Page 11 of Change Your Play

“You work too hard. Reminds me of myself. Ha! You’ll get older. Know you don’t have to do all this stuff, kid.”

“I’m sure I—” My attention was diverted for a moment by the front desk employee, leaning as far as she could at her desk. She was staring at something beyond us, off towards the lobby, and I had a sinking feeling in my stomach that I knew who it was that took her attention. I swallowed. “I’m—I’m sure I will. But not—not today.”

Quickly, the front desk employee slid away from her post, but none of Coach Lawson’s team seemed to notice. Coach Lawson especially. He patted his stomach. “You know, you’ve been doing great work, Bennight.”

“Thank—thank you, sir.” It was so hard to focus when half of my attention was on the front desk employee, walking back toher post with a black credit card in hand. “It’s appreciated, it—it really is.”

“I thought you handled yourself very well today. Didn’t she, boys?” They all nodded, not really paying attention. “Reminds me of your mother. I worked with her back in the old days. When she left my team, wow, we missed her. I know she’s doing good work at the charity—the New York one—what one is it now? But damn! That Bennight glue is something else!”

“The…oh.” My eyes followed the front desk employee while she swiped the credit card and scooped up a package of chocolate-covered strawberries from the cooler. “That wasn’t just me today. Um…Miles Locke helped me.”

“Locke?” He frowned. “They’ve passed that boy around more often than a cat at a senior home.”

It took me a moment for his words to sink in because the front desk employee hurried back to the desk to pull a bottle of wine from a locked cabinet.

No, no,no. I bit my lip.

My team couldn’t see him, because there would be fifty questions, and who could say Miles would keep his mouth shut?

“What I wouldn’t give to have him on the Romans,” coach said wistfully.

I cleared my throat. “Miles seems very happy at KYU.”

Coach Lawson burst into laughter, and I was about to ask him what was so funny when I saw the plum-purple bottle of lube that the front desk employee pulled out from another locked cabinet.

Coach kept laughing while the front desk employee hurried across the tile. “Somebody’shaving a good night!”

“You know what, coach?!” I yelled, and he and his team swiveled to look at me. “I can’t tell you how much I love being part of the Marrs family. Every day—I’m just—thank you.”

He offered me another smile and tapped the counter. “That Bennight glue. We’ll see you in the morning, kid.”

“Of course, sir. Thank you.”

I waited as long as I could before the distant sounds of a door allowed me tomove. Then, I flew across the tile. “What thehellwas that?!”

“Hm?”

The man had the audacity to sit comfortably on the couch, surrounded by chocolate strawberries, wine, and a plum purple bottle of lube. Like he didn’t have a care in the world! My hands flew to my hips.

“You could've gotten me in so much trouble.”

“I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking.”

“You weren'tthinking?!”

He raised an eyebrow. “You've got that effect on people, vixen. Don't pretend like you don't know that.”

I stared without a response. Miles wouldn't wiggle himself out of my irritation. But as hard as I tried to hold on to it, it slipped out of my fingers like water. I wasn't irritated. No - I still had that horrible, awful, career-threatening fascination with him that wouldn't end with the chocolate strawberries clearly meant for me.

“Don't do it again,” I finally said.

“Won't happen again.”

“Good.” I turned and shook my head, needing to get away from the way his eyes smoldered in the soft lamplight and the way his t-shirt hugged his muscles.

“What're you doing tomorrow night?” he called.

The damnaudacity.

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