Page 97 of Blindside Me
His jaw hardens, but he steps aside.
“Fine. Come in.”
The small house is neat and organized. A stack of play diagrams sits on the coffee table beside a half-empty beer. A framed photo of him with a much younger Jade sits on a side table. This is the coach we never see in the rink.
He shuts the door with a hard click.
“Talk.” Coach crosses his arms, not mincing words.
I take a breath. “I wanted to tell you about Jade and me before you heard it from someone else. We’re together. Dating.”
God, did I blurt that out?
By the way Coach freezes and the redness creeping up from his neck, I’d say I did.
“You’re what?”
“We’re dating,” I repeat. “It’s been a few weeks.”
“A few weeks?” He looks at Jade. “And you didn’t think to mention this?”
“I was going to,” she says. “Today. That’s why we’re here.”
Coach turns back to me. His voice drops to that scary quiet he uses when someone screws up a play they’ve practiced a hundred times. “You know the rules, Andrew. No distractions. Especially not with—” He stops himself, mouth twisting. “You have any idea what this looks like? One of my players dating my niece?”
“It wasn’t planned,” Jade says, stepping closer to me. “It just happened.”
He stares at her like she’s a stranger.
“Things like this don’tjust happen,Jade.”
“I tried staying away,” I say. “I did. But we got to know each other during a class project and … Well, she means more to me than I expected.”
Coach’s eyes track the way Jade leans into me and how my hand finds hers. His silence says more than words.
Then, quietly, he sets his beer down. The sound is final, like the last second ticking off the clock.
“You understand what this could cost you?” he says, eyes locked on mine.
“I do,” I say. “But hiding it is worse.”
He looks at Jade. “You too? You know what this does to him?”
She nods. “But it’s our choice to make.”
Coach runs a hand down his face, suddenly looking every bit his age.
“I trusted you.” He stares at me, but there’s no anger, just exhaustion. “I brought you here. Took a risk. Thought I was helping Jake’s brother.”
The sucker punch lands in my gut.
Jake. My brother. The reason Coach gave me a shot. The reason I’ve busted my ass every day since arriving.
“I’m not taking this lightly,” I say. “She’s not a fling. I respect her. And you, sir.”
He studies me like he’s searching for a crack.
“This doesn’t leave the house,” he says finally. “Not until after next week’s game against Colorado. I don’t need gossip screwing with the locker room right now.”
