Page 95 of The Off-Limits Play

“Where do you want to go?”

“To my dorm. I want to have a shower and?—”

“You should be having a bath. Soak that leg.”

I roll my eyes and want to argue with him, but he’s right. Dammit! “Okay, fine. We’ll go back to your place and I’ll take a bath, but then you have to promise to take me back to my dorm afterward. I don’t want to have to stay for lunch and face the inquisition about the party and why you and Mom think I should spend my days permanently locked away like Rapunzel.”

“Oh stop,” Dad mutters. “We’re not that bad.”

I scoff and shake my head.

And then, to prove my point exactly, he murmurs, “You sure nothing’s going on between you and McAvoy?”

“Dad!” I lightly slap his arm.

“Well, what? You slept in his room last night!”

“Because he offered me his bed.”

“And why would he do that?”

“Because he’s a nice guy.”

Dad glances at me likeI’mthe one acting crazy.

“He is,” I assure him. “He was really sweet to me last night.”

Images of his rage-filled face as he fought with Fleischer flash through my brain, but I quickly cut them off, remembering how sweet and gentle he was with me. That look on his face when he confessed that he liked me was so sweet and?—

“You know he’s trouble, right? He might have done something nice for you last night, but you can’t trust that kid. He’s unreliable. He drinks. He gets into fights. He’s reckless and stupid and?—”

“Dad, stop.”

“I don’t want you getting involved with anyone on my team.”

“I know!” I flick my hand in the air. “Everybody knows!”

“Well, good.”

“Oh, come on. Your rules are ridiculous. You can’t bench one of your players for dating me. And besides, everyone at Football Frat is so nice. I thought you’d be happy if I ended up with one of them.”

“You’re not dating one of my players,” Dad growls. “End of story. I’m the coach.”

“And you’re being a really bad one for behaving this way.”

Shit. There goes that hurt look washing over his face again.

Closing my eyes with a soft sigh, I mumble, “You’re not a bad coach. When it comes to football, you’re anamazingcoach. But you can’t control their lives this way. They’re college football players, not grade-schoolers. If you want them to respect you, then maybe you should start showing them a little respect too.”

“I do respect them. Of course I respect them! I care enough to think about every aspect of their lives, not just football.” He huffs, clenching his jaw as he looks out the windshield. “I’m trying to teach these guys how to be men who can succeed in the world. And I don’t need them getting distracted, and I don’t wantyougetting hurt. Some of these guys are after one thing and one thing only. I’m not putting my daughter through that, so you should be thanking me that I’ve taken it off the table.”

Dammit!

He’s so not going to be okay with me falling for Carson.

But it’s happening. I’m falling hard and fast. And I don’t want to stop.

Stealing a look at my father, I try to figure out how to play this. He’s obviously not going to be talked down, but maybe I can talk him around just a little.

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