Page 40 of Rookie Move

“What the hell is going on, Rylie?” her father asked, turning to glare at her.

“So…Ahh…”

“Spit it out, although it looks like you’re hooking up with one of the players,” he continued.

“Sir. We didn’t want you to find out this way,” Desmond started, but her father held up his hand.

“Rylie. I’m waiting.”

“Yes. Desmond and I are dating.”

“Looks like a bit more than dating.”

“I’m in love with your daughter,” Desmond said, and Rylie sucked in a breath.

“Love? How long have you actually known each other?” Her dad shook his head. “No. This isn’t happening. You need to leave, and I need to talk to my daughter.”

“Dad. I can explain,” she said.

“Do you know how this looks? You’re dating, or hooking up, or whatever, with a player when you work for the team? No. We’ll talk about this. Lachley, you need to go. I’ll see you at practice,” he all but bellowed, and Rylie dropped her hold on Desmond’s hand.

“Let me talk to him,” she said to Desmond. “He’s not going to listen to you.”

“Fine. But we’re going to talk about this, Coach,” Desmond said.

“Damn fucking right we are. You better rest up for practice today,” her dad growled.

Desmond grabbed her hand and squeezed her fingers one last time before he slipped out the front door. Based on the way her father was glaring at her, she wished she could escape too.

“I can’t believe you would hook up with a player. After everything. After your mom,” her dad said as soon as the door shut behind Desmond.

“Do not compare me to her,” Rylie ground out.

“You hooked up with a hockey player on my team. That’s exactly something she would do,” he shouted.

In that moment, she snapped out of her embarrassment, or shame, or whatever the hell it was.

“You know what? I’m not my mother. And you have no right to talk to me that way. Yes, I’m living here, under your roof”—she added air quotes at the end because technically they weren’t in the same house—“but don’t ever compare me to her. I had no idea he was a hockey player the first time we met. I had no idea he was on the team.”

Her father’s eyes narrowed. “How long has this been going on?”

“Umm…We met right before training camp started. Right before I started my new job.”

He dropped his head and visibly sighed.

“Look. I know it’s messy, but I’m not her. I’m in love with him and he’s in love with me. It’s different.”

“I’m sorry I said that. I know you aren’t Amber, but you’re so young, and you’ve known him for what, six weeks, tops?”

“I know it’s fast. But we’ve spent every spare minute getting to know each other. He gets me. I can’t explain it. He’s different. And yes, I’m young, but I’m not a child.”

“Have you even thought this through? There are so many more obstacles with him than if you were dating anyone else. Anyone but a Striker.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” she bit out, her frustration bubbling over. This was exactly why she’d hidden everything. She wished she could do this morning over. She wished Desmond was still here, standing next to her and supporting her. But this was a conversation she had to have with her dad on her own.

“You work for the team. I coach the team. Dating a player is not a good idea.”

“I know that. I do,” she said, exasperated. “I can’t help what happened, but I’m not giving him up. I know there will be gossip and everything I do in the office will cause someone to wonder if I deserve my spot, but I fell in love with him. I can’t apologize for that. Or for how fast it happened.”

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