Mateo: But then you’d miss out on all this amazing conversation.
I could picture her glaring at her phone, which just made my smile wider. I already knew getting that glaredirected at me was going to become my favorite pastime.
Emmie: Sure, let's call it that if it makes you feel better.
Mateo: It does. I’m fragile.
Emmie: Oh, I know you are.
Mateo: Mean.
I moved to sit on the couch, phone glued to my hand. I watched as the three gray bubbles popped up, went away, and came back. I didn’t hesitate and clicked Call. Seconds passed as I waited for her to answer.
“Did you really have to call me?”was the first thing out of her mouth.
“This is easier. We could always FaceTime, though.”
“Yeah, I’m good.”
I held back my laugh. “Admit you—like my voice.”
“I think you like to hear yourself talk,”Emmie shot back.
“Oh, absolutely,” I said, leaning back against the couch as if she could see me. “But I like hearing you talk more.”
The line went quiet for half a beat before she let out the smallest huff, half annoyed, half flustered.
“Okay, subject change.”
“What do you want to talk about then?” I was going to let her be the one to bring up figure skating and her dad. It was only right since she was the one who hid it.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about my dad being your coach.”
“You really don’t have to apologize. Would I have preferred to hear about it from you, rather than your dad, yes. But I also understand why you didn’t. You don’t owe me anything, Emmie.”
She was quiet for a moment.“I didn’t want to make things awkward. I also know players can’t date their coach's daughter.”
She said it with such certainty, I couldn’t help but frown.
“There’s no rule against dating the coach's daughter. Things can get a bit awkward but plenty of people have doneit.” It wasn’t like I would get fired or kicked off the team if I started seeing Emmie. “You being related to him doesn’t change anything.”
“It doesn’t?”
“Why would it?” I questioned back.
“I…”
I didn’t push her to answer. I had a feeling I broke the roadblock she put up, and she wasn’t sure what to do about it. If she thought her dad being my coach was going to deter me, she was going to learn I didn’t give a fuck.
“So,” I changed the subject, “you have Olympic medals.”
“Yeah.”
“Just a figure skater, my ass,” I joked.
“I am just a figure skater, but I also happen to have medals.”
I chuckled at her tone, which she echoed through the phone. How I wanted to hear that laugh in person. My finger hovered over the FaceTime button, but I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.
