Page 98 of Hard to Score

We laugh as I follow him out into the living area of my place, our hands linked, and he places one more goodbye kiss on my lips.

“I’ll see you lat—” But he never finishes his sentence because when he opens my door, my father is standing there just about to knock.

I can’t see Drew’s face, but I do see the jolt and the slow shock flicker through my dad’s expression.

“Drew,” my father says in greeting. My heart leaps into my throat with that sudden fear of being caught, causing my pulse to race.

Drew steps back and looks at me and then my dad. “Sir.” It’s all he says followed by a nod. But his eyes are wide and his skin is pale, and I can only imagine the million things running through his head right now.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt anything,” my dad says as he stands there, his cheeks suddenly heating when realization hits him that I’m in a man’s T-shirt and nothing else. And Drew is the one here with me.

“You didn’t—it wasn’t—he was just going . . .” I shake my head and die a little of embarrassment, but it’s Drew I’m worried about. When I glance at him, he looks horrified. I’m not exactly sure what it is he needs from me in this moment. There’s nothing I can do to make this go away. His confusion, his discord, his discomfort.

“I saw the game last night.” My dad steps into my apartment, as if he can’t let this moment pass. “One of the best plays I’ve seen in a long time. It stands right up there with Rodgers against the Lions,” he says referring to the Green Bay Packers quarterback and his famous Hail Mary in 2015 to win the game.

“Thank you, but I doubt it.” Drew simply stands there and stares at my dad. It’s like he’s seeing a ghost.

“Nah, it was an incredible play. You should be proud of yourself.”

“I need to uh—get going. Play review.” He looks over to me and I smile trying to make this as normal as can be—when it’s nothing of the sort.

“Okay. I’ll call you later,” I say.

“Sir,” Drew says.

“Drew?” my dad says, causing Drew to pause. He doesn’t speak but rather just meets my father’s stare. He looks like a lost little boy, and I wish I could do something to take whatever is going through his head away from him. All I can do is stand by and watch him struggle. “It was really good seeing you again after all these years.”

Drew lowers his head a beat before nodding and then shuts the door behind him without saying another word.

My father and I both stare at the closed door as I debate how to tiptoe around the incredible awkwardness. My lies, and my dad finding out, not to mention just the plain weirdness of being caught by my dad with a man in my place. I don’t care how old you are, that’s always embarrassing.

Anxious and needing something to do with my hands, I pull my hair up into a messy bun and start to make coffee.

“Do you want some?” I ask as if none of what just happened transpired.

“Sure. Yes.” He blows out a sigh and takes a seat at my counter on a barstool. “Christ.”

“I’m hoping that last part isn’t because I had a man in my apartment. I’m a grown woman who—”

“That last part was because you missed our morning meeting, you haven’t been answering your phone, and I was worried enough about you to come and make sure you were okay since you’ve never done that before.”

I drop my head and stare at the coffee percolating into the mug. Well, that’s a first for me. I was so wrapped up in Drew that I lost track of time. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you worry. I was—”

“Busy,” he finishes for me. “So I saw.”

I slide the first mug of coffee over to him without meeting his eyes and then wait for my cup to fill, as I try to figure out how to explain everything.

“Is this the reason you’ve been avoiding me?” he finally asks, breaking the silence.

“I haven’t been avoiding you.”

“No?”

I meet his eyes for the first time and hate the guilt that hits me immediately. “No.”

“Because you’ve gone out of your way to make sure you’re not alone in the office with me. We’ve had no talks over lunch in the conference room like we usually do. In fact, you’ve been scarce in person as of late.”

“Like I said, I’ve been busy.”