Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 42306 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 169(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42306 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 169(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
When he flashes a smile, I blink, surprised by his friendly demeanor. Whatever I was expecting, this wasn’t it. He doesn’t seem angry at all.
Is it possible I had it wrong and he never had feelings for me?
I release a steady stream of air as my muscles loosen in relief.
But still…
I feel like I should apologize for what he walked in on and make sure we’re good. More importantly, I don’t want him mentioning it to my father. Or anyone else. The last thing we need is rumors flying around campus.
“About the other day…I’m sorry if you were thrown off by what you saw.” I clear my throat as heat stings my cheeks. “I’d thought we were alone.”
He hikes a brow. “In the guys’ locker room? Seems like an awfully strange place to make out, but whatever floats your boat.”
I glance around, hoping no one overheard his comment.
“You’re right. It shouldn’t have happened,” I mutter. I can’t deny that part of me wants to go up in flames.
Like I need Levi’s judgment?
I don’t think so.
“How long have you two been seeing each other?”
“Not long,” I admit. “We’re still pretty new.”
“Does Coach know?”
My teeth sink into my lower lip as I give my head a quick shake.
“Huh.” His hand rises to scratch his chin as he shifts his weight. “I can’t imagine him being happy about it.”
Everything inside me stills. “Why would you say that?”
“Seriously?” Disbelief flashes across his expression. “Because the dude is like…thirty-five or something.”
“He’s twenty-seven,” I correct, irritated by the direction this convo has swerved in.
“Same difference,” he says with a careless shrug.
“Not really.” Twenty-seven is hardly old.
“You’re like, twenty—a junior in college—and he coaches with your dad. Isn’t it kind of weird that you’re dating one of your father’s friends?”
“They’re not friends,” I mumble.
Not really.
The dinner invitation from the other day pops into my head. All right…so maybe they’re kind of friends.
Levi’s face scrunches. “Do you think Coach will fire him when he finds out you two have been sneaking around behind his back?”
Fire him?
My mouth turns cottony at the thought, and it takes effort to force the words through stiff lips. “Of course not. Why would he do that?”
“I don’t know. He might not be cool with his assistant coach hooking up with his daughter. Plus, won’t it be awkward when you two break up?”
“We’ve barely started to date,” I point out.
The corners of his lips quirk. “Come on, Pop…do you really think something between you two will last for the long haul? Like you’re gonna get married, have babies, and all that stuff? Can you actually see that happening?”
“I don’t know,” I whisper. It’s way too early to mentally trip down that path.
“Maybe you need to give this relationship a little more thought before breaking the news to your old man. Once you let that cat out of the bag, there’s no putting it back in again, and I’d hate to see Coach Price lose his job. All the guys on the team really like him.”
There’s no way Dad would fire Mason…right?
The thought makes me nauseous.
When I remain silent, Levi jerks his head toward the counter. “Looks like it’s your turn.”
I blink out of the stupor that’s fallen over me. “Umm, thanks.”
“Sure. No problem.” He points toward the door. “I need to take off, but I’ll catch you later.”
By the time I lift my hand in a wave, he’s already gone, pushing out into the sunshine.
Our conversation swirls through my head as I order the latte I no longer want. Whenever I’ve broached the subject about talking to my father, I’ve been adamant that he would be fine with us dating.
It’s only now that doubts crop up within me.
The last thing I want is for Mason to lose his job.
His dream job.
Because of me.
And I certainly don’t want to cause a rift in his relationship with my father. Especially now that I’m aware of the issues with Hunter.
How is it that I’d felt so certain about our path forward thirty short minutes ago and now…
Now I’m none too sure.
Mason
From the corner of my eye, I watch Poppy as she lounges on the counter in the garage as I work under the hood of a Ford Mustang GT. The carburetor has been running a little rough, and I’m hoping that if I give it a good cleaning, it’ll take care of the problem. If not, the old one will need to be replaced.
Instead of concentrating on the car, I glance at the girl who forced her way into my life. I can’t go more than a few minutes without her normally smiling face popping into my head.
She’s been unusually quiet since walking through the door almost an hour ago.
Now that I think about it, she’s been preoccupied for the past couple of days. I’m not sure what it means.