Page 9 of Off Limits PUCK

Coach gets that look of disapproval in his eyes again as he says, “I will. I think you could use a break from our star player today.”

I blush as he stands and leaves. The way he says it makes me think he heard us having sex downstairs. If he did, I will never be able to look him in the eye again! Mortified, I slink out of the room, beeline for my car, and race to my condo.

***

“I really wanted us to go out tonight!” Kenz says to me. “I just got back into town and found out that you’re my brother’s PT and I matched on a dating app with a bartender who works at the hottest club in the city and he’s working a shift there tonight… but you want to stay in?” She is whining, and I feel just guilty enough about fucking her brother today to almost give her what she wants. Almost.

I had finally stopped ignoring her messages asking me which players I was working on as the PT and how hard the work was and so many more questions, just telling her that I was hired to use my old injury training to try to help Jake. I was careful how I worded it—I was only there to “help.” As far as I can tell, she doesn’t know that means I’m very hands on with her brother.

She has such a huge chip on her shoulder against athletes, that I know she’d blow a fuse if I told her I was getting a little closewith one of them on the Eagles, and then if she knew it was Jake she’d likely feel betrayed.

As I close the door of my condo behind her, I notice she is definitely dressed to go out tonight—with or without me.

But I’m stuck in constant rumination over the sex I had with Jake… and now I’m questioning why it would be a bad thing for him and me to hook up again! I can’t trust myself right now. My mind and my emotions are all over the place. Why is Kenz so against me getting anywhere near her brother—is it just because he had a wild decade with lots of women and lots of partying? Or is there more to it?

“You look so cute,” I say, trying to change the train of thought I feel stuck in.

She shimmies a little, her tight skirt shimmering under the lights. “Please come out with me. It’ll be so much fun to gossip about the team and about my trip to Mexico if we’re out!”

I hesitate. I just showered the scent of Jake off of me before she came over. I have to process my feelings about him first.

But she’s grabbing my arm. “You will go out—I can see it on your face!”

She squeals, happier than she should be, given that I’m too guilty to even look her full in the face.

“Um, no, girl, I have work in the morning. I’m sorry.”

She doesn’t listen, though, dragging me to my room and throwing open my closet.

“We don’t have to stay long. Just long enough for me to meet this guy in person and then we can bounce.”

She yanks my pants down and holds up a skirt. “No, you can’t wear this, or anything too tight. I want him to only notice me.” She looks at me as I pull my shirt off, ready to be her doll that she dresses up cute, but not too cute.

I try on five outfits before she gives one the thumbs up. It’s the most boring mini dress I own.

“This is perfect. It’ll make you look on par with my clothes, but it won’t outshine me. I don’t want to look like I tried too hard tonight, so you definitely have to wear a dress. I want to look effortlessly chic.” She points to my long mirror. “Do a twirl. Let’s see what accessories you need.”

Kenz is a total boss when she has her eye on a prize—and in this case it’s meeting some new guy. Outside of these occasional bossy moments, she really is a good friend to me.

“I look really, really ordinary,” I say, frowning.

“Yep! You look perfect. Thanks for doing this for me. I really didn’t want to go by myself. We’ll be back in an hour or so, tops.I know you’ve got work tomorrow. And I have to take a plane out to Vegas and then back again the same day. Ugh! But for tonight, let’s just have a teeny tiny bit of fun!”

She thrusts some plain shoes at me and then pulls me to my front door. I guess makeup tonight is not an option, nor is doing anything with my hair. She opens my front door with a flourish.

Of all the things standing on the other side, the last one I expected to see is Mackenzie’s brother, Jake Williams.

Shit,I think, as I take in Kenz’s shocked expression, then her suspicious one that flits between Jake and me. It’s like she knows right away that I’m sleeping with Jake. Or rather, that I did today.

“What are you doing here?” she demands of Jake. Then she adds, “How do you even know where my best friend lives?” Her voice is spinning up into hysteria, fast. “What is going on behind my back here, guys?”

I have no words. I can feel myself starting to sweat. This feels as bad as getting caught in that storage closet today would have felt. I start to panic.

But Jake doesn’t. He shoots me a look. It’s almost like he’s mad at me! What the hell?

“I just heard that your friend here is going to play nursemaid to me for five days. What gives, Allison?” he says, clearly mad at the arrangement.

I am aghast. “I didn’t ask for it, asshole,” I say, genuinely offended by his attitude. “I was told that both the doctor and me would be there with you every damn day. What is your problem? You think I want to babysit you? You need to relax.”

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