Page 52 of Matched By My Rival
“If I knew that, you wouldn’t be up in my private space, asking me twenty questions.”
I laughed. “All right, fair. How about…expanding athletics recruiting to at-risk kids? In the high schools, I mean.”
He wrinkled his nose. “Pretty sure that’s happening already.”
“Okay, then what about creating a program for juvenile delinquents?”
“I wasn’t a delinquent!” he protested. “There you go, making me into a criminal because of one fight.”
“I’m not saying you were. I’m trying to give you project ideas, D.”
He blew out a frustrated breath. “If you say so.”
I checked the time on my phone. I still had an hour until my shift at Tracks, but Darnell and I were losing patience with each other.
“Just hear me out,” I said. “What if there was a program in the schools for kids who get in trouble for fighting? Some sort of athletics program that explores giving them a physical outlet and a place to belong?”
Darnell pursed his lips in thought. “Maybe. But not all kids are a good fit for sports.”
“No, but there could be elements to the program that would benefit them anyway. Teamwork, trust exercises, healthy exercise, and other outlets for stress? I don’t know. Maybe keep thinking along those lines and see if you can come up with something. Maybe it could be optional, like deferring punishment, you know?”
“Maybe,” he said thoughtfully.
I was already edging toward the door. “You got this, D. Keep thinking about the ways sports helped you and how it could help more people, and you’ll find something that feels right.”
He looked dubious. “Okay. You got a hot date or something? You’re sure anxious to get out of here.”
I rolled my eyes. “No. I might if I had any privacy, but between living in a frat and having no car…”
“Oh, it’s like that, huh? That didn’t stop you with Kristin.”
“Yeah, well, Kristin didn’t mind people knowing we were hooking up.”
Darnell grinned. “The new girl is shy, huh?”
I bit my lip, averting my eyes. The idea of Parker as shy was laughable, but I couldn’t tell Darnell that. “Something like that.”
“Hmm. Well, if you need a car, I could let you borrow mine. As long as you treat her nice.”
I was stunned. “Really?”
“You’ve helped me with this project a lot. I know I was frustrating. I’m just stressed because it’s not my kind of thing, you know?”
I nodded. “You got this, though. There’s no right or wrong answer. Focus on something good and ways to make it better if that’s what works for you. Remember that it’s sports, and you know high school and college athletics inside and out. You can find some area to improve.”
“Yeah, I’ll keep thinking. Thanks, man. That helps.”
I nodded. “I better go. I work tonight.”
“Sure. Let me know when you want to borrow the car. As long as I don’t need it for something, you can use it to take your girl on a date.”
“Thanks, D. I really appreciate it. You have no idea.”
He laughed as the desperation came through in my voice. “Yeah, I do. But you best not stain my seats, you feel me? You’ll be paying the cleaning bill.”
I was still laughing when I opened the door. “No messes. I got it.”
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