knows her shit, and you didn’t think she’d know how to skate?”
Yeah, it was a stupid assumption on my part to think she wouldn’t, but it’s not my place to share what her relationship with her dad is like. If we hadn’t shown up early to practice that day, I’m not sure I ever would’ve known Alondra is his daughter. Hell, I’d probably still be calling her Alex.
“Schultz!” a voice calls out behind us, and I swivel to look back. I don’t know his name, but he looks familiar enough that I can place him as a football player.
“You know him?” Coop asks, and the closer he gets, the more I’m sure I don’t.
“No idea. You go ahead, I’ll meet you at my pickup,” I say, pulling the keys from my pocket and tossing them to him. Coop tips his head up in acknowledgement at the guy, walking off as I get a better look at him. “Hey, man. All good?”
I’m not a small guy by any means, and he’s built like a freaking freight train, which makes me think he’s a linebacker, but I don’t think we’ve ever spoken.
“Bradley Smith,” he says, flashing a quick smile. “I’m friends with Johnny.”
I’m sorry, what am I supposed to say to that?
“And I’m friends with Seth,” I say, dropping the quarterback’s name, but it doesn’t seem to faze him.
“I heard my girl’s tutoring you, and I’d hate for you to get the wrong idea.”
His girl?I set my shoulders back, clenching my jaw to keep from asking who the hell he thinks he is.
“I think you might be the one with the wrong idea,buddy. Al doesn’t belong to anyone, but good luck to you if you think she does because she hasn’t mentioned you at all. I think I’ll stick with what I’m doing. Seems to be working out for me,” I say, forcing an easy smile on my face when really, I feel like I’m wound so tightly, the slightest move and I’ll detonate. What the hell is Johnny doing being friends with this guy?
