“You’re nerdy too in your own way. It’s society’s fault that sports arecoolwhere data isnerdy.You guys use data to be better athletes, so honestly, the double standard is annoying.”
“Is your schedule color coded like your Gantt charts?”
She pursed her lips but not before I saw a quick smile. I knew her too well, and I nudged her knee with mine.
“Nerd,” I said, softer this time. “But I like it.”
She rolled her eyes but not with real heat, and we went back to watching the game. At some point in the second period, our hands touched on the armrest. It wasn’t anything scandalous, but the back of her hand rested against mine, and our eyes met.
Was she going to move? Was I?
It was dumb, dumb, dumb how my chest felt heavier and my breath caught in my throat from that simple touch, but here we were. I winked and made her smile grow before someone shoutedsuper fuckingloud. Two rows back, a visiting fan cussed up a storm, and the sound made us jump apart.
“People are so weird over hockey,” Naomi said, side-eyeing the dude with her lip curled. “For real. To have the confidence of that guy, standing up at an opposing stadium and not giving a shit about all the death glares he’s getting.”
“Takes some big balls.” I nodded and made sure to keep an eye on the guy. I didn’t think he’d throw beer or a punch, but I moved my arm around the back of Naomi’s chair. To protect her, obviously. “So, this schedule. When does it start?”
“Hm, probably tomorrow. I know you meet with my dad for post-game stuff, but if you want to send me a text when you’re done?” she asked, her tone hopeful.
I nodded, and I swore she moved closer to me. Her shoulder bumped my chest, and I breathed her in, forgetting for a few seconds that we were a few rows away from the team. It was like he could sense this shit—Coach turned our direction. I jumped away from her like she was on fucking fire.
My mouth was too dry, and sweat pooled down my back. Did he see us touching? Was he going to kill me? I didn’t get a chance to read his face before he focused on the game.
“Fuck,” I mumbled, wiping a hand over my face.
“Why are you stressed?” Naomi asked, her soft voice getting closer to my ear. She put her small hand on my back and rubbed it. God, I was always thinking of ways to touch her, and the one time she placed her cute hand on me, I wanted to shake it off. Her dad could see. Could seeus.
“Nothing, it’s fine.” Even I realized my voice sounded off. The rest of the game went like that with Naomi leaning closer to me, a casual brush of our fingers. But the harsh reality was that we agreed no one would know we slept together. We’d befriendson the outside, freaks on the inside. This was to protectmefrom Coach. My soul hurt, and I felt like an asshole because she knew something changed. Even after the final period ended, the line between her brows was permanently there.
I wanted to explain I mentally pulled away because of her dad, not because ofher.She had to understand that. But every time I tried, it was like my voicebox broke or forgot how to work. The words wouldn’t come out, and now I worried she thought I was mad at her. Fuck, this was the shit I hated. The emotions. The anxiety. I took a soothing breath as we stood and waited to start leaving the row before I forced myself to talk. “Tomorrow then? I’ll come over.”
“Yeah, if you want.”
“I do.” I nodded, hard, like that would explain my inner turmoil. If my nerves were a circus, they were the trapeze artists flipping around and doing weird shit in the air. Messy. Terrifying.
She looked at the ground, and her shoulders slumped, making me feel like an ass again. This was my fault. My reaction to her dad had her hesitant around me. I took her hand, stopping her from walking any further. She met my eyes and tilted her head to the side.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I had a moment, okay? Your dad looked over as us, and I swore he could tell what we did.” There, I said it. I put the words out into the universe. “We’re definitely keeping this on the DL, right? Because of him and my internship?”
Her eyes dimmed just a bit, but she nodded. “That’s what we agreed on.”
“Okay, cool,” I said, still unsure about the tension. “There’s nothing more to it than your dad. At least on my end.”
She twisted her lips into a half smile as our hand still touched. I wanted to kiss her to make it up to her, but that was out of the question.
“I’m sorry I acted off. You’re my favorite person to hang out with here even though my behavior didn’t reflect that at all.”
Her cheeks pinkened, and just like that, the sparkle was back in her eyes. “Favorite, huh? A compliment like that might go to my head.”
“Great, I regret saying it now.”
She scrunched her nose and tugged the back of my hoodie with her hand. She pulled me toward her just a bit. “You’re on my list too, you know. Like, top ten.”
“Top ten favorite people? Wow, hit a guy where it hurts.” I playfully swatted at her, and she giggled.
