“I’m here, aren’t I?” I mutter, trying not to wince as my stomach rolls. “Saturday morning practices should be illegal.”
“Water. Three laps. Then you can join,” he says without looking at me again.
Cool, cool, cool. I bite back something sarcastic and jog off.
The laps are torture. My head is pounding. My legs feel like overcooked noodles. Every step is a reminder that I’m not twenty-one anymore (I am, but just barely) and maybe I shouldn’t have tried to outdrink Micah.
By the time I finish, I’m wheezing like a chain-smoking senior citizen. Silas is waiting near the sideline, still unreadable and too composed.
He doesn’t say anything—just tips his head toward the locker room.
Shit.
I follow him off the field, ignoring the way Colton and Will eye me as I pass. Probably wondering what level of dumb assery I’ve pulled now.
The office door shuts behind us with a soft click, but it sounds louder than a gunshot in my ears.
He doesn’t speak. Just pulls out his phone. Taps once. Turns the screen toward me.
My message. The one I’d hoped would vanish into the night like a ghost.
I swallow hard, lips dry.
“You sent it,” he says. “I read it. Now what?”
I stare at the screen.
You know what the worst part of this whole thing is? It’s not you. It’s me. It’s always me…
I close my eyes, jaw tight. “I was drunk.”
Silas doesn’t flinch. “You were honest.”
“That doesn’t mean I want to talk about it.”
“Tough.”
My eyes snap open. “Excuse me?”
“You don’t get to bare your soul at 2 a.m. through a hookup app and then act like I imagined it,” he says, voice low and steady. “You don’t get to dropthatand then pretend we’re just coach and player again.”
I want to scream. Or punch something. Or curl up under a blanket and pretend this isn’t happening.
“This was supposed to be a one-night stand,” I whisper.
“I know.”
“I didn’t want this to be serious. Ican’t?—”
He steps closer.
“Youareserious to me,” he says. “Even when you’re being a sarcastic pain in the ass. Even when you run from me.”
I blink, throat thick.
Silas exhales through his nose and steps back, giving mespace. “Look. I’m not asking for everything today. I just want you to stop pretending you don’t feel it too.”
Silence wraps around us again.
