Page 17 of Crossing Lines

“Dude, you don’t want to fuck with me.” Ace’s gaze turned hard. “And if we find out you did do something fucked up toour coach, we will find you and it won’t be pretty.” He stood closer to Owen, hovering over him.

Slumping, Owen tutted. “Oh, really. Whatever.” With a flick of his wrist, he sauntered off into the bar.

Furrowing my brow, I watched Owen leave, then turned to Ace. “What do you make of that?”

With a shake of his head, he threw his arms up and let them fall. “Fuck if I know. Guess we can ask Coach Gibson about it on Monday.”

“Yeah.” A pit formed in my stomach. What if Owen got to Coach Gibson before then? What if the guy was some kind of stalker? It was pretty obvious they weren’t really boyfriends.

“Come on, let’s go party. There are men and booze aplenty in this place.” Ace slapped my shoulder and headed for the rest of the guys, studying us from a table at the far wall.

Wednesday rolled aroundand Coach Gibson had successfully found ways to be too busy at practice to talk to, and I sure as hell was not going to bring up what had happened at the gay bar in front of anyone. The number of times I’d almost messaged him on Instagram had to have been in the thousands by now. He’d seemed in good spirits, though, so I guessed it all worked out.

As I passed the Five Guys on Mill Avenue between my classes, my stomach rumbled. A juicy burger sounded fantastic. I popped the door open on the brick building and stepped out of the sunshine and into the burger joint.

I scanned around me. A few students stood at the counter ordering, then my gaze snagged on Coach Gibson. My heart about stopped. Holy shit, this was my chance.

He sat at a table by the window, his back to me, pulling fries out of his white paper bag.

I hurried to the counter and ordered the first thing on themenu, then paid and poured iced tea into a cup. I didn’t want Coach leaving before I got to him. I was dying to know what had happened.

My order came up at the counter and I grabbed it, then beelined for Coach Gibson’s table. “Hey, can I sit with you?” My gaze raked over his maroon-and-gold athletic gear, hugging his lean and muscular body. How could a person look good in everything they wore?

He startled and looked up at me. “Oh, Boehm, sure.” He waved his hand across the table. “The seat’s yours.” He wiped his mouth on a napkin, then sipped his drink.

I fell into the chair across from him and glanced out the window at the cars driving by and students walking, cycling, or skateboarding down the sidewalk. Slipping off my backpack, I said, “So, I wanted to talk to you.”

With a long exhale, he leaned back in his chair. “About?”

I peeked at his half-eaten burger. I had time. He wasn’t close to being done eating yet. Knitting my brows, I said, “About what happened the other night. About…Owen.” I wrinkled my nose. I didn’t like the guy when I’d met him and I liked him even less as time had gone on.

With a soft chuckle, he waved me off. “Oh, it was a misunderstanding. It’s all good now.” His face grew slack and the hint of a frown crept over him.

“You sure about that?” My eyes narrowed as I pulled my hamburger out and unwrapped it. “Is he your boyfriend?” My chest clenched. God, I hoped he wasn’t. But why, because I was going to be his boyfriend? Fuck.

He shifted in his seat and set his forearms on the table. “No, he’s not. He’s…he was a hookup that got a little too pushy, but it’s over. I’m not going to see him again.” Rolling his lips, he snuck a peek at me from under his brows. “He didn’t, uh, start anything after I left, did he?” He bit the corner of his lip. “He said he left all of you alone.”

With a huff, I said, “Yeah, he left us alone.” I chuckled, myheart lightening.He’s not seeing him again!“After Ace threatened him.” Ace was good like that. Always had our backs and was built like a fucking house, so people usually backed off when he got involved.

“Ace threatened him?” His eyes lit up.

Nodding, I said, “Yeah. So Owen won’t be fucking with you again. If you do see him again.” I picked up my burger and bit into it. Warmth slithered down my chin. “Shit.” I slid my tongue out and licked it off.

His gaze locked onto my mouth and his eyes darkened, then he cleared his throat and adjusted himself. “Uh, so…” Dipping his head, he skimmed his finger along the edge of his paper bag. “Was that all you wanted to talk about?”

“Yeah, pretty much.” I sipped my iced tea. “Though it would be nice to shoot the shit a little.” I snuck a glance at him. Would he let me in at all? He was still such a mystery. Maybe if I found out more, the allure of him would wear off. Fuck, who was I kidding?

“Okay. What are your thoughts on the away game against Colorado College?” He bit into his burger.

“Oh, I think we need to watch out for their center. Dickerson is, well, a dick.” I chortled. The name fit the guy perfectly. He was known more for his chirping than his ability to make a play.

“Has he ever come after you?” He set his burger down, slipping his tongue out and licking juice off his index finger before sucking it between his lips.

Jesus fuck. My cock tingled and swelled. That was some tongue the guy had. And his lips… I swallowed hard as the head of my dick pinched into a seam. I needed to adjust. But he’d see. I shifted my hips, angling back. Nope. I palmed my cock out of the way.

His gaze grew wide and chased the movement of my hand, then he wet his mouth.

Yeah, he knew what I was doing. “Yes, he’s come after me. Isuspect he’ll try again this weekend.” I quirked one side of my lips. “But I have a good comeback for him.”

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