Right as Raine (Aster Valley #1) - Lucy Lennox Page 0,94
mind, but I wasn’t inclined to look a gift horse in the mouth.
“Was there anything else?” he asked, reaching for the tablet he usually brought to meetings.
Only the teeny tiny issue of my sleeping with his son. But I wasn’t stupid enough to upset the apple cart right now, especially if they were dealing with a family issue.
“No, sir.”
“Then get out of here. I need to meet with the college scouting team, and I’m late.”
I hustled out of there and down to the locker room where I got an odd smile from Colin Saris.
“That Mikey I saw in the parking lot?” he asked. My stomach curdled. I didn’t like the look on his face, especially if the topic at hand was my… Mikey.
I nodded and reached into my locker for my turf cleats. “He was here to see Coach.”
“Yo, listen… can I get his number from you? It’s just that my, ah, ma wants to order some of his casserole shit for Christmas.”
The man was lying through his teeth. “I thought you already had his number,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. These cleat laces were a bitch, so I yanked on them. Hard.
When he didn’t respond, I glanced up and noticed him studying me. “Why you ask me that like that?”
“You know what?” I asked, feeling a head of steam building up. For as much as I’d never thought of myself as the jealous type, my gut was churning with green rage. “No. No you can’t have his number. Not only that, but if someone else gives you his number, lose it. Got me?”
He studied me for a second before the edge of his lip curled up. “That how it is?”
I glared at him. “That’s how it is.”
“I see. What you’re saying is to give it a little time. Alright. Can do, man. Can do.” He laughed and turned away, shaking his head and moving on to talking smack about something else. I let out a breath and closed my eyes. Asshole.
I spent the rest of the day doing my job. Meeting with the PTs and trainers, practicing lightly, studying game film, and meeting with the assistant coaches. When the time came to drive home, I finally allowed myself to think about Mikey and how upset he’d been earlier. Part of me was disappointed he hadn’t wanted me to comfort him, so I looked forward to spending the evening being there for him however he wanted.
Walking in to discover him singing to himself as he pruned his windowsill herb garden wasn’t exactly what I’d expected. I’d thought he might be curled up under a blanket watching his favorite baking show or burning through old episodes of Project Runway. Instead, he seemed much calmer than he’d been before, although he looked worn-out.
When I set my keys down on the counter, he looked up and noticed me. “Oh, I didn’t hear the garage,” he said absently before turning back to his plants. “Let me just finish trimming these really quickly and I’ll get the chicken started.”
I kicked off my shoes and laid my messenger bag on the counter next to my keys. Suddenly, I was hungry for something other than apricot chicken. “Is Sam here?”
“Hm? Oh. No. He had family stuff and said he might need to head out of town. But if he gets back before Sunday, he’ll come to the game.”
I stepped up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist, leaning in to press a lingering kiss to his cheek. He always smelled a little like coffee at the end of the day, but today he also smelled like peppermint for some reason.
I couldn’t wait to tell him the good news. “Tell him not to get too excited since I’ll be riding the bench.”
Mikey’s body stiffened for a beat before relaxing back into me. He let out a deep exhale. “Thank fuck.”
“Yeah, see? Your dad’s a good guy. Said he’d rather give me the extra days than risk permanent damage.” I licked and sucked a favorite spot on the side of his neck. “I appreciate him looking out for my career. Can you imagine if something happened and I had to retire at twenty-seven? I can’t even think about it. Markus called to tell me rumor has it the recruitment team sent someone to check out that wide receiver at Oregon. I hope they’re not considering trying to get him in case I can’t come back at full power.”