He sighs out a breath and it’s like I’m having an out-of-body experience. I’m about to watch this man lose his shit while dangling my future in front of me. Is this for real?
“Hate to do this, but…” He rubs his hands together. Probably wondering if they’ll fit nicely around my neck or something. “Do you know anything about her being back with Freddy?”
My jaw drops and my muscles release inch by inch, my knuckles no longer white from grasping the arms of the chair. Honestly, just the mention of that fucking loser has my blood pressure rising.
His words are quick and on top of each other. “I know I shouldn’t be asking. But she’s acting like she’s keeping a secret and one would be that loser.”
Holy shit. Did not see this coming.
“I don’t think so, Coach. She’s not mentioned anything.” I press my brows together, acting like I’m deep in thought.
The one reprieve is that I’m not telling a lie. She hasn’t mentioned anything about him. I’ll just sidestep the part where I know the secret she’s been keeping.
“Okay, well, that’s good. Wait, it’s not someone on the team, right? One of the guys?” I can feel the rage curl around his words. “Because I thought I was pretty damn clear about that. And that might be the only other reason she’d keep something to herself.”
Fucking kill me. This is definitely going to require a lie.
“I don’t think she’s hanging out with one of the guys.” I try to cover my dishonesty with a technicality. It’s not one of the guys… it’sthisguy. Even in my brain, the thread is thin like a frayed string.
“Alright.” Coach rolls his shoulders back like he can finally let go of the tension over the mere possibility that one of his players is dating his daughter.
Fuck. I’m in trouble. I try to swallow past the lump in my throat.
“Can we keep this between us? She’d hate that I asked you about it.” He stands, clearly putting an end to our meeting.
I follow suit and offer my hand when I’m standing. “You got it.”
He shakes my hand and smiles; it feels like I’ve come out of this unscathed. I’m thanking my lucky stars or whatever in the world has given me this string of luck and walking towards the hallway when Coach calls out, “Hey, Lane? Thanks for helping her out with this research thing. When she talks about it, she’s excited, and it’s nice to see her coming back to herself after everything that happened this summer.”
Well, fuck.
“Happy to help out,” I reply, doing everything I can to end this interaction.
I walk out of his office and my brain swims in everything from the scout names to Coach’s innocuous question about Cora.
I knew what I was getting myself into and if I had to guess… this is only the beginning.
Chapter 46
CORA
I’mfinallycaughtupand back on track with this project. All the baseline data for Lane is done, and I might even have time to run it with another player in a different position. A comparison. Another data set. It’s a big jump from almost having nothing and needing to back out.
I met with my professor this morning, and she’s excited about what I’ve accomplished. The people pleaser in me can finally breathe.
The Michigan air cuts sharp, cold enough to sting as I stand outside Lane’s apartment. This is where I end up whenever we have a few hours that aren’t claimed by classes, work, or the team. Before I can knock, the door swings open.
Lane’s standing there, shoulders tight and jaw set. There’s a hint of a smile, but it doesn’t quite land.
My stomach drops. “What’s wrong?”
I step inside and he shuts the door behind me. Part of me waits for him to say it’s nothing. That it’s fixable. That I’m overreacting.
He doesn’t.
His hands drag through his hair as he starts pacing the room. I stay where I am, watching him, waiting for him to speak.
“What are we doing? You and me? I just had this meeting with Coach, your dad—” Lane stops talking. He falls into the couch with his head in his hands. “Your dad is my coach. I’m a fucking idiot.”
