My feet take me back to the complex parking lot before I’ve even made a conscious decision.
I need to find Tucker and make sure his phone isn’t turned off. Out of all of us, he’s the one who has the most to lose in pissing off Coach Harrison.
Of course my reasons aren’t totally selfless. This will give me the perfect excuse to check on the vibe between Tucker and Taryn.
If either of them looks put out by my presence, I’ll make myself scarce again.
With my mind made up, I make it back to the pier in record time.
At six feet three inches, I’m definitely taller than average. But Tucker towers over me at six five, which makes him very easy to spot on the crowded boardwalk.
“Hey Tuck,” I grab his shoulder to get his attention.
“Colsen, hey.” Taryn is the first to greet me.
Her smile is even prettier than I remembered it, and she remembers my name. That is a good sign.
“Dude,” Tucker looks surprised. “Why aren’t you in bed? Is everything ok?”
“Everything’s fine, don’t worry. I just… Coach started a new team chat and messaged everyone. He decided to move Monday morning’s practice to tomorrow morning.”
Tucker’s groan sounds identical to mine when I learned the news. “That man is a sadist. I should have known he wouldn’t resist the urge to ruin our last free weekend before summer training.” He takes out his phone to check and acknowledge the message. “Thanks for coming back to tell me. I had my phone on do not disturb.”
“Don’t sweat it.” I smile. “You’d do exactly the same thing for me.”
“True that.” Tucker chuckles. “So did you come back just to tell me about practice?” The way his eyebrows are arched tells me that he’s wondering why I’m really here.
This is my chance to be upfront, but I don’t want to make us both look like total idiots in front of Taryn.
“While you guys talk, I’ll just pop into the restroom.” She points out the public restroom just a few yards away. “Colsen, are you staying?”
Her hand brushes my biceps when she asks, and I can’t help but smile. “Yeah, I think so. If you guys don’t mind, of course. I thought I was tired, but the second I got home, I realized I wasn’t.”
“Cool,” she beams. “I won’t be long. Don’t leave without me, guys.”
We watch the floaty skirt of her summer dress dance around her shapely legs as she walks away.
“So,” Tucker is still looking at me with the same quizzical expression as a moment ago. “You’re here.”
Doubt creeps up in my head. I don’t want to fight over a woman, no matter how attractive she is. “Yeah, I just… fuck. She’s just…”
Tucker nods, surprising me again. “I know, Col. She’s perfect. Gorgeous, sweet, funny, easy to talk to and feisty as fuck. She doesn’t take any crap.”
“Damn,” I chuckle. “You work fast. I’ve been gone half an hour. Did you already manage to piss her off?”
Tucker barks out a laugh. “You know me, I always manage to say something stupid. We almost had a fight about the fortune teller. I came back from that by the skin of my teeth.”
Right. “Look, I came back because I couldn’t get Taryn out of my head. But I’m not here to cockblock you or fuck things up for you. If you want me to go, tell me now and I’m going to make an excuse and leave you alone.”
For a second, I think that this is when Tucker is going to call dibs. Maybe I shouldn’t have given him the opportunity since we saw Taryn at the same time and he just moved faster than me.
“I know you wouldn’t. And no, you don’t need to go. Taryn looked happy to see you.”
I blink, a little confused by his reaction. “You don’t mind me staying? Did I misunderstand your intentions with her? Are you just being friendly?”
This time around, Tucker doesn’t leave any room for misunderstanding. “Oh no. You got my intentions right. But we both just met this girl and you’re my best friend in the whole fucking world. If you like her, you should go after what you want, and so should I. Taryn is a grown woman, and she can decide who she wants.”
The idea makes me feel better, but it’s kind of dangerous. “True. But I don’t want this thing to come between me and you, Tuck.”
