I blast up the mountain when it’s my turn, doing my best to close the distance between me and Volkov. Li is coming up behind me quickly, and despite the overly bouncy nature of the ground beneath me, I’m confident I can win this. Callan took the third leg and managed to get ahead of everyone but Volkov’s team. I’m not sure who decided these teams, but two football players and two hockey players versus two interns, a football player, and a pitcher seems unfair. Especially since the pitcher is even older than Callan and me.
I dive down the slide and roll off the end, landing on my feet and immediately turning to run back to my team. As I sprint past Volkov, I swear Finley’s face lights up. And that, alone, makes this whole thing worth it.
***
We’ve got to win the last event. It’s a three-way tie for first place after we won the obstacle course, the interns destroyed us in the Colorado trivia game, and Volkov and Björk barely won the tech-based reaction game. Larsen almost threw a temper tantrum when he realized how bad their fourth teammate’s hand-eye coordination was. To be fair to him, he is the Stallions’ kicker.
“Okay, everyone!” Sabrina calls. I’m not sure where she got a megaphone, but she’s letting the power go to her head. “This last challenge is all about teamwork. You’ll break up into pairs. One of you will be blindfolded; the other will not. If you’re blindfolded, your job is to navigate through the maze in front of you. Your teammate’s job is to guide you through verbally.”
I’m not sure where they got enough blocks or people to make it happen, but while we were inside for the last two rounds, four different mazes were built. Together, they take up half of the field. The walls are only about two feet tall, so you can see the way to the center.
“Your first pair has to get to the center before your second group can come back out. Okay!” Sabrina claps. “Pair up and then send your second group to the center.”
“Coach—” I start, but she’s not next to me anymore. She and Callan are high-fiving, clearly going to pair up for this one.
I squeeze my fists, forcing air through my lungs.
I will not punch a wall. I will not punch Callan. I will not—
“Looks like you’re stuck with me.” Something crossing Jameson’s face that’s a mix between a smile and a grimace. “I know I wasn’t your first choice, but I’m willing to be blindfolded or the directions guy.”
I run my hand through my hair. “Sorry. I’m just…”
I don’t know. I don’t know what the answer is. Callan is a good guy. Someone I could see myself calling a friend.
“It’s okay. I’ve been there before,” Jameson offers.
I squint, not quite sure what he means. Finley and Callan join us, and we decide we’ll be team two, so Jameson and I head to the center of the maze to wait.
As we walk, I ask, “What do you mean you’ve been there before?”
He shrugs. “When I met my wife, I was dead set against ever dating someone seriously again. I convinced myself we were just hanging out. And then, yeah—I guess I’m reading way too much into it, but it seems like maybe you’re in that spot: where you know you shouldn’t be anything more than friends, but you… want more.”
“I don’t want more. She’s my coach.”
Jameson holds up his hands in a placating gesture. “Right. Of course. I didn’t mean you did. I shouldn’t have said anything. I think my wife’s meddling sisters are wearing off on me.”
“We would both lose our jobs if anyone thought we were anything other than a player and a coach,” I remind him. He needs to know he can’t go around saying shit like that.
“I would never say anything to anyone else. I just thought maybe you could use a friend who’s been there.”
I shake my head; my gaze locked on Finley as she helps Callan get the blindfold on.
“I appreciate it, but there’s nothing. Really.”
We both watch in silence as Finley leads Callan through the maze. Finley is sure of her directions, and Callan follows them perfectly. They’re so coordinated, I know Finley is going to be trending again this week. Unfortunately, it’s not going to be my name combined with hers; it’s going to be Callan’s. Something like Finlan.
Fuck, his last name is Devine. It’ll be Devinely. It’s a great couple name.
Might as well buy them an ultra-expensive Crock-Pot as a wedding gift and call it a day.
Though if they got together, it would actually be for the best. We both know nothing can come of this.
Hell, besides that almost kiss in her hotel room, I’m not even sure she’s interested in me like that. And I might be the kind of asshole who has a crush on his coach—not that I’m saying I do—but I’m not the kind of guy who has feelings for women who are taken.
So really, it’d be helpful if they decide to date.
Jameson starts to pull his blindfold on as Callan gets close to the center of the maze but stops himself. “If you ever reach a point where it’s not nothing and need a friend who isn’t on your team, I’m around. And Bryn loves an excuse to get out of Wild Bluffs and have date night in the city.”
