“Hey, Coach.” My voice cracked. I cleared it and lifted my hand in the most awkward greeting ever.Mateo, fucking stop.
“Oh.” Another voice popped up. I glanced to my right to see Erin standing there, slushy in hand, staring at the two of us with wide, nervous eyes. “I’m just gonna…” She pointed her thumb over her shoulder. “Nice to see you, Mr. James.”
With that, she quickly left, leaving me with Emmie’s father.
“Care to explain why you’re at a figure skating competition?” he asked, his tone hard.
“Would you believe me if I told you I’ve always loved figure skating?” I knew he wouldn’t buy it, but I had to try.
I nervously glanced around, thinking of a way out of this. This wasn’t how I planned on him finding out about Emmie and me. After my family left last weekend, she admitted she didn’t get a chance to tell him about us. She said she didn’t want to ruin the bonding moment they had by sayingsomething but promised she would after regionals. The only reason I agreed was because I knew she was so stressed about today and didn’t want to add to it.
But now, waiting to say something was about to bite us in the ass.
“Want to take a seat?” I offered. I would feel better if he wasn’t towering over me. When he didn’t move, I inwardly groaned. I was going to have to stand up and face him in an arena with others watching. Great. I went to put my hands on the arm rest, ready to push up when Coach took a seat beside me.
I sighed in relief. We were on equal footing.
“So, uh…whatcha doing here?” I asked. Maybe I could distract him and he wouldn’t ask why I was here again. It wouldn't work but one could dream.
“I asked that question first.” His arms, which were unnecessarily large for a man his age, were crossed over his barreled chest. The intimidating stare was one I was very familiar with on the field, not so much outside of it.
“Oh, you know…just watching skating.” I shrugged, trying to play it off. Pretty sure this was how I was going to die—seated in a cold arena, my girlfriend’s father beside me, who was also my coach and had zero clue I was seeing his daughter. A man who could easily bench me the rest of the season at the very least.
I told Emmie last week that I didn’t care if her father approved, but part of that was a lie. I did care a little bit. Coach Reggie was someone I looked up to since the moment I got drafted. I respected him, and the last thing I wanted to do was tarnish the relationship we had.
But, if it did come down to it, I would choose Emmie. I would choose her every time and not have a good working relationship with her father, as scary as that was. With thatreminder, I sat up a little straighter, hands clasped around my knees.
“Is there something you want to tell me, Mateo?” he asked.
Swallowing the golf ball sized lump in my throat, I pushed my shoulders back. Best to get this over with. Maybe being here in public, he wouldn’t punch me at the news.
“I’m dating your daughter.”
It was like the entire arena went silent at the admission. I kept my gaze on his, refusing to look away. Tension rose when he didn’t immediately say something or lash out.
“You’re datingmydaughter? Emmie?”
“Yes, I am.” My stomach curdled, but I kept my ground.
“And when did this happen?” I couldn’t decipher the tone of his voice. Was that anger? Hurt? I was leaning a bit more toward anger.
“Uh,” I scratched the back of my neck. “We technically met about two months ago. Ran into each other outside of Alessandro’s and then at the practice facility. I didn’t know she was your daughter until you introduced her to the team,” I explained. “But we’ve been seeing each other since then.”
All around us, people made it to their seats, talking animatedly, unknowing there was tension growing between Coach Reggie and me.
“So, this has been going on for a while.” The way he said it made me wince. He made it sound like we were going behind his back…which, technically, I guess we were. “You spend multiple days a week with me and you didn’t think to tell me you’re seeing my daughter?”
“I wanted to see if things between us were serious before I said anything.”
“Are you kidding me?” he scoffed.
My eyes narrowed. I didn’t like the way he said it likethat. He could insult me all he wanted, but if that was geared toward his daughter, we were going to have problems.
“With all respect,sir—if that comment was about Emmie, I’d appreciate you choosing your words more carefully.”
For a second, neither of us spoke. The air between us tightened. I didn’t look away. I wasn’t going to.
He let air out through his nose. “So, you’re serious about her then.”
