“How is that possible? He’s a student,” I said, trying to grasp at straws.
“Not sure.” Cami narrowed her eyes again. “Want to split a parfait?”
“How do you know this?” I asked, my voice tense. “Did Dad tell you?”
“Yeah.” She picked up a bag of chips and an apple before she met my eyes and shrank back. “Dude, why are you paling?”
I swallowed down the pain in my throat. This changed everything. Us beingtogether-together.I was sure. The lack of response from Michael confirmed the shift between us. One night of bliss. That was what we had beforehockeycame between us.
I should’ve fucking known.
And one of them should’ve fucking told me.
“Thanks for telling me,” I mumbled, my own voice sounding off to my ears. Cami nodded and ordered a salad before looking at me with wide eyes. “Oh um, just a tea please,” I said.
“Not hungry?”
“Not anymore.”
We got our food and made our way toward the back of the cafe, my stomach absolutely in tithers. My phone sat upright, my texts unanswered, and I chewed my lip. How was it even possible to have a student be an assistant coach? There had to be rules against that.
“Having Michael as an assistant is a huge gain for dad. Hank was fine, but Michael only left the ice a year ago, right? He has clout and charisma.”
“Spend a lot of time with him?” I snapped.
Cami held her hands in the air. “No, I don’t. Dad does and talks about him constantly. An assistant coach can make or break the team. Hank didn’t add anything for the past three years. Sure, decent guy, but no player would go to him for shit.” Cami took a bite of her salad and groaned. “I hate that I have tokeep my figurefor dance. Sometimes, I just want to eat all the fucking carbs on campus.”
“Eat the carbs then,” I snapped, my body tight as a rubber band. I was seconds away from breaking. My breathing wouldn’t settle as a huge wave of betrayal hit me.
Michael chose my dad.
My dad chose Michael.
No one ever chose me.
“Okay, you’re being a real dick. Talk me through it.” She set her food down and propped her elbows on the table. Her makeup was perfect, her lips red, and her hair styled in a way I couldn’t do if I tried. And yet, her gaze softened, and the look was enough for me to release my fears.
“We just decided we’d give a relationship a shot and then this happens? He was going to find a way to tell dad we were together, but now as an assistant coach? I know what it’s like to try to love someone when the ice always comes first. Should I assume we’re over? This could lead into next year or a full-time coaching job. We’ve already seen one marriage end over that.”
“Okay, first off, marriage? Chill out, girl.” Cami laughed, but it wasn’t filled with joy. “You gotta figure out if you trust the guy. Either you do or you don’t, and that’ll be your answer. Sure, it could get weird or complicated, but all this assuming you’re doing isn’t a good call. Talk to him about it. See what he wants to do.”
“And if he wants to end it?” A fist took my heart and squished it at the thought.
“At least you’ll know, instead of playing this fucked up game in your head. I doubt he wants to break it off. I’ve seen how protective he is around you. And yeah, it’ll be awkward with having dad as his boss, but what’s the rush?”
My heart.That was the urgency. I’d already fallen for the guy, and I didn’t want to fall more because I’d be second place. I was always second fucking place.
Thiswas why friends with benefits was better. We would’ve at least still been friends, and after he opened up to me about only being close with me, I didn’t want to leave him. He needed a friend. Maybe that was the answer. I could take a step back. See how things played out. Give myself a little time to put up some walls.
Yeah. Maybe.
My phone buzzed, and I answered it way too fast. Cami raised her brows and smirked, but every cell in my body was tense. “Hey, hello?”
“Fletcher, god, sorry I’m just now calling you. Everything’s… okay. I’m getting pulled into something all afternoon, but I’m hoping I can stop by later?”
“Right. Yeah. What did my dad want?”
“To talk about opportunities. It’s not anything bad or too crazy,” he said.
