Page 66 of Sexting the Coach
But as we walk through the aisles, me with one hand on the cart like a little kid, I realize it actually feels kind of nice to blend in. To join the masses and feel a little of the individuality lifted from my shoulders.
All these people are probably going through their own stuff. Maybe some of them are even pregnant, or trying to figure out what to do about their relationships.
Maybe some of them decided to date the head coach of an NHL team to keep him from getting fired—and to protect their own position at the team—and are now facing the consequences of falling in love with him.
Or maybe not.
“What about this?” Mabel asks, holding up a package of Oreo knock-offs with peppermint inside. It’s not Christmas yet, but all the stores are peppermint everything.
I nod, not trusting myself to open my mouth, and she tosses it into the cart with everything else. After this shopping trip, we’re not going to need snacks for a month.
We’re just turning the corner into the frozen aisle when I hear a voice that stops me cold in my tracks.
“Elsie.”
At once, I’m here and now, and also seventeen in the backyard with him, watching his face shutter, turn to fear, pain, and shock. I’m landing on him and knowing, even before Mom and Dad come running, that something terrible has just happened.
Mabel turns around, her eyes widening when her gaze darts past me, landing on the person who must be standing behind me.
I have no idea what Drew is doing in California. Maybe it’s not even him, maybe it’s just someone who sounds just like my brother.
But it doesn’t matter. Because right now, there’s too much going on. Too much for me to handle. I can’t also take a confrontation with him onto my plate.
If I turn around and meet his eyes, everything is going to happen in the middle of a Trader Joe’s. All the perfect strangers in this building—who, up to a minute ago, I was grateful for—are going to become witnesses to the worst thing I’ve ever done. The biggest mistake of my life.
And I can’t handle that.
So, instead, I run.
I blast past Mabel, dodging between two other shoppers, who look up, bewildered when I muttersorry, sorry, breathing hard and rounding the frozen aisle. Rather than running into the next one, I circle around the store once to lose him, even as I can hear Mabel saying, “Elsie, what is going on?—?”
And when I get a clear shot to the door, I sprint through it, running out into the cloudy day. I don’t stop until I get to Mabel’s car, where I crouch and breathe hard until she appearsa moment later, apparently having abandoned our cart to chase me down like a scared cat.
“We need to leave,” I say, hand tight on the passenger door’s handle. “Right now.”
Thankfully, Mabel doesn’t ask questions. She just unlocks the door and slides into the driver’s seat, saying, “Get in.”
Chapter 28
Weston
“We need to talk.”
When I look up from the footage on my screen—which I wasn’t actually paying attention to—I find Bernie in the doorway to my office. His normal good-natured smile is gone, replaced by something like stern concern.
“Okay.” I click away from the video and lean back in my seat. I already have an idea of what he wants to talk about. Me and Fincher fighting last night during our home game. The team losing the game, likely having something to do with my mood shift. Everything is my fucking fault.
And, to make matters worse, my hip has beenkillingme. According to the internet, stress can make the swelling worse. It likely also has to do with the fact that up until now, I’ve been working with Elsie, going through the treatments, stretching, and strengthening the muscles around the joint.
“I don’t normally like to bother with peoples’ personal lives,” Bernie says, clearing his throat. “But at this point, Weston, it’s getting hard to ignore.”
“Did Fincher send you in here?”
Bernie’s eyebrows fly up, and he looks hurt. I regret saying it—Bernie has been on my side throughout this whole mess. I shouldn’t have implied anything else.
But I’m on edge.
“No,” Bernie says, sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose. “You know that, though. I’m on your side. I think you’re this team’s best shot at getting to the Cup. But I also know that whatever is going on with that girl?—”
