Page 6 of Scores Of The Heart

I’ve been sweet on Cindy ever since I broke up with Stacey. Well, actually, I noticed her before that, but when Stacey and I got together, I only had eyes for her. Now I’ve done a complete 180, and have been trying to figure out ways to talk to Cindy outside of work.

“If you want to talk to our daughter, you need to pick up the phone and do it yourself.”

His voice is getting louder and more and more annoyed. Coach sounds annoyed most of the time. It’s his natural tone; rough, gravelly and everything New York. And let’s face it, he even scares me sometimes and that’s saying something.

He’s a highly respected coach in the industry, and great at what he does, but you don’t wanna get on his bad side, ever.

Of course, I can’t hear the reply of who he’s talking to, but his tone suggests he’s about to cut things short. “I have to go, Adele. She’s your daughter too, so maybe bring something up with her that doesn’t involve hashing up the past… Alright, I’ll believe that when I see it. Gotta go…”

He hangs up the phone, and I wait a second or two before I announce myself. I don’t want him to think I’m loitering outside listening to a very private conversation about his daughter, even though that’s exactly what I just did.

I knock on the door, clearing my throat, awaiting Coach's permission to enter...

I gained so much knowledge from that conversation just a few weeks ago. More than I should have. And, of course, I acted completely natural when I walked into his office.

His words kept my mind reeling.

Yet my thoughts continue to spin.

Someone hurt Cindy? For fuck’s sake. I mean, he did say they were lucky—so maybe nothing sinister happened. The idea rattles me more than I have a plausible excuse for.

I guess I’ve always been like this; protective of my younger brothers, cousins, good friends, anyone I consider in my circle… except Cindy isn’t in it. And yet I feel the same surge of protectiveness wash over me.

It isn’t normal. My attraction is turning into something more pressing. A burning in the back of my throat and somewhere deep within me. I have a yearning for her that I just can’t shake.

Someday I might pluck up the courage to talk to her.

“She’s ripe for the picking,” Jay says, breaking me out of my reverie. “That’s all I have to say about it. If it weren’t for that fraternization clause in my contract, I’d be giving it my best shot?—”

I realize he’s still talking about Cindy as I hold my palm up to stop one more fucking word from coming out of his mouth. “Jay, I’m warning you.”

He grins his head off and surrenders both palms up. “I was joking. Trying to get a rise out of you and I see it worked. You have it bad though for someone, don’t you?”

“I don’t know her.”

“I said someone, not her specifically.” He shakes his head again. “And you’re not exactly answering the question, bro. You seem all agitated all of a sudden, the second I mentioned Cindy.”

“Just reacting to my surroundings.” I sigh. “Besides, we have to get going.”

“You know, there are ways and means around it,” he whispers.

I still can’t help myself from looking over at the entry door to see if she may have forgotten something from the car. If Jay wasn’t here and she came back out, would I jog over the road and go and talk to her? Just to help her with her things?

Probably not.

I’ve turned into a pussy. What can I say?

“Not gonna happen,” I tell him. “What would you know about it, anyway?”

“Can’t say I’ve fucked anyone who works for the Hawks, but I have flirted with some of the office babes. Kinda hot when you think about it. Like forbidden fruit, isn’t it?”

Cindy Carter is way more than forbidden fruit.

However, I won't disclose this to Jay. It will only encourage him to annoy me.

“You’re right about one thing,” I mutter. “The office girls are off limits, and too good for any of us.”

“You’d only fuck it up, anyway.” He squeezes my shoulder in solidarity.

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