Page 252 of Coach
“You think you know me, do you?”
Gabe’s smirk grew to impossible proportions. “I know what I see when it’s right in front of me. Do you?”
I opened my mouth to tell him to be a teenager and leave adulting to the adults. Then I realized I wasn’t being very adult about my adult-adjacentsituation.
“I’ll have you know—”
Gabe’s eyes bugged, and his smile . . . shit. Gabe’s gaze shifted past me, over my shoulder.
Something was happening.
“Nice win.” A thundering rumble smacked into my back and clawed into my chest.
I nearly fell over turning around.
Gabe’s hand found my arm. “Have a nice night, Coach. And you”—his finger pointed past me toward Shane—“don’t keep him up too late. He has practice tomorrow.”
Before I could scold the boy for his insolence, he huffed a laugh and vanished, leaving Shane staring from two bleacher rows above.
“Kid’s got balls. Gotta give him that,” was all Shane said. His infuriating mouth didn’t curl or smile or anything, though his eyes twinkled a bit in the brilliance of the gym’s lighting.
“So, you came,” I said, using my words brilliantly.
Shane nodded. “Yep.”
Damn it. Could this guy not throw me a bone?
Wait. No. Not a bone. Don’t think about Shane’s bone. Not in the gym surrounded by moms and kids and . . .
Shit.
I covered my lower body with my clipboard.
Shane’s eyes tracked the movement, and one brow shot up.
“Sorry, I, uh, was just thinking about . . . never mind. It doesn’t matter. Hi.”
“Hi.” Shane smiled. “Are you done?”
I looked around. The gym was nearly empty.
“I need to—”
“Got it,” Ryan cut me off from a couple of steps behind. Where had he come from, and why was he siding with Shane? “I’ll lock up. Go on. It was a good night. One of us should celebrate.”
I blinked, first at Ryan, then at the floor, then back at Shane.
“Can I buy a winner a drink?” Shane asked, and I swear his eyes were laughing.
“I, uh, sure. Yeah. That sounds great. Let me grab my jacket out of my office.”
“I’ll wait right here,” he said, plopping down onto the bleacher, leaning back, and spreading his arms in both directions like he owned the place.
Chapter 32
Shane
Somewhere between Coach Wex clapping Mateo on the back and one of the players making some wise-ass comment about the scoreboard, I nodded and mumbled something about grabbing a drink.
