“Did you hear the news?” he asks.
“About your coach?” I ask. It’s weird to refer to him as my father in any sort of capacity.
“Well, there’s that,” he says. “But Reed also told me that Coach’s brother has been put on administrative leave, pending investigation.”
I blink at him. “For what?”
“Not tied to the school,” he says. “Other misconduct. I guess it was enough they couldn’t continue to ignore it.”
I close the distance between us, and he pulls me into his arms.
“And with Coach Dawson stepping down,” he continues, “I’m sure they’re hoping to handle it all quietly. They don’t want to jeopardize our chances in the playoffs.”
I look at him closely now.
“What did you do?” I ask.
He shakes his head almost immediately. “Nothing illegal.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
He pulls me closer, close enough that I can see the tiredness beneath his eyes.
“Do you trust me?” he asks.
“Of course I do.”
He nods once. “Then that’s all that matters,” he says. “I’ll always do whatever I have to do to protect you.”
A part of me wants to press him for details, but another part of me doesn’t want to know. I’ve learned the hard way that sometimes ignorance really is bliss.
“Okay,” I say.
He studies my face for a second before leaning in to press a kiss to my lips.
“Let’s head inside and get your things packed up,” he says, reaching down to lace our fingers together. “I want to take you out tonight, and you’re gonna need something nice to wear.”
“Take me out?”
“On a date. A real one. And I can’t have you wearing my T-shirt and boxers where I’m planning on taking you.”
My face warms, and I smile again. “Where are we going?”
“I can’t tell you,” he says. “That would ruin the surprise.”
“Well, that’s not fair.”
He tilts his head toward my place and leads me across the lot to the building. He swats my butt as we climb the stairs, and I playfully smack him back.
“You’re really not going to give me any clues?” I ask as I slide the key into the lock and push the door open.
“Nope.”
“Is it somewhere fancy?”
“Depends on your definition of fancy.”
“Is it outside?”
