Page 66 of The Problem with Players

Later that night,I lay in bed beside a slumbering Willow, unable to sleep. My mind was spinning too quickly that evening. To my surprise, I wasn’t the only one struggling to rest that night. My phone dinged with a message from none other than Nathan.

Nathan

I should’ve asked you this before you left, but what do you want me to do with the wedding dress?

Avery

Burn it.

18

AVERY

“How goes it, roommate?” Nathan asked Tuesday afternoon before practice. He walked into my office and leaned against the doorframe with a smirk as he chewed gum. “That is, if you’re still considering being my roommate.”

“I have thought about it, but I realize it would cause too much drama in a town with gossiping people. Plus, seeing as how we hate each other, it probably wouldn’t be the best situation.”

“Who is thiswethat you speak of?” he said with a smile that was so sweet I almost considered not being in a bad mood. “I couldn’t hate you even if I tried, Avery Kingsley. And who cares what the townspeople have to say? They are already gossiping. Do you know that they gossiped about the size of the sausage at my brothers’ butcher shop compared to the grocery store? They spent the past two weeks comparing sausage lengths, trying to prove that ours were overpriced. I’m proud to say we won. Us Pierce boys have the biggest and thickest sausages on the marketplace.”

I stared blankly at him. “I’m not going to entertain that comment at all.”

“I’m serious, though. The town’s going to talk regardless. Might as well give them something to talk about.”

He took a seat on the chair across from my desk and tossed his feet up.

I shoved his feet off my desk. “Willow is going out of town for a little while, so she’s letting me stay at Big Bird until she returns.”

“Her mobile home?”

“Yup.”

“You’d rather stay on a school bus than with your devilishly handsome assistant coach?” he joked.

“Oh, I’d rather stay in a portapotty than with you.” The insult should’ve offended him, but he chuckled to himself. Must’ve been that shame kink of his kicking into full gear. “But thanks for the offer, Nathan. Truly. And for the weekend. I didn’t know I needed someone to take care of me as much as I did. I appreciate it.”

“Of course.” He clasped his hands together, and his eyes grew somber as his voice dropped an octave. “But…about what we talked about. With your…negative thoughts. Are you sure it’s best to stay alone while going through all this, Ave? I’d honestly feel more comfortable with you staying with me, but I know it’s not about my comfort. It’s about yours. Still…my offer stands.”

I wished he’d stop making my tired heart skip a few beats. I was supposed to hate him still, but he made it increasingly difficult to dislike him. Especially after the weekend we’d shared.

“I think I’m good. Thank you, though,” I said, standing up from my chair.

He kept sitting and staring at me, uncertain.

I released a small laugh. “Seriously, Nathan. I’m good.”

“I’m at 505 West Chipper Lane,” he said as he pushed himself to stand. “In case you change your mind.”

“I won’t, but thanks. Let’s get to practice.”

It was a beautiful spring day in Honey Creek, the perfect weather to get out on the field to run a few drills. Truthfully, I couldn’t have asked for better weather over the past few days. It would’ve been great weather for, say, a wedding celebration.

The moment Nathan and I met the players outside on the bleachers, I already hated the looks of pity they shot my way. I hated those looks. Nothing in the world was worse than other people feeling bad for me.

I cleared my throat and tossed on my baseball cap. “All right, team. Let’s just address the elephant in the room. Was I supposed to get married this weekend? Yes. Did it get called off at the last minute? Also yes. But this should not distract you from the fact that we are in the middle of our season, and with one more win, we will be off to the playoffs. Therefore, we must stay focused on the game. I’m sure you’ve all heard some rumors about Wesley and me, but I want you to know that I’m okay. I’m fine, and we need to?—”

“Coach K?” Cameron cut me off.

“Yeah, Cam?”

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