Page 49 of Clean Point

Jon looked at me plainly, an eyebrow raised. ‘No, you’re not.’

I winced. ‘I’m sorry for not being sorrier?’

‘For two years I’ve been waiting for somebody to punch me in the face over this, for not doing better. Maybe I wanted a reason to stop feeling so bad over it.’

I hated that I had doubted whether he was in on it. He had always been one of the best coaches, which was why Matteo had hired him out from under me in the first place. But that had never stopped us from meeting up every so often. He’d joke about my recent performance, and I’d tease him about being bankrolled by Matteo, like he was being paid by the dark side, my enemy.

‘Is this why you were so persistent about us working together?’ I asked.

Jon nodded his head back and forth with indecision. ‘Partially … I believed you would make a great pairing and, obviously, I was right. You need her as much as she needs you.’

I couldn’t argue with him there. Training with her had changed my game, given me a drive I didn’t have before, and … well, it had me caring about our success in a way I wasn’t sure I understood yet. With her, sometimes I felt so out of control of my own body, like she was the guiding force to everything I was driving toward.

‘But yes, attaching her to you, it makes it easier for her to return. There’s a reason for everything she’s done, I believe that, but she’s too good to keep out of the game,’ he admitted. I couldn’t help but think of Dylan’s words.

This is your career. Your fucking legacy.

She believed Scottie would ruin it, but in truth, I was beginning to think she would define whatever came next for me. Whether it was for better or worse, I was slowly tying myself to her.

‘I agree there.’ I slumped further into my chair before another thought came to me. I raised an eyebrow at Jon. ‘And then there’s the failed test.’

Jon sat up straight at my words, swallowing before he answered.

‘You know about that too?’ he asked, and I nodded in response. ‘It was my idea to keep it from you. She didn’t want to. I had to convince her.’

I grumbled, not quite happy that he had kept that from me too, but I moved on. ‘And you think the test result is wrong?’

‘I’ve been looking into it. I’ve asked for the full breakdown in the results, and something definitely seems off. I mean, even her blood type is wrong. I don’t know how they didn’t notice that.’

My eyebrows pushed together, suspicion taking hold. ‘Her blood type?’

‘I didn’t need to see the breakdown to believe her. There’s no way she’d put this at risk like this. But the more I dig, the less it makes sense.’

I wasn’t quite sure what he was implying, but with everything her father had done to take down my own career at the beginning, could I doubt he wouldn’t do the same to his own daughter? Perhaps I just didn’t want to believe any parent would do such a thing.

I tried to imagine what she had been through these years living with this lie she had told, using it to keep him away. She was strong, on and off the court, and far more than I had known and already admired her for.

And as if he could read my mind, Jon asked, ‘Is there … is there something going on between you? Something I should know about?’

A denial made its way up my throat, but died before I could verbalize it. There was nothing going on … right? Nothing had happened … but did I want it to happen? When she sat on my lap, I had to put a hand on her to stop her moving about before I lost all my goddamn control. She was the sole focus of all my attention during the daytime, and then the memory of her had me tossing and turning all night, keeping me in the shower five minutes longer than it should’ve. I couldn’t think straight when somebody crossed her boundaries, lost all power over myself, when they didn’t give her the respect she was due.

I hadn’t signed up for any of this, hadn’t wanted to be attached to anyone in a long time. But her? Golden blonde hair, a smile and a joke that always managed to light me up no matter what grim mood I was in, the hidden strength I envied. It was like my favourite baklava from my family’s Greek bakery back in Florida. One taste, and I couldn’t get enough.

‘There’s …’ I began, blinking a few times as new realization crashed into me. The image shifted, coming into view, like I’d found glasses and now the world was no longer blurry.

‘Ah, good. You didn’t kill him while I was away,’ Scottie interrupted, entering the office again. I turned to her, watching as she walked to the desk, passing Jon some ice covered with a cloth. Jon’s gaze was still on me, a small grin on his lips.

Well, I guess he had his answer.

She appeared in front of me, her blue eyes icy as her lips pressed into a firm line. ‘Here,’ she said, passing me my own cold compress. ‘For your hand, so you’re not useless on the court tomorrow.’

Surprise flickered inside of me as I took it from her, pressing it to my knuckles that had turned swollen and red from the punch. Considering my entire profession relied on my hands being in perfect condition, I may have not thought the punch through.

‘Thanks.’ She slipped into the chair beside me, crossing her arms, and a cool silence fell over the room.

Jon cleared his throat, breaking the uncomfortable atmosphere. ‘I’ll leave you two to talk.’ The chair creaked as he got up, and shuffled past us, placing a heavy hand on my shoulder as he passed me.

We weren’t alone for more than a second before Scottie snapped. ‘Are you finished beating up our coach now?’

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